I’ve been quite busy lately doing all sorts of photography / videography projects for various clients, which is great! So this means other than the guest post on How to Earn $500/month, I haven’t had much time/energy to dedicate to this blog or even building my port, which isn’t so great!

This is never meant to be a full-time gig

This brings me to an important point, which is that since I haven’t been thinking much about stock photography I’m checking my sales less often. Slow days bother me less and I feel less under pressure to be earning from stock and coming up with new concepts.

This, in my opinion, is the way it’s supposed to be…just as a little extra income every month to put towards new gear and travel – that’s it! Anything more is probably expecting too much. The bulk of income should come from a more stable source, such as a day-job…or if you’re serious about this creative type of business…working with clients!

Passive income, finally

I can finally and reluctantly use that phrase “passive income” since these few weeks I’m literally not doing much stock-wise and sales are coming through nicely. Hope this continues and it should since I’ve uploaded so much in the past year and even surpassed 10,000 images on Alamy this week!

Private Client Work = Stock Opportunities

Nevertheless, this brings me to the next point. Even if I’m out and about busy doing photography/videography client work, it still means that I can still capture stock concepts. They aren’t mutually exclusive.

It’s not like I’m shooting all day long for a client anyway. There are long lulls. Best way to illustrate this is with examples, of course.

Construction site concepts

One client I’m working with here in Portugal is in the property / real-estate construction industry. Without going into detail on my tasks, this means visiting some properties that are obviously under construction, as well as properties in the market for sale/rent.

Within these places, there’s a gold-mine of generic stock-worth subjects just asking to be captured. Poor lighting is no issue since I always have my tripod with me. Remember the name of the game is useful and not pretty subjects! In particular, I believe the two shots of the fuse boxes with wires sticking out may be particularly useful to highlight all sorts of repair/construction/DIY related concepts.

Never neglecting the fine art shots

Some of these properties are really really luxurious and would make for fantastic would-be book covers over at Arcangel Images, such as minimalist architecture and the bottom of a pool.

Another shoot at the beach

At another shoot, for a jewelry client was at Caparica beach, which is popular with kitesurfers and surfers. Taking advantage of the best light, I completed the shoot and what I was then left with a beautiful autumn sunset.

Later on at sunset proper, some potential book covers, such as the following:

Be discreet and aware of potential conflict of interests

The above shots are completely generic. I don’t want to show anything specific to the location and obviously no people associated with the work itself, as this would certainly piss of the client and paint me in a bad light professionally (pun intended).

Most importantly is to be discreet and quick. Fortunately there are plenty of lulls in between shooting client work that I can take some quick snaps. Takes a little longer to setup the tripod.

Hope you find the above tips useful and if you’re enough to pick up client work, then also think about some stock opportunities in the meantime. Win/win!

Te Quiero, Espana

Small update. Since I’m now doing freelance video work for a new client, I’ve figured that I might as well learn footage post-processing! So, I’ve downloaded Da Vinci 15 Release (free version) and painstakingly playing around and watching YT tutorials.

Getting the hang of it and last night put together a small clip of some of my fav timelapses from my summer trip across Spain. Hope you enjoy it!

---

About Alex

I’m an eccentric guy on a quest to visit all corners of the world and capture stock images & footage. I’m determined not to waste my life away as a corporate drone and have devoted five years to making it as a travel photographer and freelance writer. I hope to inspire others before it’s too late.

I’m proud to have written a book about my adventures which includes tips on making it as a stock travel photographer – Brutally Honest Guide to Microstock Photography

Check out my new photo review service, where I’ll help take your images to the next level and get them sold regularly!