Stock photography websites can be a great way to get your photos out there and gain some passive income. Choosing what to shoot or submit can be simplified by sticking with what you enjoy and letting your passion shine through your work.

I have always had a hard time knowing what to shoot or submit to stock photography websites. This indecisiveness usually left me making excuses and not even trying, which of course left me with zero sales. This was a shame since I had thousands of photos collecting digital dust on my hard drives. One day, I stopped waiting for the “perfect stock shoot” and simply started submitting what I loved to shoot.

If your photography is driven by passion, that passion will shine through in the quality of your work. Think of it as a musician making music. Musicians usually don’t set out to make music to sell, they simply love music and have an inner drive to create beautiful sound. The more love and passion a musician has, the more we can all hear it in their music. Photography is no different.

When I first started shooting, I did it for the therapeutic qualities. I had lost my father and needed time to slow down. Taking photos gave me a number of healthy new feelings that did great in countering the huge void. There was a rush I would get when I was heading to shoot a sensational sunset. There was a feeling of calmness while I was editing photos I had captured. And finally, there was a feeling of great accomplishment when I started showing off my results and received encouragement from people. I found solace in the art form of photography and loved every minute of doing it.

Doing all of this made me very connected to my own photography in a way that people could see. If I had simply tried to emulate popular trends in photography to sell on stock sites, I’m sure my results would have fallen short. Instead, I pursued the subject matter that I was drawn to and the results came hand in hand, results that were good enough to sell. 

Since I began uploading my work to Adobe Stock, I’ve been quite happy with my experience. As I continue to shoot the things I love and work through some of my old imagery on hard drives, I plan to continue to submit my work. If this is something you haven’t considered, it maybe be a great way to challenge yourself and make some extra income. There are millions of people looking for good images to use in their projects that may just love what you have to offer. Don’t worry about the market, just start uploading the shots you’re passionate about. You may be surprised with the results.