We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Aubrey Westlund. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Aubrey below.

Aubrey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Learning stock photography took a lot of trial and error for me. There were not a lot of resources available when I began. There were a few outdated videos on YouTube and dozens of forums with people claiming “Stock Photography is dead. I began submitting photos to my agency. Many of my photo submissions were rejected. Sometimes 75%. Which can be crushing because you have to write a list of keywords and descriptions for every photo before you submit them. This took me hours. But I took notes, I asked the reviews why certain things were rejected. Most of all I paid attention to which photos were selling. This gave me clues to what customers were looking for. Most importantly I kept at. I gave myself the initial goal of building my portfolio to 1,000 images in my first year. I never stopped simply because I wasn’t making sales. Once I hit my goal, my images sales began to take off!

Aubrey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Aubrey Westlund, is a stock photographer, educator, and small business strategist helping creatives build multiple income streams like stock photography into their businesses. Aubrey teaches creatives how to sell stock media assets like photo, video and illustration. She also serves as a coach for creative entrepreneurs who want to build multiple income streams, including passive income, into their work. She helps them develop innovative ways to create a business that builds security, stability, and creative freedom into their lifestyles.

She has worked in the photography industry for 10+ years. In the past decade, she has built two 6-figure creative businesses and a passive $30,000+ per year income stream through stock photography. Food & Wine, Vogue, Parents Magazine & Real Simple Magazine are just a few of the places where her work has been published.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Flashback to 2020 and the global pandemic that threw you for a loop. As my wedding photography bookings dried up fast, the branch of my business that licensed stock photography online hummed along in the background. Photographs I had taken years prior are what kept my family afloat when all else seemed doomed for the foreseeable future. The best part? Those images continue to pad my bank account as clients come back in full force. Today, I continue to earn more each year licensing photos that would’ve died a sad, dusty death sitting on my hard drive. Even with the rise of AI, I’m not seeing my sales being affected. The type of customers I serve through premium stock photo agencies are not interested in using AI to represent their brand.

That’s why I decided to pivot away from wedding photography towards stock photography education. Every single one of my photographer friends were struggling and I knew stock photography could be the answer for them as well.

In 2021 I launched my first course and today I’ve helped over 200 photographers start their stock photography business!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I am very transparent about stock photography. I share my individual sales weekly on instagram, along with student’s sales when they give me permission. I also don’t sugar coat the hard work it takes. Stock Photography is very rewarding but just like any passive income stream, it takes an upfront investment and this investment is time and consistency.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.aubreywestlund.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aubreywestlund/
• Other: @aubreywestlund Tik Tok

Image Credits
Micael Marie Aubrey Westlund