This might sound like an odd idea, but it really isn’t. Some stock agencies such as Shutterstock, Pond5, and Dreamstime allow uploading Editorial footage.
About six months ago there was a high-profile court case in my area (Johnson County, Kansas). I noticed the local news stations were using the same few pictures of the courthouse. It should be noted this courthouse was less than a year old at the time. All of their footage was from the old location and it was clear no one had gone out and shot clips of the new building.
As a stock photographer, I saw this as a big opportunity. I went and grabbed some photos and videos of the courthouse. This was after hours, so there wasn’t a ton of movement going on. My thought was to get some shots that would work for cover images on web articles as well as videos that could have news graphics overlayed as needed. The idea worked and this content has done well.
Something else interesting about courthouses and other public buildings is you can often find protesters there. I do my best to get content any time I see a protest. The purpose of editorial content is to document. The Roe v. Wade protests were a great example of this. My job wasn’t to have an opinion. It was to document the news as it was happening.
The county I live in (Miami County, Kansas) is smaller and more rural. A quick Shutterstock search revealed there was no content related to it.
I grabbed my camera and got to work. This is a much older courthouse with perhaps Victorian-style architecture. It looks almost like it would be haunted. I went ahead and added that as a keyword which helped drive a few sales. This content has done well in general. The location is far enough from the city that most news agencies would grab something from a stock site rather than travel out there.
I highly recommend researching some of the public buildings in your area. This could be an opportunity for you as well. The footage doesn’t have to be limited to courthouses. Jails and election offices are a few other examples to help get the thoughts moving.
Thank you so much for watching. If you enjoyed this video, please like and subscribe.
Til the next time…
If you need a free month of Amazon Prime, please use this link. It will help us both out.
#stockphotography #editorial #shutterstock #pond5 #passiveincome