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Author Topic: Application photos  (Read 14693 times)

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« Reply #25 on: February 23, 2008, 10:48 »
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or a light tent


My advice too for isolations: buy a light tent.

http://www.amazon.com/Lastolite-LL-LR3686-3-Feet-Cubelite/dp/B00009R8I1

With a light tent, you get with no pain a diffuse lighting with soft shadows. No need for a softbox and complex lighting setup: 2 hard lights outside the tent and the light is soft and subtle inside.

And you should work a little bit on your isolation technique in PS: you don't do it right with your green apple IMHO.

And as other people said before: try to make your photos "pop" a little bit more  ;)




« Reply #26 on: February 23, 2008, 10:51 »
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Forget spending all that money on light tents.  Instead buy a cheap, second hand flash gun, a cord to get it off camera and a sheet of white poster-board.

90% of my isolations were done with the above kit (well, except I have a canon speedlite, but it makes no real difference, I also use a Centon flash).  Just set the flash up to bounce the light off a white ceiling and you'll get flawless diffused lighting every time.  Add reflectors as needed (silver foil) and you have an easy way to do isolate small objects.

« Reply #27 on: February 23, 2008, 11:09 »
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Forget spending all that money on light tents.  Instead buy a cheap, second hand flash gun, a cord to get it off camera and a sheet of white poster-board.

90% of my isolations were done with the above kit (well, except I have a canon speedlite, but it makes no real difference, I also use a Centon flash).  Just set the flash up to bounce the light off a white ceiling and you'll get flawless diffused lighting every time.  Add reflectors as needed (silver foil) and you have an easy way to do isolate small objects.

I used this kind of setup: it works just fine indeed.

But for $150 you get a 3' light tent and 2 1000W halogen light. Switch on the lights, put your object into the tent and that's it. It is a lot easier and faster to shot isolated objects this way: I've used both techniques.

And I'm not sure a flashes + a cord + various poster boards and reflectors will be cheaper. The flash only is probably more expensive. And you need some diffuser for your flash.

Another advantage of the light tent: you can easily shot reflective objects without worrying about everything in the room reflecting on your subject.

Anyway, choose the technique which fits the best your needs.



« Reply #28 on: February 23, 2008, 11:39 »
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And I'm not sure a flashes + a cord + various poster boards and reflectors will be cheaper. The flash only is probably more expensive. And you need some diffuser for your flash.
ds.


I got a flash on eBay for $15 (Centon flash with moving head.  Not pretty but it works).  Sync cords can probably be picked up for not more than $10 (or a cheap remote from HK).  Posterboard is about $2.50.  Diffuser is your white ceiling.  Add $2.50 for your reflectors.

That's around $30 if you're a good bargain hunter!
« Last Edit: February 23, 2008, 11:41 by Seren »

« Reply #29 on: February 23, 2008, 15:08 »
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I got a flash on eBay for $15 (Centon flash with moving head.  Not pretty but it works).  Sync cords can probably be picked up for not more than $10 (or a cheap remote from HK).  Posterboard is about $2.50.  Diffuser is your white ceiling.  Add $2.50 for your reflectors.

That's around $30 if you're a good bargain hunter!

It takes a few seconds to find a tent on eBay for $19.99.

Anyway, we are talking about microstock photography which is a business and the most efficient you are when shooting the better it is for your business.

Did you try to shoot with a light tent? I've made isolations with and without tent and for me, it is easier and faster to shoot with a tent and you get more predictable results. But it may depends on the subject, the photographer etc.

Anyway, everybody use different techniques and this is just fine.





« Reply #30 on: February 23, 2008, 15:23 »
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It takes a few seconds to find a tent on eBay for $19.99.

Anyway, we are talking about microstock photography which is a business and the most efficient you are when shooting the better it is for your business.

Did you try to shoot with a light tent? I've made isolations with and without tent and for me, it is easier and faster to shoot with a tent and you get more predictable results. But it may depends on the subject, the photographer etc.

Anyway, everybody use different techniques and this is just fine.

Yes I did.  And I found it frustrating because I either had to use a tripod to shoot with, or I had to dig my strobes out to get enough light.  Shooting with a flashgun bounced means I can shoot handheld, but can have a "shoot" completed within 15 mins or so when I have just a little spare time, including set up and take down.

« Reply #31 on: February 23, 2008, 16:09 »
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ond SS because of keywords  - 5 photos because I included name of a lake in Slovenia, which isn't an english keyword

Hi

As regards SS you will see this comment so many times, read the rejection in full, it states words not in English, read on further it states not relevent keywords or Description.

So go back on your keywords and descriptions have another look, is each one relevent to the image you see,  the rejection can sometimes happen because of a place name, stock is a lot about non specific generic images and keywords, so a lake in slovenia is just a lake.

Looking at the Image Seren highlighted it is very specific to a region, however a shot of a couple of rowing boats or canoe's pulled up on the bank, and maybe a distant shoreline is more stock, because it could have been taken and used anywhere.

David 
 

« Reply #32 on: February 23, 2008, 16:20 »
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Looking at the Image Seren highlighted it is very specific to a region, however a shot of a couple of rowing boats or canoe's pulled up on the bank, and maybe a distant shoreline is more stock, because it could have been taken and used anywhere.

David 
 

I disagree, this is a particularly famous place in Slovenia.  If I'm right, it's at the foot of the only Alpine peak in Slovenia, so would make excellent stock, for places such as climbing / mountaineering websites, kayaking websites, mountain biking websites...  It was the place that made me want to go there.  Those steps on the island are beautiful, and one of our plans was to kayak out to them.

Saying that you should not keyword this lake with it's name, is the same as saying that you shouldn't keyword the Panama Canal with it's name - they're both famous landmarks in their own subcultures.

It concerns me that Shutterstock would reject "foreign" place names because they're not in English, because we are in a global image market.  How on earth are you supposed to find pictures of places if  you can't use their native names?

CofkoCof

« Reply #33 on: February 25, 2008, 02:28 »
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@Seren: Maybe you'll visit our country some other time. I'm sure you'd enjoy some of the very nice places we have (lake Bled included :D).

@FlemishDreams: I know, was a boring overcast sky that day. Will have to go and reshoot.

@ale1969: I'm gonna buy a few lights and I'm improving my lightbox. Will post some shots when I have time.

And regarding keywords: I used "Bled" keyword only at pictures that offer a clear view of the island, which is very recognizable.

Tnx for now, will select 3 shots for IS and ask you what you think about them, then 7 more for SS.

CofkoCof

« Reply #34 on: February 27, 2008, 17:42 »
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I'll try with these 3 at IS, what do you think:
http://www.fotolia.com/id/6431965
http://www.dreamstime.com/colorful-park-image4234437
http://www.fotolia.com/id/5889714   (will boost saturation a bit on this one)

CofkoCof

« Reply #35 on: February 28, 2008, 16:15 »
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All my 10 photos got approved at SS :D I saturated them a bit, downsized to 4m and used keywords from SnapVillage(at least one use of that site).

They don't show in my portfolio yet (how long does it take), but I linked them from other sites if some1 is interested:
http://www.123rf.com/photo_2563884.html
http://www.123rf.com/photo_2555718.html
http://www.123rf.com/photo_2555723.html
http://www.123rf.com/photo_2555724.html
http://www.123rf.com/photo_2563231.html
http://www.123rf.com/photo_2563833.html
http://www.123rf.com/photo_2563264.html
http://www.123rf.com/photo_2577854.html
http://www.fotolia.com/id/6437383
http://www.fotolia.com/id/6436421

IS is next. I'll probably select colorful park, island with the church and that gold metal texture.

CofkoCof

« Reply #36 on: February 28, 2008, 16:19 »
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Double post.
« Last Edit: February 28, 2008, 16:21 by CofkoCof »

« Reply #37 on: February 28, 2008, 16:20 »
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I think the gold texture won't be accepted at IS.

Just a guess  ;)

CofkoCof

« Reply #38 on: February 28, 2008, 16:21 »
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Why? Overabundant category?

« Reply #39 on: February 28, 2008, 16:24 »
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Why? Overabundant category?

IS would say:

We're sorry, but we did not find this file suitable as stock. With the rapid growth of the iStock collection, we give valuable consideration to each file but unfortunately cannot accept all submissions.



CofkoCof

« Reply #40 on: February 28, 2008, 16:50 »
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Ok tnx. Which ones would you choose?

« Reply #41 on: February 28, 2008, 16:58 »
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The red forest (I like it a lot) or the boat.

I may be wrong however  ;D

CofkoCof

« Reply #42 on: February 28, 2008, 17:14 »
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I used the forrest with my first submisson. They said it has too much CA (probably got that weird look on the edges since it's a HDR image).

EDIT: The images are already up:
http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery.mhtml?id=159397
« Last Edit: February 28, 2008, 19:19 by CofkoCof »

CofkoCof

« Reply #43 on: March 07, 2008, 06:58 »
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Gonna try at is today with these photos probably:





What do you think?

CofkoCof

« Reply #44 on: March 10, 2008, 03:26 »
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I got accepted with these 3 images :D

fotoKmyst

« Reply #45 on: March 27, 2008, 17:46 »
0



I disagree, this is a particularly famous place in Slovenia.  If I'm right, it's at the foot of the only Alpine peak in Slovenia, so would make excellent stock, for places such as climbing / mountaineering websites, kayaking websites, mountain biking websites...  It was the place that made me want to go there.  Those steps on the island are beautiful, and one of our plans was to kayak out to them.

Saying that you should not keyword this lake with it's name, is the same as saying that you shouldn't keyword the Panama Canal with it's name - they're both famous landmarks in their own subcultures.


thanks ppl , i really enjoyed this thread. very helpful.
also the debate between generic vs regional .
in this case, i would go with Seren re : a specific tourist drawing image.

but all in all it was very insightful from everyone
thx  :)


 

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