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Topic: New to this - need critique  

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helenk

New Member


« on: July 30, 2011, 13:21 »
Hi there,

I wanted to submit some photos but I am not sure if they are good enough yet.

I have numbered them so it is easier for you guys to refer to the pics.

1) Lighthouse Option 1: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68428037@N00/5990641867/#

2) Lighthouse Option 2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68428037@N00/5991197452/#

3) Landscape Option 1: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68428037@N00/5991230890/#

4) Landscape Option 2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68428037@N00/5990675783/#

5) http://www.flickr.com/photos/68428037@N00/5990677473/#

6) http://www.flickr.com/photos/68428037@N00/5990678793/#

7) http://www.flickr.com/photos/68428037@N00/5991259842/# (I had to crop this one so I am not quite sure they'll accept a non standard size. Had to crop them to get a better composition though...)

Let me know what you think! Looking forward to your critique!!

Thanks a lot!!

Helena


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DepositPhotos.com
click_click


Dreamstime GaugeiStock Gauge
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2011, 14:34 »
All the pure landscape photos are not very stockworthy.

One important thing you always have to ask yourself when you take a picture: "What product or service can be promoted with this photo?"

Take the swan photo. What do you think can this image be used for in an ad?

If your image can be used in many different ways, for many different products the better it will sell.

In microstock you don't want to take photos that might get approved but that don't sell well.

Otherwise it won't be worth your time to edit, keyword and upload your images.

Lighthouses are an attractive subject BUT goto to the biggest agencies and look at the top selling lighthouse images.

You have to understand how the top sellers look different from yours in terms of composition, lighting etc.

This is just a start.


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Snufkin


« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2011, 18:26 »
I agree with click_click.
The location with the lighthouse is fantastic, my kind of place (BTW, where is it?).
There was great potential, unfortunately the composition is not convincing at all, doesn't have the necessary impact.
The horizon is tilted...


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rubyroo



« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2011, 19:13 »
Hi Helena,

The only place I've heard of that has chalk cliffs and a red and white lighthouse is Beachy Head.  Is that where you shot those?

On my screen these look over-processed.  The yellows in the landscapes especially seem far too strong.  Are you increasing saturation?  If so, I would tone that down a bit.

I think it would also help you to read some articles on composition.  This was the first one I found on a quick Google search.  

http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/10-top-photography-composition-rules

Hope that helps.


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leaf


Premium Member

Dreamstime GaugeiStock Gauge
« Reply #4 on: July 31, 2011, 00:51 »
Quote from: click_click on July 30, 2011, 14:34
All the pure landscape photos are not very stockworthy.

One important thing you always have to ask yourself when you take a picture: "What product or service can be promoted with this photo?"

Take the swan photo. What do you think can this image be used for in an ad?

If your image can be used in many different ways, for many different products the better it will sell.

In microstock you don't want to take photos that might get approved but that don't sell well.

Otherwise it won't be worth your time to edit, keyword and upload your images.

Lighthouses are an attractive subject BUT goto to the biggest agencies and look at the top selling lighthouse images.

You have to understand how the top sellers look different from yours in terms of composition, lighting etc.

This is just a start.

great advice.  It is pretty hard to sell a landscape on a stock site - it really does have to be the best one available for that area. 

birds are also another tough topic, I know 'cause I have my share of mediocre bird shots. Smiley

My two cents thought would be to straighten the horizon on images 1, 2, 6, 7


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Slovenian


« Reply #5 on: July 31, 2011, 06:36 »
Unless you shoot ppl and do that really well, it's not even worth giving it a try. Perhaps some great food photography uploaded in large quantities might do the trick, landscapes, street photos, animals, isolated objects just won't cut it and it's just a waste of time. I mean just look at the latest bestsellers (not the overall sort by download results, by using it you might see an apple on white selling 8.000 times, but that was back in 2005). What is easily accessible and simple to shoot won't sell. Unless it has an awesome concept, which you won't figure out unless you know the industry very well (which you can't if you just started and ask questions like that)

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rubyroo



« Reply #6 on: July 31, 2011, 07:06 »
Helena - as you can see you will get some quite aggressive (or forthright) responses in here, but your request sounded to me as though you're just looking to get from A to B, not from A to Z.  Actually going from A to B is the only reliable way to make progress IMO.

Don't be defeated, just take your time to master the camera and post-production tools, and to learn about light, composition, colour etc.

It's certainly not only people shots that sell, and there's room for everyone, as long as the quality and ideas are a good match for the current standards and requirements.

Take your time, study and work hard at it, and you'll get there.  Few of us will ever be a 'Yuri Arcurs', but there's still a decent income to be had if you develop your skills and use rejections as a learning tool to improve.  

It will take time, patience and dedication, and not everyone has that.  But if you do, it's very satisfying and rewarding when the 'eureka' moment arrives, and your efforts start to pay off as you figure out where your efforts are best spent for the greatest return.

Take heed of click-click's advice too.  That's incredibly helpful and will serve you well.


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Slovenian


« Reply #7 on: July 31, 2011, 07:36 »
Let's cut the crap and have a look at top 15 sellers at IS; 12 out of 15 are people shots, the rest are usually very unique shots with a lot of great postprocessing done.

So Helena as you can see, there are quite a few overly nice, but unfortunately misleading responses in here. Sure, you can make a few hundred bucks with landscapes and lighthouses, but if you made ppl shots at the same, really top notch level, you'd be making thousands (if not tens of thousands). It's like saying you can make a decent living by being the best luger, but you'll never make more than a fraction of what a top golfer makes. It really is as simple as that, just look at the top contributors and what they shoot. People. Only people or mostly people Wink
« Last Edit: July 31, 2011, 07:38 by Slovenian »
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rubyroo



« Reply #8 on: July 31, 2011, 07:47 »
Slovenian - she's just starting out and looking for a bit of advice to get going.  I just don't feel that's the stage to be smacking people over the head with the top 15 sellers at IS, as if they're all that counts.

If you work steadily and find your way, you can do well.  If you're defeated at the first hurdle by seemingly unobtainable goals, you'll give up and make zilch.  There are many good places to land between 'zilch' and 'multi-millionaire'.


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luissantos84

Dreamstime GaugeiStock Gauge
« Reply #9 on: July 31, 2011, 07:59 »
Quote from: rubyroo on July 31, 2011, 07:47
Slovenian - she's just starting out and looking for a bit of advice to get going.  I just don't feel that's the stage to be smacking people over the head with the top 15 sellers at IS, as if they're all that counts.

If you work steadily and find your way, you can do well.  If you're defeated at the first hurdle by seemingly unobtainable goals, you'll give up and make zilch.  There are many good places to land between 'zilch' and 'multi-millionaire'.

nop, you need to understand there are some folks that only do and sell best sellers, right from the start  Grin


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rubyroo



« Reply #10 on: July 31, 2011, 08:02 »
I'm not denying that's possible, Luis (more possible back in the early days), but not everyone can, and not everyone does.  I'm just saying there's not only one way to do this and be successful.


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Slovenian


« Reply #11 on: July 31, 2011, 08:02 »
All I wanted to say that with such stiff competition, overly saturated market and when most countries still struggle with recession or getting out of it, it's hard to make money even if you shoot the subjects that sell best. Unfortunately landscapes, lighthouses are among the lowest selling photos. I just wanted to set the record str8 before she wastes a year of her time and makes just a few hundred bucks (if she'd upload hundreds of shots that is).

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rubyroo



« Reply #12 on: July 31, 2011, 08:07 »
That's fair to say Slovenian.

I guess we just read her initial objective differently.  I see it as a 'next step' request rather than an 'end goal' request.

If someone was asking 'how do I make a hundred grand in a year', my response would have been different.  Smiley


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Perry



« Reply #13 on: July 31, 2011, 09:14 »
I don't share the Slovenian's "obsession" with people shots. Shots without people can sell well too, if they are properly styled, lighted and fill some gap in the collection. In other words: The images need to be better or different that are already there. And images without people often doesn't even need to sell that many times because typically they are cheaper and faster to produce.

But I do agree, photos of landscapes and lighthouses need to be really spectacular in today's market.
Here are some examples for the original poster: This is how the competition looks like:

http://www.gettyimages.fi/detail/374692-001/Stone
http://www.gettyimages.fi/detail/200328037-001/Iconica
http://www.gettyimages.fi/detail/sb10065734i-001/The-Image-Bank
(these are just random selects from a Getty search, they have over 6,000 images that comes up with search "lighthouse")
« Last Edit: July 31, 2011, 09:20 by Perry »

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Photon


« Reply #14 on: July 31, 2011, 10:29 »
I'm not stock expert but I used to be a buyer so I can give you a critique from that point of view.

The first shot of the lighthouse; the lighting is great, the colours are fantastic but the composition is very obscure. If you shot closer to the lighthouse from a different angle keeping most other things out of the frame that would be an appealing image to use especially with the blue sky in the background (so it can be easily isolated).

If you can go back there try and get more shots from different angles keeping simplicity in mind.


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madelaide


Premium Member

Dreamstime GaugeiStock Gauge
« Reply #15 on: July 31, 2011, 11:22 »
Helena,

First, about the photos themselves, there was enough said. A couple of weeks ago there was another thread started by someone who wanted to start in the microstock business. This led to a looong discussion (you can read it here). My advice: improve your photography skills first, then start to consider selling images.

Indeed landscapes sell less. They do sell, it is more a matter if you expect to sell an image 5, 50 or 500 times.

People images are very popular, but there is more than just that selling at microstock. Images don't sell because the subject is beautiful, like in the lighthouse, but because they are useful to illustrate something. I prefer the term "illustrate" rather than "sell" something, because not necessarily there is a commercial message. Someone wants to talk about summer in his blog, he will look for images that makes us "think" summer, like a sunny beach.

And if you want to stick with landscapes, you can always consider selling posters and prints: a lot of people sell at Redbubble, Imagekind, Fine Art America and others.

But anyway, technical knowledge is fundamental if you want to take this seriously.
« Last Edit: July 31, 2011, 11:25 by madelaide »

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rubyroo



« Reply #16 on: July 31, 2011, 11:45 »
Quote from: madelaide on July 31, 2011, 11:22
I prefer the term "illustrate" rather than "sell" something, because not necessarily there is a commercial message.

Oh yes, that's a very important thing to mention.  Well said.  The 'blog buyers' have certainly increased hugely, if my tear sheets are anything to go by.


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helenk

New Member


« Reply #17 on: July 31, 2011, 14:45 »
Hi guys,

Thanks for the advice! As I said I am totally new to this and still learning... I bought my digital slr only 2 weeks ago. I just like taking photos and I am trying to find a way to pay for more equipment so I will be happy with 100 quid per month :-)

And yes the place was Beachy Head near Eastbourne, England.  Cool

I take critique as a step to improve so don't worry about being agressive, I will survive!  Grin

I am practicing my new skills this weekend and will post some more pictures once I am confident that they look good and are commercially viable ones.

Thanks,

Helena


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helenk

New Member


« Reply #18 on: July 31, 2011, 14:58 »
Quote from: luissantos84 on July 31, 2011, 07:59
Quote from: rubyroo on July 31, 2011, 07:47
Slovenian - she's just starting out and looking for a bit of advice to get going.  I just don't feel that's the stage to be smacking people over the head with the top 15 sellers at IS, as if they're all that counts.

If you work steadily and find your way, you can do well.  If you're defeated at the first hurdle by seemingly unobtainable goals, you'll give up and make zilch.  There are many good places to land between 'zilch' and 'multi-millionaire'.

nop, you need to understand there are some folks that only do and sell best sellers, right from the start  Grin
   

I doubt it very much... All the success stories we hear from musicians, footballers, artists are the same. Lots of hard work is required to perfect something. Why would taking photographs be any different??


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luissantos84

Dreamstime GaugeiStock Gauge
« Reply #19 on: July 31, 2011, 15:38 »
Quote from: helenk on July 31, 2011, 14:58
Quote from: luissantos84 on July 31, 2011, 07:59
Quote from: rubyroo on July 31, 2011, 07:47
Slovenian - she's just starting out and looking for a bit of advice to get going.  I just don't feel that's the stage to be smacking people over the head with the top 15 sellers at IS, as if they're all that counts.

If you work steadily and find your way, you can do well.  If you're defeated at the first hurdle by seemingly unobtainable goals, you'll give up and make zilch.  There are many good places to land between 'zilch' and 'multi-millionaire'.

nop, you need to understand there are some folks that only do and sell best sellers, right from the start  Grin
   

I doubt it very much... All the success stories we hear from musicians, footballers, artists are the same. Lots of hard work is required to perfect something. Why would taking photographs be any different??

just in case you haven´t understood, I was being sarcastic Smiley


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rubyroo



« Reply #20 on: July 31, 2011, 17:46 »
It sounds like you have a good frame of mind for this Helena, which is great to hear.  I wish you well and look forward to seeing your progress.   

@ Luis - I reflected on what you said when I was making dinner and realised you were joking.  Sorry for misunderstanding at the time.


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sjlocke

iStock Gauge
« Reply #21 on: July 31, 2011, 21:47 »
Quote from: helenk on July 31, 2011, 14:45
Thanks for the advice! As I said I am totally new to this and still learning... I bought my digital slr only 2 weeks ago. I just like taking photos and I am trying to find a way to pay for more equipment so I will be happy with 100 quid per month :-)

I'm totally in the same place.  I just got my first frying pan, and the frigging Four Seasons won't hire me as a chef yet!  Wink


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rubyroo



« Reply #22 on: July 31, 2011, 22:51 »
 Cheesy

I never thought I'd say this to a King of microstock but hey, this is a new context so.... Keep at it Sean, you'll get there one day  Wink   Cheesy


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sponner


« Reply #23 on: August 04, 2011, 01:29 »
Quote
Thanks for the advice! As I said I am totally new to this and still learning... I bought my digital slr only 2 weeks ago. I just like taking photos and I am trying to find a way to pay for more equipment so I will be happy with 100 quid per month :-)

Helena,

I'm in  asimilar boat to you as a newbie.

I bought my first camera last October and stumbled upon microstock shortly afterwards. 100 quid a month is a challenging target if, like me, you a starting froma skill and knowledge base of zero.

On the positive side I am just about to pay for my first camera kit (£450) and get around £50 a month now across all the sites I upload to.

Most of the posters on here are serious players and offer great advice, use it and you can make money. Just remember that at first it really is peanuts and only worth doing if you enjoy the process for its own sake.

p.s I found that my aceptance rate increased dramatically when I bought a decent prime lens with a reputation for being pin sharp and used that for most of my pics intended for stock rather than the kit lenses.
« Last Edit: August 04, 2011, 01:32 by sponner »

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