This video is part 2 continuing on a series of best-selling stock photos. My wife and I
have been in the stock photography since 2015. We love to share tips and tricks on how to
succeed in stock photography. Let’s take a look at Kristina’s best-sellers on Shutterstock first.
These are my best sellers since we started uploading our photos in 2015.
I uploaded most of my top performers on Shutterstock in 2017. As you see,
most of them are either photos of the International Monetary Fund or interior
images. Also, a panoramic skyline of New York City at sunset has sold extremely well too.
The funniest photo of these all is this toilet. I cannot count how many times this photo got sold
on other stock photo platforms. I guess people need images of a toilet and my photo stood out.
Notice how most of my interior photos are closeups of objects. For instance,
take this photo of pillows on a bed. While we have interior photos of entire rooms,
closeups sell better for one or another reason. Another top performer is this sunrise landscape
with the sun behind spruce trees. There are many reasons why buyers love this photo on
Shutterstock. It could be this sunburst with warm yellow colors of sunrise and
the fact that this is in Colorado. It is hard to pinpoint the exact reason,
but these factors definitely come into play. As for images of the IMF, they are editorial.
And yet, they sell very well. This is especially true when news on the International Monetary
Fund break out. Also, this image of the FBI headquarters building sells well, perhaps because
the FBI logo is clearly visible. This image is often featured in articles about the FBI.
Take a look at my best-sellers on Adobe Stock. As you can see, they are somewhat similar to
Shutterstock, but with a few notable exceptions. First is this photo of a pan on a gas stove.
Looking at Google search results, we see that many buyers used it in articles on natural gas topics.
The other photo is of a house in Florida. Real estate in Florida was a hot topic for
the past several years, as many people moved there. Hurricanes and rising
insurance costs were also contributing factors. This photo is a surprising best seller. It depicts
a rather mundane subject, which is a pile of sandwiches. But, it is not any regular sandwich.
This is an Italian panini made with ciabatta bread. So., when buyers search for this keyword
combination, this image immediately pops up. The other top performer is this photo of my
late kitty named Angel. She was resting on a bed when I took this photo. It may give
you the impression that Angel is sick or sad, but she was just relaxing as I petted
her. This photo is popular among buyers who write articles on pets having health issues.
Another best-selling photo is this one, depicting aspen trees during Colorado’s
autumn. The trees provide a beautiful pattern that stands out among other photos.
As for this photo, I know exactly why it is one of my best sellers. I took in Fairfax,
Virginia at sunset. This photo is prominently featured in articles about living in Fairfax,
Virginia. Fairfax is located in Northern Virginia near Washington DC. Northern Virginia gained a lot
of coverage since 2018. This was after Amazon decided to build its second headquarters there.
This last photo depicts cherry blossoms with the sun behind the branches. It is
hard to tell who exactly buys this photo. It could be a print for a wall art or for
articles writing about cherry blossoms in spring. Either way, it sells very well.
Looking at Kristina’s photos, we can conclude that the interiors and real estate sell very well. But,
also do not ignore editorial images. The photos of the FBI and IMF sold equally
well for us in the past. Also, photos of food that are differentiated in some ways sell well
too. You must though know your subject very well and come up with a right combination
of keywords. Having the right and relevant keywords is one of the key success factors
in stock photography. We made many tutorials and linked some of these tutorials above and
in the description of how to come with the right keywords for your stock photos.
That will be it for this video. I hope it inspired you to go out there and shoot some stock photos of
your own. Also, in our part 3 video, we will go over our best selling stock footage clips. So,
stay tuned for that. Also, give this video a like and subscribe to our
channel for more content about photography, traveling and more. Thank you for watching.