The Key Ingredient For Success

 

Motivation is the key force in success whether it is in stock photography or any other endeavor!

 

Building A Stock Photography Career

In many ways building a stock photography career can be very simple. Create photos…get them online. What could be simpler than that? Of course, as they say, the devil is in the details. As in what images to shoot, how many to shoot, where best to get them distributed, how to keep production costs under control, how much pre, and post, production is appropriate. Hmmm, the list tends to on and on.

The Most Important Ingredient For Success: Motivation

As a matter of fact, the list, if you really want to excel in stock photography, gets quite daunting and even complex. To really rise to the top tier of stock shooters requires, at least in my opinion, undertaking a lot of tasks that one really doesn’t want to do. At least there are a lot of tasks that I have to do that I don’t want to!

Which brings me to that most important ingredient for stock photography success; If I had to list one ingredient that is most vital to success as a stock photographer it would be motivation.

Are You Willing To Do Whatever It Takes?

The question is: Are you willing to do whatever it takes to succeed? If the answer is yes, then you can succeed. If you aren’t the greatest photographer you can learn and get better. If you don’t know what to shoot the agencies will tell you, or you can learn to discern what the trends are and the needs are.  If you work flow is inefficient all it takes is time, dedication and the Internet to find a better way.

Dealing With Obstacles
Motivation enables you to deal with the obstacles to making a stock photography career viable. Patience and perseverance are examples of qualities necessary for success and requiring motivation to maintain. It took me ten years before I was earning enough money from stock to let go of my assignment work.  Are you willing to spend ten years working at something to reach a high level of success? Are you willing to take a hard look at what is holding you back…and then put the work in to eliminate those obstacles?

I Am Motivated; I will Find A Way

This is an ongoing exercise as well. Right now I am reviewing all of my contracts with my various second-shooters. They need updating. It isn’t something I want to do, but I know that if I don’t take care of it now I will pay for it later. I have now spent four years furiously working on building web traffic, something I really don’t want to be doing, but that I feel will ultimately be of significant importance. Too, while I am at an age where the temptation is to say that I have earned a rest, maybe even semi-retirement, I am setting new higher goals of production. In this case there is not just the struggle to produce more, but to do it in a way that doesn’t make it feel like a burden. But hey, I am motivated! I will find a way.

A Stock Photo Strategy

 

This "Social Media" image of two hands reaching for each other against a backdrop of hundreds of individual portraits is the result of setting aside time for experimentation.

 

A Strategy For Stock Photographers

One of the strategies for stock photographers that I firmly believe in is to continually stretch yourself in new directions by experimenting with no specific final image in mind. This is important for several reasons. First, only by experimenting and pushing yourself into new territory can you continue to grow as an artist, and experimenting without a hard and fast image in mind can open you up to new unexpected results. Secondly, copying your own best selling images is a questionable strategy because even if you are successful with your new versions, which in my own experience is highly doubtful, you will be cannibalizing your own work. Thirdly, by continually adding new directions to your stock photo collection you will be able to keep tabs on what type of treatments, subject matter, and style are good earners. And fourth, having a diverse body of work in your stock photos, like diversity in the world of investing, helps insure against the vagaries of the marketplace.

New Ideas And Directions

I spend a lot of time experimenting with combining various images from my archives.  Often these efforts result in new ideas that then give me direction for future shoots. In the case of my “social media out reach” above, I wanted to come up with a way to utilize my portrait mosaic in new ways. In the mosaic portraits I have over two hundred model released photos…and it represents a ton of work in both putting the mosaic together and in uploading releases to the stock agencies!

Experimenting  And Success

Experimenting does take time and doesn’t always yield immediate results. For this particular image I spent two days experimenting before the idea was fully formed. Then I had to photograph the hands and do the actual composite work. That was another half day. Finding, organizing and uploading the model releases took almost an entire day by itself! Not fun work either…. But like any investment, it is the continuing practice of experimentation that leads to success.

A Mosaic Portrait And Multiple Concepts

However, I did manage to come up with eight different images that share the mosaic portrait background so the effort is “amortized” sufficiently to insure that the effort was worthwhile…uh, I think. I will know in six months to a year when I see some the sales reports for a period of time.  Sometimes it takes several years for my images to reach a level of income that I regard as appropriate and successful.  In the case of this image of two hands reaching towards each other, there are many concepts that can be illustrated from social media connections, to social media as a charitable tool, to social networking friendships. There is no doubt that creative art directors and designers will figure out many other ways to use the image…er…at least I think they will!

Experimentation, Fun And A Pay Off

One final reason, at least for me, to experiment with my image making is that it is just plain fun…and fun is one of the reasons I was so drawn to stock photography in the first place! So whether you experiment in capture, or in post, go out, try something new and have some fun. In the long run it will really pay off.

Is The Stock Photo Industry A Train Wreck In Progress?

 

 Is the stock photo industry moving full-steam ahead, or is it a train wreck about to happen?

 

A Train Wreck About To Happen?

A lot of photographers see the stock photo industry as a train wreck in progress. They blame everything from the emergence of microstock to the ease of digital to the evil empires of Getty and Corbis. But is the industry really headed for disaster? Certainly the rampant change is enough to make any of jump the tracks. But there are opportunities…and I for one wouldn’t want to go back to the way it was (if it meant giving up digital capture, Photoshop and the Internet)!

Assessing Reality, Adapting To Change And Elbow Grease

Certainly a lot of barriers to entry have fallen away, an endless supply of images has brought the price points down and the competition is fierce. But from where I stand there is still ample room for images that can stand out from the crowd, though getting them seen is an ever-increasing challenge.  To compete successfully in this new arena requires a willingness to assess reality, adaptability to change, and one heck of a lot of elbow grease. It requires getting out of the caboose and into the engine…and not a steam locomotive but more of a modern bullet train (sorry about all the train references, but it is kind of fun seeing how many I can work in for SEO purposes).

Images That Are Needed And Stand Out

Right now (and this is subject to change) my approach is to create as many images as I comfortably can, that are clearly needed in the marketplace, and that stand out from their competition.  I then do my best to distribute those photos in ways that both offer me what I hope is protection from the relentless changes that are sweeping through the industry and the maximizing of revenue from that imagery. Of course, the whole undertaking gets ever more complex when trying to decide whether to shoot RF or RM, whether to pull into the microstock station, which agencies to distribute through, and whether to offer direct sales.

Blend Images, Getty, And Direct Sales

At this point I send the majority of my photography to Blend Images, an aggregator that offers great distribution including ever more penetration into the microstock audience (though at traditional pricing), gives me protection from relying on any one large stock agency, and provides much more support than I can get from other agencies. Disclaimer here…I am a part owner of Blend Images.  I can honestly say, though, that if I were not an owner I would still be distributing through Blend.  I am also continuing to submit to Getty, which is the 900-pound gorilla after all. Finally, though I have very few images that are not with agencies, I do make some direct sales, and stoke the fires of my agency sales, by getting my stock pictures up on my own site and linking them to the agencies that handle the images. I do see a significant number of people finding my images online and then following the links to the agencies…though it is very difficult to track the ultimate results.

Full Steam Ahead!

Do I think the stock photo industry is headed full-steam down the wrong track (have to keep getting those train references in…)?  No…because the reality is that the industry is headed wherever it is regardless of whether we view it as right or wrong. Our job is to keep an eye on it and switch our own track (did it again!) when appropriate. We need to use our creativity and critical thinking not just to make cool images, but also to understand and flow with the realities of our industry and continue full-steam ahead.

A Runaway Freight Train And A Successful Career

I can share this bit of positive anecdotal evidence. I do know one shooter who switched agencies from one of the “traditional” ones to Blend a little over four years ago and who is now making over $5000.00 a month in royalties from the new images submitted over those last four plus years. Her income is continuing to increase with almost each quarter…testimony that it is possible to carve out a successful career in stock photography even with the industry barreling along seemingly out of control like a runaway freight train and the economy having such trouble getting back on track.

The Challenge Of Getting Photos Seen

 

Who would ever think to search for a gorilla standing behind the help desk? 

Pigs Flying, Stampeding Longhorns, and Fire Breathing Dragons

Way back, over twenty years ago, when I first started making stock photos using Photoshop, pictures of pigs flying, stampeding longhorn cattle and fire breathing dragons, stock photos were marketed in catalogs. If your image made it into the catalog it got seen and it sold. My biggest fear when the industry began to transition out of catalogs and onto the Internet was that if my pictures weren’t seen they wouldn’t be licensed…and who would search for flying pigs? Especially twenty years ago when Photoshop was still new. 

Gorillas In The Office

That fear is still with me…and possibly still legitimate. When I created this Gorilla picture it brought that concern back to me. Out of curiosity I did a little keyword research. Do you know how many searches there are for “Gorilla in the office”? None.  Uh, who is going to search for “Gorilla at the help desk”? Or, “gorilla symbolizing poor service”? You see my problem. I have that issue with many of my images…maybe most of them! Frankly, sometimes I am surprised I make any sales at all!

Images That Depart From The Norm

Luckily people do search for “service desk” and  “help desk”, so it is important to make sure those keywords are emphasized on my website page that features that image. Of course, what is far more important for my own situation is getting images into the appropriate stock agencies. In the case of images that are a departure from the norm, and that may be difficult to find when searching for, it can be very important to have an agency with a sales staff that is familiar with their images and can help direct clients to my images…er I mean the appropriate imagery.

A Strong Brand And People Searching The Internet

Establishing a strong brand could possibly help, but again, with my core collection of only a thousand images the odds of my having the right image for any one client are pretty small. Further, the vast, vast majority of people searching for images on the Internet will never be aware of a given photographer’s “brand”. I believe the best strategy for increasing my sales is still getting the rankings high for each individual image on my site and hope for as much exposure as possible. If enough people see the image there will be a small percentage that will license it. Indeed, that does appear to happening.

Generating Traffic Through Relevant Keywords

In terms of getting the most visibility for my individual photos, SEO for Google search still appears to be the best route to go. I can see how social media such as facebook can work well for portrait or wedding photographers, but who searches for stock photos on facebook or twitter? Of course “likes”, “Tweets”, “Pins” and “+1”s can, at least in theory, add to the rankings of a page or site, but when I look at my analytics none of my top ranking pages, in terms of traffic generation, have any significant number of “likes” and such. Most have none.  I do engage in a smattering of social media efforts to keep my foot in the door, but IMHO there isn’t any better way of generating traffic for stock sales than through lots of relevant keywords worked into the text of an image page.

Do The Hard Work And Keep The Faith

Where was I…oh yeah, gorillas behind the help counter. Anyway, there doesn’t seem to be a perfect solution…heck, even decent solution.  And yet some of these “hard to search for” images are my best sellers. Despite all my misgivings people are finding them and are licensing them. If there is a moral here it is to do the hard work and keep the faith.

A Cannibal Cow And A Rights Managed Image

 

 This is not an easy image to use, probably won't generate frequent sales, and as such is better suited to a Rights Managed licensing model.

 

Cannibal Cows

A cannibal cow? This humorous Holstein could be saying “It’s an acquired taste…”, or “Chicken or Fish?”. Whatever the caption, I just love the image (of course, it could be that I am just too “close” to the image to get an accurate take on it). It did take me two days of Photoshop to complete, which is a lot longer than I am used to. Cows are hard!

A Rights Managed Image

This is one of those images that has been on my mind to do for some time…like about two years. It isn’t one that I have an easy time figuring out who could use it and for what. I do feel confident that creative art directors and designers will find a way to use it. But again, it probably isn’t going to be the kind of image that generates a lot of sales, and with a lot of production involved, I will be submitting this as a Rights Managed image.

Shooting The Components

As for shooting the components, I originally photographed the Holstein dairy cow for a humorous greeting card image.  I no longer remember when or why I shot the grass. The sky I shot in New Mexico for my archives, the grill fork I manufactured from a carving fork I had in my prop collection and the barbecue normally sits in my side yard at home but got a good cleaning for this shoot.

Cropping Formats, Copy Space And Extra Cows

In an attempt to make the image as easy to use as possible for potential users I composed it to work with any cropping format and included plenty of copy space. I felt like placing the two cows in the background added a sense of depth and a little complexity. The risk is that someone might want to use the image without them. I tried to place the cows where they could be cropped out for a vertical use of the image, say for a magazine cover.  I also had mixed emotions about the cloudy sky. The clouds make it more difficult to read any type that might be placed over the image, but every sky I tried without clouds just lacked pizzazz.

Digital Composites, Change, And Breathing

By the way, as much as I like this image, it may yet change. One of the good things, and the bad things, about digital composites is that you can keep changing them forever. As a matter of fact, I have found that anybody I ask about my images can almost always find something to change…that old “yes but…” thing. So if I get enough negative feedback I may modify it again. With that in mind I wont rush to get the image in to an agency…I’ll give it a little time to “breathe”, which is actually a good policy in general.

Shooting Stock For Your Book

 

If I had a portfolio I would have shot this speeding convertible sports car image for it! Since I only shoot stock I don't have to worry about a book. Getty rejected this image because it "looks like a product shot". Blend did accept it and it will be interesting to see if I am right in my expectation that it will sell well.

 

 Shooting For Your Book

As a professional photographer, or as an aspiring pro photographer, shooting for your book is a given. Eager assistant, working commercial photographer, or living legend, all photographers shoot for their “books”. What I have always found to be strange is that most photographers don’t consider the images they shoot for their portfolios to be stock photo material.

 A Fast Road To Nowhere

The same ingredients that go into a portfolio shot ( passion, production value, creativity and so forth), are the ingredients that make great stock photos. I think where a lot of shooters go wrong is in thinking that stock images should look like, well, stock images. In reality, shooting stock photos that look like what we all think stock photos look like is a fast road to nowhere.  In a market suffocating in sameness the images that stand out are the ones that have the best chance of earning significant revenue.

Portfolio Shots As Stock Photos

I believe that adding stock photography to ones photography business is a no brainer, and a great way to incorporate effective stock photography can be based around shooting for one’s book. It can be as simple as submitting that portfolio shot to an agency, or using the portfolio shoot as a springboard for stock. Once that portfolio image is captured a few additional variations, perhaps with a bit more obvious commercial application, can be added. It is almost like getting free images for your stock collection.

Fashion Magazines And Stock Photos

If you think your portfolio images are too “sophisticated” or abstract to make great stock images…think again. One good example to show how “out there” imagery can make for great stock can be seen in the work of  Elena Vizerskaya.  Elena’s work is about as “out there” as you can get. It is the kind of work you would expect to see in high end, cutting edge fashion magazines rather than in stock collections. Yet she is doing very well in stock…microstock no less!

Images That Stand Out From The Crowd

It makes sense though…with every passing day, and thousands of new uploaded pictures, it becomes increasingly important to produce photos that stand out from the crowd…images that can stop a viewer and compel them to read the advertisers message. Pictures like the ones we make for our portfolios.

Whatever It Takes

Next time you shoot for your book it might not be a bad idea to think of stock. And the next stock production you undertake, you might want to think a bit about your portfolio as well.  In either case doing whatever it takes to create images that you can truly be proud of is vital to success.

The Age of Instagram And Stock Photography

This "suspicious cat" (he knows me too well) is the type of picture I end up with when shooting with my iPhone! Oh well....

Cell Phones And Stock Photography 

The hot ticket these days seems to be image captured via phones through apps such as Instagram, Hipstamatic, and God knows how many more piling on by the second. There are stories of advertisers hiring Instagram shooters to shoot campaigns. Stock agencies are starting to have iPhone photo collections. Heck, there is even a new app that IS a stock agency for selling iPhone pictures http://foap.com/! Hey, remember when cell phones were in the picture…not taking them!

A Conundrum

Part of me is pretty excited about the rise of cell phone photography. I have always thought it would be the ultimate to have a pocket-sized camera that I could shoot stock with…a camera I could have with me all of the time. The conundrum comes about, for me, in that I don’t actually like taking pictures with my iPhone.

Cell Phone Cameras And Commercial Opportunities

My old eyes have a lot of trouble seeing what I am doing when trying to shoot with my iPhone; pressing the button at the right moment to make the capture is an elusive talent for me, and the opportunities to capture truly worthwhile imagery, in a commercial sense, seem far fewer than I would have imagined. While that may or may not be true for others, in my case my sense of what is “commercial” is severely restricted by my industry experience. For me a successful commercial image is one that commands numerous repeat licenses over a lengthy period of time. I just don’t seem to be seeing those opportunities as I walk around with my iPhone.

A Passion For Shooting (Not)

You can probably tell from what I am writing that I don’t have passion for shooting with a camera phone. Keep in mind that just about every successful photographer stresses the importance of passion in photographic achievement. Further, though the “Instagram Look” is the hot thing right now, that too will pass.

Embracing New Styles

Photography embraces new styles and looks, absorbs them, expands its repertoire and moves on.  I remember in the 90’s when the leading agency of the time, Tony Stone Images (now Getty Images), would stress the importance of new looks such as cross-processing, shallow depth of field, and a host of other looks.  The “Instagram Look” will doubtless hang around, and some may even do quite well with it. But I believe that, for me, it is only a distraction from what I do well and what I do with passion and what will keep me earning a good living producing stock photos.

A Camera With Me All The time

There is no doubt that having a camera with me all the time, one that is capable of producing images that the agencies handle, can be of benefit.  I am, reluctantly I admit, committed to learning to use my iphone camera. But that is more a belief in embracing change than in expectation that the iPhono will replace my dslr or even supplement it in any significant way. Of course, how many of us scoffed at the idea that pixels would replace film?

Shoot More Pictures!

I do hope that a ton of photographers embrace cell phone photography, particularly professionals engaged in creating stock images. The more of my competition that is spending their time shooting on cell phones the more my own work will stand out. So quite reading this, grab your cell phone, and go out and shoot some pictures!