Increase stock earnings with this ONE thing & sell those "generic" photos
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- Опубліковано 27 сер 2024
- Are you a stock photographer that's wondering why you're not making any sales or getting any downloads? Are you trying to bring in passive income with generic photos in saturated categories on Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, iStock Photo or any other stock photography platform? It is difficult to sell photos in saturated categories, although not completely impossible. In this video, I talk about one way I have sold my generic photos of beaches, wildlife and other common topics on Shutterstock.
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“Winners dont do different things,they do things differently”
Truth.
I am uploading images to Shutterstock for about 9 months so far and it really surprises me what is selling. Sometimes it is the most generic photo that I thought would never sell which I uploaded just to fill my gallery :), something like my sister drinking a coffee from a mug, or a view from my window at random houses around. Also my dog sells quite often, which is also a big surprise considering how saturated that field is, but yeah, I made it more specific by putting some keywords like dog is doing that and that, what kind of breed it is, what emotional state is he at the moment of capturing, sad, curious, angry, happy, cheerful... all of that contributes :)
OMG! I finally figured it out. The overbite, the dimples, the hats, the long blonde hair....You look like Rickie Lee Jones! It's been driving me crazy!
Thank you for another great video. I’ve had a beach shot D/L many times, location was keyword, same with a flower.
Also had rejection due to location keywords.
Yes, I've had rejections due to location information in the keywords too. In that case I sometimes just upload them as editorials.
Regarding 07:55 and the issue of photos being rejected for whatever reason: I found out that simply reuploading photos does the trick sometimes. I'm not familiar with Shutterstock's internal process when it comes to accepting/rejecting photos, but in this case (waterfall and 'private property'), I'd give it a try.
Yes, in that case I would definitely reupload it first and try that before resorting to editorial.
Hi, where can i finde ther download for keyword panel on my shutterstock dashboard? I cannot find it in my downloaded content list... Thanks
Can’t tell you how much you’re helping me.🙏🏻
I knew that was Lowry Park, but I wasn’t expecting that at all.
I was browsing UA-cam to get a handle on getting into stock photography. I came upon your "Keyword" video and found it a great tip for getting your photos found. I can't wait to try it. I am also about to watch your other videos on stock photography. thanks!
Hi Nicole, you are an inspiration, as always. Just had a model cancel a shoot, due to ill health. We had been working on a project together. Was feeling quite 'flat' and unmotivated. Watched one of your videos.. Inspired to create again, sunrises and sunflowers recharge your batteries - your videos recharge mine. Thank you for the inspiration 😁
Wow - I've been doing stock photography for over a year now and I've seen keyword search data on other sites but I never knew it was on Shutterstock!
Yep, it's there :) Super valuable stuff.
I have a beach photo which was downloaded 14 times on Shutterstock. In terms of performance, I thought that was quite reasonable but another microstocker actually said that's really bad and that I should give up and quit microstock. My gosh, there are so many naysayers in microstock. Well, I'm not quitting. I'm staying in the game regardless of what that guys thinks or says. Plus I'm happy with all the payouts Ive made from different agencies so I don't really see a reason to quit.
Did someone say that to you in the forums?
Beach photos are very difficult to sell so I would say that’s quite good for a photo in a highly competitive category.
@@NicoleGlass Thankyou for the good words. Yes, the negativity was expressed on a microstock forum. Nevertheless, I was quite pleased with that photo's performance. And in my keywords, I was very specific about the beach's location and noted that a website used the image to promote that particular geographical region.
Thank you Nicole for sharing the insider's tips and great useful info, much appreciated that you are open and willing to give away the info and help others to grow. This is why I watch your videos.
I'm glad you enjoy them! :)
Really helpful tip. I am not a photographer but I draw vector illustrations and sell them on Shutterstock, and I'm using your concepts from the beginning. Thanks.
80% (or more) of my downloads don't have any information about which keywords were searched. How are people finding these images? Can it be by the "similar images" or "same artist" links shown on any search result page?
That could be. I have some photos that don’t have that information, and I’m guessing they get found other ways. But the majority of my photos have the keyword search information.
@@NicoleGlass Thanks for your reply. Like I said, the majority of my sales *don't* have searched keyword information ... but I'm grateful for any sales, however they occur :-)
same here . i am new wid only 3 downloads but under the keywords information its just nil
Where do you guys find the keywords information? I cannot find it in any of my downloaded pictures. Thanks!
I have a small portfolio on SS (less then 300 images), and 90% of my downloads have been because of the location. The locations don't have a lot of images tagged / keyworded, so I 100% agree with your tip.
your videos maam is very helpful because i was thinking uploading photos on shutterstock to
Thanks Nicole, you're videos are very helpful.
Sure thing! Glad you enjoy them 😊
Great tips! I have been getting a lot of downloads lately based on a lot of your tips! Thank you!!!
That's awesome, I'm happy to hear that :)
You are simply amazing. Perfect teacher.
Hello Nicole, useful as usual
Hi David! That's cool that your river photo is getting discovered that way. I have a lot of similar situations to yours :)
Thank you Nicole, I'm learning a lot from you as an aspiring side-income stock photographer (IT person by career). I'm looking forward to catching up on all your very informative videos!
You have the best videos. I really like them.
Aww thanks! :)
I am an advertiser, sometimes I need generic photos, sometimes I need specific photos so I will use very specific keywords. Esp when it comes to advertising, we have to feature the actual product, location and country and not generic stuff
I cant find the place which states where the keywords are used to find my images. Can anyone help please? A link would be cool too!
Your videos are really great. Thanks a million.
Sure thing:)
I don't live to far from the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa and since I'm brand new at starting ShutterStock, I was wondering if the zoo's were okay with us coming in and getting shots of their animals to put up so I was happy to see your example of the orangutan that was shot there..Thank you for your videos on Shutterstock, I'm learning so much in hopes to be successful
Great tips, be as specific as you can and you may sell a few generic shots:-) Think you're right , i've sell a few generic landscape probably for that reason.
In the spring I photographed bluebells in a local wood and almost didn’t bother uploading because there are thousands of more attractive bluebell woodland shots on Shutterstock. However it became one of my best sellers and just three keywords show - new, forest and the location which is unique; also I guess with downloads it moves up the pages and gets found as you say in “similars” for buyers wanting more generic views.
That's awesome! That just validates this even more :)
just found your channel and subscribed. I'm new to the stock game and this has been so useful! Thank you Nicole!
I use to go to Solomon’s Island all the time in MD
It’s a pretty little area!
Great advice -- I had no idea
Thank you Nicole !
Thanks for the video. That was an interesting exercise. Apparently all the downloads of my Aurora photos were found by people searching for "northern" and "light" and never for "aurora". And my hiking in the mountain photos were found by people searching for "hill"! I might need to change the way I'm naming some of these photos.
Recently watched this video. And pretty shocked by reviewing keywording results on photos. Also never thought to add exact place in keywords. After I added to some, now got a notification on photo being downloaded for the first time using the keyword of place (uploaded that photo 1.5 years ago). Thanks again for your great tip!
Just got listening to a video in which the photographer says uploading photos is time consuming and a complete waste of time . The compensation you get is just pocket change, these companies are the big winners such as Getty Shutter Stock etc.
There is another option, selling prints. It won't bring millions. But I rather be in that market, then Shutterstock or other types of Shutterstock. If I make a sale once in a while, great! If I never, that is alright too.
Totally understandable. :)
Or..do both. Pretty illogical to pick one over the other if there’s not much barrier to entry for either.
Thank you 🙏
As usual another great video with great advice!! 👍🏼
Glad you like it :)
Very helpful information 🥰
Thanks for a great reminder on how important keywords are Nicole! I might have to revamp some of my portfolio. Cheers from Alberta!
Glad you enjoyed this one. Have a great evening!
Thank you, Nicole, for this information. I am interested in trying out Shutterstock and your videos have been very helpful.
I'm glad you enjoy them Alan :)
Great advice as usual Nicole. Especially the Nicoles’s Toe syndrome. I recently had surgery for trigger finger and took a few after shots on my iPhone. I think I’ll upload them now!
OK this is funny Nicole. I went to look at my files of my finger and I had a short video. One of your UA-cam vids can be heard playing in the background.
Also timely, this update on SS providing location data on your file: www.shutterstock.com/contributorsupport/articles/en_US/kbat02/Portfolio-Tools-Content-Editor?l=en_US
Hi Nicole, thanks for the information. One question: how do you know the keywords that people use (5:42) to find out your photos in shutterstock? I don't find that option.
Look under your top performers and click “view all top performers”. Or in the catalogue manager, view a set and click “see set stats”
@@NicoleGlass thank you so much. Have a nice day and keep selling!
When i do that i cant see any keyword :-(
I have the same problem. I am brand new to stock photography and had the same question. I do not see any keywords listed when I view the Top Performers screen. Should I just assume they found it otherwise?
@@TheWonderOfLife The only photo of mine that shows keywords has a download of 6. All other images have been downloaded 3 times or less. So, you may have to have a certain number of downloads of a particular images for the keywords to populate.
your videos are so educating. thanks.
how do i find which keywords were used for my photographs ?
This is a good idea. I'm going to try location based keywords and see if that drives more downloads.
Let me know how it goes!
Yes keywords are important. That's why I always try to put as many keywords as possible (more than 40).
Btw I notice something strange in my sale lately. My photos that were often sold (almost everyday), nowadays become seldom sold. On the contrary, photos that usually never been sold (like I uploaded them last year and never sold), lately are sold once or twice. Do you notice this trend too in your sale?
Yes, but I can explain it. Photos that were my top sellers are no longer my top sellers because I talked about them in my videos 😅 which means lots of people went out and took the same photos.
But yes... I do notice the top sellers changing all the time. It seems they have seasons.
@@NicoleGlass Apparently everyone has different opinion. I think it is because SS now introduce "random" feature. So my photos with no sale, that shoule have been burried under hundreds of other photos, are discovered through that feature. But I am not sure ....
Your videos are very good. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. That is cool that your report shows what keywords were searched. I don't receive that on the stock photo service I use. I see that would be helpful.
I have a ton of photos that i could stock out so to speak. Thanks for this 👍
Great video. I'm on shutterstock as well, but I haven't seen where you can find the keywords that were used to find the photos?
look under insights and top performers tabs
@@sketchartphoto8117 Thank you for getting back to me. I really do appreciate your help. I don't see the keywords that were used to find my photos. It just shows a list of the photos that have sold thus far.
@@the1stJabneel i think not all photos are found by search words....not all my photos that were down loaded show key words search but alot do and this where to see it.
@@sketchartphoto8117 That explains it. Thanks again for explaining it.
Hi Nicole, that feature of finding the keywords that led to the download would be very helpful and your tip to look at "Top performers" helped me to find it. Without it, I was lost. I see actually that you have to click on "Show more" at the right side of a picture to see this keyword info. It is a pity that in the whole list this "Show more" appears only about 1 every 10 pictures. I don't understand the criteria that determines, which image has this keyword statistics.
Very interesting info Nicole thank you, will try editorial on a lot of my shots, and the keyword idea, will take that on.
Glad it helped :)
Useful info. I only do stock footage and can't seem to find the keyword info for my video. Do you know if ShutterStock shows the keyword info on videos?
It’s been long time since I been on Shutterstock and found out that I made $1 for 4 download in Oct 2019. The photo was McDonald Touchscreen stand.
Hello Nicole, another great video, hey I have a few questions if you don't mind, how do you recommend frequency in uploading and does it matter if I upload but only submit a few day? What style of video have you had success with, as in using a gimbal vs not, pan or still short videos with some kind of motion, cars going by, leaves and trees blowing in the wind etc... hey thanks a LOT! I am starting to sell my images, not going to get rich but I really enjoy doing it it's all about the numbers.
Thanks
I always wonder if I should include the name of the beach in the description... I live in a small town...
If the beach is famous, yes, if it's not that famous, on keywords. You can also try to similar photos and name them differently to see what's better
One word: JACKPOT.
Thank you for your knowledge!
Thanks for the insight. Makes a lot of sense
As we say in the Merch By Amazon community. "Niche Down". This great. I'm a new fan..Thanks. 😀
Glad you like it:)
Another question,lol, you talk about finding photos by location. Now if it is a private beach do you have to upload it has editorial? What if it is a state, national or other type of park?
Thank you. Again! How are you getting away with selling zoo animal pics?
As always your tips are very useful, thanks a lot!
Glad you enjoy them!
I tried taking some generic photos at a ticketed event, after unsuccessfully trying to obtain permission, it was a Rodeo and all the images even and image of a hat were rejected because it was a ticketed event. the other shots, nobody could identify where it was, but they were all rejected.
Nicole, where on Shutterstock's site do you find the % numbers for keywords searched? I am not finding that information.
Go to "top performers" then click "view all top performers". The information is there. You can also go to your sets in the catalogue manager and click "view set stats".
@@NicoleGlass fantastic, thank you!
@@NicoleGlass Sometimes my photos have been sold five times, but the keywords searched are still not visible. Is that normal? I thought the keywords searched should appear after a photo has been sold 5 times.
@@HaniSantosa Perhaps they've been discovered other ways, like through "similar images".
@@NicoleGlass Oh ok thanx for your answer
I like your Lens/Coffee Cup just right of your laptop 😇
Thanks! :)
I like your shirt 🌴 Good topic. I need to get busy but I am going to Anchorage soon. I guess I will try to take photos
Thank you! And yes, I’m sure you will get some AMAZING photos in Anchorage :) have fun
Hello nicole...your videos are great help for me....thanks.
Glad to hear that!
Nicole...you rock. Great video...
Thank you Ken!
Great information. So very helpful ... and very interesting. Thank you!
Sure thing 😊 Glad it was helpful!
Stock photography is such an awesome to make a somewhat "passive" income too! great video
Thank you! Only if you put in a lot of work first ;)
As always, great information!
Thanks :)
Hi and greetings from Bulgaria. I found your channel when I was looking information for Shutterstock, but I enjoy your other videos as well. I really liked the one for Tibet. It made me think how we always dream of going places, but never think about the difficulties we might face. I have a suggestion for a video- what would you suggest to photograph if you live in a small country or in a region where there isn't much newsworthy events to cover or where stock photography is not popular to operate with.
Hi Kristina, that makes me so happy that you also like my other videos! The Tibet video was very dear to my heart. And thank you for the suggestion. That’s actually a terrific suggestion and I’ll probably take that one on :)
@@NicoleGlass Great, I will be patiently waiting :). And happy birthday with a delay.
I'm upload tomatoes fruit and a lot pic of tomatoes....and sold one
can you please also give links to background music that you use.
All of my music comes from Epidemic Sound: share.epidemicsound.com/zdM3n
This is about giving the description of the photo. What about keywords to be given after providing the description? How are the description and keywords are related.
in my account it doesnt always show the keywords,.
could you please tell how to see used keywords by buyers for downloaded files?
Hey thank you for the great tips. Very useful for me 👍
Awesome!
This comment is about photos being accepted on Shutterstock.
IMO it also depends greatly on who’s doing the evaluation. I just photographed a JDRF charity event raising money for Juvenile Diabetes.
The photos are mine as I photographed the event as a volunteer and gifted them to the organization. I sent JDRF my photos. They were pleased enough to invite me back next year.
I uploaded some of the photos to Shutterstock as editorial over the space of several days. They accepted them.
But the last two images were rejected with the reason being that this was an event and therefore I needed press credentials. I’m supposed to submit my press credentials.
I don’t have press credentials. I am currently taking a photojournalism class but doubt that’s going to cut it.
Nicole, has this happened to you? Should I try uploading them again and downplaying the event? Or just try it again with the same description and keywords?
Yes, this happens to me too. I’d love to say I can give a reason for everything, but I can’t. My guess is as good as yours: different reviewers make different decisions. I’ve had some photos go through and other photos from the same shoot be rejected.
And yes - sometimes it helps to reupload the photos and downplay the event. Sometimes I’ll even write “free” or “public” event in the caption (if it was indeed free) just to indicate to someone that press credentials were not required.
Nicole Glass Thank you!
Nicole Glass Hmmm... it was a public event, but the purpose was to register for the walk and then raise money for the cause. You didn’t have to pay and anyone can register, but the purpose was to raise funds before the walk.
So now I’m not quite sure if “free” or “public” pertains.
Great advice!!!!
EVERY TIME YOU SAID SATURATED my mind goes to color saturation :)
hahaha
Nicole,
What's the best way to get Celebrity Photographs discovered ?
Hello, Nicole! Kudos for your photography and UA-cam channel work, it really helps people get faster into the subject matter and short cuts of stock photography! I was wondering if you have your photos and footage copyrighted in the Copyright Office in the US? I know the copyright exists since the moment of the creation of the work of art, but I wanted to know what are the trends among the popular freelancers like you, especially the ones engaged in journalism? Thank you in advance!
this is good stuff pepo
glad you enjoyed the video!
Would you be willing to share by what methods you find keywords? This may already be shared in a previous video, but I need directing to a specific one, please.
Thanks for another great video.
Sure thing :)
Nicole, you are not allowed to sell recognizable photo's of zoo animals as commercial stockphotos without a release. Adding the location will tell for sure it was taken at their zoo. you can get in trouble for that? or do you sell them as editorial? I never add the location for that reason. Or do you have a release for photographing the animals? shutterstock wont be the problem i think but the zoo might be as most zoo rules are that you are not allowed to use photos of the animals taken at their location for commercial purposes.
You may have to upload them as editorials nowadays. When I first started on this platform, I was able to get zoo animals with the zoo name through as commercial images. I believe they have become stricter since then.
Nice video
Have you views on Wirestock? My apologies if you have covered this before in another videos.
If I have the name of the beach in my title or caption, will that suffice? Also, is it better to separate key words such as "santa" "monica" "beach" or will "santa Monica beach" as one keyword be just as good?
I usually put them together so I can fit even more keywords into my submission. :)
Titles and keywords are both searchable.
One question...if we clicked the photos of famous tourist landmarks...in which section to put it... commercial or editorial
Eg: Taj Mahal
Usually popular tourist locations can be commercial - as long as there are no people in the photos and they’re not on Shutterstock’s “restricted” list.
Agree with your advise to use location keywords to give uniqueness to your photo.
2 Qs: 1- do u think it is better to put the location in the description or in the keywords or both?
2- some downloaded photos of mine don’t show the used keywords used for download. Any idea of the reason?
Very informative thank you. One questions please, which payout method is best to use?
Whatever is best for you - personally I use PayPal
@@NicoleGlass thank you
Thank you for another useful vid, Nicole! Btw, how do you look at that keyword search stats like in 4:05 ?
When you are in your contributor panel, look on the right side at your recent downloads. Click to see more and then scroll through and see what keywords people use
@@NicoleGlass Awesome! Thank you
Tim Argentum I was wondering the exact same thing! I’ve been on Shutterstock for a year but never knew this info was available.
so special info
So I put in a picture from a zoo and they said I had to have a property release for it.
That has happened to me in more recent months as well - but not when I first started out. In that case, you can either upload those photos as editorial images or remove the location info and keep them commercial. It is rather unfortunate, since the zoo name would probably help those photos greatly. You might also want to see if you can get them through by keeping the zoo name in the keywords, but not the caption itself.
I had the same problem with some zoo photos. Try re-uploading as editorial.
Janell Queen The animals are property. Editorial should work, unless someone kicks it back for being in a ticketed location. I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens too.
Please make a video of photography composition if you wish
I'll make a note of it!
Great tips. I almost always search with location keywords. Also is that a new bumper?
I actually don't have an intro (something I should probably work on), I just make different ones for each video.
Loved your video thanks, Question: if I haven't yet sold any footage on shutter how can I get info regarding more popular keywords (as you mentioned in your id) thanks!
There's no tool that will tell you "this is what people are searching for on Shutterstock that has no competition". If it was that easy we'd all be millionaires. ;)
It's a combination of following the news / what's trending, browsing the platform to see what's saturated or not and trial and error.
Nicole Glass of course not. And that is not what I was saying. You said in your video that there is an option to see within the vids that were already sold, what keywords people were looking for in order to find your vid, true ? If so, what I asked is how can a beginner who has not yet sold any vids, know what are considered “stronger” key words. Is it possible to see it on videos sold by others? Or go to a popular video and check what we’re the most popular words used by people to find it ? Your reply made it seem as if my question was stupid, yet, although I don’t have a lot of experience in this field I tend to think that knowing what keywords are stronger, more popular or most relevant for your specific vid, would not stop competition or make us all millionaires... competition would still relay mainly on quality and choice of the footage one makes. Am I correct ?
@@DanPun Ah okay, I didn't quite understand your question. Unfortunately this tool is only available on your own contributor panel for your own photos. So once you have some photos up and some sales behind you, you'll be able to analyze why the successful ones did well. You can't see this data for anyone else's photos.
Excellent tip! 😁 nice video
Thank you!
LOVE UR HAWAII SHIRT! Next time, please wear your "Maui" shirt. You'll Look Even Better!! Mahalo Nui Loa
Thank you! I love my Maui shirt too :) I plan to go back next year.
Hey Nicole love your videos & info
Love from india🙌🙌
Thank you :)