Corny, but eye catching, this stock photo illustrates concepts of security and safety for seniors.
What To Shoot For Stock Photography
Collections
When trying to determine what to shoot
for your stock collections, it isn’t a bad idea to try and anticipate what
images are going to be needed in the near future. The further out you try to
anticipate the greater the chances you will miss, yet if you don’t push the
envelope enough your imagery will fall into that great morass of middle
ground where its chances of standing out enough to succeed will be all too small. Another strategy is to try and come up with unique, but obviously useful
imagery for concepts that are important in significant segments of the market, concepts that are
both current and timeless.
The Needs Of Seniors
One such category of opportunity is
found in the needs of seniors. Our “mature” population is burgeoning, and is faced
with tremendous challenges on all fronts, from medical costs to health issues
to insurance needs and even to the proliferation of scams that the ongoing
transition from the world our seniors knew to the new digital age that is
engulfing us all, is proving fertile ground for. It was with all the threats
that face our seniors (ahem, guess that includes me…), that I came up with the
idea of creating an image illustrating the concepts of safety and security,
applied to seniors, and doing so in a way that could capture a viewer’s
attention.
A Senior Woman Knitting...With A Twist
In my last photo shoot I included an
image of a senior woman knitting...for which I planned a "twist". I didn’t spend a lot of time on the shot,
just had her sit on an office chair with a basic lighting set up and fired off
a dozen frames or so. As she had white hair, and was against a white
background, I had my partner Stephanie hold up a blue yoga matt behind her head
(hey, it was handy), to allow for an easier job in stripping out her hair. I
actually don’t know if that was the best way to go about in dealing with the
hair…but it worked.
A quick shot of a mature woman knitting to be stripped out and composited with a Lion, in a penthouse.
A Lion And A Buenos Aires Penthouse
In my archive I retrieved an image of a Lion I had photographed in my studio years ago, and a photo of a couch shot in
a Buenos Aires penthouse. It took me a couple of hours with Photoshop to
combine the elements into what I believe is a visually compelling picture that
shows a happy senior relaxing in the pursuit of her interests and secure in the
knowledge that she has a potent advocate, a protector or guardian, if you will,
that few would want to “mess” with.
Corny…But Fun!
Okay, a bit corny…but fun nonetheless.
Having her knitting actually adds to the humor and makes it clear that she
represents the “retired” community. She is in an upscale environment that is
important in representing her as successful and in control. The lion at her
feet is alert and vigilant…a powerful symbol of strength and protection. This
image is ambiguous enough to apply to a wide range of services and products for
seniors, yet is unequivocal in its positive message of strength and security on
the behalf of seniors.
Rights Managed, Royalty Free And Old
Paradigms
The image is a bit on the sparse side,
but is a quick read even at thumbnail size. I crafted it so that it can be
cropped as a vertical for a magazine cover, or horizontal for a spread, or even
a square. I think this image would do well as either an RF or RM image. I chose
RM because (I will be honest here) of my natural bias for Rights Managed
images. It might do better as an RF image because of the larger pool of people
willing to use RF images. But hey, I get a higher percentage with RM, and I do
have the excuse of having a fair amount of “post” work and having the King of
Beasts included, something that did, after all, cost me a considerable penny
back when I rented him. Still, I may will be guilty here of a classic case of
clinging to old paradigms. Oh Well….
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