Try these tips for shooting lifestyle stock images that reflect real lives, and boost your sales though authentic photography.
Creating lifestyle stock images starts with creating images that immerse a viewer into an inspirational moment, leaving a person wanting to instantly be in that place in time. Lifestyle stock images sell well on Shutterstock and Offset.
On all of our stock marketplaces, we look to photographers to create moments that tell stories for our global clients.
Shutterstock Image by David Pereiras
In this blog post, we review 15 top pro tips on how you can create lifestyle stock images on Shutterstock and Offset that make you money. As photographers on our networks, we want you to be as successful as possible.
That means providing you with the tools and resources that assist in your growth, and hopefully your revenue, as a stock photographer.
Here are 15 pro tips on shooting lifestyle stock images that sell before your next photo shoot with Shutterstock or Offset.
Tip 1: Prepare your models
Create a comfortable shoot environment for your models before you start shooting any lifestyle images for stock. It’s incredibly important to open a dialogue, and develop trust with your team. This leaves the people you work with feeling like they can trust you as a professional, and that the shoot will be a success. Ask them questions, tell stories, and keep the conversation going.
Shutterstock Image by Jacob Lund
Tip 2: Scout your location before you shoot
Scouting your location beforehand can save a lot of potential roadblocks down the road. Try looking at online resources such as blogs or Google Maps. Take notes of which direction the sun is facing at what time, so you can plan what time of day is best for the shoot you’re trying to achieve.
Offset Image by Westend61
Tip 3: Prepare any interiors
Ensure that you get rid of any clutter or branded merchandise if you’re shooting inside a home or office environment. Anything that doesn’t add to the story should be removed. A dirty house is not a house that’s ready for a photo shoot, so give it a good, thorough sweep before you start shooting to make sure everything is good to go.
Offset Image by Blend
Tip 4: Don’t make your environment too perfect
Try to refrain from obsessing over having every detail of your image perfectly clean and stylized. You should give the environment and people you’re shooting some room to come to life. Having slightly lived-in details is a great way to do this. It keeps an image from looking boring and unrealistic.
Offset Image by Johnér
Tip 5: Shoot at the best time of day
Typical postcard images on billboards and advertisements are a thing of the past. No longer are customers on Shutterstock simply looking for the perfect sunshine day in a perfect setting. Instead, people are searching for lived-in, authentic imagery that highlights a lifestyle they could admire.
Those moments are usually highlighted by moodier lighting situations, such as golden hour or overcast days. Shoot when the light is at a low, almost neutral stage for the best effect in these types of lifestyle stock images.
Shutterstock Image by g-stockstudio
Tip 6: Pick a location that has variety
You may have a list of your favorite locations, but do they provide variety? Confirm that they do, because then you give yourself more opportunity to get diverse content when you’re on shoot, with minimal effort to move around and adjust locations. The more variety you can get out of a single location, the better.
Shutterstock Image by halfpoint
Tip 7: Find a frame within a frame
Find shapes within the environment you’re shooting to create a frame within a frame. This is a great way to include more details, without overcomplicating your image. Look for anything environmental or architectural such as windows, arches, trees, or flowers. Framing within a composition can add a sense of depth and complexity to an image and draw an audience in.
Offset Image by Jennifer Bogle
Tip 8: Diversity is always important
We always encourage diversity in uploaded images to all Shutterstock image marketplaces. That includes diversity in age, gender, abilities, ethnicities, body type, and more. We encourage images that showcase the beauty of life, lived to its fullest and the incredible people that make up our diverse world. Showcase people from all walks of lives in your uploaded lifestyle stock images. We love diversity in content here at Shutterstock.
Shutterstock Image by Jacob Lund
Tip 9: Immerse the viewer into the moment
“That could be me.”
It’s the feeling all tourism and travel customers look for when they browse travel lifestyle stock images on Shutterstock and Offset. Create a conversation out of the images you create. Including a human element in your photographs is a fantastic first step to achieving this. By doing this, you form a genuine connection with an audience that could enjoy being in that moment.
Shutterstock Image by marvent
Tip 10: Bring wardrobe options for models
Ask your models to show up to your shoot with a variety of changes of unbranded clothing. Changing wardrobes is a really simple and effective way you can achieve variety at any shoot location. The wardrobe choices you select should compliment the type of situation you’re shooting, without taking focus away from the overall story.
Offset Image by Maskot
Tip 11: Notice the details
When you’re shooting stock imagery, you should always note the details. These are the things that are easy to miss, but are also pivotal to creating great images. This includes models’ nails being clean and simple, and clothing that is wrinkle-free. If you’re using devices, ensure your screens are clean and crack-free so that they look seamless on your camera.
To ensure the success of all your lifestyle shoots, don’t forget about the little details that make a huge difference.
Shutterstock Image by bbernard
Tip 12: Use complementary colors to focus on subjects
Finding complimentary colors within your ideal theme is a great way to focus on the subject you’re shooting. By creating color contrasts in lifestyle stock images, you create impactful imagery that draws in a viewer’s eyes.
Offset Image by Maskot
Tip 13: Capture authentic emotions
Lifestyle stock images can relate to many different types of lifestyles. These could be happy moments, or sad ones. Lifestyle content needs a strong emotional pull; something that stops the viewer in their tracks through a genuine capture of a real moment. Expressing genuine emotion is a perfect way to do this. Viewers are smart and can see when a moment is contrived for a photograph. Instead, keep it authentic.
Shutterstock Image by oneinchpunch
Tip 14: Be mindful of copyright
Always be on the lookout for potential copyright and trademark infringements when you shoot somewhere. Ensure that the clothing that your models are wearing is brand-free, and that you aren’t shooting in a location that could be restricted.
Offset Image by Cavan Images
Tip 15: Have fun with it!
Lifestyle photoshoots are documentary-style photoshoots, where you have the ability to capture and share a moment with an audience. When you’re shooting, keep it authentic and not overly staged. If you’re shooting at a park, have kids actually play at the park. If you’re shooting a man shopping for a suit, have him actually shop for a suit. The best lifestyle stock images are often the ones that happen in-between posed shots.
