recent work: Training environment
I recently completed work for a local information technology training company. They were tired of using the same old stock photography for their catalogs so we put together a small shoot utilizing real life instructors and several employees acting as students. By using real people you achieve a real people look. The client ended up with a nice catalog of images and was very satisfied. Here a a couple of my favorites.
The shoot took a half-day inside their local training room. Myself and their marketing team pretty much rambo'd through. It was great working with their team and employees. I tried to make it a fun time for all. The hardest part is getting the lights down for each different shoot. Some were better than others. It is very important to work your shot list and develop a lighting plan ahead of time if possible.
Ol’ Faithful, Calistoga California
Another image from our trip to California. The Ol' Faithful geyser erupts faithfully every 20-30 minutes in the town of Calistoga. The whole town pretty much has free hot water!
Olympus E-P1 with 17mm.
More Blue Ridge Mountains
Combining photography while exploring unknown places has to be one of my most favorite activities. I have countless 'favorite' images that stem from riding my bike off the beaten path.
Off the beaten path.
Farmer's mantle.
Beech Grove, VA
Blue Ridge Mountain series
Over the next few blog posts, I will be sharing a series of shots I took last week while exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Nelson county region of western Virgina. Nothing serious. In fact, it's the lack of seriousness and a shot list that make these images special to me. Sharing, exploring and having a camera with me to create images is one of the many reasons why I love photography so much.
Stock Photography, Hunh? Microstock? not for me
Last fall, a new stock photography agency launched called Photoshelter Collection. I've been a member of Photoshelter Personal Archive for a couple years and use it to store some of my better photos off-site on their servers so when they launched the stock collection I was excited. They are quickly becoming a player in the stock photography market especially since the well documented demise of Getty Images. When the Photoshelter Collection was launched, I decided it was as good a time as any to enter the stock photography market. Their pricing seemed fair, sitting between the $1 microstock sites and the huge giants of Getty and Corbis with full premium fees. FYI on microstock: they sell images for $1-5 and the photographer gets 20% where Photoshelter and others are in the $50-250 range. I understand the draw from a buyers point of view. One dollar for a well crafted image is a steal. What I don't get is why a photographer is willing to sell an image for one dollar? Even if you sell it ten times you don't cover expenses for anything. I'm sorry, I have thousands invested in camera/computer gear as well as time in the creation of pro-level images. I could never stomach the idea of selling them for one dollar and making .20 cents each. Good luck to you if you sell via microstock. I personally think you are ruining things for lots of photographers and the market.
I have close to 80 images listed with Photoshelter Collection now. The process of having your images judged is quite intriguing and I have yet to fully figure out their editing style and needs. I have not made a single sale in the six months I've been with them but I plan to stick with them for the foreseeable future. This is fairly typical in the stock photography business and I've been told I need an image collection in the thousands to start seeing some regular receipts. Let's compare this post again in six months to see if I make a sale or two.
I'm using stock photography as a filler in between commercial assignments and weddings and look for it as a longer term investment. It's very relaxing to conceptualize and image and try to create it. Keep an eye out for Photoshelter images in any publications or websites you read. Hopefully one day the image will have been purchased from me.
Taking stock. Day 24
Day 24.
Put my nose to the grindstone a bit for some stock photography. I admit that they are rather simple subjects, but they do get hits. Part of selling stock is having the volume in your collection. I was also experimenting with light from below. I found a piece of white translucent plastic and put together a 'light table'. A super high-key look.
My stock collection is handled by Photoshelter Collection. Stock photography is in the midst of a huge shift in terms of pricing, availability and demand. From companies stealing images from Flickr to the giant stock company, Getty, going downhill and up for sale. The industry is changing everyday. I'm not sure where to try to sell my images. One thing for certain, I won't try to sell them at microstock sites. Microstock sites sell your images at rock bottom prices and you might get one dollar for a sale.
POD 2008 – Day 2 Pomegranate
Getting back to some more food photography with this one. I plan on opening it up for some juicy photos. I like the contrast of red on yellow and the centering of the fruit. It won't win any awards but I picture it in more of a series than stand alone.
room for stock
Stock photography is slightly baffling to me. At least the Photoshelter Collection stock photography is. They really are slightly different and look for the more abstract and, dare I say, 'grunge' look.
It's not a photography I'm comfortable with but I really want to boost my stock collection. To date, I have not sold a single image. You need to have hundreds of images in the library for the sales to start coming in as well as being noticed for your work.
So, I wondered around parts of Raleigh looking for sites that might trigger the Photoshelter editors. I ended up in a thrift shop called Father & Sons. It's a really cool place that will be on my list of locations for props. I also want to bring my daughter there. She would have a scream!