Secrets To Building A Successful Photography Career: e-book from Jim Pickerell

Jim Pickerell has a new e-book out...his frank assessment of the photography world facing those seeking to succeed as professional photographers.



Jim Pickerell, the leading pundit of the stock photo industry (Jim Pickerell Interview), has put together an e-book that I believe is a must read for anyone attempting, or thinking about becoming, a professional photographer. Jim has a reputation as someone who has, shall we say, ”negative” leanings? But perhaps that is an asset when it comes to putting together a book to help would-be pros take a good hard look at the profession that is calling to them.

Jim does a very thorough job of laying out the current scene in professional photography, particularly the stock photo industry. If you are going to make it in this career you have to be aware of the realities…and have the determination to overcome all of the challenges. I think it is far better to be aware of the potential pit falls and to be prepared, than to underestimate the difficulties that lay ahead. Few people are as qualified to prepare a photographer for the worst as Jim!

Jim’s book, Secrets To Building A Successful Photography Career,  is a compilation of articles he has written for his stock photo news letter Selling Stock. If you subscribe to his newsletter you probably don’t need to buy the book…but nonetheless I enjoyed being able to read it again in book form. We seasoned pros may not agree with all of Jim’s conclusions but his research is extensive, organized and great food for thought.

At the end of the book is a section that pulls from comments left on his site by photographers who share a brief bit each about their experiences of life as a freelance photographer. All in all, the book is a fun and informative read. You can get the book for a 20% discount (full price is $25.00) if you order by December 1st and use the discount code “S98TO43CK” when you submit your order.

A disclaimer here…I make nothing off the book.

For more information about the book go to http://tinyurl.com/397yfyd.

Scarcity and Abundance in Stock Photography

Coming from a point of scarcity I would never have spent the time on this funny Chihuahua DJ photo...but coming from a place of abundance creates a more satisfying, and I believe, self-fulfilling experience.

Scarcity or Abundance?

I think a very appropriate question for us to ask ourselves in our current stock photo environment is whether we are thinking along the lines of scarcity or abundance…are we moving towards opportunity or shrinking from adversity?

Important Steps For Our Photography Businesses

Cutting back on overhead, shrinking waste and minimizing our expenses are all important steps to be taking in our photography businesses. But those steps will only take you so far…they are limited. Earning more money, while perhaps a difficult challenge, is really not limited. The sky is the limit! OK, maybe your time and imagination are the limits…but the opportunity is light years ahead of what you can achieve by cutting back.

Learning, Analyzing, Expanding

Are you learning new things that will help you be more productive or to create images that your competitors cannot? Are you analyzing what the market wants so that you can better fulfill real needs? Are you expanding your imagination and creativity to create images that have a “WOW!” factor that will command attention, get you work, and stand out from the crowd?

A Studio and a Creative Boost

I have a small studio that I work out of. It costs me around $2,500.00 a month to maintain. I have occasionally thought about working from home and saving that $30,000.00 a year. That is a sizeable chunk of change. But when I think about the creative boost that I get from having the space, the ease with which I can leave ideas in progress up as I work on them, and the increased likely hood that I will actually do a shot rather than put it off because I don’t have a suitable place to undertake it, I realize that I am better off keeping the studio.

Funny Chihuahuas, Silly Dog Images and Belief in Abundance

The funny Chihuahua “DJ” image above is a good example of thinking of abundance in the case of an individual image. I spent over a day just on the Photoshop work…that is an awfully long time to spend on a stock photo…particularly on a silly animal image. From a place of scarcity I might be telling myself to move on. After all, if we focus too much on declining RPIs we might come to the conclusion that quantity, pumping more images out, is the prime necessity. When that thought came to mind I reminded myself that I believe in abundance. I do believe that whether we see the future as one of abundance, or one of scarcity…we are right! And to actually create a stock photo future that is abundant for me I need to create the best images that I am able to…not to pump out more mediocrity, but to strive in every image to create something unique and excellent.

Create The Future You Want

If you spend the majority of your time cutting expenses and worrying about the demise of our profession, then you won’t be taking the steps necessary to create the future you do want. It is natural to worry when we stock shooters are faced with the daunting circumstances of an oversupply of imagery, of microstock pricing, and of competing with every amateur in the world. But it is vital that we pull ourselves out of that vicious circle and focus on creating imagery that uplifts our entire profession, that fills us with a sense of pride and accomplishment, that we create images that will rise above the vast sea of ordinary photography that surround us and stand out enough to be seen and licensed!

A big thanks to Shalom Ormsby for lending me his extremely talented Chihuahua Bodhi!

A Series of Portraits For Stock Photography

Putting aside time to create images that stand out from the crowd, such as this stock photo of an executive in a high tech environment, is important for thriving in a market saturated with imagery."

Stock Photography and the Music Business

It occurred to me the other day that the stock photography business has a lot in common with the music business. There is no shortage of musicians or photographers, but there is a shortage of those who do either discipline extremely well. In either case the chance of earning a living from such endeavors is just a tad bit daunting. That isn’t going to change…it is just going to get more challenging. That isn’t to say it’s not possible because it is possible. I am doing it…and many, many others are too. It does require what to me seems occasionally like an inordinate amount of dedication and drive. Thank god I love doing this because if I didn’t absolutely thrive on the process I would surely have quit long ago.

A Series of Portraits for Stock Photography

Part of what keeps me going is the “high” I get when I create an image that meets my requirements of applicability to the market and being fun to look at. Then I unabashedly sit and stare at my images, just enjoying them, for an embarrassing amount of time. I am mentioning this because I just caught myself staring at, and enjoying, a series of portraits I created for stock photos in the last couple of days.

Stock Shoot Out takes and Abstract Light Patterns

I have mentioned before that I believe in setting aside time to just “play” and explore and see where my imagery leads me. That time can either be behind the camera or behind the computer (or both). In this case it was behind the computer. I began by looking through the out takes of my last few stock shoots to see if something sparked an idea. I stopped at an executive portrait of an older, and very regal looking, African American model. He had this great look of self-assurance and the bearing of someone obviously in charge. I photographed him on a white background. I decided to start with this gentleman and see where I could take it. As I looked for suitable backgrounds I ran across some of my experiments with lights photographed with long shutter speeds to create abstract patterns. These abstract patterns look very “High Tech” to me, and indicative of technology, communications, the Internet and such.

An Executive Comfortable with Technology and the Future

I stripped out the executive and pasted him into one of my light patterns, then used a layer mask to fade him in and out of the lights.  I ended up with multiple layers and modes that, to me, speak of an executive comfortable with technology and ready to lead his enterprise into the future.  Even better…it just looks cool!

A Series of Images

My next thought was that if I could come up with a series of such images I could give an advertiser the opportunity to base a campaign around the images. I went back and found four other portraits I have done over the last few months and combined them with various other “light patterns”.  It is interesting, at least to me, to note that of the five models three I found through Internet casting agencies, one sat next to me on a flight back from New York, and one is a waitress at a nearby restaurant. OK...that doesn't have much to do with the price of tea in China...but I thought I'd throw it in there anyway!

Art Directors, Designers and Rights Managed Imagery

At any rate, these strike me as images that probably won’t sell a gazillion times…and that are a bit of a stretch for an art director or designer to work into and ad or brochure. With that in mind I submitted these photos to Blend Images under the Rights Managed category. Will they be worth the effort? I’ll let you know in a couple of years!

Dealing with Stock Photo Anxiety...And Flying Pigs!

The Swine Flew! Nothing makes me feel better than creating an image...especially one that brings a smile to peoples faces!

Social Media, The Declining Stock Photo Market, and Anxiety!

One thing I am having a hard time doing is separating the anxiety from my work. Anxiety-inducing stimuli seem to be everywhere…at least for me. The ubiquitous and never-ending bad news about the decline of stock photography is obviously one of those factors. There are many other such stimuli constantly assaulting me as well…everything from social media to the economy to image theft.

Images on Facebook, Google Formulas and Exploding Video

Just this morning I was reading an email exchange in which the fear of posting images on facebook was being debated. Geez…I have been posting some of my blogs, complete with images, on facebook…gulp!  I also just finished reading about how facebook is going to change advertising…will I get a share of that…will my images be used…or is this another step towards oblivion for advertising photographers? Anxiety!  At any moment Google can change their formula and presto chango…two years of intense work might be gone! Eeek! Speaking of Google, I read this morning that they are predicting that 50% of all online ads will have video by 2015…OMG…I really have to get on the video bandwagon! It goes on and on…relentlessly.

 Stolen Images, Flickr and Policing My Work

What got me thinking about this was a forum post I just read in which the person posting was requesting ideas about how to “go after” someone who had stolen his images, posted them on flickr and was offering free downloads of them. I can certainly identify with this as many of my funny animal pictures are all over the web and offered as free e-cards, screen savers, prints and more. I don’t believe many of these cases of theft are worth the effort to go after. The people infringing aren’t really making any money…and often I can’t even figure out how to contact them! If I really try to police my work it will take up every second of my time…anxiety!!!

 Dealing With Anxiety

At any rate, after reading that person’s post I suddenly became aware that I was in a rather intense state of anxiety…and I certainly don’t want to live my life in a state of anxiety. The best ways I have learned to deal with my own doubts is to first become aware that I am in such a state, secondly, take a deep breath and relax a bit, and thirdly, if I still need to do something to get to a better place, do one of three things. First, I can do some exercise…preferably something fun like a good fast-paced game of Ping Pong (I kid ­­you not…I LOVE ping pong!); Secondly, I can review my plans to stay successful. It really relaxes me to know that I have a plan in place…it gives me a sense that I do have at least some influence on my own destiny. And finally, make an image! Today, once I recognized I was in a state of anxiety, I stopped doing everything else and made the image at the top of this post. It is a photo I have been planning on doing for a while and it can work both as a stock image and for inclusion in my series of funny animal pictures. Perhaps most importantly, it makes me smile!

Think of all The Photos I Could Make!

Of course, another way I could deal with my anxiety is to stop listening to the news, reading forums and checking my e-mail.  I could get rid of twitter and delete my facebook account. Wow, think of all the images I could make then!­­

A Designer's Blog, Responsibility and Value

The Lion costs $5,000.00 to rent, and the bulldog $125.00, and if no one is willing to pay for value in stock photos, images like this "intimidation" photo will not be available when they are needed.

A Designer’s Blog

I was reading a designer’s blog today. She was advocating that fellow designers stop using iStockphoto for their photography needs because iStockphoto’s prices had risen too high. She pointed out that an image that costs $12.00 to $15.00 at iStockphoto could be licensed from other agencies for $5.00 to $10.00. She went on to point out that iStock’s new commission structure was also unfair to its artists. I think she was missing something very important…and it has nothing to do with royalties paid to artists or photographers.

Photographers, Designers, Art Directors and Responsibility

As I was reading this call to boycott iStockphoto I kept thinking that her whole premise is skewed. I believe that as a professional stock photographer I have a responsibility to provide great images that solve communication problems and challenges. I owe it to my industry and fellow photographers to produce the best and most creative work I can…not the cheapest images. I would propose that a designer, or art director, or art buyer, has the responsibility to get the best value for their client…not the cheapest picture. You can license the cheapest picture…or heck, shoot it yourself, but that might not be…I would guess probably won’t be…the best image for helping the client’s communication needs get filled. Sure, price plays a role, but that role should be secondary to the client’s best interest. The client’s best interest is in having effective communications!

Limited Possibilities and Compelling Visuals

If $12.00 is too high for this designer to even consider, then she is certainly going to limit the possibilities for having visuals that are actually compelling…that can really help move a prospect towards a favorable action. Designers and art directors (and yes account people and so forth) with this mentality are depriving their clients of getting the best value, and of having advertising and design that truly works. Designers (and art directors, art buyers and so forth) that have such a mind-set are also helping to move the entire industry towards mediocrity and malaise. If photographers can't earn enough to shoot images with high production value...and potentially limited uses...then when a designer, art director or client needs such an image it won't be there.

A Photo’s Value Is More Important Than Price

I created an image for a friend of mine to help advertise his house painting business. We put a lot of effort into the image…one of my silly animal photos. Even as a friend I asked for, and got, a thousand dollars for my effort. But the image was worth it. Later, while sharing the success of the mailing with me, he also told me it was the first mailing he had ever done that no one had replied asking to be taken off his mailing list! Now I am not saying that everyone has to spend a thousand dollars or more on their images (though even $50,000.00 for the right image can be a great value), but I am suggesting that the value a client receives is more important than the price paid for an image. I am also suggesting that it is the designer or art director’s responsibility to find an image that offers the best value to a client…even if it costs a staggering…say…$16.00!

A Concept Business Stock Photo: Behind the Image

A woman is delighted by her computer experience in this business concept stock photo.

Stock Photo of Multiple Business Oriented Concepts

OK, so you want to create a dramatic stock photo with multiple business-oriented concepts centered on the positive aspects of computer use such as fast Internet, exciting content, discovery, productivity and so forth. You get the picture. That was my motivation when I set out to create a stock picture using an African American woman as my "business" model.

Business Woman Impacted By Technology

As I usually do these days I came up with a central or "hero" idea for my shoot and then built the rest of the shot list around that. In this post we will just deal with that "hero" image. The hero image on my shot list was actually intended to be a woman executive in a pensive pose pondering the future against a dramatic backdrop of a storm. As so often happens though, a different image became my favorite; a businesswoman executive impacted by technology.

A Cubicle Beckons

A business cubicle was already set up in my studio, left over from a previous stock shoot. I bought a set of used cubicle sections (or whatever you call them) that I often use for these kinds of shots…then once I set it up it is hard to get motivated to take it down. It sits there for weeks beckoning me to keep shooting office scenarios. Currently I have it set up in a storage room of my studio. It is small but I can shoot in there.

A Computer Display, Flying Hair…and What?

Getting back to this image, I knew I wanted our model to be seated in front of the computer display with her head back, her hair flying and her hands up in surprise. The only thing I really hadn't figured out yet was what was coming out of that display that was having such an impact on her. Well, I’d figure that out later….

Cloud Computing, Data Management or Fast Internet

I photographed the scene with the model and the monitor in position, then again with the monitor replaced with a large fan to get at least some movement in her hair. As I combined the two shots in Photoshop, and added the exterior windows and storm clouds, I still hadn't figured out what was going to be coming out of the display to show all the wonderful possibilities that potentially lay within. “It” could be anything from cloud computing, to web based meeting capabilities to data management to technology to just plain fast Internet…but how to show “it”?

Combining Airbrushing and Lens Flare Filter

I tried some colored light streaks combined with items such as papers, CDs and so forth, but the results weren't working out very well. I did kind of like the feeling of light, of a sort of glow coming from the display so I played with just streaks of white light coming out. It started to look pretty cool so I kept playing with the light…different densities and shapes, until I had the desired affect. The final look is actually the result of a combination of airbrush strokes with white "paint" and using a layer mask to selectively reveal a lens flare filter effect. I am really happy with the final look. There is definitely a powerful feeling of something significant inside the computer…and the model’s expression leaves no doubt that the force is a positive one.

Business Adversity and Challenge…Your Product and a Stock Photo

The image is obviously a business situation, a businesswoman discovering a new app or program or (your product or service here) and being absolutely blown away by it. The storm clouds indicate challenge and adversity that is a constant in the business world.  You can't help but want to know more about what is going on…and that makes for a good stock photo.

Motion Stock vrs. Still Photos

This high-speed (slow motion) stock video of a towel snapping a woman's buttocks has generated over 42,000 views...but no revenue.

Youtube, A Snapping Towel, and 42,000 Views
Just checked in on my videos at youtube. I don't do that very often so I was surprised to see that one of my videos has had over 42,000 views. Considering the next highest is just over 6,000, (slow motion video of a dove released into flight) that little statistic caught my attention. It figures that video clip garnering all of the hits is of a woman's buttocks being snapped by a towel. All the videos I have posted are slow motion ones shot with a Phantom HD camera at 1,000 frames per second. When the towel smacks into her derriere and is captured in super slow motion it is kind of interesting to see the woman's flesh ripple. Ouch! BTW, this idea, and the buttocks, belong to my partner Stephanie Roeser. Can you imagine your girl friend asking you to snap her in the bottom with a towel, and videotape it? Ah, the life of a photographer!


The World of Motion, Exploration and Who Knows
I have also ventured a step further into the motion world with this video of an exploding light bulb, again in slow motion, that transforms into one of those CFL "twisty" eco florescent bulbs. I envision this as a environmental message indicating that you can make a powerful difference with small steps…such as replacing your old bulbs with energy efficient bulbs…but in a dramatic fashion. The twisty bulb is actually a still shot, the same one I used for my "brain bulb" image. You can import still images right into Final Cut Pro. Hey, another way for me to spend hours and hours glued to a computer! I have no idea if there is a market for this video or not, but it did prove a useful vehicle for me to explore just a bit more deeply into the motion world, and who knows, maybe it will sell (license). I am going to submit this one to BlendImages as part of their new and growing motion offering.


Time, Effort and Pathetic Returns
My video offerings at Getty (I have just under 200 clips) have been bringing in a very approximate $750.00 a month. While that might at first glance seem pretty good, if you look at the time, effort and money invested, it is actually kind of pathetic. At that rate I will have the expenses covered in only the next five years. On top of that, I am sharing the revenue with several others who were involved in the projects with me. So if any of the videos are still earning money five years from now I may start getting $250.00 a month in profit, but by then I can't imagine the revenue will still be that high. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the slow-motion project (most of the online clips) and learned a lot. But you can see why I might not be diving head-first into the motion game! If something changes and the revenue stream really takes off I will report that here. Doubtless there are those out there with a much better experience than my own, but for me the still stock image remains the more viable option at this time.


Stock Motion, Challenges, and Microstock Competition
There is little doubt in my mind that video can be a real plus for assignment photographers to have as part of their offering. But when I look at stock video, or perhaps I should say motion stock, I see some real challenges. Video is much more difficult to capture well, more time consuming to deal with in editing, almost impossible to "save" in post (we once shot a beautiful video of a woman jogging up a hill and passing in front of the setting sun, back at the studio we realized that just as she passed in front of the sun a camera bag was visible in the frame, oh well) and is already being flooded with microstock competition. I personally think that most videos will be short, custom produced ones with a minimal reliance on existing footage. I will continue to "visit" that world from time-to-time just in case that market turns out to be far more robust than I envision, but for the vast majority of my own efforts I will stick to still images.