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| A funny elephant hanging from a yellow balloon is a popular and effective stock photo...see below to find out why! |
Improbable and
Unexpected Elephants
One of the earliest of our improbable and unexpected
elephant photos is this stock image of a happy elephant hanging on to a yellow
balloon with his trunk as he floats serenely through a summer sky. A number of
factors work together to make this a successful stock photo.
The Unexpected
If you want to create a stock image that sells a good place
to start is with the unexpected. In a time where we are bombarded with images
to an almost unbelievable degree the unexpected can still stop us and have us
take that all-important second look. An elephant…floating in the sky? That is
unexpected.
Having Fun And A
Positive State of Mind
People enjoy seeing other people having fun (or at least
most of us do). It has been well established that positive images outsell
negative ones. In this case the elephant is wearing a happy smile…and the
viewer can’t help but feel a bit happier seeing that smile…though the whole
process happens subconsciously. Too, yellow of the balloon is a happy color…and
the sky reminds us of a carefree summer day. The entire image works together to
put us in a positive state of mind.
Sympathetic Subjects
The choice of the elephant itself as the subject is also
important. People naturally gravitate to elephants and elephants are known for
a number of positive traits. They are seen as loyal, noble, with excellent
memories and strong emotional bonds to their fellow elephants. We are all in
awe of their size, power and strength. On the whole, elephants are one of the
most positively viewed of all animals.
Contrasts
Another quality that can help produce a top selling stock
photo is that of contrast. In this case the contrast is between the lightness
of a balloon and the size and weight of the elephant. That is a contrast that is both fun to view and useful for a
lot of advertising and editorial messages.
Copy Space And
Cropping Options
This elephant stock shot has been crafted to facilitate easy
cropping to square, vertical or horizontal formats and always with ample copy
space for the addition of headlines and text. Making the image easy to use for
art directors, photo editors and graphic designers is always an important
consideration.
Hard To Duplicate
Images
Finally, to end up with a truly worthwhile stock image it
never hurts to create an image that is both unique and hard to duplicate. To
duplicate this image requires some appropriate, and hard to get, elephant
photography. We photographed this elephant with soft directional light (using a
huge silk to flag the sun) in order to facilitate the considerable Photoshop
work needed to achieve the appropriate look and body position. The Photoshop
work itself also makes the image more difficult to copy as not many people are
willing to put an entire day into creating one image for the speculative
venture of stock photography! To create this image, with the quality we
achieved, requires and elephant shoot, an appropriate sky, a balloon shoot, and
hours and hours of Photoshop work. Not a task for everyone.
Advertisements,
Editorials and Greeting Cards
This funny elephant stock photo has been used for greeting
cards, advertisements, and editorials and has certainly been well worth the
effort in producing it. Perhaps even more importantly, it has brought a smile
to thousands of people…and who can put a price on that!
