B.U.M.P

Ok fair enough, that is something I will definatly try to work on. Thanks for the input.

Lisafx: Haha thanks! Also I will definatly think about submitting my other art.

goldenangel: Haha yeah, I am very glad I found out about microstock. I never really heard about it until I got into photography, but I am so glad I did!

thesentinel: Yeah I will try to branch off from the isolated white. But for not it is a good thing for me because I am not rushed, I can see what different setting do, and I am having a blast!  Thanks mate!

Snipep: Thanks man!

Sorry to keep this thread going, but here a few more isolations I have been working on. Also if you notice, no logos this time. 

Please let me know what I can improve on, I would appreciate if on the next few images I show you, you would be even more picky than a reviewer. Let me have it!











There is more but I don't want to flood you guys/gals with too many.

NOTE: ORIGINALLY POSTED BY packerguy

You can join Istock as a minor.  See this minor consent document..

http://www.istockphoto.com/docs/languages/english/minorconsent.pdf

The only other site I know of that may allow minors is bigstockphoto.  Here is a snip from the terms of service agreement.

1. Consent.
You must be at least 18 years of age to register with BigStockPhoto to provide content. BigStockPhoto may require that you provide sufficient proof that you are at least 18 years of age. Minors can become members only by having their parent or legal guardian register on their behalf. By opening such an account, the parent or legal guardian authorizes the minor to use and agrees to be bound personally by the terms and conditions of this agreement.

Quote from: packerguy on January 16, 2009, 15:45
You can join Istock as a minor.  See this minor consent document..

http://www.istockphoto.com/docs/languages/english/minorconsent.pdf

I don't know all the details, but my daughter wants to join some day.

The only other site I know of that may allow minors is bigstockphoto.  Here is a snip from the terms of service agreement.

1. Consent.
You must be at least 18 years of age to register with BigStockPhoto to provide content. BigStockPhoto may require that you provide sufficient proof that you are at least 18 years of age. Minors can become members only by having their parent or legal guardian register on their behalf. By opening such an account, the parent or legal guardian authorizes the minor to use and agrees to be bound personally by the terms and conditions of this agreement.

Thank you for the helpful information. I will be sure to fill that out. I will look around to see if any other sites allow minors to join.

Hali: Thanks mate!

Whoa, that is an awesome link, thank you!

EDIT: I was reading through some of the FAQ and I see you need to be of legal age. I don't mean to break the rules, but do all microstock sites require you to be a certain age limit? If so how could I get around that? Once again I don't like breaking rules.

Once again, thank you everybody for the wonderful help and advice. Also I am sorry for posting logos in them. I was unaware that you could not have those in your stock photos. but I will not make that mistake again. Also I will try to take more time on my postwork.

Another question, can the kind of photos I am taking have shadows in them? Will Microstock sites accept these, or will I have to white out everything except for the product?

Also I just wanted to note that I have learned so much information in such a short amount of time all thanks to you guys/gals. I am learning at a fast rate while having a blast taking shots over and over trying to get that perfect shot and trying out new angles. I have learned so much about my camera and how lighting effects photos. Also shutter speed and aperture make sense to me now. I could not have learned this much nor had this much fun without you guys/gals, and for that I thank all of you.

Hello again everybody. I just got my homemade light box up and running and let me tell you, this beats isolation any day. Everything just happens, sure I might have to do a little levels but no major changes. So here are my 4th and 5th attempt ever at microstock.  Also I think I got white balance figured out. But I wil let you guys and gals be the judges...

Also I have another quick question. When it comes to product photography, what can and can't you photograph? Basically is it no brand names in your photograph?

NOTE: If these are to big please me know and I will change asap.

hali: Haha thanks man, that means alot to me.  Seriously this is one of the most helpful and respectful forums I have ever been to. I really can't express in words how much you all have helped me so far.

sjlocke: Do you really think my other artwork is good enough for people to want to buy it?

  Thanks everyone for the wonderful support. All of you will definatly be my inpsiration when it comes to microstock!  Also I have decided that instead of taking all of the time to isolate items in photoshop I am going to make my very own light box. I have seen some tutorials out there which seem very informative and they dont seem like they will cost to much to make. So that is where I will go from here. Also like alot of you have suggested I will be reading up on photography basics everyday and shooting everyday.

Thank you everyone!!!

Wow, thank again everyone, I have read and re-read ever post in this thread and I have to say I am learning quite a bit. It is just so much information to take in at once. Also the "DOF Calculator" has also helped me out.

So here is another attempt... I really dont know how much better it is. My main goal was to try to get all of it in focus this time at the very least, I think I accomplished this. Also yes, I know it is another isolation...


http://i41.tinypic.com/2mms1v5.png click this link for full size view.(Warning, it is big)

Wow, I am stunned by all of these wonderful comments and help I am recieving, thank you everybody, I am truly greatful. I have recently really started trying to hit the books on the basics of photography. So far I think I am making good progress, but I still have a long way to go. Overall I feel it is my photography skills that are lacking. I know photoshop inside and out and have been working with it for almost 3 years now. I have a deviantart page if anyone is interested. ( www.ths-acid.deviantart.com) But I have only had my camera for about 2 weks. So hopefully in time those two will balance out and I will be taking some half way decent photos.

So until then I will be browsing around these forums and soaking in everything I read. Thank you all and I just want to say again how much you guys have helped me out. 

Once again thank you everybody. Just so everyone here knows I basically know how a large/small aperture affects the outcome of the picture. So you guys are saying I should try a smaller aperture to hopefully get some of the main features of the apple in focus, AKA the stem.

Also I have a few other questions if you guys wouldn't mind answering them.

Is it better to shoot RAW or JPEG?
I got a comment my white balance is off a little bit. What setting should I put my white balance on when shooting in pretty well lit room?
When shooting microstock should I be using Manual, Shutter Priority, or Aperture Priority?

Thanks again guys! You have all been extremely helpful.

Hmm well thanks for the help everyone, I am not quite sure why they are out of focus. Although I am quite new to photography. I have been using a pretty wide aperture so as to hopefully get as much as the apple in clear focus as possible. Is there a better way of focusing these types of things?

Well first off, thank you for the fast reply.

As for the lighting I have a smaller room with excellent lighting and the walls are all white, so I think I will try my luck in there. But I would like to get my hands on a tripod.

Also I have tried the pen tool in photoshop, it works all right but I like the polygon lasso tool a little more. Hmm who knows, mabye I could give the old pen tool another go.

Thanks for all of the help. I appreciate it.

Ok so I can work a little bit on the focus part.

Is there anyting else you say majorly wrong? Is the isolation good? How is the lighting? Is there any noise?

Apples...

Smaller View


100% View
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=j9v9c1&s=5 Click link to see cropped 100% View
________________________________________________________________

Smaller View


100% View
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=34efdxd&s=5 Click link to see cropped 100% View

How many of you have someplace in your house where you take photographs of your microstock? I am assuming quite a few of you. So I am just curious of how you do it? What does it consist of? Could you take pictures of it and post it here? What is a cheap way to make an at home setup? Do you use a natural light source? Please if someone could explain some of this to me, I would greatly appreciate it.

Also for those of you who isolate your stock, how do you do it? Do you do the same basic thing shown here?  http://www.microstockgroup.com/index.php?topic=5579.0 If not how have you found it is best to isolate your stock?

Thanks for reading.

I am a nikon person. I just ordere my first DSLR which was a Nikon D40. So far i am impressed to say the least. It is very easy to use and takes great high quaility pics.

Nikon all the way!