Photo tip: Stock or Not Video
Dear Reader,
This week’s photo tip is coming to you on video.
I asked professional stock photographer, Shelly Perry, to pick a few photos from this month’s Photo Challenge and tell you whether or not they would be suitable to sell as stock.
Shelly did the whole thing on video so you can hear her full critique. Scroll down below to see which pictures made the cut...
Lori Allen
Director, AWAI Travel Division
*********************
May 13, 2009
The Right Way to Travel, Weekly Photo Tip
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IT’S TIME FOR... STOCK OR NOT?
By Shelly Perry in Portland, OR
The stock inspector in me is excited about this month’s Photo Challenge -- it’s filling up with some really strong shots. And though I can’t see them at 100% to be sure that they meet all the technical requirements necessary for stock photographs, I can tell you that there are more than a handful in this month’s Challenge that are worth a closer look.
Here’s how today’s game of “Stock or Not” works...
Note: As a stock inspector at istockphoto.com, I enlarge every photo that comes across my screen to 100% to check for flaws. As I can’t do that with the photos uploaded for our monthly Photo Challenge (they’re too small), I’ll just have to assume that they meet all the necessary technical requirements and judge them only on their subject matter, composition, and appeal.
Also Note: This video only discusses these photos in terms of their saleability as STOCK photographs. But just because a photo is not acceptable for stock, doesn’t mean it isn’t a great shot, or saleable to magazines, newspapers, and as fine art.
The model release requirements are different for stock, magazines, and fine art, too. So my comments on this video about model releases may only apply to this image if it’s sold as stock.
Click here to watch “Stock or Not?” and find out which photos from the Challenge make the cut: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/eletter/0905_stockornot.mov
[Ed. Note: If you’re getting some technical issues in your photos that make them hard to sell as stock, like motion blur, underexposure, and noise, it could be that you’re not setting your camera at its ideal settings. Grab a set of Photo Tip Cards and keep them with your camera gear at all times. Then, you’ll always have a little cheat sheet that can tell you which camera settings to use so you can get your best possible shot. Get a set here: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/tip/website
[ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shelly Perry from Portland, Oregon, specializes in people photography, what she calls documentary or lifestyle portraits. Her images are seen all over the globe on music CD covers, books, magazines, catalogues, web sites, ad campaigns and even on TV. Shelly will be with us at the Ultimate Stock Photo Workshop this October in Santa Fe. Find out more, here: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/santafe ]
****************************
(c) 2009 American Writers & Artists Inc.
245 NE 4th Ave., Ste 102
Delray Beach, FL 33483
Phone (561) 278-5557
Fax (561) 278-5929
memberservices@awaionline.com
To LEARN MORE, visit:
http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com
http://www.thephotographerslife.com
This week’s photo tip is coming to you on video.
I asked professional stock photographer, Shelly Perry, to pick a few photos from this month’s Photo Challenge and tell you whether or not they would be suitable to sell as stock.
Shelly did the whole thing on video so you can hear her full critique. Scroll down below to see which pictures made the cut...
Lori Allen
Director, AWAI Travel Division
*********************
May 13, 2009
The Right Way to Travel, Weekly Photo Tip
*********************
IT’S TIME FOR... STOCK OR NOT?
By Shelly Perry in Portland, OR
The stock inspector in me is excited about this month’s Photo Challenge -- it’s filling up with some really strong shots. And though I can’t see them at 100% to be sure that they meet all the technical requirements necessary for stock photographs, I can tell you that there are more than a handful in this month’s Challenge that are worth a closer look.
Here’s how today’s game of “Stock or Not” works...
Note: As a stock inspector at istockphoto.com, I enlarge every photo that comes across my screen to 100% to check for flaws. As I can’t do that with the photos uploaded for our monthly Photo Challenge (they’re too small), I’ll just have to assume that they meet all the necessary technical requirements and judge them only on their subject matter, composition, and appeal.
Also Note: This video only discusses these photos in terms of their saleability as STOCK photographs. But just because a photo is not acceptable for stock, doesn’t mean it isn’t a great shot, or saleable to magazines, newspapers, and as fine art.
The model release requirements are different for stock, magazines, and fine art, too. So my comments on this video about model releases may only apply to this image if it’s sold as stock.
Click here to watch “Stock or Not?” and find out which photos from the Challenge make the cut: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/eletter/0905_stockornot.mov
[Ed. Note: If you’re getting some technical issues in your photos that make them hard to sell as stock, like motion blur, underexposure, and noise, it could be that you’re not setting your camera at its ideal settings. Grab a set of Photo Tip Cards and keep them with your camera gear at all times. Then, you’ll always have a little cheat sheet that can tell you which camera settings to use so you can get your best possible shot. Get a set here: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/tip/website
[ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shelly Perry from Portland, Oregon, specializes in people photography, what she calls documentary or lifestyle portraits. Her images are seen all over the globe on music CD covers, books, magazines, catalogues, web sites, ad campaigns and even on TV. Shelly will be with us at the Ultimate Stock Photo Workshop this October in Santa Fe. Find out more, here: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/santafe ]
****************************
(c) 2009 American Writers & Artists Inc.
245 NE 4th Ave., Ste 102
Delray Beach, FL 33483
Phone (561) 278-5557
Fax (561) 278-5929
memberservices@awaionline.com
To LEARN MORE, visit:
http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com
http://www.thephotographerslife.com
