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The Right Way to Travel
September 22, 2007
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Stock Photography Tip: What do Saleable Stock Photos Look Like? 

By Shelly Perry in Portland, OR

In Hershey, PA last week, I played a little game with our workshop attendees after my stock photography presentation.  I called it "Stock or Not" and I put up a few images and made them guess whether or not the picture was stock worthy.

Take a look at the pet photos below and see what you think...

(continued below)

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Stock Photography Tip: Saleable Stock Photos

Yes, this is a great, saleable stock shot.  Pet photos isolated on white backgrounds sell well in stock because designers can easily cut and manipulate the image in whatever way they want.  This is a cutesy one, but simple pets on plain backgrounds sell well, too...

How about this next one? Saleable Stock Photo or not?

Yes, groups of animals sell well in stock photography.  Again, notice the plain, simple background.  Clean, clean, clean.  These next images are great for stock as well...

Stock Photography Tip: Non-saleable Stock Photos 

By contrast, this next pet photo won't fly for stock...

This is not a saleable stock shot.  Yes, it's a fairly plain background but that's not all you need to get into stock.  This photo is a little blurry... the wrinkles in the drape in the back are distracting... and the towel clearly doesn't belong.  It's also a little underexposed and flat (very little contrast between colors).

And this one here below?

This is a cute snapshot, but it's not a saleable stock photo either.  The background is too cluttered.  You can't tell what kind of dog this is (it's actually two dogs, which makes it even more confusing). 

The use of on-camera flash is probably what created the poor lighting here. And look at the top right corner.  That's a Frogger video game there (along with other video games and books).  Trademarks and copyrights can't appear in stock photography.

How about these next two pet photos? Stock or not?

Yes, this is an excellent stock shot.  Pets with human attributes sell well in stock.  And here's another one that would sell as well...

[EDITOR'S NOTE: At the pet photography workshop in Hershey, Shelly gave these and a few other tips about selling pet pictures to stock agencies for extra cash.  To get a recording of her presentation with instructions on how to get started selling your pictures to stock, visit: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/pvd/website ]

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