Studio 12 Blog
We are deep into the little league baseball season again and Timothy’s team is 6-3 and heading for the playoffs. For the second year I was able to photograph the team and put together something fun. They have a great team and it has been a lot of fun to watch them this season. Go Blue Jays!!
One of the things I have learned rather quickly is that I was never going to get
a bunch of sales simply because I took great photographs. As I said, the
quality has to be excellent but you also have to create images that people
want to buy. Or should I say, need to buy. I am sure that the percentage
is very low for images that sell simply because a buyer thought it was a
beautiful image.
The sale starts with someone needing an image to illustrate a story, sell a
product, or present an idea. Then they search for an image that best meets
that need. So, we, as stock photographers have to try to meet that need
before it exists.
All the sites have ways to see what is selling best from month to month.
From most popular images to top photographers, it is easy to find the things
that sell. Our job as contributing photographers is to produce work that
will sell as well. Now, I want to make it clear that I am not encouraging
everyone to go out and copy the top selling images. Go out and find what is
selling and add your style and vision. For instance, you can’t help but
notice that business images are some of the most popular. So take images
that have business concepts and themes. You don’t have to shoot another
photo of two businessmen shaking hands on white seamless but you can put
your own spin on the shaking hands theme. Maybe a lower angle, or a higher
one, maybe a different background. This is something you will have to
figure out as you plan your shoots.
Personally, I think that a balance of what will sell and what you enjoy is
the best goal. I have found that my best selling images are of children and
weddings. However, if you don’t like working with kids and hate shooting
weddings then I would not suggest you head down that road. Shoot what you
enjoy in a way that will attract buyers and make your investment pay off.
Here is an example that has worked well for me. I shot a series of images
of my son dressed up like a homemade super hero. I went out and bought a red
towel, some wrist bands and the rest we had at the house. Because he is wise enough to know that dad is making money he insisted that I pay him $20 for his modeling services. These shots have been my fastest selling images to date. So, the $30 to $40 investment was money well spent and recovered the first month. I enjoy working with kids in the studio and found a subject that appeals to all types of buyers. I have found this image on a church web site and on a Korean book cover.
Find subjects that you enjoy shooting, have the ability to acomplish and that have an appeal in the marketplace. Success is sure to follow.
I know that in an industry that is all about volume it may sound odd to
stress the importance of quality in our images. Success will come when the
number of images in your portfolio grows and when we only make a quarter for
some sales we obviously need a large amount of sales each month. However,
this is a field full of professionals and the quality of the images you
produce have to be top notch. The competition in stock photograph is such
that exposures, white balance and lighting have to be right on.
It will be a lesson in discipline and technically you will be tested as a
photographer but it is all worth it. So let’s talk about some technical
issues that you may encounter as you try to build your stock portfolio and
how to deal with them…….before they happen.
But first, a little disclaimer. It is my intent to build on these issues in
relation to uploading your images for sales and I have the assumption that you
have a basic knowledge of them already. I am not trying to lay a foundation
as much as build on it in regards to stock photography. These are also my
findings and although they seem to be consistent I am sure that there are
exceptions to the rule.
Exposure. Of course, your images have to be well exposed, highlight detail
needs to be held in most cases and shadows need detail. What I don’t think
you can do is “correct” your exposure during post processing. At least not
very much. If you shoot weddings and are anything like me you always come
back with some shots that were quickly captured moments in bad light that end
up underexposed. Not a problem, right? No. Easy fix, add a stop of
exposure, move the fill light slider to the right and maybe some contrast.
Maybe even make it a black and white or vintage color and you’re set. But
with stock photography I have found that the goal is that the exposure needs
to be as close as possible right out of the camera. The more those sliders
get moved the more you are changing the pixels of an image and compromising
the quality. Simple fix, get it right when you shoot it. Image that, it is like shooting chrome film again.
White Balance. This may sound obvious just as good exposures do but I have
found the same basic thinking applies. The more I have to correct this in
the computer the more problems I am creating. In fact, I am willing to bet
that an image that has to be greatly corrected for color will either not be
accepted or simply not sell much. I highly recommend custom white balance
every time. Auto white balance may get you close but it brings up
inconsistency issues and custom is just going to serve you better. Small
tweaks in post production will be fine but keep them to a minimum.
Artifacting/Fringing. This is that pesky digital funkiness and purple, red,
or orange edge we sometimes get on our images. To be honest, you often have
to really look for it and I have to admit that I usually missed it before my
dive back into the stock world. Now, however, I am all too aware of it. I
won’t go too in depth about this but please educate yourself on how to avoid
and deal with it. There are lots tutorials on YouTube about this subject
and ways to fix it. One thing that I have found is that the quality of the
lens you are using can make a difference. An excuse to buy the expensive
glass! Just in case you needed one. Here is the rejection notice and link
I received from iStock concerning artifacting.
This file contains artifacting when viewed at full size. This technical
issue is commonly created by the quality settings in-camera or in
post-processing.
For more information about iStock Standards, please see:
http://www.istockphoto.com/tutorial_2.3_noise.php
Sharpness. Duh. I shouldn’t even have to talk about this. But focus
seems to be the easiest thing to take for granted. It is just that thing
that we assume we always get right. Or at least the camera always gets it
right! Believe me, the slightest movement from your subject and they are no
longer within the field of perfect focus. And if you think you are a rock
at 1/30 of a second and you can hand hold that winning image, think again.
Likewise, f1.2 may create an interesting look but if a person’s front eye is
in focus and the back is not……..I am not saying that stock can’t be shot at
a wide open aperture but know that your focus needs to be dead on. Take that
extra time to double check the focus, use a tripod, and get it right. I
have just started using a monopod and really like the ease of use and the
results.
Lighting. I thought about putting this first because if you know me at all
you know how I stress this as the thing that separates the men from the
boys. Or the women from the girls, if you prefer. Lighting is the thing
that makes us professionals and is the very thing that most weekend
hobbyists don’t understand or know how to do. Good lighting will separate
your images from the others and be more appealing to buyers. Trust me.
Even buyers who are not well educated on what good photography consists of
will see the difference in a well lit photograph.
Logos and Trademarks. This rule is very easy. Nothing in your photograph can have a trademark logo, saying or design. For example, the best shot of a fitness model stretching before he goes for a run will be rejected because of the NIke swoosh visible on his shoes. I have had to remove store signs and such in backgrounds of wedding images. One year we were going to the beach and I knew that I would take photos of my kids so I told my wife to buy bathing suits with no recognizable logos or designs. She called me from the store saying that nothing like that existed. She did eventually find them but sometimes it is hard to find clothing that works. I guess my point is to plan ahead a little and be aware of this. I have even retouched company names off the rivets on blue jeans!
Some of this might sound like a hassle but I have found that I have become a better photographer in all areas because of the high standards in the stock industry. I will discuss in another post the rejects that you are bound to encounter and how they can be a bit devastating but if you take the time as you create your images you can avoid rejections in the first place.
I have told you why I shoot stock photography but my biggest reason for
starting to share my experiences is to get fellow photographers excited to
take the leap themselves. If you have ever considered selling your images
at a stock agency then I encourage you to start now. Get your images
together, sign up as a contributor and start uploading. Like Nike used to
say, “Just do it!” Well, actually, just do it is from the Bible. Check out
James 1:22.
Now, getting started is pretty simple I suggest you get your feet wet with one
site and then you can make some decisions about others. I have two sites
that I recommend getting started with. Shutterstock and iStock. I give
them to you in this order but I am not saying one is better than the other.
I started with iStock.
On both sites you will be asked to create a new account. This is a rather
easy process. Click through the prompts and fill in the information. Some
sites will ask if you want certain parts of your information to be displayed
on your page or whether it should be confidential. I see no reason to be
skeptical about your personal information on the top sites. So, if you are
prone to worry about that type of thing, don’t.
Once you get your account set up you will need to upload your first set of
images. iStock asks for three initial images. I can’t remember how many
Shutterstock asks for on your first submission so please be the first to
contact me and let me know and I will update this. Some of the other sites
ask for 10 and some just let you upload without limits right from the start.
When selecting the images you want to submit be very picky. Send technically
strong images that have some commercial appeal. If you want to know what
has potential to sell look at all the advertising you see online, in your
mailbox and in magazines. Much of those images are stock photographs. All
the sites have a “most popular” section so you can also see the top sellers
there. Keep in mind that these initial images may not be the type of photograph
that you want to hang on your wall for everyone to see. They are images
that have sales potential to the advertising community around the world.
Most sites make you wait for your initial images to be inspected before you
can upload more photos. I have found this process can take a couple days to
a couple weeks. Be patient. While you wait, search the site, read the
forums and do your research. Find out what others are shooting and what is
selling. Start getting more images ready because once you are approved you
will want to start uploading. It is a volume business so the ultimate goal
is to get your portfolio as big as possible.
One last note, if you are rejected in any way, DO NOT GIVE UP. I cannot
stress this enough. You will hit some walls while on this journey. I think
when I sent my first three images to iStock two were accepted and one was
rejected. It meant that I had to send another image in before I was
welcomed to the family. Even some of the top stock photographers in the
world have talked about the frustrations of rejected photos. Learn from it
and keep going. Success is failure dusted off!
If you are already shooting stock photography or thinking of getting into it please let me know about it. I would really like to start some discussions on this blog and hear how things are going for you. If this blog is peaking your interest I would really like to hear from you.
I have set up a link from our site to easily get you to the page where you can sign up. Click HERE to get there.
Of course, send me your questions!
When I started my professional career I knew that I wanted to be a stock
photographer. The appeal of creating my own assignments and having the
possibility of unlimited income on my images was very appealing. So, that
was one of the things I went after as I launched into the photography world.
Now, the stock industry was much different than it is today and I have to say it was much
harder to get into. The fact that we were shooting film created a cost
issue that doesn’t exist today. Sure, there are costs to producing
images now but in the film days there was Polaroid to be bought as well as
chrome film and then, of course, the cost to process it. Even a shoot
consisting of two or three rolls of film would cost $50 or so. Then you only
had one copy of that image, it had to be labeled and had to be mailed off to
the agency. Most agencies, as I recalled, asked for initial submissions of
hundreds of images to start out.
I did finally get accepted to an agency in Colorado that eventually went out
of business but I saw no sales from my efforts. The mistake I made was
simple. I was shooting what everyone else in Colorado shot. Scenics. The
number of Colorado scenics available was just too great to stand out even
though I had some beautiful images. I’ll talk more about shooting what
sells later.
So, as my career progressed with all the ups, downs and turns, stock
photography took a back seat. When the industry
started going digital and online stock agencies appeared my first reaction
was skepticism. Sell my images for a quarter? Not me, I’m a professional.
My stuff is worth way more than that! I was teaching college photography at
the time and had a student walk into class very excited that one of his
images had just sold. I remember asking how much he made on the sale.
“Eighteen cents!” I am not sure what I said exactly but I proceeded to
explain how he was hurting the industry and demeaning his work, etc., etc.
Let me stop here and publicly say, “Andy, I apologize.”
It wasn’t until I read an interview with Tony Stone that my mind was
changed. Tony Stone ran one of the largest stock agencies in the world
during the film era and his agency was one that I desperately wanted to get
into back at the start. He explained that selling images at a lower cost
was well worth it to the photographer because the dynamics had changed via
the internet and photos could now sell much more often. An image that would
have sold once for $500 could now sell 1000 times for a $1. If I can find
the interview I will link to it. He opened my eyes to the potential that
was there and I realized that our industry was changing. Like it or not,
this is how stock images are now sold. Will it be like this forever?
Probably not. But we adjust with technology and economic needs.
So I finally jumped back in around the spring of 2008. About five years
late as I now look back nevertheless I did it. I started with
iStock.com and uploaded images. Sales started slowly but almost
immediately. Which, in my shallowness, is the greatest motivator. It felt
really good to see image sales and know that it was working. I made joining
a stock agency a project in one of my classes and students started seeing
success rather quickly as well.
Can you make a living completely off of stock photography today? Yes,
definitely. Can it be a good addition to the work you already have? Yes.
I have found that the more I put into it, the more it pays out and that is why I
have to stay at it. You are not going to upload 100 images and then make
retirement plans. My journey in the stock industry is climbing upwards
steadily and I am seeing more and more out of it. I am not where I plan to
eventually get but I am constantly working to get there.
Keep checking out this blog, so much more to say about all this. Send me
your questions and I’ll address them as best I can.
Merry Christmas! Living in the south has the huge disadvantage that the weather doesn’t help get me in the holiday spirit. There’s no snow, the leaves have just recently fallen off the trees and I still have roses blooming in my yard. However, my wife can decorate the house like nobody else and that is where holiday spirit comes from around here. Today I took a few close ups from around the house and thought this one just might be image of the month worthy.
Our prayer is that the holidays are wonderful for you this year. We are spending our first Christmas without Amy’s dad so it will be a little rougher. Cherish your family and hug them as much as they’ll let you. 1/80 @ f1.8
This month we had the HUGE privilege of photographing the wedding of a dear friend. Sharon and her family were close friends of ours when we lived in Ohio and when she called and said she was getting married we were thrilled that she also wanted us to drive up and document her day. Tom is a fabulous guy and Amy and I wish them the very best.
We had a lot of fun watching her grandchildren dance during the ceremony and see what God is doing in this season of their lives. Awesome, just awesome.
Click here to see the proofs…..
Last weekend we photographed Kim and Jeff and their two wonderful children. We had a great time and the fall weather was perfect. I love that the trees are still changing in mid November.
Well, we are into November already! The Fall leaves are prime here in South Carolina. I recently posted a bridal shoot that I did and wanted to share one more for the image of the month. I added a little lens tilt to this one…….. 1/80 @ f9
We do a free engagement or bridal session with all of our wedding couples and Becky decided to do a bridal portrait a couple weeks after her wedding. Originally we talked about a “trash the dress” type shoot which ended up being more location and poses that we did not do the day of the wedding.
It was a perfect day in Hendersonville and Becky was a great model. Willing to sit, lay down, whatever to get some unique images.
Click here to see all the proofs.
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