I tend to over-complicate things sometimes.
When someone says, “Let’s have a picnic,” I can’t just bring cheese. It must be an obscure French sheep cheese to pair with black cherry preserves, for example. But when it comes to taking photos to sell in online stock agencies, simple is key.
For example, this photo of a hole in my wall just sold today:
This is why I love stock agencies. You can take photos in your everyday life and put them up for sale immediately. They don’t even have to be “art.” They just have to be useful.
Here’s another simple shot that’s been selling lately:
I was just sipping a wine tasting flight with a friend and snapped it on a whim.
And this photo of chocolate truffles that I took back in 2012 is still selling today. It’s one of my best-sellers:
…of course, I ate the props. All of these are examples of how having a camera with you while you go about your daily life can lead to simple profits. It’s extremely pleasurable to combine my love of chocolate, wine, the outdoors, my dogs, my friends, home renovations, and… did I mention chocolate?… with photography.
This can work with your phone, too.
Someone bought this phone photo of my feet the other day:
Though, note that if you want to do this with your phone, be sure to purposefully compose your photos just as well as you would with your regular camera.
If you can take simple photos in your everyday life and on your travels, you should start selling them in online stock agencies. It’s the easiest place to start, and you can be up-and-selling by this time next week. J
ust remember—as you’re looking through your photos and taking new ones to sell—think simple and useful.
No fancy sheep cheese necessary!
[Editor’s Note: Learn more about how you can fund your travels and make an extra income with photography, travel writing, blogging, and more in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel. Sign up here today and we’ll send you a new report, Five Fun Ways To Get Paid To Travel: A Quick-Start Guide, completely FREE.]