Stock Photos

[DigiDiva]

Well, secretly, I thought my photos were of a much better quality so I shoud have suspected there was a rabbit away immediately! But its a very VERY good website name, which could draw in the punters.

[Reinardina]

My new bridge is 16 mp. Haven't really looked into this, but would non DSLR shots be acceptable?

I can 'do' some pretty nice shots, but 300???

At the moment I'm happy to do 'nothing' with my photos, except the occasional (and weekly) competition, posters for private use etc.

[DigiDiva]

Its a shame, if any of us have a nice shot that others may enjoy, that we leave them sitting in a memory stick, a hard drive, a CD....

[jools-elliott]

Hi folks

I've been a member here for a while now but don't believe I've ever posted.

Stock photography seems to come down to the numbers game. As someone put it recently "It's like the lottery. The more tickets/ photos you have the more they get sold". Of course, it will depend on the quality of what you're doing.

There are a number of libraries out there but personally I would say to go for one where your image is sold as rights managed. The image may not sell in the same quantity as a royalty free one but in the end the returns can be bigger.

As well, if you put your images with a library where they are exclusive to that library you tend to find that they market you. It doesn't happen but a little research will tell you who does.

Gear wise, if you can afford to do it then upgrade to a full frame. The more serious libraries out there require a minimum of a 5D Mark II in Canon terms. Some of them even specify that you have L series lenses.

I got into this game properly a couple of years ago and I made a strong effort to ensure all of what I had was decent kit. In the end, the quality does show in the final image.

Jools

[DigiDiva]

Yes I agree Joolls, but sadly, mybudgetdoesn't run to the best lit, whichis clearly why I'm not improving. Itsgetting down to the quality of my photos letting me down now, rather than the skills. I hope Christmas means a newer camera lol

[jools-elliott]

What specifically is letting you down?

Just because your kit isn't "pro" then it doesn't mean you can't take good saleable photos. My first sale was from an image I did with a 350D and the kit lens. It made the front of a calendar.

Going back to the kit. One thing I did was to look at what I had in the house. Could I sell anything to raise the cash? The answer was that I found enough stuff to buy me a new camera as well as a Hasselblad and three lenses.

If you are really harsh on yourself and ask "do I need this stuff hanging around" it's amazing how much money you can make to get what you want.

As one mag editor told me "you have to be absolutely driven and focussed to get what you want"

[DigiDiva]

Wow Jools, I need someone like you to kick my bu*t into shape..I have loads of rubbish I could easily sell to raise some money!

[jools-elliott]

You see, sometimes when someone looks at what you're doing from a different angle then the mud becomes less thick.

When I upgraded, I went in this order:

Tripod: I was using some piece of cr@p that would fall over if a knat blew on it. Saved up for a Manfrotto Carbon Fibre tripod plus a 410 head. It took three months of budgeting.

Lenses: The good thing about lenses are that they keep their value and worth unlike the body. I looked at what I do and what lenses would suit. I have the Canon 17-40L, 28-70L (not this, it's the older version but cost less), and the 70-200L F4.

Body: The 350D was fine but if I were to do this seriously then it had to go. The 5D Mark II was the one to go for.

Budget sensibly. Get rid of things you don't need and make some money from them to reach your goal.

And so, where has it got me?

I have a contract with Getty. This came from being with Photo Library but they were bought by Getty. However, to be with Photo Library you had to have decent kit. They did not accept cameras that weren't full frame. As well as Getty, I'm with Arcaid Images who are architectural specialists. Again, they needed you to have pro gear.

Aside from libraries, I get printed quite regularly and, blowin' me own trumpet, I'm in Digital Camera Mag this month with an image. Although I haven't access to it yet so I don't know what it looks like.

If you want to do this, you MUST drive yourself. If you don't, no one else will!