Shooting Stock on Vacation

With the summer holidays (or winter, depending on where you are) just around the corner, many people are starting to make their vacation plans. If you are planning on traveling during your time off, there’s no better time to shoot for stock! Since you’re on holiday, you will be photographing your experiences anyway, and you can repurpose those images as stock to save for your next vacation.

Peter Hannert, CEO and co-founder of Cavan Images joined Adobe Stock on our trip to Tahiti with travel magazine Tiny Atlas Quarterly earlier this year, and he gave us a few tips on what to keep in mind when shooting stock on vacation.

When it comes to subject matter, Peter recommends photographing people and the interactions between people. Lifestyle is one of the most popular categories on stock, and while beaches and sunsets may start to look the same after a while, interactions between people are always unique.

Also keep in mind that the photos you take to share on social media and the photos that sell the best on stock are different. An image you might share to Instagram is likely to have the focus in the middle. If you want to see the photo on stock, get a variety of angle and allow for negative space, because the buyer will likely want to add graphic elements or text in the final design.

One of the most important things remember if you want to sell your images on stock is that you must have a model release for any content with recognizable people. When it’s your family members, it’s easy. But if you are photographing people outside your social circle, Peter advises getting the forms signed at the beginning, so you can focus on enjoying your time and capturing the best moments the rest of the day. You can find more legal guidelines, as well as standard templates for model and property releases on our Contributor HelpX portal.

When it comes to keywording, relevance is key. It may seem like a cumbersome task, but it can be straightforward if you just remember you’re trying to help the buyer find your content. Think of a handful of words that describes the major elements in your image – what’s happening, who is involved – as well as conceptual words that describe the scene.

If you’re not sure where to start, the auto-keywording tool on the Contributor Portal can help you out. Be sure to arrange your keywords in order of importance.

In summary:

• Look for interactions between people – those are always unique, and oftentimes the best sellers.
• Be mindful of the light and get creative with your angles. Try a new perspective.
• Make sure you have a model or property release for any recognizable person or place.
• If you’re shooting a street or a city scape, you don’t need a property release for all the buildings. It’s only if one particular place is the central subject that you need a release.
• Keep keywords relevant and in order of importance.
• Think like a buyer – include not just subjects in the photo, but also conceptual keywords
• Just shoot!

See what kind of summer content our buyers are looking for on Adobe Stock, and if you’re looking for a little inspiration on where to go for your holiday, here are some recommendations from Tiny Atlas Quarterly.