Another stock image "In the Wild"

My neighbor Lee tipped me off yesterday afternoon to one of my stock images being used in an ad on KSL.com, the website of Utah's NBC television affiliate. I'm sharing this today as another example of how designers will change or modify a stock image to fit their specific design needs.

In this instance, the design called for an ad with the text links on the right side. To make this work with my image, they did a horizontal flip of the shot. This change is virtually unnoticeable to everyone except me and Kylee (the model). I frequently see images flipped to fit design needs. Another example of this happened last year when USPS.com used my image of a graduate (link).

Additionally, for this ad the background was removed and the model isolated. This works very well in my opinion. I particularly like how they matched the ad's color scheme with the green tone in Kylee's shirt.

I've frequently said that I find roughly 1 in 1,000 of my sold images in "The Wild" (spotted in print, web or television). For me, the most interesting part of these finds is to see the context how the image is used. This is valuable information that I can put to use when shooting future stock imagery.

White Bedroom Redux

My most recent stock photo shoot was a revisit to a previously used theme. Regular readers to this blog will recall that back in May I did a shoot featured around a White Bedroom set that we created in the studio (original blog post here). The series of images that I created in that session have sold reasonably well in my stock portfolio. For a background, I used white seamless for the original shoot. Now that I've repainted a portion of the studio with white walls, I decided to redo the shoot with the more natural looking background.

Just like last time, I set up a bedroom in the studio. In addition to the bed and nightstand, I added a desk to the mix this time. This gave me some more options on what to shoot.



With Kylee as the model, we created a nice collection of images to add to my sales portfolio. I like the look of the resulting images with the more natural looking background compared to the original seamless background. The added depth adds quite a bit to the shots.

Watch for the images appearing soon in my iStock portfolio.

One of my stock images spotted "In the Wild"

One of my best friends (not to mention a fellow photographer) Harley is at Microsoft's Professional Developers' Conference this week in California. While there, he spotted a mock movie poster advertising for one of the conference sessions. He immediately recognized the image that was used for the poster as one of mine since, after all, it was his own hand coming out of the computer screen.

Take a good look at how they altered my original capture.  This is another example of how a designer will use a stock image as a starting point and then edit it further to fit their project's specific needs.

Thanks Harley for sharing this with me.

Private Pilot Photo Shoot

One of my recent stock photo shoots was a Private Pilot series of images shot at a local general aviation airport. I have a friend that is a pilot and he was able to let me shoot in and around the small Cessna he flies.

Before the official shooting began, the pilot and I took a ride around the Salt Lake Valley in the plane. Though the purpose of the flight wasn't to photograph, I did manage to get a few interesting shots that I will probably add to my portfolio. Here's a unique view of Herriman Utah.



The majority of the stock images featured Michelle posing as a pilot, complete with leather jacket and aviator glasses. There are a lot of images of male pilots on iStock, so I thought I'd go with a different angle and present a female pilot.

My good friend Harley came along and shot a few Behind-the-Scenes shots. As you can see in this example I kept the lighting pretty simple, opting to use a single speedlight to enhance the afternoon sunlight.



Why am I holding up one finger? That's a technique I frequently use when photographing to have the model follow my finger with her nose so I can position her face how I want it. It seems to work rather well and is a quick way to help get the shot I want.

All in all, I'm pleased with the images created in this session. Only time will tell to see how well they sell.

Hanging out with Cowboys

Being a stock photographer, I am always on the lookout for new subjects to shoot. Many times, these subjects are right under my nose - or in this case, right down the street.

I spent Saturday afternoon in the little town of Oakley Utah. The purpose of the visit was to photograph a group of cowboys. These particular cowboys all happen to belong to a family that literally lives right down the street from me.



I arranged with the family to do their portrait at their family cabin in Oakley, and then to spend a couple hours doing a cowboy themed stock photo shoot. Without exception, all the the men made great models. They were extremely willing to indulge me in my ideas for the shots. They even forgave the fact that I wore red tennis shoes - which I was told was a bit of a faux pas in cowboy country.



I left with a wide assortment of images on my camera ranging from action shots to portraits. I don't know how the market is for cowboy themed pictures on iStock, but I plan to soon find out.

Published: Ad in Cosmo

I've been hearing about one of my healthcare images showing up in both full and half page ads in national magazines, but I hadn't been able to track it down. That changed this week when Alyssa (a model I frequently work with) got a tip from one of her friends who saw the half page version in the current issue of Cosmopolitan. it was a bit awkward picking up a copy of my local grocer (thank you self checkout!), but here it is.

(Click here to see the original image on iStock)

Christmas in September

As I wrote about earlier this month, when shooting images for stock portfolios it's important to think ahead. With this in mind, I began shooting fresh Christmas images this week.



The first of these sessions happened yesterday with one of my regular models Alyssa in studio. The theme of the shoot was to have Alyssa in front of a Christmas tree with presents. As can be seen from the samples here, she did a great job and I've got some nice images to add to my portfolio on iStock.



The blurred lights and ornaments of the tree combined with a wide aperture made for a nice "Christmas-y" background in the shots. I did have a bit of a challenge locating seasonal wrapping paper this time of year, but I found a great source in a local paper company.

I'm going to finish up most of my new Christmas images with two shoots next week. The final shoot will feature a return of a famous model from last year.

Private Chef Photo Shoot

I spent Friday morning in a relatives' luxury home doing a Private Chef photo shoot for my stock portfolio. The goal of the session was to create both portraits of chefs (above) and photos of them "in action" (below). I'm partially through the editing of the images and like the results so far.



It seems that when I finish a shoot I often have a "DOH!" moment when I realize something that I should have done differently. This one was no exception. When reviewing the shots I found that I missed doing some of them with Jenna's hair pulled back. Even with the small oversight, I still will end up with a nice series.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/4, ISO 100

Jack-o'-Lantern Carving in September

Today's image is a sample from yesterday's stock photo shoot with Bethany and Michelle portraying a mother and daughter carving jack-o'-lanterns. I'm probably a little bit behind, but I figured it's time to get some fresh Halloween images added to my portfolio.

One of the challenges for this session was locating pumpkins in early September. Thankfully, a friend's parents own a nearby farm they allowed me to pick a few of their nearly-ripe pumpkins to use for the shoot. The pumpkins were still a bit green so I let them sit in the sun for a week to fully develop into a nice orange.

Instead of photographing this scene in the studio, I brought some lights home and we shot in our kitchen. Two large softboxes were all I needed to create the natural looking light for the scene. The 600 watt-second monolights were used at their absolute minimum power setting to permit a wide aperture (f/4) for a narrow depth-of-field.

Now, it's time to start thinking about some new Christmas images.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/100 second, f/4, ISO 100

Outta My Kitchen!

Here's an outtake image from the Woman Chef shoot Michelle and I did earlier this week. The actual purpose of the session was a series of images along a theme similar to this example:



Not quite as exciting as the outtake, eh?

For those in the U.S., have a great Labor Day Weekend!

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/100 second, f/7.1, ISO 100

Tips for the iStockphoto.com Buyer

A friend of mine (and not to mention the BIGGEST selling iStock contributor in the United States!), Sean Locke, has put together an extremely comprehensive buyer's guide for iStockphoto.com. In blog form, Sean has covered everything from lightboxes to copyspace and he doesn't show any signs of slowing down. His posts are extremely well written and very thorough.

For anyone who has ever wondered or had questions about purchasing quality stock imagery at iStockphoto, this new site is a great resource. In fact, iStock proper could learn a lot from what Sean has created and implement something similar (or just license Sean's content) into the buyers portion of the site.

Check it out at seanlockedigitalimagery.wordpress.com". Oh, and be sure to check out Sean's impressive stock portfolio at istockphoto.com/sjlocke.

My Interview on the LightSource Podcast

I've been a semi-active listener of the LightSource photography podcast at StudioLighting.net for nearly two years, so imagine my shock earlier this month when I was contacted by one of the hosts, Bill Crawford, to be a guest on an upcoming episode. My initial thought was something along the lines of "These guys have interviewed the likes of Paul C. Buff, David Hobby and Chase Jarvis - and now they want to talk to me?!?". Well I quickly got over the shock and we scheduled the chat.

We did the interview one evening over the telephone and I've got to say that it was really cool. Bill and Ed, the hosts, make their guests feel comfortable and they are genuinely excited to talk about photography. They wanted to learn about my stock photography business and how I have been able to create a full-time income from it in a relatively short period of time. We also chatted a bit about this blog and my involvement with Photowalking Utah.

The episode is now live on their site, so if you feel like listening to me ramble on for nearly an hour jump on over and give it a listen. More importantly though, I recommend that you check out their back episodes and subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss the future ones.

Links

The LightSource Episode with Me
Back LightSource Episodes
Subscribe to LightSource in iTunes
www.StudioLighting.net

Seattle Shoot - Day 1 Recap

Yesterday was a great, albeit very busy day. iStock provided us with several models as we broke into groups of 5-6 photographers (and a creative director) and headed out to separate shooting locations.

My group spent the first part of the day doing urban lifestyle shots on the streets of Seattle. This type of shooting came very natural to me since I do this style of work quite often. Our models Brenda, Mindy and Kaleb did a stellar job and kept their energy high in what had to be an exhausting day for them. Today's image is a sample from this shoot. While the rest of the group was finishing their lunch, Brenda and I walked down an alleyway to create some shots. The lighting in the alley was perfect for the look I wanted. What you don't see in this shot is yours truly shooting with his right hand while wedging a reflector between myself and the wall with my left.

After the city lifestyle shoot, we headed to a rooftop shoot for more lifestyle images including a final BBQ party scene with all 15 models.

It was a fulfilling yet tiring day. Shooting around 600 images can have that affect on me. And guess what, I get to do it all again beginning in a couple of hours.

p.s. Rasmus, where are you?!?

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/250 second, f/4, ISO 160

Stocking the Flames

As the total amount of images I've sold through my stock portfolio channels increase, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep track of how individual shots perform. One thing iStock does is to place little Flame icons above an image's thumbnail as they reach certain milestones (100 sales, 500 sales, etc.). To help me keep track of my All-Star Images that have reached this milestone, I have created a lightbox containing each shot that has sold a minimum of 100 times.

I like what another iStock photographer who I met through the 'net, Rasmus Rasmussen, had to say about the iStock flames:

"...It’s like a videogame, where you can earn points (money from sales) and bonuses along the way, in the form of nifty little icons on your profile page. 100 sales gives my photo a little flame-icon for instance." (read Rasmus' full post here)

So far I have had 66 images (as of this writing) reach the 100 sales mark with another half dozen or so expected to hit it in the next week. There are numerous images in the set that I expected to do well, but there are definitely some sleepers that I never expected to make he set.

While having an image hit a milestone of 10, 100, 500 etc. sales is rewarding, I still like the very first sale of an image the most.

Photographing for stock with the end user in mind

When I plan a stock photo shoot, I always think about how designers/advertisers/editors can use the images I create in their work. Chances are, if I can't think of multiple uses for an image then it won't end up selling very well. This is sometimes hard to come to grips with. Early on in my stock shooting, I had some pretty artsy shots that I really liked and thought would be big sellers. To my surprise and disappointment, many of these images ended up not selling at all.

Today's image is an example of shooting with the end use in mind. Since the passing and implementation of California's new cellphone usage law on July 1st (link), I figured that there would be a need for fresh images portraying cellphone use while driving. With this in mind, I took one of my models to an empty parking lot earlier this month and photographed several scenes of her using a cellphone while driving.

In this case it worked. This morning I awoke to find one of my preset Google Alerts had located multiple uses of my image of a driver texting. The Christian Science Monitor provides content for television station websites throughout the country and for their story on texting-while-driving they purchased this image from my iStockphoto portfolio.

As John "Hannibal" Smith said, "I love it when a plan comes together".

Preschool Photo Shoot

Whew, I am wiped out!

I spent this morning doing a stock photo shoot at a prestigious preschool in the area. The director/owner arranged for the models in exchange for photos for the school's use. We had a pretty aggressive schedule to get the images both the school and I wanted. I photographed the nearly 20 models for the better part of three hours in numerous sets in the school.

Here's a sample from the shoot to share before I dig into the sorting, editing, uploading and keywording of the 400+ images.

p.s. If you didn't know, preschoolers have a LOT of energy.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/5, ISO 100

iStock Milestones

Today was another day for a couple of milestones in my involvement as a contributor at iStockphoto.com. The first happened just after midnight as I sold the above photo of a young woman in a fitness club. This was my 30,000th image sold from my portfolio on the site.

The second milestone happened with the acceptance of the photo below. With this photo being added to my portfolio, my overall acceptance rate has surpassed 90%. When I first began submitting to the site in 2006 my acceptance rate began in the mid 50% range and has steadily climbed. I feel like I've been in the 80's forever, so it's great to crack the 90% number.

Next month I will be attending the first ever Diamond'lypse in Seattle. This is an event where only Diamond/Exclusive contributors on iStock are invited to spend three days hanging out, shooting and learning together. It's limited to 30 participants, so it should be pretty cool to attend.

As most people know, shooting and selling for iStock (and now Getty) has changed my life. It has allowed me to expand my photography in ways I never expected.

And it's a lot of fun!

Now I promise, no more iStock updates until I sell my 50,000th image.

Movie Theater Photo Shoot

Theater manager Josiah "busts" Kylee for talking on her cell phone

I spent Saturday morning along with a half dozen models in an empty movie theater. My friend Jeremy had made arrangements for us to use the theater as a location for a stock photo shoot. One ingredient that I think has helped me grow this business is getting out of the studio. By going on location, I am often able to capture images that many competing contributors are unable to get.

To light the scene, the goal was to have a strong directional source to mimic what one would see coming from a bright movie screen. To accomplish this, two large softboxes were placed at their maximum height in front of the screen. The 600ws lights were set to full power for maximum impact.On some of the shots, we placed additional lights on the perimeter to add a small amount of fill to the background.


Kattie chilling out during the show

Once we had the lights set up, we had around 75 minutes to shoot the scenes and clear out. Time flies for me when photographing and this was no exception, but we ended with just enough time to break down the gear and get out of the theater before the 11 a.m. show started seating.


Andrew and his lady friends with Josiah in the background

The models were a group of familiar faces often seen in my stock photography. I wanted a happy, younger group to portray a typical weekend night movie crowd. They pulled it off great, and we all had a lot of fun doing it.


The ladies showing some charm to Josiah the usher

All in all, I think it will be a productive outing. The session netted around 50 images to add to my stock portfolios. Hopefully, these pictures will find their way into the hands of many buyers.

As always, I wouldn't be able to do what I do without the help of a LOT of people so they deserve special thanks. Thank you all.

I had to make a trip to the projectionist room

Stock Photos: Part of a Bigger Picture

One hurdle that photographers often encounter when selling stock photos is that (in many cases) their image will become part of a bigger project. Unlike portrait and fine-art photography where the photographer creates a final product, stock photos are frequently incorporated into a larger design.

One change I had to make to my workflow was to minimize the post-processing I did on images that would be included in my stock portfolios. Initially this was difficult, since I felt the images needed a bit more punch. I am now comfortable with the process and always think about the "bigger design picture" when processing my stock images.

Todays image is a perfect example of this. Designer John Kicksee uses stock images in his designs of book covers. For the cover of Aces High, John incorporated my image of a crime scene victim into the design.



When looking at the original image, you can see the vast amount of changes he made to it for inclusion into the final piece. In addition to a crop and horizontal flip, John took a lot of effort to transform the photo into pseudo-artwork. The final product is incredibly better than it would have been if he had used my photo un-edited.

This is just one more thing to consider when shooting, editing and ultimately selling stock photos.

Keeping Busy

I've had a busy few days working on the stock photography side of the business. I have a goal of increasing my portfolio size by a minimum of 200 images a month, and this past weekend I made great progress in creating June's additions.

On Friday, I spent some time shooting a first-time model for a high school student themed series. Kylee did a great job and I look forward to working with her again in the future.

On Saturday the theme was "Women's Hands". I worked with Kattie again (she was featured in April's "Cafe" shoot). We had a great time coming up with poses for her great looking hands.

After taking Sunday off, I got busy again on Monday with a studio session with Brittanie. We shot a diverse set of images ranging from basic headshots to lifestyle images. And to answer the many questions, I have not modified her fantastic eyes - that's how they really look.

Today will be spent finishing the processing, keywording and uploading of these shoots. Then it's time to begin planning the next sessions. Simply put, that's my formula for being successful in stock photography: Plan, Shoot, Edit, Upload, Repeat...

To view these sets as they become available in my stock portfolio, visit the following links:

Kylee - High School Student
Kattie - Women's Hands
Brittanie - Young Woman

Hands, Hands, and more Hands

...or maybe a more appropriate title would be: How I Spent My Saturday Morning. A big thanks to Kattie and her beautiful hands.

Gymnastics Photo Shoot

I spent yesterday afternoon in a gym doing a stock photo shoot of gymnasts. The girls were a lot of fun and with their help (along with their coach) we hopefully kept the poses 'real'.

The extremely large room (12,000 s.f.+) was a challenge to light due to the rapid fall-off in the background. With my normal two softbox setup the athletes would have had a near black background. To solve this problem, I ended up firing a 600ws monolight at full power with only a reflector into the background to provide an adequate light level.



As I've said many times before, it is always great to go on location for these shoots. I especially want to say thanks to the young ladies on the team at Bailie's Gymnastics for being so helpful (and fun!).

Scary Movie

Today's image is a sample from Saturday's studio shoot. The shoot was based on 'tween' girls doing typical things like playing video games, watching movies and painting their toenails. This shot is one of my favorites from the set. I asked the girls pretend that they were watching a scary movie, and they did so admirably.

The lighting setup for this capture was very simple. I placed a medium sized softbox on the floor in front of the girls to create the glow that would be coming from a television in a dark room. I then adjusted the white-balance a small amount to the blue side. The combination worked well to create the scene.

The complete set will be appearing in my stock portfolio in the next week.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/160 second, f/7.1, ISO 100

The Cover of The Onion Magazine

One the of things about selling stock images through a stock agency is that you have limited control over how your image is used. I found out over the weekend that one of my images had been used on a recent cover of The Onion Magazine's weekly print version. While it is normally great to see an image in use, this particular usage made me stop and think. The standard license at iStockphoto.com (where I sell images) limits purchasers in how they can use an image, but there are always gray areas. Here is an excerpt from the iStock license concerning this:

6. use the Content in a fashion that is considered by iStockphoto (acting reasonably) as or under applicable law is considered pornographic, obscene, immoral, infringing, defamatory or libelous in nature, or that would be reasonably likely to bring any person or property reflected in the Content into disrepute;

7. use or display any Content that features a model or person in a manner that (i) would lead a reasonable person to think that such person uses or personally endorses any business, product, service, cause, association or other endeavour; or (ii) that depicts such person in a potentially sensitive subject matter, including, but not limited to mental and physical health issues, social issues, sexual or implied sexual activity or preferences, substance abuse, crime, physical or mental abuse or ailments, or any other subject matter that would be reasonably likely to be offensive or unflattering to any person reflected in the Content;

While both of the models in the photo have signed a model release agreeing that they have no control over the use of their likeness, I'm still left to wonder if the above license clauses have been violated.

This is just another thing to consider when shooting stock images and especially when using models.

White Bedroom Photo Shoot

My latest stock photo shoot was a "White Bedroom" session. The concept was to create a clean & wholesome look of a young woman in various scenes in her bedroom. To create the set we brought a small bed, night-stand, bedding, lamp, alarm clock and other typical bedroom items (predominantly in white) into the studio and set them up on a white seamless background. The reason I chose the white was to surround the model to allow her face to be the main attraction.



The model in the shoot was Alyssa. This was her last stock session with us before taking off for a couple of months out of state on her summer break from college. I have photographed Alyssa more than any other model and we work very well together. With my wife Michelle (above) assisting me with hair, makeup and the other little details I always seem to miss, we captured numerous scenes to add to our stock image portfolio.



Featured here are a couple of my favorite shots from the series. They involve a sleeping/tired girl and an old-fashioned analog alarm clock. This is an everyday scene that most of us can probably relate to.

Here's a link to the complete set on iStockphoto.

Thousand Dollar Flower

This simple capture of yellow flowers just became my first image on iStockphoto to generate over $1,000.00 in income. Regular readers might remember the dumpy surroundings in which this shot was taken (read about it here).

The overwhelming majority of my stock portfolio feature people in lifestyle scenarios and not nature shots since people photos simply sell better. iStock even discourages new contributors from uploading flower photos (they do so anyway), so I find it humorous that this shot has done so well.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/4, ISO 100

Behind the Scenes: Cafe Photo Shoot

Model Andrew enjoying a fresh cup

Last Saturday I did a photo shoot in a small Cafe`. The purpose of the shoot was to create images to add to my stock portfolio. My friend Jeremy came along to shoot some behind the scenes shots, so I thought I'd share a few of them along with the resulting final images.

On the shot above of Andrew, I used three lights. The main light was a large softbox positioned to camera right with a second softbox behind the model. A third light was used to light the background area.


High angle shot of Andrew at the counter


Model Kattie with the menu board

On this image of Kattie, I wanted to communicate 'Cafe', so I shot from a low view to include the large menu board in the top of the frame.


Low angle shot of Kattie with the menu board


Models Julie, Jessica and Kattie on the couch

For the three ladies enjoying their beverages on the couch, I wanted a high vantage point with the girls looking up. I always carry a small stepladder on my shoots for this purpose. As can be seen in the shot below, the extremely slick floor necessitated the use of a ladder stabilizer - namely Josiah.


Josiah offering some stability to my stepladder


Models Kattie, Cerrick and Josiah at the counter

I used a couple of first-time models (at least for me) on this shoot. Both Josiah (right) and Kattie (left) in the above image did a great job. I look forward to working with them in the future.



And lastly, it just wouldn't be a shoot without Alyssa (below). I have photographed her more than any other model and we work well together. Here she is with another regular of mine, Andrew.


Frequent models Andrew and Alyssa

As you can see in the background, this cafe is located inside a climbing gym. Definitely an interesting location.



As always, I cannot do what I do without the help of others. Involved in this shoot were models Andrew, Alyssa, Cerrick, Jessica, Josiah, Julie and Kattie along with assistants Michelle and Erik. It is always great to get to shoot on location, and this shoot wouldn't have been possible without the great folks at Momentum Climbing Gym and Cafe opening their doors for us.

To see the full set on my iStockphoto portfolio, click here.

Special thanks to Jeremy Hall for taking the behind the scenes images.

Monday Recap: Business Meeting Shoot

It was a productive weekend of shooting, highlighted by Saturday's Business People stock shoot. Smiling business people are a bit of a cliche' in the stock photography business, but that's because they tend to sell fairly well.

For the shoot I arranged for six models to stage a mock "business meeting" in the studio. I brought in a conference table, chairs, flip-chart, and various other office-type items. The goal was to create a real looking office environment while being able to easily adjust the lighting.



I first shot the meeting against a white seamless paper backdrop. I then re-positioned it on to the other side of the studio against the painted walls. The versatility of my small studio space really pays off.

I ended the day with nearly 300 images to be culled through for candidates to add to my stock portfolio.

As always, this type of photography is a team effort and I could not do it without the help of so many. Thanks to Michelle, Alicia, Julie, Ron, Glen and Dale for modeling and to Harley and Diane for assisting.

Setting the Background in Stock Photography

One of the most enjoyable times for me to photograph is when I am doing a stock shoot on location. I like the challenge provided by setting up a realistic looking scene in a new place. An important item to remember when setting up a scene is not only to focus on the main subject, but plan the background as well.

In today's shot of Holly at the health club, I placed Tyler in the background doing curls with a dumbbell to better communicate the theme. Combining this model placement and a shallow depth-of-field not only adds depth to the image but increases the 'realism' of the shot.

Another example of this technique is demonstrated in last month's laboratory photo shoot. By placing models Ron and Julie working on the bench behind Michelle, the scene becomes more interesting.



One drawback to adding background people is a bit of complication to the lighting. In the health club shoot I set a low-power monolight aimed specifically at the background model(s). I set the exposure for this light at approximately half f/stop below the subject exposure. I wanted them to pop, but not overpower the main subject.

This technique can be utilized in recreational photography as well. By paying attention to the background and either adding or removing people, the impact of a shot can be greatly increased.

View these images in my stock portfolio: Health Club - Laboratory

Laboratory Photo Shoot

Ron mixing a scientific concoction.

One of the photo shoots I did last weekend was in a real honest-to-goodness laboratory. A friend offered access to the lab he works in and that was all the motivation I needed to put together a shoot.

With a team of three models and assistance from my friend Harley, we set out to create a series of images for my stock portfolio. My goal was to capture realistic looking images of lab technicians at work. The biggest challenge was setting up lights to create a natural looking scene in the limited space we had to work in. We ended up with a modified cross-lighting arrangement and with the camera position shooting through a narrow opening.


Michelle putting her newly acquired pipetting skills to work.

I must really offer my heartfelt thanks to my friend Bryan for opening up the lab, Harley for helping with the lighting and models Michelle (my wife), Ron and Julie. Without these great folks, we could never have pulled this shoot off.


Julie, Bryan (our host), Ron and Michelle

Real People

One of the challenges of doing the Liftestyle type of stock images I do is coming up with models to use. I prefer to use everyday people, since they provide the authentic look I want in my images. I have been extremely blessed to have several people to work with on a regular basis (thank you Jenna, Alyssa, Andrew, etc.), but I am always on the lookout for more.

Today's image of Jonathan is from last weekend's Fitness series I shot at a local gym. This was Jonathan's first time modeling. Since he is someone who is committed to keeping fit by regularly working out, this was a natural shoot for him.

Most of my models work TFCD or TFP in exchange for signing a model release. TFCD is an acronym for Time for CD and TCP is an acronym for Time for Print. This means that the model will receive digital copies of the images in exchange for their time. They are then free to use the images for personal use and portfolio purposes. If I see the results are favorable and begin to use a model on a regular basis, I may then also pay an hourly rate.

I have recently set up an account on ModelMayhem.com to expand my pool of models. I have been in contact with a few models from there, but haven't put a shoot together yet. Many of the models on the site are more focussed on fashion modeling rather than lifestyle.

And of course, when a model isn't available there are always family members :)

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/50 second, f/7.1, ISO 100

Note: If you or someone you know is interested in modeling in one of my stock photo shoots (and is in the Northern Utah area), please contact me via email at rich [at] leggnet.com.

iStock Portfolio Image # 2,000

Cheers!

With the acceptance of this photo into my portfolio, I now have 2,000 images available on iStockphoto.com. Now I just have to begin building my new Getty Images portfolio.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/160 second, f/6.3, ISO 50

Snowy Samantha

It just wouldn't seem like a Monday without a blog post highlighting one of my photo shoots from the previous weekend.

Today's image is of a young Australian girl who is living in Utah for a couple of years. Since winter play is a new experience for her, the plan for the shoot was to capture some outdoor sledding images. Before heading out to the sledding hill we spent some time in studio. With her mom and little brother throwing synthetic snowflakes, our impromptu blizzard created a nice winter scene for the portrait.

And as an added bonus - the studio was MUCH warmer!

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens - 1/160 second, f/9, ISO 100

Private Jet Photo Shoot

(Rock Star models Andrew and Alyssa)

I spent this past Saturday afternoon doing a stock photo shoot in a private jet. Through a friend, I made contact with a pilot last month and he was able to get me access to one of the corporate jets he flies. I must say, it was pretty cool.

I got word on the Thursday prior that we would have use of the jet on Saturday, so I had to scramble to assemble the models and props for the shoot. Normally I like to schedule shoots a few weeks in advance, but due to the irregular schedule of the plane's use this was not possible.

When planning the shoot, the three scenes I sought to capture were corporate executives, young rock stars and wealthy jet-setters. Doing the multiple scenes required several different models. Ultimately, six were available (on the short notice) for the shoot.


(The lighting setup on the outside of the Cessna Citation)

The lighting for the scene was pretty straightforward. I wanted to create a look that made it appear that the plane was flying. To do so, very bright windows were the key. I placed large softboxes on both sides of the plane to light the windows, then used a small softbox above and behind my camera position for fill light. All of the lights were synced with Pocketwizard radios.

The final result of this lighting setup worked well. The images portray a natural looking directional light similar to what you would see in an airplane at altitude.


(Corporate executive model Ron)

The biggest hurdle in doing the shoot was the cold weather and wind. The hangar that we used as a staging area was un-heated. Thankfully, Kevin from the airport provided a space heater to keep the models warm between shots. The plane itself was also not heated (it was powered down) and the door had to stay open for the light's power cables.

(Yours truly on the job)

All in all, it was a successful and fun shoot which will yield a few dozen images for my stock portfolio. Big time thanks go out to all of the models (Michelle, Dale, Ron, Andrew, Jenna & Alyssa) and especially to my new pilot friend Matt. Thank you all! Without people like you I could not do what I do.

Working Nine to Five

Today's image is from last Friday's stock shoot with one of my favorite models Alyssa. When planning a photo shoot, I map out a list of ideas for shots ahead of time. The overwhelmed office worker concept was one of the main themes for this session and Alyssa did a great job of pulling it off.

A few technical notes: This was shot with at a medium wide-angle focal length (40mm on a full-frame) to give depth between the model and the files in the foreground. I opted to spotlight the white background rather than make it pure white to have a bit of uneven vignette. Lighting was a single softbox left of camera with a silver reflector to the right of the model (plus the background light).

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/160 second, f/8, ISO 100

iStockphoto Download #10,000

Today marks a milestone in my stock photography. Just a little while ago this image of Jenna as a school teacher sold on iStockphoto.com marking my 10,000th photo sold on the popular stock photography website. This advances me to a Gold Level contributor and not only entitles me to a higher royalty payment percentage, but I am now eligible to also sell my stock photography via Getty Image's (the parent company of iStockphoto) royalty free collection.

Shooting and selling stock images has grown over the past year from a small part of my photography to becoming the major focus. During that time the income I receive from sales has increased to where it is now the majority of my monthly revenue.

I look forward to the year ahead as I now set my sights on iStock's Diamond Level of 25,000 downloads.

If you'd like, you can click HERE to view my stock portfolio.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens - 1/60 second, f/10, ISO 100

A Camera, Kids and an Empty Bowling Alley

I spent the snowy Friday morning before Christmas at a local bowling center with a few kids doing a photo shoot for my iStockphoto portfolio. The kids had a great time getting to do some bowling while modeling. This shoot had been planned for quite a while since the date was a school holiday. What we didn't expect was for it to be the snowiest morning of the season. To my surprise, all of our models braved the weather and made it to the shoot on time.

Most of the shots involved the kids hanging out in the bowler's seating area, although I did do a few shots of kids bowling (above). In this overview image below, you can get an idea of the lighting setup used. Three large softboxes and a 5x7' monolight lit diffusion screen created a sizable 'set' to shoot within.



It was very cool to have a whole bowling alley to ourselves. Of course, the raging blizzard outside did help contribute to the emptiness of the location. Special thanks go to my friend Harley who supplied some equipment, assisted on the shoot, and took the overview shot.

'In the Kitchen' Photo Shoot

(Alyssa chatting on the phone while cooking dinner.)

I spent yesterday morning shooting for an 'In the Kitchen' stock photo series that I am working on. Our location was a local company's kitchen/cooking training facility. In addition to a large very nice residential type kitchen, the room has 48 theater style seats. This gave me plenty of room for my equipment and props.


(Behind the Scene shot of Evelyn cutting vegetables.)

I used two softboxes (20x30" & 30x60") for the strong side lighting. Fill light was provided by a single monolight firing directly into a 60x84" piece of ripstock nylon. I prefer fairly strong directional lighting for this type of shoot.

My models Evelyn, Donna, Alicia & Alyssa all were extremely patient and did a great job. They were a lot of fun to work with and offered plenty of expertise for 'keeping it real' when it came to setting up kitchen scenes.


(Donna with a sheet of freshly baked cookies.)

My pre-Christmas activity is now to edit and upload the considerable amount of images to my iStockphoto portfolio.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/9, ISO 100

Video Gamers

For today's image, I sought to create the look of a dark family room being lit solely from a television screen. The light source was a single 18x18" softbox placed in front of the kids on the floor. The black room in the background is just a roll of seamless about 5 feet behind the couch.

I did a whole series of these two pretending to play video games. This particular image was originally an outtake, but I ultimately decided to keep it in the set. Josh was saying funny things "under his breath" while I was shooting in an attempt to get Sarah to crack up. On this shot, he succeeded.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/100 second, f/6.3, ISO 100

Woodworking Shop Photo Shoot

This past weekend I did a stock photo shoot at my brother-in-law's custom furniture shot. During the weekdays the shop is a hotbed of activity, but on this particular Saturday afternoon it was nearly empty and a great time to put together a set of images for my portfolio.

The goal for the shoot was to capture a craftsman at work using the various tools and equipment in the shop. I wanted the shots to look realistic and not staged. Tyler, my brother-in-law, made a great model working the equipment as we made our way around the large shop.

The lighting setup consisted of three lights. The main light was a 24x36" softbox while fill light was provided by a 36" umbrella. Both of these modifiers were mounted on 600 wattsecond monolights. I also used a single monolight for illuminating the background when necessary. A picture tells a better story, so here is an overview of one of the shots:

The main light was placed at a fairly sharp angle to give shadow and definition to the subject. The detail in Tyler's left arm in today's featured image is a good example of this result.

We were in an out of the shop in about 90 minutes and were able to produce 48 final images (from the nearly 200 shots taken) all of which were accepted into my iStock inventory. I generally love doing these location stock shoots and this one was no exception. The complete set from the shoot can be viewed here.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/9, ISO 100

(Junior) Executive Lighting

One of the many photography blogs I follow is that of Colorado photographer David Tejada. David specializes in annual report photography and has a blog that details many of his assignments. The great part about the blog is that he frequently posts video overviews of his shoots.

One of his recent videos was a time-lapse presentation of an assignment doing corporate headshots. In the video, he places a large softbox directly to the right side aiming across the front of of the subject and then fills the opposite side with a reflector. Here is the video:



I really liked the result of the simple lighting setup and though I used a similar setup in my previous photographic life, I hadn't done so in many years - until recently.

Today's image of a young man in business attire is from a recent stock session in which I used this lighting arrangement. I opted for a complete black background to make the Junior Executive stand out in his white shirt and power tie. One other shoot that I used a variation of this lighting on was another stock shoot of a young man in a graduation cap and gown.

As you can see, this lighting setup is extremely simple and very effective. It definitely works well in both my stock and portrait work.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/80 second, f/10, ISO 100

Classroom Photo Shoot

Saturday's stock photo shoot of a simulated classroom was great. This was the most models that I have used in a single session and everyone did an awesome job.

The location of the shoot was a local private school. One of my friends (and regular reader) was able to put together the use of the facility (thanks Ricci!). The room we used wasn't a normal classroom, but a common area in the school. By using this room, we had extra space around the perimeter to place lights, equipment and such.



In lighting the scene, my goal was to have natural looking classroom light. I wanted one side of the room to be much brighter to simulate light that would normally come in through windows. To achieve this, I placed two softboxes down the side for the mainlights and then brought in fill light from the back and opposite sides of the room. Here is an overview photo (taken by our teacher's husband):



Once the lighting was put in place and adjusted for exposure, I pretty much left it sit except for the occasional fine-tuning to add or subtract light from part of the scene.

For models we had 9 children and a teacher. Michelle arranged having the children at the shoot and we ended up with a majority of 6th and 7th grade girls to go along with our teacher, Jenna. The kids were great. They were extremely patient as we set up different shots and even suggested a few things to add or take away.

Today's featured image (on the top of the page) was one of the funnest shots for everyone to do. For some reason, this group of above average students got a kick out of tying up their teacher and going nuts. Jenna was a great sport, but of course this wasn't the first time we tied her up for a shot (see here).

All in all, I classify the day a success. The photos are very close to what I sought to capture. I now have the task of weeding through the 250+ images to select and edit the keepers for a set on iStock.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/10, ISO 100

iStockphoto Portfolio Image #1,000

I reached a small milestone on Saturday, I had my 1,000th image accepted into my portfolio on the popular stock photography website istockphoto.com.

What makes this a bit of an achievement (at least for me) is that before an image is added to a photographer's portfolio it has to be personally inspected by one of the company's 40 inspectors to ensure that the image meets the site's stringent requirements. I have heard from many a frustrated photographer over the past year who was having difficulty getting their images accepted. After a bit of a learning curve, I believe that I have hit on a good recipe for editing my photos in an acceptable manner for the site. I am now averaging over an 80% approval ratio all-time (and over 90% in recent months).

Image #1,000 is a studio shot of a cup filled with coffee beans. It is part of a small set I shot last week (click here to see the set). My next goal is to increase the portfolio size to 2,000 by March 31st of next year. You can view my iStock portfolio by clicking here.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/8, ISO 100

The Scene of the Crime

Since October 31st is the Halloween holiday in the United States, I dug into the archives to find a fitting image for today's post. This stock shot was suggested a while back from friend (and blog reader) Scott. It has had a good sales run over the last two months on iStockphoto.com.

Have a safe time trick or treating tonight.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/10, ISO 100

Rack 'em up

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/16, ISO 100

Biker Dave

GOAL

Capture a stern looking biker with moody lighting to create a "bad dude" feel to the final image.

Camera equipment: Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens

Lighting equipment: Two Canon Speedlites (a 430EX and a 580EX), hot-shoe extension, two Lightsphere modifiers, one lightstand

For the shoot, I placed the 430EX in slave mode on the lightstand above and to the camera right. I then hand held the 580EX (using the hot-shoe extension) to the lower left of the camera. I set the hand held flash at -1 f/stop to allow the overhead unit to be the main light. By holding the second (fill) light in my hand, I was able to quickly make adjustments on the fly as needed.

Final thoughts: I am pleased with the images. The whole shoot took less than 15 minutes, which is a good thing since it was right at 100 degrees out and Dave was cooking in his leathers.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/60 second, f/8, ISO 100

20 Pumpkins on iStockphoto

Yesterday afternoon this photograph of a load of pumpkins was my 5,000th image download to sell on iStockphoto.com. My portfolio on the popular microstock photography website has grown to over 850 images today from a mere 77 in March and my sales have shown a comparable increase. I am pleased to say that my October revenue will be over triple the amount I earned in June.

My goal for the future is to continue to grow my iStock portfolio by a minimum of 10 percent each month. In doing so, I anticipate my sales to grow at an equal or higher percentage. I am finding that my approval percentage (each image submitted to iStockphoto has to be personally inspected and approved) is getting better the more I upload to the site. I now have fine tuned my recipe for post-processing images and I average over a 90% approval percentage on my photos (up from around 50% early on).

As I said in an earlier post, I look forward to continuing to add images to my portfolio and monitor the growth. Is this a sustainable business long-term? We'll continue to wait and see.

Canon 30D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/7.1, ISO 100

A Good Book

This image provides the perfect opportunity to plug my friend Bryan's blog about reading and writing, The Hopeless Writer. Bryan and I began blogging within weeks of each other back in 2005. In that time I have watched his site evolve into a fantastic resource for writers and anyone who enjoys reading. Check it out at www.bryancatherman.com.

Today's capture was photographed in my studio with the following setup:

Small softbox camera right for main light
Umbrella diffused light above and slightly left for fill.
Polarizing filter on lens for effect.
Black seamless paper backdrop

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/100 second, f/9, ISO 100

It's all Geek to me

Like most blogs that have been around for a while, I get a fair amount of incoming hits from search engines. Call me geeky, but I get a kick out of reading what people typed into Google to find me. As an example, here are the search terms that led websurfers to this site yesterday:

ttv layer ~ utah photography industry ~ http://leggnet.com ~ earn istockphoto.com credits ~ sensor sizes aps-c ~ geek squad cars green ~ geek squad sucks ~ how to make a fake lightbulb ~ capturing blue skies ~ spontaneous combustion ~ ring ~ part time photographers trend ~ photo of light bulb off ~ sekonic meter, tutorial ~ istockphoto.com ~ the other barn ~ geek squad poster ~ blue sky canon color ~ photos of creepy eyes ~ tips for low light photography ~ camera sensor sizes ~ photography of smoke ~ smoke photography ~ hand blown glass vase ~ tahquitz rock ~ canon 24-105 tack sharp ~ canon 24-105 portrait examples ~ canon 24-105 for weddings? ~ digital camera sensor size ~ istockphoto ~ canon 5d sensor crop ~ where are the inspiration come from ~ istockphoto.com ~ leading lines ~ california jumping suicide location ~ istockphoto.com ~ light bulb idea picture ~ why is the forground of my photos blurred ~ istockphoto a-living ~ milk splash photo ~ legg wife ~ wedding school ~ polarize photos ~ photograph example leading line ~ colored burn out smoke ~ legg net ~ smokr photo invert how ~ full frame versus aps digital ~ autumn leaves utah ~ using canon 30d with r72 filter ~ body scan salt lake city ~ camera exposure after sunset ~ kenneth linge

As you can see, most of them are photography related. But I do like the occasional odd search. I wonder if the person that entered "body scan salt lake city" found what they were looking for.

I selected today's image to go along with this geeky subject. It's my good friend Harley posing as a computer nerd in a recent stock photo shoot we did. In addition to being a sometimes model, Harley is a photographer. Be sure to check out his photostream on Flickr at flickr.com/photos/hpebley3.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/7.1, ISO 100

Mr. Science

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/7.1, ISO 100

Listen to your Mother

(cell phone rings)

Me: Hello

Mom: Hey, I saw a picture on the news last night and thought you ought to make one like it.

Me: Really, what was it?

Mom: It was an American flag with crime scene tape in front of it.

Me: Hmmmm... not a bad idea.

Mom: Yeah, it was behind the anchorman on the screen.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/9, ISO 100

Where Does Your Inspiration Come From?

As a photographer who shoots nearly every day, coming up with inspiration can be difficult at times. Much like writer's block affects authors, there are days that I feel completely uninspired about what to shoot.

One way I combat this is to constantly be on the lookout for fresh ideas. Anyone who has spent time around me has probably noticed that I carry a small leather journal everywhere I go. Of the various things I keep notes of in this book is a list of photography ideas. During my day, when I think of an idea for a shot I jot down a note in the journal. These ideas can come from an idea while driving, a television commercial, a magazine, a scene in a movie, people walking down the street, etc. You get the idea.

Today's image of a woman working at a desk is an example of this form of inspiration. I recently came across a copy of the original 1984 Apple Macintosh Owner's Manual online. I was a huge fan of the original Mac (though I never owned one) and really enjoyed the figurative trip back in time by reviewing the manual. While going through the manual I came across a photo of a man working at a desk (with a Mac of course) shot from above (see the photo here). I really liked the image and thought that a similar shot would make a nice addition to my stock library. I made a note of the shot and then later when I had time I set it up in my studio.

Some might say that I wasn't inspired, but rather simply copied someone else's work. I understand their view and I could easily argue both sides of this discussion. In this case, I feel that using a 20+ year old image for inspiration and adding my own take on it is perfectly acceptable.

What about you? What do you do to inspire your photography? How do you keep from getting in a writer's block type of rut?

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/9, ISO 100

The Root of All . . . Evil?

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/14, ISO 100

Am I Killing the Photography Industry?

Are photographers such as myself killing the photography industry?

I follow numerous photography industry related blogs with my RSS reader. It seems that at least once a week I read an article about how "part-time", "hobbyist" and "micro-stock" photographers are killing the photography industry. One particular quote I read recently on the Black Star Rising blog gives an example of what I am talking about:

"Feel free, by all means, to make beautiful nature images, photograph protests in your home town, or do a nice portrait of a family friend. However, if you have any respect for other creatives -- and to tangentially ensure their longevity -- your action of taking $50 for an assignment that should have been $500, or giving away photographs for access to the limited locations that are credential positions, is detrimental to your fellow creatives, and those whose work you admire." (full text)

Though I do plenty of work for pay, my main source of income is in the real estate industry. Since I don't make my full-time living as a photographer, should I not be charging at all? If I shoot a wedding for $500, am I damaging the business of the photographer who's packages start at $3,000?

Another point that many "real" professional photographers make on a regular basis is that microstock websites such as iStockphoto.com are killing the industry. Their point is that selling images for as little as a dollar apiece via these websites is hurting the industry by devaluing photography in general. I strongly disagree with this view. I believe that the microstock sites have opened up professional photography to a whole segment of the population that previously either didn't use photos in their designs or who illegally stole images from the internet. These designers can't afford to spend $100 on up per image, but will readily pay a few dollars for a photo.

I believe we are witnessing a transformation in the photography industry brought on by technological advances in camera equipment and internet delivery. We can either embrace this change, or sit back and watch it pass on by.

What do you think? Are part-time and hobbyist photographers hurting the industry? Or, is this a natural metamorphosis brought on by the advances in technology and communication?

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/60 second, f/9, ISO 100

Ten Dollar Photograph

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/16, ISO 125

Crime Scene Tape on a Bride?

I spent some time today working with Jenna on some stock photos. I had this roll of crime scene tape sitting around from an earlier shoot and thought , "Why not?". I don't know what use this shot has as a stock image, but I like it.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/11, ISO 100

T.G.I.F.

Kick off your shoes and enjoy your weekend!

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/60 second, f/9, ISO 50

Crime Scene Photo Shoot

I spent Saturday afternoon organizing and shooting a simulated Crime Scene for my portfolio. Working with my good friend Harley, we arranged numerous scenes to photograph.

The setting for the shoot was an abandoned warehouse that Harley gained permission to use. The location was perfect for the dramatic type of imagery I sought to create. When designing the shoot, wanted very strong lighting and shadows to create a rather dark mood.

The lighting for the image above was provided by placing a radio triggered monolight in the room behind the model. The light was shaped with barndoors to prevent it from spilling into the pure black background. The "Crime Scene" tape was lit with a handheld speedlight to the right of the camera. This light was also shaped to only illuminate the tape, and not the scene.

To view other samples from the shoot, click HERE.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/50 second, f/5, ISO 100

My 2,500th iStock Download

Earlier this week I surpassed 2,500 downloads on iStockphoto.com. While not anywhere near the 500,000+ downloads of iStock Rock Star Lise Gagne, it still is a fairly significant milestone. I am now considered a SILVER level contributor and my royalty commissions are increased to 30%. I find it very fitting that download #2,500 was today's featured image, a picture of a "SOLD" sign.

As I said in an earlier post on the subject, it will be interesting to see how my sales grow in the future. You can view my iStock portfolio HERE.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/60 second, f/10, ISO 100

Scene of the Crime

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/8, ISO 100

iStock in Use

As a follow-up to last friday's post (read it here) about iStockphoto.com, here is an example of one of my photos in use. When images are sold on iStock, the contributing photographer does not receive any information on the buyer. The only way to know how an image is used is to come across it in the wild.

I received an email last month from an iStock user who recognized my photograph of a gas nozzle when he viewed the news on the Canadian website CBC.ca. He was kind enough to email me and I went to the site and made this screen capture.

Of the over 2,000 photos I have sold so far, this in only the second time I have heard of one in use. If you're selling images on microstock, have you ever seen yours in use?

Selling Photos on iStockphoto.com

If there is one thing the Internet is full of, it is opinions...and in the photography corner of the 'net there are very strong views both for and against websites specializing in microstock photography. While some photographers view these sites as fantastic ways to monetize their photography, others see them as extremely detrimental to the business of photography.

What makes these sites controversial is they literally pay their contributing photographers pennies for each download. On iStockphoto.com, the largest microstock site with nearly 2,000,000 files available, downloads sell for as little as $1 each with the contributor receiving as little as 20% of this income.

Why would a photographer want to sell their photos for such a low amount? The simple answer is Volume. While a local client might pay a photographer $200 once for an image, a good photo on iStockphoto might sell several hundred times generating much more income over the long run.

With this in mind, I recently decided to concentrate more of my photographic time on shooting for iStockphoto to see what I could earn. Over the past three months I have increased my iStockphoto portfolio from under 100 images to nearly 400. The resulting increase in sales has been dramatic. My June earnings of nearly $500 are over a tenfold increase compared to what I earned in March and July is showing even more growth. While I surely could not support my family on $500 a month, what if I were to increase this amount by another factor of ten? $5,000 a month is a viable salary and iStockphoto is full of stories of photographers earning a living shooting for them.

Todays image is a mosaic of my best selling shots. What strikes me is the diversity in the images. The open bible photo is my top selling image with nearly 200 downloads, yet the mountain road capture has earned more revenue due to its larger average download size.

I look forward to continuing to add images to my portfolio and monitor the growth. Is this a sustainable business long-term? We'll have to wait and see.

Links

My iStockphoto Portfolio
iStockphoto Registration

__________

(05/28/2008 - Update: 25,000 images sold. Read about it here.)

A Man, a Motorcycle & Two Speedlights

I did a photoshoot last night of my friend Dave on his motorcycle. I wanted an industrial looking setting and I found it in an alleyway between two buildings near my office.

The lighting setup consisted of two Canon Speedlites - a 430EX and a 580EX. For this shot, the 430EX was used as the main light. It was placed on a lightstand above and to the left (camera right) of the model. The fill light was provided by the 580EX with a diffuser. I held this light in my left hand a couple of feet away and below the camera. An f-stop of f/11 was used to darken the background. This was shot just after 8:00 pm and the ambient light was still fairly bright (f/4 or so) so setting the strobes to f/11 underexposed the background by around 3 stops.

The final result is very near to what I envisioned for the shot. The harsh lighting adds nicely to the dramatic look of the stern faced biker. The two Speedlite setup worked very well and was easy to set up.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/60 second, f/11, ISO 100

Money to Burn?

Did I really light a dollar bill on fire (in clear violation of federal law) just to make this photo? Or is this image created using a bit of manipulation in Photoshop? You decide.....

p.s. Harley, you're not eligible to answer :)

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens - 1/60 second, f/7.1, ISO 50

Give Me The Key!

Sometimes a simple photo has the ability to tell a story. This is what I sought to do with today's capture. For the photograph, I visualized someone receiving the key to a new house (I do work in real estate after all).

To set up the photo I hung the keyring from the ceiling with a piece of white thread in front of a white paper backdrop. I lit the key and hand with a small softbox placed to the right of the camera. I then placed a second strobe (un-diffused) behind the subject aimed at the backdrop. To create the near-absolute white, I set the backdrop light to 2 f/stops over the exposure of the hand and key.

In post-processing, I used the clone tool (in Photoshop) to remove the thread and make the key appear to be either floating or falling. I then did a bit of color manipulation to change the hue of the keyring to red and increase the saturation.

I am pleased with the final result. I've now got a shot I can use in my real estate advertising and add to my growing Stock Photography portfolio.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/11, ISO 50

Making a Photo 'Stock Ready'

One of the things that can be time consuming to a photographer that is venturing into the world of Stock Photography is the required genericness of their work. What I mean by this is that most stock photo agencies will not accept photos that have identifiable logos, artwork, names, etc. in them. The photos need to be generic.

Take today's capture for example. I shot this picture of my daughter exhibiting her best snotty adolescent face with a bass guitar in her lap. In order to add this image to my iStock Portfolio and offer it for sale I needed to remove the stickers from the guitar since they are someone else's trademarked artwork. To accomplish the removal I used the Clone Tool in Photoshop. Here is the modified image:

Sometimes removing logos is quick & easy and sometimes it is difficult & tedious. For example, last month I created a stock image of a cowboy revolver and holster in a rustic setting. When composing the shot I was careful to not show logos and names - or so I thought. When it came time to edit the photograph I realized that the manufacturer's name was visible on nearly all of the ammunition in the gunbelt. I then had to painstakingly remove the writing on the numerous rounds of ammo.

The easiest way to remove the infringing name/logo is to simply not have it in the shot in the first place. The more stock work I shoot, the more I attempt to save editing time by avoiding the inclusion of trademarked info. While it is frequently unavoidable, many times a few seconds of rearranging when shooting can save vast amounts of time editing.

A Dollar Saved is a Dollar Earned

"A PENNY DOLLAR SAVED IS A PENNY DOLLAR EARNED"

- Benjamin Franklin
(adjusted for inflation)

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens - 1/50 second, f/8, ISO 50

Smoking Glock

Featured today is another capture from a recent stock photography shooting session. Since a previous image I have of a smoking handgun sells fairly well on iStockphoto, I decided to add a few more similar shots to my portfolio.

The pistol in this capture is a 9mm Glock with the magazine removed and no ammunition anywhere close by (safety first!). To create the smoking effect I held the gun's open magazine well (in the grip) over two burning incense sticks and let the smoke flow up and out of the gun. The majority of the smoke exited through the barrel, but some of it came out of other openings. This helped to create the illusion of the gun having just been fired.

For lighting, I placed a softbox up and to the right of the subject. I used an umbrella diffused light set to half power to the left to add fill. This was obviously shot against a black background. The lighting worked well to accentuate the gun's features along with the smoke. Very little post-processing was required.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/60 second, f/8, ISO 50

Missionary Shoes

I've been shooting quite a bit of stock work in my spare time lately for iStockphoto. When creating stock photos, I try and ask myself "in what possible applications can this shot be used?". If I can't think of a use for a photo, chances are that not many other people will either and it won't sell. For today's featured capture, I received an answer.

My friend Bryan from the This Scribbler’s Preoccupation blog emailed me last night to inquire about using the shot (or one similar) for a new church that he is involved with. He saw the photo on iStock and felt that it fits nicely with the message the new church is wishing to convey. This is very close to what I imagined as a use when I set up the photo.

That's cool...!

To see (and possibly purchase) this image on iStockphoto, click here.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens - 1/60 second, f/11, ISO 50

Cowboy Poet

I was shooting some captures today for my stock photo portfolio and I invited a friend over to watch. He's a recent convert from film to digital SLR's (albeit Nikon!) and wanted to try my studio lights with his D80. We were planning on shooting some photos involving smoke and guns so he brought along his 45 Colt single action revolver.

While we were shooting he told me about a western style photo he saw on a website and suggested that we attempt to make a similar capture sometime in the future. That's all the motivation I needed. We rounded up the props and put together the shot. While the color version works well, I also like this version in black & white sepia with a bit of film grain added.



Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/60 second, f/11, ISO 50