As a photographer, there are so many niches that you can choose from for your business, and many times, that can be really helpful for marketing your photography and finding clients. But as we all saw back in 2020, it can also have a detrimental effect when times get tough or there’s an abrupt change in the world. Enter the idea of diversifying your income streams.

The idea isn’t to make more work for yourself. If you’re looking for a way to add passive income to your business model, you might want to consider stock photography. Businesses need stock photos for everything from marketing campaigns to event promotion. And once you take your photos and upload them to an agency, they can give you a return on your investment for years to come.

In today’s episode, I’m talking with Aubrey Westlund about how she got her start in stock photography and how it has helped her stay afloat in lean times. We’re chatting about trends in stock photography, various industries that use stock photos, how to prioritize categories of photos to upload, and how branching out in your work not only boosts your creativity but also diversifies your income streams to better weather difficult times.

This episode is full of great ideas to get you started on your own stock photography journey.

What’s in this episode:

• [03:37] How Aubrey got her start in stock photography, how to choose which photos you submit, and where to start if you’re interesting in pursuing this niche
• [08:51] Pitfalls to watch out for when starting in stock photography, and how to choose and work with multiple agencies
• [12:08] Trends in stock photography and how to stay on top of them, taking advantage of the need for iPhone photos and videos, and why you should keep your editing simple
• [17:26] The importance of thinking about the various industries that use stock photography (flat lays are not a thing of the past!)
• [19:11] Retaining the rights to your photos, how agencies set prices and commissions for stock photography, and choosing categories that are big sellers
• [23:01] The importance of diversifying your income streams
• [26:49] Aubrey’s advice for photographers to mix things up when it comes to your work

Tune in to this episode with Aubrey Westlund to learn about how to diversify your income streams with stock photography! 

SUBSCRIBE: iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher

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Resources Mentioned

The Little Black Book of Stock Photo Agencies

Meet Aubrey

A passive income expert, Aubrey Westlund, is a stock photographer, business mentor, and educator. She helps photographers and designers build passive income streams to create a predictable foundation for their business so they can build a life of more ease and creative freedom.

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Did this episode with Aubrey Westlund inspire you to try stock photography as a passive income stream? Check out this episode from Joanna Booth that offers you even more insight on fostering client relationships!