Microstock Photography Ideas And How To Sell Photos

If your art is more than just a hobby to you, why not try and make some money from it? If photography is your chosen \’profession\’ you should know that there is a huge Internet market out there ready to pay for your pictures. If you learn the right way to market yourself and have what you think are great images to sell then your hobby days may be over.Here are some helpful tips:

One of the best ways to see what the photography market is looking for, is to study what is already out there. Peruse a wide variety of magazines to see the type of styles and quality being used with the articles. If you\’re really game, you can try and duplicate these images by testing your skill and photographing exactly what you saw. If you feel that your photographs are already up to the same standards as the images from the magazines, why not go ahead and send 20-25 of your own pictures to them? At the same time, you could also send off an additional set to the photo editor to have a look at. When all else fails, you could look into going with an agency; there are any number of possibilities.

There are numerous businesses out there on the lookout for creative services from photographers; mortgage and insurance companies are just some of them. They are often looking to be able to display quality, professional photographs online which enhance their listings for both residential and/or commercial real estate. If you are only interested in this type of work on a part-time basis, you could take it upon yourself to go out on your own, photograph some residential and/or commercial buildings and then send them into these companies to look over. All of this could be done on your own time leaving you free to pursue other projects.

The Internet and its search engines are your best bet for finding out who is looking for freelance photographers. By putting keywords like \”freelance or part-time photographer required\” into Google, you may end up with a list of prospective clients. If you don\’t feel comfortable taking this approach, you can also try your hand at working with stock photography agencies who are out there to market pictures from across the world to the rest of the world. These agencies amass huge amounts of photographs which they then present to as many online consumers as possible. If you want a stock photography site to stand up and take notice of you and not reject you right out of the gate, ensure that whatever images you submit, are of the highest resolution and quality. You should also make sure that whatever keywords you select to go along with these images, they will generate a search by online consumers in the first two pages of any search engine selected. You are out there to be seen, not ignored.

World-wide recognition of your work is there for the taking; marketing and selling yourself and your product rests in your hands. Keep practicing your photography craft. Stay abreast of stock photography sites and what they are looking for. Try and measure up to the same (or better) standard to what you see on these sites. This means no blurry, out-of-focus images; you want to submit sharp, quality looking photographs. Watch out for companies with particular signs or logos and stay away from photographing these. Use the Internet to your advantage and remember that the possibilities on the world-wide web are limitless.

Why don\’t you get Dan Feildman\’s FREE Microstock Photography Report , which reveals all of the finer details.

Discover How To Sell Photos And Important Microstock Photography Tips By Visiting – www.TurnYourPhotosIntoCash.com

5 Best Photography Ideas That Will Have You Having Photographs and Will Amaze Your Good friends

Ahead of, photos only belong inside photo albums and photo frames. But ever since the web became well-known and networking web sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Multiply and Friendster have turn out to be a fad, a huge quantity of photos are now also uploaded and shared over the web. The net has made it less difficult for all of us to share our very good memories and even our expertise. Here are five of the most important photography suggestions in having photos that will amaze your close friends. 

Be observant. A single important quality of a great photographer is his capacity to be keen about his surroundings. If you are observant sufficient even the tiniest and littlest of things can be meaningful.

Observant individuals can locate really worth in really straightforward points that other men and women don’t even notice. You can share your observations and the things that catch your consideration by taking images of these minute details that you consider discover of. 
This is a excellent way for you to share and amaze your good friends of what they do not normally see. 

Be fast. 
Along with becoming observant, you also have to be speedy whenever you see some thing worth clicking.

You have to be alert and often ready with your camera so that anytime one thing comes up; you can swiftly grab a shot and capture the moment that caught your eye. If you are not speedy sufficient you may well not be in a position the capture the exact action that caught your interest.

It would help if you carry several shots even though you’re at it as you just may find the correct timing with your series shots.  

Be imaginative. Creativity is quite essential in any form of art. As photography is also an fine art, you also have to squeeze your innovative juices to occur up with an concept in mind of what could be a great photo. To improve your creativity, you can browse by means of pages with photography articles which can give you more tips and you can also appear into magazines and books which have gorgeous pictures for you to get a lot more inspiration. Test to depart from the norm though by applying numerous tactics to what could be an normal shot.

Be affected person.Be affected person in all factors. If you want to appear up with wonderful photographs you really have to be affected person as there may possibly be periods that you have to wait for the excellent timing or you may have to repeat your shot a number of occasions ahead of you get what you’re after for. There are a whole lot of things to think about in photography as you have to consider your topic as well. 

Be experimental. Don’t stick to what you know and what’s typical. Often test new items. Attempt new strategies. You can only broaden your understanding and skill if you maintain on seeking out for anything new. Do not be afraid to break rules as this can sometimes be healthful. When you go out of your comfort zone, you will find out new photography strategies.

Creative Photography: Three Tips for Adding Impact to Your Subject

If you love photographing people, flowers, or wildlife, you never have to look too far for a subject. The true challenge is to create an image with real impact.

How do you make your subject really stand out in a photograph? It is tempting, but quite wrong, to blame the camera when your photo doesn’t work out the way you want. You need to know right now that a more expensive camera will not automatically make you a better photographer. In truth, the techniques in this article will work for almost any camera. All you need are manual aperture and shutter speed settings, and a decent zoom lens.

Here are a few simple tips for adding impact to your subject.

Tip #1. Highlight A Brightly Lit Subject Against A Dark Background. If you are shooting a subject in full sunlight, with a shady background, the subject is always going to stand out. This is a simple principle to understand, but it is a little easier said than done.

When your photograph has two very different levels of light, the lightmeter in your camera can be confused. It may expose for the dark background, causing your subject to be overexposed. The trick is to expose for the subject.

You can’t do this on automatic. What you need to do is switch your camera to manual, and adjust the aperture and/or shutter speed settings until the photo is underexposed by one or two stops (according to the lightmeter). When you get the balance right, you should have a dark background and a perfectly exposed subject.

Tip #2. Use A Small Depth Of Field To Blur The Background. You have seen plenty of photos where the subject is sharp and clear, but the rest of the picture completely out of focus. You will find this an easy way to add impact to the subject, and a three-dimensional effect to your whole photo.

To achieve this, you use a combination of a large lens and a wide aperture. First, zoom in on the subject with your largest magnfication. This will naturally reduce the depth of field. Then open your aperture to its widest setting (remember a small F-stop number equals a wide aperture). A wide aperture will reduce the depth of field even further.

The closer you are to the subject the more prounounced the effect becomes.

Tip #3. Use A Wide Angle Lens To Exaggerate Perspective. This technique is almost the opposite of Tip #2. A wide angle lens makes everything in your photo appear much smaller, so objects in the distance seem much further away than they really are. Meanwhile, you can stand very close to a subject in the foreground (a person, animal etc) and still fit it in the frame.

As a result, your close-up subject will appear to tower over a background in which everything else seems very small and distant. Although the surroundings will be mostly in focus (the wide angle lens has a much larger depth of field), they will seem relatively small and insignificant, making your subject seem larger and more dominant by comparison.

So there you have three fairly simple ways to add impact to the subject in your photos. Because my background is in nature, I usually think in terms of wildlife, but you can probably think of many subjects that will benefit from these techniques.

The great thing is, you don’t need a professional camera to try these ideas out. As I said earlier, if you have a zoom lens, and manual control of your aperture and shutter speed, you can add impact to your photos with just a little practice.

Even better, in the age of digital photography, practice costs nothing…so get out there and start snapping!

Learn more at www.ppsop.com. Please send your questions to bryanfpeterson3@mac.com
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Some Creative And Interesting Photography Ideas

Everybody could take pictures by using their camera, but not all of them could produce attractive and creative pictures. Do not worry if you are facing this problem. Mostly, people are facing this problem because they are bored with the same scenes or the same method in snapping or shooting pictures. Simply by spreading some little imagination, you can actually find several creative ideas in making different and unique photographs. You can get some of those ideas from this article.

Capturing an Action
This is actually a very great idea in capturing interesting pictures. However, many people think that it is difficult to do so they are afraid to try it. Having this certain opinion is very poor. Even if it is difficult, trying something different is very challenging, right? There might be many interesting motions that are missed by human eyes, and your captures will be very useful to allow people enjoy those missed things. You can shot the way a thrown stone travels inside the water, or many other interesting motions that might miss from the sight of people.

Shooting at Different Times
Time will give great influence in determining the view of an object. Surely, you will get clear differences between beach view in the morning and in the evening, right? So try to capture the same object in several different times. You can take a picture of an object such as view of mountain in the morning, and then redo it in the night. It will show a lot of things in that certain object that could only be visible either in day or night.

Monochromatic Theme
The next interesting idea is going monochromatic. This is one of the most interesting creative themes that means consist of one color, so you do not have to deal only with black and white colors. Therefore, you can determine the certain color that you are going to apply, whether it is red, pink, blue, brown, or many other colors that you prefer to use. Just try to apply this technique and see how attractive and unique your photograph will be.

Certainly, there are still many creative ideas that you can have in producing unique and interesting pictures. Hopefully, those three ideas could help you to get your own creative ideas in shooting objects.

Learn more at www.ppsop.com . Please send your questions to bryanfpeterson3@mac.com
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Creative Photography: Choose the Right Lens for the Job

A new digital camera comes with a multitude of features, but one of the first things we consider is the quality and power of the lens. But how many of us really understand what can be acheived by creative use of lenses?.

The difference between a wide angle lens and a telephoto lens is about more than just magnification. To get the most out of your lenses, you also need to understand how they affect depth of field and perspective.

You already know that the telephoto lens enlarges everything in the picture. But did you also know that when you zoom in, or attach your large telephoto lens, you also reduce the depth of field around the subject? This is a great method for eliminating a distracting background from your photo. The result is twofold: the narrow field of view minimizes how much of the background we can see, and the small depth of field ensures it will be completely out of focus.

So when photographing subjects like people and animals, using your telephoto lens (or zooming in with your zoom lens) is often the best approach. The result will be a very three dimensional effect, with the subject appearing to emerge sharp and clear from the blurry background.

On the other hand, your wide-angle lens does just the opposite. It certainly does a lot more than just make everything appear smaller. The wide angle lens takes in (as the name suggests) a much wider angle of view, and it has a much stronger depth of field than a standard or telephoto lens. That means that not only will you see a lot more of the background in your photo, but it will also be much more focused.

Consequently the wide-angle lens is not so good for portrait style photos, because the background is too distracting. On the other hand, it is excellent for landscape pictures, especially when you have objects both in the foreground and background that you need to keep in focus.

The other aspect of your choice of lens is perspective, which is a lot harder to explain without pictures, but I will give it a go.

Have you ever watched a cricket match on television? (If you are from the United States substitute baseball here). You will often see a close-up of the batsman, and notice that the wicket-keeper (shortstop) appears to be standing only a few feet behind him, and that the crowd in the grandstand seems only a short distance further away. When you see a side-on view, you may be surprised to see that the wicket-keeper is standing about ten meters behind the batsman, and of course we know that the grandstand is a good 60 meters or so further back. So what’s going on?

The answer is simple. The very large telephoto lens used for the close-up shot tends to make objects at different distances seem much closer to each other than they really are. In short, it compresses the natural perspective, making people separated by some distance appear to be quite close to each other.

This principle also applies to landscape photography. Imagine a scene with a tree in the foreground and a mountain range in the distance. By standing a long way from the tree and shooting it with a telephoto lens, you will also enlarge the mountains in the background. As a result, they will appear much closer to the tree than they really are.

Now imagine taking the same scene with a wide-angle lens. By standing a lot closer to the tree, you can photograph it in such a way that it takes up the same amount of space in the composition. However, by reducing the scene to fit the tree in the frame, you also reduce the background…making it appear much further away than it really is.

In this way, the wide-angle lens does the opposite of the telephoto lens. It exaggerates the perspective, making objects at different distances appear much further apart than they really are.

Put simply, the end result of these two approaches is this; the telephoto lens adds prominence to the background, which will appear relatively large in your photos (albeit with depth of field issues in some cases). The wide-angle lens adds prominence to the foreground, making the background appear much smaller and more distant.

Thus by simply changing your choice of lenses, you can dramatically alter the impact of your photos. Imagine the creative possibilities; you have the power to control how the viewer sees not only your subject, but how it relates to the surroundings at the same time.

This is a tough subject to explain without pictures, but hey – you have a digital camera. Why not step outside right now and try out a few of these ideas. Or if you are feeling lazy, sit down and watch some sport on telly. It may actually teach you something about photography.

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Wedding Photography – Creative Shot Ideas for Your Album

The first thing you may need is a very creative photographer. Check out the photographer’s portfolio to see if the photographer is indeed creative.

Then once you’ve found your photographer, look around the Net to see what you think are creative wedding photographs. Granted, ocean shots are very creative, but you may not be having your wedding in Maui. On the other hand, you may admire shots that contain distant mountains, but if you live in South Florida, that’s just not going to happen.

Most creative shots are creative because they properly use the venue of your wedding. For example if you are getting married in a huge gothic cathedral in Europe, then many of your creative shots will include the rounded stained glass windows that serve as fantastic backgrounds for any photographer.

Outline shots taken against the sun, or even the moon require not only a good eye but also a knowledgeable photographer to get the settings correct. Special shots that take in a huge amount of background but yet have the bride and groom centralized in the shot are often taken with a different kind of lens, such as a fisheye lens.

Anytime you find a very creative shot, save it on your computer and then you will have many such shots to discuss with the potential photographer. Some very creative shots merely just happen. For instance shots of the bride and groom dancing in the dark may simply have required a bit of photographic artistry on the photographer’s side.

Allowing a bouquet of flowers in the foreground with the bride and groom in the distance is sometimes very creative. Another may have the bride and groom feeding pigeons, or swans together.

The couple jumping joyfully with their feet bent under them is highly creative with the bride’s veil floating upward to show their joy. The ubiquitous hands with rings picture can be made more creative by taking such a picture against the bride’s garter. Or perhaps with both their hands positioned against a bible with the bride’s bouquet off center, would be more creative in your eyes.

The bride bent backwards in her new husband’s arms as they embrace is always very nice and extremely creative. It carries the mood of the wedding through the picture and into the viewer’s hearts.

Many wish to see a picture of the groom’s hand against the bride’s butt as long as it does not offend any mores. A picture of the bride and groom being reflected upon still waters is exceedingly creative.

Some other creative shots may involve the bride and groom playing peek-a-boo around a large pillar or column and giggling at each other lovingly. Arms and hands that are wrapped around each other always make for creative pictures of the couple. Before your wedding practice a few in front of a large mirror so that your pictures will appear spontaneous and very loving.

You may also desire for the photographer to be located above you for a very creative perspective. A church balcony should offer that chance. Placing the bride two feet higher than the husband and wrapping her arms around his is often a great way to show off that new ring too. You and your photographer just need to look for photo opportunities that are creative.

Learn more at www.ppsop.com . Please send your questions to bryanfpeterson3@mac.com
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Photography Posing Guide – Model Posing Tips from a Professional Photographer

Whether you are searching for a career in fashion modeling or glamour modeling, it is very important for you to realize that there is more to becoming a model than just standing there looking beautiful.

One very important factor in becoming a good model is posing, and in order for you to learn the different poses needed for the type of modeling career you are seeking it will take practice, practice, practice.So here some important Photography Posing Tips you should know as a model.

Make Your Posing Look Natural

When preparing for your photo shoot, there are numerous steps you can take to ensure you are
comfortable while posing and your photos will look more natural.

Get Posing Ideas

Before you head to your photo shoot, pick at least ten poses you really like from fashion or glamour
magazines, or poses you’ve learned from previous photo shoots. Take time to practice each pose in front of a mirror until you feel comfortable and have the confidence of knowing you look great doing these
poses.

Hands and Facial Expression

Also, focus on what to do with your hands and pay attention to facial expressions. A pose is virtually dead and unimaginative without a “look”. You should be able to close your eyes, imagine a thought, open your eyes and sell that thought. Practice this technique and your photos will come alive.

Become an Idea Factory

Unless you are shooting for an advertising agency or some other type of special interest session many
photographers recommend that you bring some of your own posing ideas to the shoot. In addition to your
ideas, the photographer may have his or her own idea of how the session should go.

Rapport with Your Photographer

Always work with a photographer you feel you can trust. This will make communication between the two of you easier and give you the confidence to express your own ideas.Always listen to what the photographer tells you. If you are really uncomfortable with the pose, let your photographer know how you feel, in a nice way.

Remember, he is looking through the camera lens and might see something you don’t.
If the photographer says she wants something different in the pose, try looking away from the camera or giving a unique facial expression. This is where your practice in front of the mirror really pays.

Posture

When posing you should always keep good posture unless the photographer instructs you to do otherwise.
Hold your stomach in to give your abdomen a more toned appearance. If you have gained a few pounds stick out your chin a little to avoid the appearance of a double chin in your photos.

Keep your fingers slightly apart and pointed away from the lens. Let your hands fall naturally into position
whenever possible. Remember, you want to be yourself – on purpose.

Now that you have learned what to do, consider these things you should try to avoid while posing.
Things to Avoid when Posing for a Photographer.

Misplaced Body Language

Body language and expressions come naturally but the language you are projecting might not be what your photographer wants in a particular pose. You need to conciously focus on ways to prevent these habits while posing.

Don’t hold your breath during a pose. Stay relaxed and your photos will look as if you just happened to be
sitting this way when the photographer walked up.In most pose situations you want your arms, legs,
wrists, etc. slightly bent unless you are directed to do otherwise Most people don’t stand or sit with their
arms and legs completely stiff. A good point to remember is, if it will bend, bend it.

Mona Lisa Smile?

Another posing tip to remember is that you don’t always have to smile. You should have a good variety of smiling and serious looks. But, sometimes you will want to give a large, open-mouthed laugh. If you are susposed to be happy, look the part!

Your Eyes are the Windows to Your Soul

Don’t always look straight into the camera. When you cut your eyes to the left or right, you create an air of mystery. When you look up and away, you are annoyed. Tilt your chin slightly down and look straight ahead for a sexy look.

About Blinking
Beware of the Blink! If you have to blink, try to blink between exposures. This is not always easy,
especially if you are working in a photography studio. Some models get into a habit of anticipating the
strobes and start to close their eyes when the picture is about to be snapped.

Get into the habit of not paying attention to the flash and concentrate wholy on the pose, your body
language, hand position, etc. and your images will
come out as you expect.

Be Bold!!

Never be afraid to try out some of your own poses in front of your photographer. Most photographers are glad to hear suggestions from you.

How do You See Yourself?

When you look at your final images don’t be critical of yourself. Find positive ways to improve your posing.
Discover your strengths and weaknesses and shoot for the stars.I am certain that Tyra Banks still works on her appearance and her posing artistry even though she has achieved a degree of stardom. Shouldn’t you?

Wanna more tips visit Malcolm Boone site. Malcolm Boone is a professional photographer and an author of best selling Ebook Posing Secrets – The Photographer’s Essential Guide Vol. 1,Which is going to improve your ability to produce and communicate posing ideas that will lift your portraiture to a higher standard.

Implement Your Idea Today Lest Someone Else Does

Thoughts are energy and energy moves. I always find it amazing
me how someone somewhere implements an idea I’ve had or
currently have. My belief is that in any given moment an idea
thought of is also formulating somewhere else at precisely the
same time.

I’ve had some great ideas in the past, as a matter of fact I had
some really huge ideas – only problem was in the past I didn’t
make things happen, others unfortunately, did it for me.

Years ago when I was studying freelance photography and travel
writing, I made a list of all the great interviews I was going
to do – one of which was with the airport sniffer dogs, the
gorgeous and unassuming Beagles. I’d set up the interview and
then, for a reason I can’t remember, never got around to it. I
also made a list of photographic ideas. The project idea of a
moon calendar really had me motivated – for awhile. Again, for
whatever reason at the time, I simply didn’t get around to it.
Then there were the seascapes I sold at the Opera House Markets
before anyone else did the nautical ‘thing’ – unfortunately I
had no idea how to market myself so that idea eventually fizzled
out.

All the ideas I had ended with someone else doing the doing and
receiving credit for it!

I’m far more focused these days and if an opportunity presents
itself that I’m interested in, I go for it!

If you’re toying with an idea now…today…run with it, because
if you do not, someone else will and receive the accolades and
all the opportunities that go with it. You being the first off
the starting block with a new idea or concept can have far
reaching consequences much like the Butterfly Effect (see Chaos
Theory) – a small thing such as the flap of a butterfly’s wings
on one side of the planet, can in effect have a monumental
outcome on the other side of the world.

When you next have some quiet time, ask yourself a few questions
starting from the very beginning, and jot them down in rough
draft.

**What’s your idea?

**Why do you want to pursue this idea?

**Where does your idea come from?

**What’s the purpose of your idea?

**What do you need to do first?

**Can you achieve your outcome in seven steps or less?

**What are the seven steps?

**Who will you need to involve? During the conceptual phase it
is prudent to keep ideas to yourself until you’re clear in your
mind how you will achieve your outcome. Then seek professional
advice.

**When you list the seven steps – begin with the smallest first
and work your way up.

**When will this come to fruition? How long do you give yourself?

If you’ve become totally involved and excited by this stage,
fine tune your idea with a business, marketing and operational
plan and have a professional go through it with you.

When you have a great idea (or think you have one) it can be
easy to become overwhelmed. Your mind fills with a multitude of
thoughts and possibilities. The secret here is to chunk down to
the most basic of actions (like putting pen to paper) and work
your way up from there. So next time an idea comes to you and
fills you with possibilities know that someone somewhere has the
same (or pretty close to it) thought.

Seeing the overall big picture is easy – The difficult bit is
starting the ‘doing’ to achieve the big picture!

Michaela Scherr

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Compiled Advice from the Experts in Stock Photography

I have compiled the advice offered to photographers from the photographers, CEOs, agency owners, art directors, designers, photo researchers and others who I have interviewed over the last year.

Jack Hollingsworth, Stock Photographer, Blend Images Co-Founder, Social Media & Photography Consultant

The money is in getting the photography in front of the consumer.

Marc Romanelli, Stock Photographer (Stills and Motion)

I choose to shoot what I know, shoot what feels right, diversify by shooting motion, as well as stills, finding new agencies that want to build their collections quickly as Workbook did, loading them up with images but not forgetting the “girl that brought you to the dance” in the first place…that would be your bread and butter agency. In my case that agency is Getty.

 

Ellen Boughn, Stock Industry Consultant and Pundit

Think of your business as a multi-layered cake. Get your work into all the layers of the business. DEVELOP a specialty and be the best at it in the world. Even photographers on microstock sites need to build their brands within the site in order to get maximum downloads.

 

Colin Anderson, Stock and Assignment Photographer and Co-Founder, Blend Images

Shoot work that is unique and hard to copy, and keep expenses down to a minimum.

Jonathan Ross, Stock Photographer and Co-Founder, Blend Images

I would say keep costs down. Don’t buy that new camera this year unless it makes you more money. Research is a bigger part of the game, more then ever before. Do your homework and get your ducks in a row before you spend your money on a shoot. Invest in R & D and try to stay true to your vision instead of just copying what you see working for others or that you have already shot yourself. Most of all have as much fun as possible, that always brings the largest rewards, financially and personally.

 

Rick Becker-Leckrone, Stock Shooter, Co-Founder & CEO Blend Images stock agency

One thing is especially important to keep in mind – now is not the time for a shotgun approach to production. The last decade was about creating massive amounts of RF imagery. Now there’s too much similar content. RM has been underserved with new imagery, but it’s a relatively small market. Micro is interesting, but a lot of hard work and not completely clear one can generate the same returns as in traditional stock. (Yes, some do, but very few.) Chill out in 2009. Figure out what you’re truly good at shooting, figure out what the market is missing and make fewer, but better targeted content. Don’t count the success of your 2009 in the number of images you produce.

Shalom Ormsby, Assignment and Stock Shooter Stills and Motion, Co-Founder Blend Images

A short story, since I’ve been so long-winded. At the end of a talk the Dalai Lama was giving about true happiness, he was asked what was the happiest day of his life. The Dalai Lama smiled and said softly, “That would be today.” May today be the happiest day of your life.

Tom Joyce, Owner/Creative Director Creativewerks

Do whatever you do with great passion and make it as perfect as you can. Then let go of it and grab a beer.

Lanny Ziering, CEO SuperStock, Co-Founder Blend Images

Talk to people who buy pictures, find out what they want, go and shoot it.

Trevor Lush, Stock and Assignment Photographer

I see me moving away from the high-volume work I’ve been doing in the past, towards a much more targeted approach. Fewer images with more added value.

Patty Meyers, Owner, Bloodhound Stock Photo Research

I find more and more art buyers are going to these alternative sites for innovative work. Basically, my advice is to get your images out to as many traditional and alternative image sources as possible, watch the trends and keep your work contemporary, and try and find a niche which needs filled. That and find a partner with a real job.

 

Inti St. Clair, Assignment and Stock Stills and Video

Shoot what you love. There is not a lot that’s easy about being a pro photographer, and the sad reality is that very little time is spent actually shooting, but as long as you’re loving it, it’s all worth while.

Tom Grill, Stock Shooter, Agency Owner (Tetra), Blend Co-Founder

With declining RPI’s it’s becoming more difficult to earn a substantial living from stock photography. Now is a good time to honestly access your talents and resources relative to what it will take to make a go in the tougher times ahead. Follow the old stock market adage of getting out when the market is high and jumping in when the market is low. NOW – in this time of severe economic downturn — is the time to buy stocks in the stock market as well as pour images into the stock photo market.

Lance Lee, Stock and Assignment Photographer, Mentor, Entrepreneur

For our stock photography projects, I’m encouraging our photographers and production team to work as if they are working in a film production. The process is pretty much the same – creative story telling translated into pictures.

Dan Heller, Stock Photographer And Stock Industry Analyst

Photographers are going to have to get behind initiatives that encourage openness, distribution, and wider-scale adoption of intellectual property. This is the one and only path that will help bring order to the chaos of images on the Internet. And with that comes ranking and prioritization, much like how Google ranks websites.

And when that happens, “quality” images will percolate to the top, and reward those photographers who truly are better than others. If one assumes that most “pros” are better photographers than consumers, the only way pros’ images will be found and licensed by buyers of any sort, will be when there are business incentives for companies to build those technology solutions.

 

Sarah Fix, Creative Director, Blend Images

A photographer’s greatest assets are their creativity and ability to speak to the market. What is your creative advantage? What do you do better than most?

There is always opportunity during challenging times. Right now in our industry there are fewer images being created, fewer shoots with higher production value, social networking is making it easier to give and receive information, the rights managed licensing model is in need of new content, motion is gaining momentum with affordable cameras that capture both stills and motion – how do you plan on taking advantage of this moment? Adapt as the market changes.

Jeremy Woodhouse, Stock Photographer and Educator (Photography Workshops), Blend Images Co-Founder

Take time to get grounded in a location, check out the bookstores, post card racks, see where the “hot spots” are and work around them. Look for new ideas; introduce some of your own technique/style into a location. Use the light, not only the edge of the daylight but even midday light can work, especially with HDR. You can beat the contrast big time. Revisit the same locations several times in different light.

 

John Feingersh, Stock Photographer, Co Founder Blend Images

Hold on, keep your chins up, find those holes in the files and fill them with great imagery.

Charlie Holland, Stock Shooter, Former Director of Photography, Getty Images

Be smart, direct your efforts. Spread your submissions out over collections, over time and over business models. Do not overspend on your productions.

Sarah Golonka, Stock Shooter, Stock Photography Consultant, Art Director/Editor

Keep your head up and look back to help prepare yourself for the future. Be aware of and open to change and work with it vs. against it. Analyze your sales history and draw your own conclusions as to why your images did and did not sell, then apply that information to your future shoots. Keep taking creative risks and stick to shooting what you are good at vs. trying to reinvent the wheel.

 

Trinette Reed And Chris Gramly, Stock and Assignment Stills And Motion (Trinette is a Cofounder of Blend Images)

Trinette: Be open minded and open to change, experiment, use the downturn to focus on what you really want to be doing, stay connected.

Chris: Stay open to the changes and open to learning; don’t pretend to know what you don’t know.

Don Farrall, Stock and Assignment Photographer

I used to counsel photographers about getting into stock and can be credited for bringing a handful of photographers, and even a few illustrators, through the process of securing a contract with Getty; back in the days when that was a Golden ticket. I would have to say that I am much less “Bullish” about it now. These are difficult times to be encouraging, so I suppose I would want to see someone’s work first before I answered that question for them.

Offir Gutelzon, CEO PicScout

Making content available for more marketing applications and promotional use, while selling content as RF, is essential. Photographers should follow your actions, like those you’ve taken that improve rankings on search engines, and promote themselves in new ways, even at the risk of image infringements.

My mom had a great idea for a photo project… Alec Baldwin? Ha well, good thing I didn’t use it. and in case you are just like sitting there and are dying of boredom, just know that I ramble on about absolutely nothing interesting for the first 1 and a half minutes… ha
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Photography Ideas: Using Negative Space For Impressive Compositions

If you find yourself reading this posting, it’s quite possible that you are interested in some ideas for photo projects. Picking out a photography project that not only results in some wonderful photos but also helps you develop your photography skills would be a great idea. Not surprisingly, there are many skills from which to select. One skill that can help you develop your photography talents, negative space, is introduced in this article.

Negative space is a compositional technique that can be used to create eye-catching photos. Therefore, let’s take a look at the technique?

Making Use of Negative Space

At a fundamental level, any image can be broken down into three components

Frame: The border that identifies the perimeters of the image.
Positive Space: The positive space is the subject of the image. This is generally the item on which the camera is focused.
Negative Space: The space between the positive space and the frame.

Any photo is formed, in various proportions, of the frame, positive space, and negative space. In order to produce impressive photos, it is necessary to manage these components.

When composing photos, some people tend to think primarily in terms of the positive space. Basically, the main interest of these photographers is how the main subject will be positioned. The negative space, that surrounds the positive space, receives very little consideration. If it gets any consideration at all, it is more of an afterthought. This is not the best way to compose an image! When handled properly, the negative space can perform two important functions. Thus, the negative space can significantly improve an image:

First: The negative space can help in defining what the positive space is all about. Basically, it helps to tell the story of the positive space.
Second: The negative space can surround the positive space in a manner that makes it more noticeable.

The manner in which the negative space helps to define what the positive space is all about is by supplying supplemental details about the positive space. As one example, a photograph may show part of a bridge. Nevertheless, there may be very few details that provide any suggestions of where the bridge is located. Is the subject that forms the positive space in a crowded, urban park or in a forest? We can not tell from the close-up. More information is necessary to better define the positive space. If the photographer were to display some of the landscape around the positive space, this would produce some negative space that would help to better define the positive space.

However, when using the negative space in this fashion, it is crucial that the negative space not overpower the positive space. For this example, the photographer might render the negative space a bit out of focus so that it becomes subservient to the positive space.

The primary issue to keep in mind is that the purpose of the negative space is to help support the positive space rather than to compete with it. This serves to strengthen the image.

The other function of the negative space is to help make the positive space more conspicuous. The negative space does this by helping to control the interest of a person that is looking at an image. It does this by focusing the attention of a viewer. Specifically, it centers the attention on the positive space. To make the negative space more effective at focusing the attention, all unproductive detail must be eliminated from the negative space. In addition, the negative space frequently contrasts in tone or color with the positive space — thus, making it stick out.

In short, both spaces need to be considered when deciding how to best compose an image. In essence, photographers need to pay just as much attention to the negative space as they do the positive space.

Remember, paying attention to the negative space helps create superior photos.

Photography Project

So, why don’t you create a photography project around this idea. For this project, you should focus on creating images that have carefully thought out negative spaces.

In Summary

This short article offered just one idea for a photography project. However, there is much more that can be learned.

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