Jan 27, 2016

In this post we will review the most popular subjects and touch upon the question of whether they are worth shooting.

So, at all times the same themes have been and probably will be popular on stock photography sites. They are: "Business", "Lifestyle", "Medicine", "Spa and Healthy lifestyle," "Family," and so on. The reason for this are huge amounts of money that revolve in these economic sectors. They are constantly in need of advertising. There's a lot of material requiring pictures and illustrations.

These subjects are overfilled and have been photographed a thousand times. However:

• There is always space for new views and concepts 
• The same magazine will never re-print a photo several times, one advertising agency will never use the same picture in different ads. So you always need fresh ideas. In addition, making great photos on these subjects is still not as easy as it seems. That is why many people want to compete here and they constantly upload new works. We'll discuss the subjects in more detail.

Business.

Perhaps this is the best selling subject. Photos of business people and business processes are in demand in Banking, Insurance, Consulting, Legal, B2B, Brokerage and many other business areas. A lot of advertising needs images on the subject every day. Information portals also need pictures for all the reading matter that they produce every hour. Everybody wants photos.

Classic Business photos should be present in every portfolio - no doubt. I think so because I am certain that every portfolio should have such a level of independence to be ready to sell directly. That is, the owner can open his own online store (mini stock site) and sell photos. And the buyer who comes to the store should be able to satisfy many of his needs in photography.

However, everybody makes classic photographs, and it's not that difficult to produce them. Take decent people from different age groups. Find a modern building, pick good clothing and props, and go! But it will be difficult to compete with all the others. So try non-standard photos.

The non-standard way may manifest itself in new perspectives, alternating wide angle and telephoto lenses. Use unusual props, seek new ideas, try to make not only positive images, but also think about critical situations and routine working moments. 

The more complex and varied your shot is, the less competition there is on your level.

Lifestyle.

This section of photos tells us about people in the process of their daily activities. It can be hobbies, some daily tasks, joyful moments, leisure activities, anything. There is also a lot of competition here. However, the big plus is that photographers mostly replicate the same things. The most popular subjects are cooking, playing with children, watching TV, etc. There is an awful lot of such material. 

However, there are other less sought-after subjects. For example, it could be rare sports or occupations. Horse riding, rafting, kayaking, skydiving, hang gliding, modeling, gardening... There are a lot of different themes that are less common on stock photography sites and you can occupy these niches! 

Life itself can give you ideas. How do you and your family spend time, what activities do you most often see in movies and TV series? What do they write in magazines about? You can draw inspiration from all this around the clock. 

Shoot photos on common subjects for balancing your portfolio and add more rare items. 

It is also very important to choose the right style of photography, if you want to shoot this category of works. Naturalness is the most prized here. No need for super-mega bright colors, turning up contrast, adding some unreal effects. Choose models that look organic in what they do in your photos. The same goes for clothes and props. Your pictures should look as natural as possible. In some places, you should even leave some rough edges when editing, for example, not to remove a strand of hair that accidentally fell on the model's face - within reason, of course! They should not interfere with perception, but only emphasize the naturalness expressed through slight negligence in the work.

Medicine.

Generally speaking, everything that has been said about Business and Lifestyle applies to this subject as well. There are many simple ideas to implement here. Anyone can buy a stethoscope and medical uniform for 20-40 USD. Give it all to a 30 year old model. And you get a doctor. There is a lot of this. Have a set of such photos for the collection, but there is no point photographing this on a regular basis. It will not bring money. A different story is if you find an excellent medical centre with modern equipment and a desire to get good photos. Gather a team of model doctors. And shoot more sophisticated photos in real medical interiors with expensive equipment and all that will look stunning and naturally beautiful. 

In this case, competition will be much lower. The higher the level of your shots, the less is your competition! Keep this in mind. 

Also it would be a good practice to focus on narrower things. Such as Gluten free diet, food for diabetics, organic food without GMO's, etc.

Spa and Healthy lifestyle.

As in Medicine, here I recommend to focus on more narrow topics and avoid standard multipurpose pictures. To take a photo of a girl who's applying some cream on her face on a white background is not a problem. To organize a hike, set up the tents and to take pictures of such activities is difficult. You'll need a lot of props, models who are not afraid of mosquitoes. And you yourself will be all weekend breathing fresh air and no high-speed Internet, shower and other things. Cycling in the mountains, yoga at dawn. And you can vary it all - different ages, group of friends or a family with children...

These are the things worth focusing on.

If earlier it was enough shooting standard concepts on these super-selling subjects, now there are too many of them already. Now you need more specific photos, which are much harder to make. Go for it and you will achieve your sales goals!