Anatomy of a Stock Image #1

Cloud computing and communications technology are both illustrated by this image of vivid streaks of colored lights cutting through high altitude cloud formations.

Anatomy Of A Stock Image #1

This is the first of a series of blog posts I am undertaking in which I will share a stock image I have created along with the thinking and strategy behind it.

Cloud Computing And Communications Technology

Cloud computing and communications technology are the primary concepts behind this stock image created for Blend Images. When I set about creating new stock photos I try and come up with ideas based around significant need. In the cases of both cloud computing and communications technology, there is clear need. One of the challenges is, though, that such concepts are hard to illustrate. I do believe that in this case I have come up with an elegant solution.

Clouds And Streaks Of Light

Clouds, combined with streaks of light, are, I believe, a quick read for “cloud computing”, the obvious part being the inclusion of clouds in the image. I decided to have the clouds be storm clouds to help illustrate the idea of the challenges posed in cloud computing. After all, a company that needs to advertise their cloud computing products and services are doing so because they can help potential clients overcome such obstacles or difficulties.

Color, Movement, And Streaming Data

The streaks of light not only add visual interest (due to their intense color and movement), but also because they make a great metaphor for streaming data and networking. Even wireless communications can be seen in the light streaks. Energy, motion and speed are all seen in those vivid arcs of colored lights as well. What we then have is a stock image that is quite versatile in what art directors, designers and photo editors can use it for. Further, the image is also quite flexible as well in that there is plenty of copy space and the image can be cropped into any format. The image can even work as a banner ad.

Cloud Computing And Possibilities

The lights that knife through the clouds are seen weaving in and out of the cloud cover adding a sense of depth to the image.  The lines are yellow, blue and magenta and arc across the image angling upwards to the right. Having the lines move upwards adds in the idea of a positive graph and growth and further supplementing the sense of possibilities that exist in cloud computing, communications technology, and networking.

Adding Visibility

Again, I cannot predict the success, or lack of it, for any one stock image, but I am confident that I have covered the basics with this image giving it a fighting chance to stand out in a crowded marketplace and with come clear applications in mind. Some might leave at that placing the responsibility for getting adequate visibility for the shot on the stock agency. I am, however, adding further visibility by adding the image to mywebsite and blogging about it. In this brave new world of stock photography one can no longer afford to be complacent, but must, in fact, be extremely pro active in getting eyeballs on one’s imagery.     

A Cloud Computing RF Image

I chose the Royalty Free category for this image because it was relatively easy to create, can be used for a wider variety of messages, and because, well, I want to have the bulk of my stock photo contributions to be RF content because of the much wider audience for RF over RM.

Blend Images

For any of you not familiar with Blend Images, it is a photographer owned agency (disclaimer…I am one of the owners) with a cutting edge web site, a tightly edited collection of relevant and creative images, and is currently offering a 25% discount on licenses when using the promo code JL-PROMO2016. Even if you don’t need to license an image Blend’s highly curated library is a great place to browse images for inspiration…or just to enjoy the visual delight! Check it out: http://www.blendimages.com                            

New stock photo website and 25% off

New curated stock photography from BLEND IMAGES, a new website, and 25% off licensing fees for a limited time...better check it out!

Need images for print, web use or social media campaigns? Tired of the same old stock photo sources?

There is a stock photo agency that is photographer owned, has an awesome highly curated collection, including both RF and RM imagery, and has new streamlined pricing for both Royalty Free and Rights Managed uses.

Blend Images, founded by 23 leading stock photographers, has an entirely new website that makes viewing imagery a joy. It is a great place to see truly high-end photography from world-class photographers that span the globe.

Blend now includes almost 200 hand-picked photographers from all over the world. From concepts to kids to lifestyle, Blend has the good stuff without having to wade through millions of mediocre (at best) images. Blend has probably the strongest multicultural collection in the world and a library that is constantly updated with photography that benefits from the close relationships between Blend art directors and Blend photographers.

Celebrating their new website Blend Images is currently offering a 25% discount on stock licensing using the promo code JL-PROMO2016, but only for a limited time. Go on...take a peek!

3 moves for stock photo success

More than ever stock shooters need to value quality over quantity, and search is fast becoming more important than the quantity of content.

Search Is King

Word on the street is that buyers are increasingly turning to boutique stock sites where they can see more quality images and have less quantity to have to wade through. Search is becoming more important than quantity…though agencies still seem compelled to promote the number of images they have. So what can we, as individual stock shooters, do about this inundation of imagery that sucks the earning power out of our own collections?

I see three things that we can do to combat the tsunami of stock photos deluging the marketplace:

Quality Over Quantity

First, focus on quality not quantity. Obviously the more great images you have the better, but now is the time, more than ever to focus on quality. And by quality I mean images that are truly needed…not the low hanging fruit that any one with a new DLSR can go out and shoot in the spare time…but rather the images that truly need some effort. The images that will rise to the top are the ones created from the effort of casting, of prime locations, and with styling and propping and careful post-production work. It is the images that rise above the ordinary that will attract viewers, rise in the search ranks because of sophisticated algorithms, and have a correspondingly long life resulting in the multiple sales that will determine the success of both the shoot and the shooter!

Promote Your Imagery

Second, promote your imagery. Whether you do it via social media, the Internet, or even printed catalogs, if your images don’t get seen they won’t earn you money. If you can generate sales directly, wonderful. In my case I don’t actually want to deal with direct sales so I promote my images via my website and direct potential buyers to the agencies that carry the work. It is working for me. I get thousands of dollars a month more because of those efforts. And remember, by driving viewers to your images on an agency site you will bring those images up higher in the search insuring yet more views of those images. The great Jim Erickson even prints a thick catalog of his stock images just like the agencies used to do back in the day. One of the few Getty photographers I know who is doing well…really well…attributes it to his facebook ad campaign.  However you do it, be proactive in getting your work in front of prospective buyers!

The Right Stock Agency

Third, pick the right stock agency(s). It is tempting to sign with any agency that sends you a nice invitation praising your work, but do your research before signing. Talk to photographers that they represent. Is that agency really working for them? Does your work fit in with the agency (Stocksy, for example, turned me down)? Is that agency on a growth path (sales…not quantity of images)? What kind of guidance does the agency offer? How challenging is it to upload your images (and do you have to do your own key wording etc.)? Be thorough…your livelihood depends on it!

Blend Images And Curated Collections

Blend Images (of which I am a part owner), for example, has what I believe is a very smart strategy. They offer broad distribution through channels such as Getty, Masterfile, Gallery Stock and many others (including imagery with some microstock agencies at traditional RF prices)...and their own tightly edited collection of images. We Blend I get that broad distribution AND the attraction to art buyers of a boutique agency.I think it is the right approach at this time for success in stock photography. But again, I also work very hard to get my images exposure via my website, and link back to both Blend and Getty. I am also stepping up my efforts to gain visibility via social media. Wish me luck!

New Streamlined Rights Managed Licensing

A new approach to Rights Managed imagery offers a simpler and streamline approach to licensing imagery.


A Simplified Approach To Rights Managed Imagery

We all hate paper work and complexity, and Rights Managed imagery has a reputation for being complex and unwieldy. But that is changing.

Blend Images is pioneering, or perhaps re-pioneering, a new way to approach Rights Managed imagery (Getty tried “Rights Ready” years ago but it was still too unwieldy and ultimately was abandoned). RM, as it is known, was the original model for stock photography, but has fallen far behind in volume to RF (Royalty Free) and microstock (which is simply lower-priced RF).

High Prices And Complex Fees

Part of the popularity of RF imagery over RM is that RM has the reputation, if not always the reality, of higher price points. Of course, after getting a lot of my sales reports it sometimes seems to me that RM can underbid any RF image (RF images are sold by image size)! I have actually had RM sales in which my share came to 4 cents…more than once! But perhaps an even bigger problem in today’s world for RM images lies in the complexity of the fee structure.

Pricing RM

Have you ever gone to Getty’s site (or for that matter any RM site) and priced RM? Yikes! It is complicated, frustrating and time-intensive. I find it intensely irritating to be trying to come up with all the various parameters only to, at some point in the process, to be stumped as to what category, industry or specific application that is offered in the pull down menus fits my unique needs. You also need to know such things as the duration of the use, size of the use, print run numbers and circulation figures. It is enough to turn one to RF!

Making RM Simple

Blend Images has come up with a new approach that makes licensing RM imagery much simpler. They are offering a series of bundles of rights that greatly simplifies the licensing process. If you need exclusive use then one can talk to a sales person. There will always be a need for Rights Managed imagery…in my own case I have exclusive agreements with greeting card companies so I cannot offer my humorous animal images as RF. And many clients just don’t want to risk having their competition using the same images. Now those clients have an option that can fill their need for RM photos that approaches RF in terms of simplicity of licensing.

RM Licensing Bundles

On the Blend site you can choose either “editorial” or “commercial”. If you choose editorial you then can choose “Cover” or Digital Non-cover. Next you choose and “industry” and finally “duration”. It is even simpler than it sounds. If you choose “commercial”, you get a choice of three different bundles and a forth that includes “all commercial uses”. You gain choose an “industry” and a “duration” that ranges from one to five years. This is going to change how creatives view Rights Managed imagery!

A Discount On Your Stock Photo Licenses

And for those of you who are interested in checking the new pricing out, whether you need RF or RM, if you use the discount code JL-PROMO2016 you can get a 25% discount on any stock image you license on the Blend site. As a matter of fact, tell your friends and co workers as well (disclaimer…I too get a bonus when that discount code is used). Hey, what are you waiting for!

Ideas, The Biggest Stock Photo Challenge

Ideas, The Biggest Stock Photo Challenge

My biggest challenge, as a stock photographer, is coming up with ideas that I believe are both needed in the marketplace and are different or better than what is already available. I believe that there are an unlimited number of such ideas out there, even though I am constantly afraid I have come up with my very last decent one.  So what are some ways I tap into various resources to generate new imagery?

Setting The Intention And Writing Ideas Down

Well, first, I spend an inordinate amount of time looking at photos. I set the intention to come up with ideas and then start looking at imagery. I Google images, I peruse my own files and I search stock photo sites. Sooner or later an idea will surface usually followed by a couple of more.  Now it isn’t unusual for me to find an idea lacking that I thought was terrific the day before…and then to find a new appreciation for the idea on yet another day.  Keeping that in mind, and the fleeting nature of ideas, I keep a pad and pencil, or word document open, and write down the ideas as they come to me.

Cloud Computing And A Tug Of War

In the case of this tug of war/cloud computing image, I was checking out my own archives. At some point the cloud image caught my eye. I made a mental note of the clouds, keeping it in mind as I continued to roam through my files. BTW, I use Adobe Bridge for that purpose. Eventually I ran across an image of a tug of war match between two groups of business people and immediately realized that I could have the competition taking place in “TheCloud”. It would create a visually interesting image with all kinds of concepts. And it is great to have a stock image that can work for multiple concepts!

Teamwork, Challenge And Visual Metaphors

“The Cloud” is becoming so pervasive with so many activities and implications that it requires numerous visual metaphors for use in advertising and editorial communications. In this case some of the possible concepts include teamwork, challenge, competition and determination. One important idea is that the cloud, like everywhere in the business world, requires teamwork, strength and endurance to succeed.

Intention, Visual Research, Execution And Distribution

Now I have no idea how successful this stock image may or may not end up being, but the technique I used to come up with it, intention and visual research (looking at images) is at the core of my stock photo business.  Come up with enough ideas, execute them at a minimal cost, and get them into distribution and success is still attainable in stock photography!

Shooting Stock For Whats Hot

A virtual or digital assistant is represented in this stock photo seeking to cash in on hot concept.

Creating Imagery That Is In Demand

Part of succeeding as a stock photographer is in creating imagery that is in demand…and ideally, images that are both in demand and have less competition. One way to achieve that is by creating concept images that for new, important ideas. This image of a pixilated butler was created with just such a concept in mind; the digital or virtual assistant.

Virtual and Digital Assistants

I became aware of the growing importance of virtual assistants in a recent Kickstarter campaign I was involved in.  Successful crowdfunding campaigns invariably make extensive use of virtual assistants...and crowdfunding is hot (hmmm...more fodder for stock ideas)!  Also, as the world increasingly moves towards the cloud the use of digital and virtual assistants will no doubt increase…and the need for imagery that can advertise and editorialize about such assistants will also ramp up.

Butlers And Pixels

As I thought about how to illustrate the idea of a digital assistant I thought of a butler. A butler is an iconic symbol of service. Pixels are iconic symbols of a digital world. Combine them and you have a perfect metaphor for virtual assistants! In my files I already had a photograph of myself as a butler. I stripped that image out and put it into a corporate lobby setting. Then I “pixilated” the image by taking small squares out of the butler and repositioning them. The butler can be seen as forming from the cloud, or dispersing into a networked environment.

Vertical, Horizontal And Copy Space

The image was composed to allow for cropping to square, vertical or horizontal uses with ample copy space for the needs of art directors, designers or photo editors. The result is a flexible image that can illustrate a wide variety of concepts around digital, personal and virtual assistants. Time will tell if it actually becomes a successful stock image or not.

The Important Stock Photo Question: What Else?

In this image about creativity, ideas and imagination, a light bulb, released from a cage, rises up to a sky filled with the rays of the sun.

An Evolving Approach To Stock Photography

The way I have approached stock photography in the last few years has evolved. It was as I finished a recent image that it occurred to me that there is a very important question any stock shooter needs to ask themselves in regards to whatever image, images or shoots they are undertaking. That question is: What else? Asking what else can lead to higher productivity, more creativity, and more income.

Ideas, Creativity And Thinking Outside The Box

This image of a bird released from it’s cage is a great example. The concept is primarily one of freedom. Once I finished the image I sat back and asked myself what else I could have escaping, or released from, the cage. As I mentally ran through different possibilities it suddenly struck me that a light bulb lifting into the sky would make a great concept image for ideas, creativity, and the importance of not placing limits or restrictions on our imagination. This new image is about thinking outside the box…but without the box.

Tried And True Symbols In A New Environment

Sure, the light bulb is a tired and hackneyed symbol, but it is also iconic and instantly recognizable as demonstrating ideas. Putting a tried and true symbol in a new and different environment or situation is a powerful way of catching a viewer’s attention and offering a clear and strong message.

What Else?

In this example I asked what else at the end of an image…but it is a great question to ask when planning a shoot, or even editing one as well.  If you have a particular idea in mind for a shoot it can be easy to miss viable shots that happen to be outside the parameters of what you were actually aiming for. Take one last look at the shoot asking yourself  “What else”?