Which Of These Stock Photos Is More Saleable?

Which of these three photos do you think is more saleable:

If you answered: the business woman with the orange background, then you’re right.  Pictures of people make extremely saleable stock photographs.
But if you answered: the hiker, you’re also right.  Pictures of hobbies are also good sellers on stock photo sites.  Both of these photos have sold more than 200 times on istockphoto.com.
And heck, if you chose the picture of the grungy wall, you’re still right.  This photo has sold over 200 times, too, because graphic artists use textures like this as backgrounds for their designs.
Think about the pictures you already have on your computer.  And think about the pictures you can easily get before the end of the year.  Pictures of birthday parties, family get-togethers, your kids, your grandkids, your pets, your backyard, your kitchen table, even your travels or the texture of your driveway are all saleable to online stock photo agencies.
What types of images sell best today?
Here’s an inside tip on photos currently on request at istockphoto.com:

• People eating Italian food
• homes with damaged foundations
• a jewelry box
• a tidy horse stable
• a fig recipe

Don’t have any of these pictures?  No problem.  These things are always on high demand:

• people in business suits
• multi-ethnical groups
• seasonal photos – Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Christmas, Valentine’s Day
• hobbies – golf, knitting, swimming, biking, scrapbooking, fishing, reading, sunbathing

Every photo uploaded to an online stock photo agency must pass a composition and technical test and is reviewed by a stock photo inspector.  Your goal is to get your photos past that inspector.  And our goal, at the Ultimate Stock Photography Workshop in Portland was to help attendees do just that.
[Editor’s Note: Learn more about how you can turn your pictures into cash in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel.  Sign up here today and we’ll send you a new report, Selling Photos for Cash: A Quick-Start Guide, completely FREE.]