Through our photography agency, I often look at roughly 25-30 new photographer applications each month. I've been doing that for well over 10 years now so that is about 3000 photographers and 40,000+ photographs. I also spend a lot of time every month watching the new images being submitted to both our stock photography libraries. Again this adds up to many more thousand pictures each and every year.
I can tell you, in all those photographs there were many thousands of images that might have been great stock images with real sales potential, if the photographer had only done their job right. The frustrating part is, in all those cases, the damage was done by one or two reasonably straightforward mistakes that could have been easily evaded.
Now I'll freely admit that I'm no master cameraman ... In fact I have barely touched my camera since we started building OzImages back in 1998 ... But I do know what separates an OK photo from a stock image with real sales potential. So in this two-part article I am going to look at 3 main differences I see between the part-timers and the pros.
Lighting
If I could only make one recommendation, this would be it. Most amateurs only think about lighting after the sun has gone down. An even then, all they usually do is pop up the flash. Some 'outdoor ' photographers might time their work for early morning or late afternoon light, but even then they generally tend to look at lighting as a separate part of from the image.
The pros on the other hand, consider the lighting of their subject, and they do it with every single shot.
Their focus is not just on the light, but how the light affects their subject and whether that can work for the message they're trying to capture. The pros will consider extra lighting, or shading, on every single shot. It is as much part of their routine as removing the lens cap.
So make it part of your pre-shot routine to stop and consider how your subject is lit.
Are the key features properly lit? Is there anything you can do to make it better? Flash might be an option, but so might a reflector, a different camera position, turning on a light ... Coming back in a couple of hours time.
Remember, nothing kills the commercial prospects for an image as quickly as uneven lighting ... Photo Buyers take one look as deep shadows and/or washed out highlights and walk away every time.
Make the lighting of your subject your main concern and your images will improve dramatically in both quality and commercial potential.
Patience
If all you do is capture a visual representation of what's there at the time, you are taking amateur photos, and they are a dime a dozen. If you want to capture stock photo images that are going to stand out in the crowd -- and sell -- you have to convey a message or a story about that subject to your viewers.
So make it a habit to study your subject in detail before you even look through the view-finder. Work out what it is that you want to convey to your audience? Conversely, what might your viewer want to know about the subject? What can you capture and convey the viewer may not know?
Once you are clear on the main elements of your subject, you can start considering the effect different perspectives could have on the final image. Then you'll find you're starting to create new and unique photographs with real potential.
Too many of amateur images come across as indecisive. You get the feeling the photographer 'knew ' there had been a photo op there, but rather than dig around a bit and find it, they just kept pressing the shutter hoping to get something. Occasionally they might get lucky, but more often than not, the final result is vague pictures with a subject lost in the middle-ground, lots of clutter in the background and no clear point of interest in the foreground ... And zero sales potential.
Work out precisely what it is you're attempting to say before you start. Then consider your lighting. Then use your technical talents and creativity to say it.
That's what we'll look at in part two ... Talk soon!
I can tell you, in all those photographs there were many thousands of images that might have been great stock images with real sales potential, if the photographer had only done their job right. The frustrating part is, in all those cases, the damage was done by one or two reasonably straightforward mistakes that could have been easily evaded.
Now I'll freely admit that I'm no master cameraman ... In fact I have barely touched my camera since we started building OzImages back in 1998 ... But I do know what separates an OK photo from a stock image with real sales potential. So in this two-part article I am going to look at 3 main differences I see between the part-timers and the pros.
Lighting
If I could only make one recommendation, this would be it. Most amateurs only think about lighting after the sun has gone down. An even then, all they usually do is pop up the flash. Some 'outdoor ' photographers might time their work for early morning or late afternoon light, but even then they generally tend to look at lighting as a separate part of from the image.
The pros on the other hand, consider the lighting of their subject, and they do it with every single shot.
Their focus is not just on the light, but how the light affects their subject and whether that can work for the message they're trying to capture. The pros will consider extra lighting, or shading, on every single shot. It is as much part of their routine as removing the lens cap.
So make it part of your pre-shot routine to stop and consider how your subject is lit.
Are the key features properly lit? Is there anything you can do to make it better? Flash might be an option, but so might a reflector, a different camera position, turning on a light ... Coming back in a couple of hours time.
Remember, nothing kills the commercial prospects for an image as quickly as uneven lighting ... Photo Buyers take one look as deep shadows and/or washed out highlights and walk away every time.
Make the lighting of your subject your main concern and your images will improve dramatically in both quality and commercial potential.
Patience
If all you do is capture a visual representation of what's there at the time, you are taking amateur photos, and they are a dime a dozen. If you want to capture stock photo images that are going to stand out in the crowd -- and sell -- you have to convey a message or a story about that subject to your viewers.
So make it a habit to study your subject in detail before you even look through the view-finder. Work out what it is that you want to convey to your audience? Conversely, what might your viewer want to know about the subject? What can you capture and convey the viewer may not know?
Once you are clear on the main elements of your subject, you can start considering the effect different perspectives could have on the final image. Then you'll find you're starting to create new and unique photographs with real potential.
Too many of amateur images come across as indecisive. You get the feeling the photographer 'knew ' there had been a photo op there, but rather than dig around a bit and find it, they just kept pressing the shutter hoping to get something. Occasionally they might get lucky, but more often than not, the final result is vague pictures with a subject lost in the middle-ground, lots of clutter in the background and no clear point of interest in the foreground ... And zero sales potential.
Work out precisely what it is you're attempting to say before you start. Then consider your lighting. Then use your technical talents and creativity to say it.
That's what we'll look at in part two ... Talk soon!
About the Author:
Matt Brading is a writer & photographer with GlobalEye Photo Stock Agency and reccommends the Direct Contact approach for selling photos online.
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