How are you doing on your stock photography this summer?
Shooting new photos? Editing? Uploading to your stock sites? Hopefully all of the above!
If not, don’t worry. Most of us are no strangers to procrastination.
The toughest part about stock photography is getting that initial momentum, but once you break through that first hurdle, it gets a lot easier and also a lot more fun!
Snap & Sell Photo Club member Elizabeth Coughlan recently found the motivation to really get rolling with stock, and she’s seeing some great results…
At the time of this writing, she’s up to 530 images on Alamy and nearly that many on Shutterstock.
And now she has upped her yearly goal to 1,000 new images since she already surpassed her original goal of 500.
I love stories like this because it’s a reminder that once you get that initial momentum, you’re unstoppable!
Check out Elizabeth’s story below…
Finding Stock Photography Motivation in Unexpected Places
By Elizabeth Coughlan
I sometimes think procrastination is my middle name. I seem to be busy all and every day, but really have little to show for all my endeavours. I’m always saying, “I must get around to it.”, and then go off on a tangent finding other things to do.
No more! I recently had two wakeup calls that have finally spurred me into action. The first was from Lori Allen at Great Escape Publishing, who started a recent newsletter with:
“Dear Elizabeth,
Why are you here?
Is it freedom you’re after? Is it creativity? Is it income?”
And then went on to say, “Some just want a quiet income and a pat on the back every once in a while, from friends who say behind your back: “Elizabeth takes really great photos.”
I gasped, “Oh, no, that’s me all over.”
I’m happy with just making a little something from my stock images, but I could really do much better. While I was mulling this over, I looked at my horoscope for the month. I couldn’t believe what I read. It said:
“This is the perfect time to take stock and figure out where you want to go… Time to realign with your purpose, Elizabeth, and set new energies into motion!”
Now anyone who knows me is aware I am a stock photographer, but the online muse didn’t know, and was obviously referring to something else.
Hilarious or what?
But I took it as a sign to get moving. So I’m now going into overdrive with my submissions, with great results. In fact, I have amazed myself with my recent sales. Here are some shots I recently took in Australia, that have been selling well:
I am processing and uploading every day, instead of just occasionally when I get around to it, and instead of my year’s target of 500 stock images in my portfolios, I have doubled that figure to 1,000 to achieve by the end of the year.
So thanks for the motivation Great Escape Publishing, and to whoever writes those horoscopes.
