Tips from a Buyer, How to Sell More of Your Photos
As a marketer in Alberta, Canada I've been using DreamsTime for about three years. The first few photos I purchased where for proposals and temporary marketing and advertising pieces.
After buying over 400 photos on this site, I would like to pass on a few tips that would motivate me to buy many more of your photos.
(1) Consider the possible uses of your photography
websites, video, online ads, posters, business cards, etc.
(2) Consider how you can make the best use of each of those mediums. For example, I recently shot a video for a locally owned restaurant. On one of the videos I would have loved a set of stock photography of a sub sandwich being built. If such a set of photos existed, I would have purchased them all (10 pictures of each step of the sandwich build).
(3) Offer multiple dimensions / framing. Not all photo uses require a 4x5 ratio. Take 5 or more angles or imagine how the shot could be used and offer a 1x5 ratio or something similar. There is a massive shortage of banner and horizontal ratios on this site.
(4) If your actor is not an actor then don't ask him or her to act, it looks really cheesy.
In my next article I will present more tips on how to take pictures that people want. Visit my marketing website to see some Dreamstime photos in use.
Your comment must be written in English.
We value all opinions and we will not censor or delete comments unless they come from fake accounts or contain spam, threats, false facts or vulgarity.
Davidhowse
Hi Maigi. Good points on banners and sales. I'm just one buyer so what I say should only be seen as such. I would buy precomposed banners because it takes me a lot of time to do design work (I'm pretty slow). I like your idea of having full frame images/banners that be be cropped. So the photographer really has to be conscious about framing.
Maigi
Great tips! Thanks. About banner ratios - would it be good actually to upload images with banner ratios (1x5, right?), or would it be better to compose full frame image so that it could be cropped to banner ratio? I think most of designers who use stock photos for banners, compose such banners by themselves and just use some or several stock photos for banners. Or are there clients who would just buy precomposed banners and use them just like they are? Banner creation is a pretty interesting area, I love it. But stock photography seems to be more raw material market place, where you can buy elements for your design work, than finished product store. So if one puts lots of effort to banner creation, will he find clients on this market? I don't know, maybe?
lzf
thanks for sharing.have a nice weekend andgood luck!
Billysiew
Hi, can you check my portfolio see whether any pictures you can use for your marketing website. Thanks! :)
Littledesire
It's always interesting and inspiring to read buyer's blogs!
Guarino
I think that shoud be usefull a section where we can see the most downloaded images and the most researched keywords.
Calyx22
I agree with Gmargittai. I think it would be very nice to have some dialogue between buyers and sellers. It would be really helpful to hear more advice from a buyer's perspective, and I think it would probably spur me to be more creative in my photography as well.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your point of view with us.
Davidhowse
Tip for Illustrators: Look at the most viewed and most downloaded photos. If possible, do an illustration of them. There are lots of reasons a person would buy a photo and some of those reasons also work for illustrations.
Currently, I am looking for a land-based oil rig illustration but can't find any that are suitable for my project.
Davidhowse
Hi Razzy1492, Yes, I use illustrations as well. Here is a website that I am developing www.albertamarketingstrategy.com . The top banner is made of 2 photos and two illustrations. I will add 3 or 4 more photos to finish the design.
My photo to illustration purchase ratio is about 4:1
Razzy1492
Very good advice for photographers. I am an illustrator. Have you considered using illustrations?
Wanderinglens
Very useful advice and very kind of you to share. Thankyou.
Infotrontof
...not very common to see buyers providing advice on this site.
Thanks for this buyer's insight .. appreciated
Kimson1972
..great..!..give us more tips for more effective use..!
smartview27
Great site! Merry Christmas!
Anhong
Thanks for sharing. Very good suggestion!
Jlhope
thanks a lot for sharing.
Windease
Thanks for sharing you nice tips! Practical and useful for us congtributers.
Photoexpress
Nice tips, I hope more and more buyers come here and make suggestions, and we eager to know where and how our pictures are used.
Of course, what Markstout and Colette6 said is quite reasonable, we cannot control the quantites of the same content.
Very good article, write more please.
Ver2exe
Thanks for sharing, interesting article. cheers
Msphotographic
I have to second the reader who commented that hopefully DT will ease restrictions on images in a series. I am finding lately that if I shoot an image of apple pie and one is of the whole pie and one is of a slice, I could face rejection of one of the two images for "similar content". This makes it difficult to provide buyers with different angles and views, which I believe is useful. It is also one more nail in the coffin profitability for microstock shooting.