Stock photography is a library of images licensed for commercial use. Businesses, advertisers, and publishers buy licenses to use these images instead of hiring a photographer for a custom shoot. Stock images cover every subject: business, lifestyle, nature, technology, and more. They are available through agencies like Getty Images, Shutterstock, and Adobe Stock. The photographer uploads images, and the agency sells licenses on their behalf. The photographer earns a royalty for each sale.

Stock photography is a volume business. A single image might earn a few cents or a few dollars per download. Photographers who make a living from stock have thousands of images in their portfolios. The market is competitive. Certain subjects are oversaturated: sunsets, business handshakes, smiling models in offices. Other subjects are in demand: authentic lifestyle, diverse representation, and specific technical concepts. Stock photography has changed with the rise of microstock, where images are sold for low prices. It has also changed with the rise of AI-generated images, which are now accepted by some agencies. The ethics of AI-generated stock are still being debated. For photographers, stock is one way to earn passive income from images that might not sell otherwise.

Stock photography facts

• Licensing. Images are licensed, not sold.
• Royalties. Photographers earn a percentage of each sale.
• Microstock. Low prices, high volume.
• Demand. Authentic, diverse, and specific images sell.
• Competition. Millions of images available.

Stock photography is not the same as fine art photography. Stock is commercial. Fine art is personal. Both have their place, but they serve different markets.