Stock Photography Journey - The Beginning

Image by Carlos Lorenzo via Flickr

January 2011.

I'm getting into Stock Photography

I've been always on the lookout for ways to augment my income, and I have tried Google AdSense in my blogs - quite numerous than my 10 fingers, but unfortunately, these are not giving me the expected amount of support, or maybe not yet.

And with my interest in photography, I thought, 'why not sell my photographs?'

Thus, my experimentation in stock photography began.

As an amateur photographer, it seems that I am doomed to fail. A beginner photographer trying hand in stock photography - isn't that a recipe for failure?

But I'm not about to give up, no, not easily.

And I think this is one event in my life that I want to chronicle, if I can call it that.

First things first.

Gear

I have actually signed up to 2 agencies, and while one will review the photographs once submitted, the other agency requires submitting photographs prior to being accepted as an agent.

So my journey begins.

I made it through quickly with one of the agencies, so I expected to be accepted just as quickly with the other. Wrong. 3 photos were needed, so I quickly picked some of the ‘best’ photos that I keep in my work PC (since I run through the online application while at work… on some slack time, of course).

And I was immediately rejected!

I was given 3 days to upload fresh pictures, with the reminder clause ‘impress us’, which means be your best, give your best, don’t just snap pictures, but compose and shoot a great photo – hey, this is stock photography, you know!

I went back to my camera, and got some of the ‘better’ photos that I can upload. I thought I did pick the ‘better’ photos, but again, I was rejected!

My hopes are still high.

And so while the ‘cool-off’ period is on, I made a round at the local store where I bought my DSLR last year, and thought of canvassing prices for macro lenses. It’s not within my (financial) reach at the moment, but I better know what I am dealing with, I mean, how much I am dealing with, and how much I am dealing with, how much to fork out when I really needed to buy my first macro lens. It is always with high hopes that it won’t burn a hole in my shallow pocket.

So that I did. I roughly now have an idea of how much it will cost. And I’m not buying yet.

Knowledge

I may not know what I am getting into, and I am having doubts as to what really it is that I know about stock photography. So again, on some slack times during my work, I searched the web for some tips on basic home studio, having white seamless background at home, lighting, etc., etc. I found some, but favor 2 of them:

1.      Studio Lighting - Really cheap homemade diy studio - no lighting needed

2.      Diffusers & Reflectors

I was actually laughing a bit, in that, what I thought of using, an A4 paper, was what the author suggested as a starter. One reader commented that you have to do some tweaking, which is to make sure that your camera’s white balance is able to compensate for the whiteness, or better yet, non-whiteness of the A4 paper you use for your seamless white background. Check out these 2 sites and learn from the author and the readers’ invaluable views.

Then there is one other aspect of stock photography, the commercial part, which will be the more important area to deal with.

What is stock photography?

I came through one site that talks about Stock Photography, and I believe I have gleaned at least one grain of good knowledge that I can make use of, planted in my questioning mind, and given the proper watering and sun and nurture, will be a good start to a good growth and yield in stock photography. Again, this is one site, and there are many others that are equally good, but this is what I found first, and it makes sense to me, since the author is a stock photography expert – so far as what he says is concerned. If what he talks about makes me a stock photography expert as well, then it must be true!

I still stand corrected, so here is the website. See if you can check out and balance the equation. I am open to suggestions and comments here. I’m all ears on this part.

Are Your Stock Photos Selling? -- The Problem with Most Stock Photos

I have learned that stock photography is speaking a bit of a different language, and while it is still about photography, the word ‘stock’ before it draws a big cut between ordinary photography and stock photography.

I will summarize what I have learned, primarily from that website:

Stock photography is about QUALITY, not quantity.

When you think of stock photography, think of HOW you photograph, and less of WHAT you photograph. And think of the competition. Browse the agency’s list of submitted photos, available for download, and see how they are done. While doing that, you will see whether or not these many, many photos already available. While learning from others, you should also be asking yourself, ‘Do I want to compete in this area?’ And if yes, then go ahead and produce, quality, competitive photographs!

Stock Photography is about SIMPLICITY, stripped of complexities, and unambiguous message.

Don’t clutter up your photographs. Think of how your photo will be used by the designer. Put yourself in the designer’s shoes, and that will greatly impact your style of photography, and how you select and compose your subjects. As in most cases, this is easier said than done, but with practice, only time will tell when every shot is a money shot. When taking photos for stock photography, think, what is my photo telling me? What message can it convey? Again, it may not be necessarily a breathtaking picture. It just has to be a usable picture that conveys a message univocally, without distraction.

Stock photography is still about photographing for others.

It used to be ‘by assignment’ – you are told to photograph a certain subject and object, or an event, and whatever the editor or designer or whoever hired you likes, that is what they pay for.

Things have changed – tremendously.

Higher demands. Saving money. These are what basically conceived the idea for stock photography. Then internet. It became a global contribution and a global competition. But that should not deter you from being a stock photography agent. Be one. An expert.

I’ve picked up what the Stock Photo Expert said from his website about some aspects of your photographs that customers may look for:

·         clean, crisp images

·         a very clear message

·         visually appealing images

·         proper diffused lighting

·         uncluttered backgrounds

Stock photography is about your creativity.

Following everything in the stock agency’s rules and guidelines will make you succeed in creating a ‘generic’ stock photography item. That will get your photos accepted for sale. If you take the other half, YOUR creativity, and put them together, you get an exceptional stock photography material that isn’t simply accepted by the agency and put it up for sale, but it will be a material that is highly accepted and sought after. That is what will bring in the money!

I didn’t realize it, but coming to the bottom of the page, I saw that the author was selling something that promises to teach you to becoming a stock photography expert. I should say that I am not ready for that, and even when I am, the public library is just nearby, and I am very sure that with their vast collection of references an reading materials, I will surely find something on stock photography. And even when I don’t the web is still a wide, wide place to fish for stock photography tips and tricks.

I’ll end here, and I will come back to my post from time to time and gauge my progress in stock photography.

Till then!

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