I’m not a ‘natural’ stock photographer, but, then, who is? Does anyone harbour childhood dreams of taking pictures and adding therm to a great big pile, in the hope that the people who buy pictures will look through them and pick yours? I don’t think so. I’m also a writer and, over the years, writing ‘on spec’ has always been understood as the mark of a rank amateur. Proper writers follow the pragmatic advice of Samuel Johnson: “No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money”. That’s changing too, of course, as an increasing number of people seem happy to write for nothing, or ‘peanuts’, and plenty of people seem happy to give their pictures away too (or post them online, which can be much the same thing)…
So how is it possible to make a living out of stock photography (or, more likely, make a supplementary income)? I joined the world of stock photography about five years ago, from a standing start, knowing next to nothing about the particular and peculiar requirements of the stock market. It’s been a bumpy ride, watching my favourite pictures fail to sell, while other pix are, bafflingly, licensed again and again. I had to rethink so many aspects of photography, it was like starting afresh…
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