Breakfast Stock Club: Get Ready for Your First Challenge
Dear Reader,
More stock photo successes are coming in through the Breakfast StockClub Facebook page:
Because of your enthusiasm and comments, the Breakfast Stock Club newsletter and Facebook page are providing big community support and inspiration.
Now let’s see what else it can do for us. Get ready for your first Breakfast Stock Club Challenge.
Note: If you’re having trouble getting accepted, this’ll be a good way to start fresh with new images and know what’s acceptable as stock and what’s not.
BSC Official Shoot #1 - Bring Home the Bacon
Theme: Breakfast
Food photos are always needed in stock sites, and one popular theme is breakfast.
Goal:
To take some new, saleable photos of breakfast foods that we can submit to stock sites using common items you’ll find around the house.
Who can participate:
All Breakfast Stock Club members -- it doesn’t matter if you’ve submitted to stock yet, or not.
What you need:
- Your camera
- A tripod (or a stable surface on which to set your camera)
- A box or table
- Window light
- White or solid-colored, seamless paper or cloth (optional)
Keep in mind that your photos should be:
- Well-composed
- Properly exposed
- Clean
- Bright
- Clutter-free
Here’s what to do:
1. Gather breakfast food items you have around the house that could make good stock photo subjects. Items can include:
- Eggs
- Fried bacon or ham
- Pastries -- muffins, donuts, croissants...
- Pancakes or waffles (with butter, powdered sugar, or syrup)
- Yogurt
- Granola
- Fresh fruit
- Hot or cold cereal
- Milk, orange juice, coffee
- Generic cups, plates, bowls, spoons, etc.
2. Arrange the items on a table top in bright window light with a white or blurred-out background, and photograph them.
3. Upload your THREE best photos here. Just click on the "upload" button... you don't need to be signed in. You can include your name in the description, if you'd like.
Here’s how I know this can work:
I did this a few months ago by setting up a donut, a muffin, and a banana next to a window on my kitchen table with a white cheese cloth propped up behind them. Here’s a shot from that day that got accepted to iStock:
It’s not the MOST intriguing shot ever, but it got accepted! Here are a few breakfast high-sellers from other iStock photographers, for inspiration:
Next week, one of our professional stock photographers will take a look and pick out the submissions that are most likely to make it as stock... give a few pointers... talk about processing... and more.
I’m hoping this exercise will produce some saleable photos for people who participate by next week.
Good luck, and have fun!
-- Bonnie
Bonnie Caton
AWAI Travel Division
Breakfast Stock Club
P.S. If you’re not sure what to do with window light, or how to set up a tabletop studio quickly and easily with household items, take a look at sessions 28 and 50 of the Turn Your Pictures into Cash program, which covers how to do that and more.