It's a bridge, some clouds and some ducks

Seriously, there's nothing much "stand out" about them, so they probably wouldn't be accepted in a contributor application.

... If I could find a ton of opportunities to take pictures like that it would be great.

Find???

You have to create those opportunities.

Do you seriously believe that any successful photographer "found" those opportunities of great models, studio locations and assistants by accident?

You have to work for that!

I doubt you rented those ducks for the shoot to have them walk exactly the way you photographed them, did you?

You have to understand that you will never stand out from the crowd ( or become successful) by taking pictures of things that anyone can do just by pressing the shutter release of things that surround us?

Think of different angles. Lay on the floor and take a pic of the mother duck from down below shooting upwards. I bet you get a killer image but probably you won't "find that opportunity".

Don't take this post too seriously but you will have to "work" for good shots... No matter what.

I wouldn't call any of these three terribly stockworthy and wouldn't be surprised if all three were rejected on those grounds.  You need to think in terms of usefulness; something that a client would want to use in an ad or a poster or a brochure or a website or a presentation.  Believe it or not, there are plenty of subjects like that within reach pretty much anywhere.  Before I started shooting in studio, I could still find a fair number of stock subjects just driving around.

Chris Marquardt of the Tips From the Top Floor photography podcast runs a series of workshops he calls Learning to See.  That's what you need to do: look around you and see the stock opportunities.  They're there.

The last picture would probably get rejected since it would require a property release for the art work at least in some agencies.

http://www.istockphoto.com/tutorial_9.0_modelrelease.php

http://www.istockphoto.com/tutorial_9.1_propertyrelease.php

I hope this helps.

...
What about this picture? I would of course take another during the day to get a better picture but would this be a good one?

You are winding us up aren't you?

You see all the links to the stock sites where most of us sell our images. Go there and look at the best selling images to get an idea what this business is about.

Then look at your images and start improving.

Stock photography is about images that have a message or convey something. What is your last image telling a potential client? Think about it!

None of those would be worth spending the time to submit.  The bridge might get accepted, but you will not make any significant money.

Study what is available on the sites, how they are composed and use that knowledge to create photographs that have value.  When was the last time you saw that type of duck photograph used in an ad or in a presentation?

The one with the Snow and the Road...nothing too special about it. Maybe if it were a Rural Road with snowy trees on the side or over it or something.

The Ice on the plants... Honestly I would give a yes to trying it. Keywording would be where you have trouble with it I think.

Start looking through peoples ports on the stock sites. See if there are things you might be able to handle with your Knowledge and Equipment....then try to do it differently or better than what you see. Try not to copy though.

When I started trying to do stock...my problem was I learned Artistic Styles and Compositions. That does not seem to work for stock and it took me a while to just semi-understand what and how I should shoot for stock. I starting googling heavy for info and then started looking through different ports to try to understand the style more.

Start looking through peoples ports on the stock sites. See if there are things you might be able to handle with your Knowledge and Equipment....then try to do it differently or better than what you see. Try not to copy though.

I think a better use of time would be to look at places where the images are being used to understand what buyers are buying rather than trying to rehash a slightly different version of existing photos.

I show potential models ads in magazines, and I think that may help the OP as well. That will truly give you an idea of what photos you should be shooting. Look at billboards as well. Please don't get discouraged! Just take the good information and forget about how it was delivered! 

Quote from: retinal_camera on September 03, 2009, 17:27

... If I could find a ton of opportunities to take pictures like that it would be great.

Find???

You have to create those opportunities.

Do you seriously believe that any successful photographer "found" those opportunities of great models, studio locations and assistants by accident?

You have to work for that!

I doubt you rented those ducks for the shoot to have them walk exactly the way you photographed them, did you?

You have to understand that you will never stand out from the crowd ( or become successful) by taking pictures of things that anyone can do just by pressing the shutter release of things that surround us?

Think of different angles. Lay on the floor and take a pic of the mother duck from down below shooting upwards. I bet you get a killer image but probably you won't "find that opportunity".

Don't take this post too seriously but you will have to "work" for good shots... No matter what.

good advice there!

I have my share of 'stumbled upon' shots too, but the ones that are worth spending your time on are 'made' to happen.  Think of what you want to submit or what you like taking pictures of, then how you want the pictures to look and make them happen.