John M. Lund asked:


Stock photography has always been considered the ugly stepchild of commercial photography.  Originally stock photos consisted of out-takes from assignments…the “seconds” if you will.  The strategy for success for a stock shooter was to get as much content into the collection as possible…not a methodology for gaining a reputation for quality!

Bringing “Quality” To Stock

Along came Tony Stone (Tony Stone Images…now Getty Images) who changed the approach from how much material is in a collection to how good the material in a collection is.  He pared down the number of images keeping only the very best, made lots of dupes of a given image (back then you had to send out transparencies…so with more dupes of a given image that image could be in front of more potential buyers at once), and became enormously successful.  My original stock agency was a company call AfterImage.  When Stone purchased it the first thing that happened was that they sent virtually all of my material back to me and only kept a handful of images.  The second thing that happened was that my sales tripled! 

Getty bought Tony Stone Images and began to apply business principles to stock photography. It looked as though stock my finally start to be looked upon with a little more respect…then RF happened.  And again, the emphasis shifted to how much material one could get in.  In some cases photographers would sell their entire archives for a set price.

The Saturation Of Images In Stock

Now stock photography is saturated with a gazillion photos…some of amazing quality…and a huge number of well-executed but repetitive lifestyle and business image.  With crowd sourcing and the entry of non-professionals into the market through agencies like Istockphoto, stock is still the ugly stepchild of commercial photography…but not to me.

Creative Freedom

For me, stock is the highest form of commercial photography.  It gives the photographer something truly valuable…creative control.  As a stock shooter I am able to choose whatever I want to photograph.  I get to photograph my subject in whatever way I want to do it.  Unlike assignment photography there are no limits…no Art Directors to satisfy (or rely on), no account executives to please, no clients to impose their own perceptions on your work.  No limits! 

That isn’t to say there aren’t any challenges…there are challenges galore!  While there is no client to impose limitations…there is also no client to bankroll the shoot.

While there are no limits to what you can shoot…no one else is coming up with ideas for you.  While there are no Art Directors to impose their visions…it is up to you to have that vision and be true to it.

The Challenges of Creative Freedom

Creative freedom is something that I think is a core need of every photographer.  But along with that freedom comes challenges. Few things require us to use that “creative” muscles as much as stock.  We need to be creative in coming up with what to shoot.  We need creativity in virtually every aspect of stock.  Creativity in how to arrange access to a difficult subject, creativity in how to shoot without the financial resources of a client…and creative decisions need to be made on where and how to place the work.

As I write this I have a list of a hundred or so images that I want to create for stock. Sometimes it takes me two years for my subconscious mind to finally figure out how to make something work under the budget and access limits that I have.  That brings up another great point about stock.  There are no arbitrary deadlines…only the ones I set for myself. 

An example of an idea that took time for me to solve the budgetary restrictions on…and the need to exercise creativity in how to get the shots, can be found in a series of stock photos I did with elephants as the subject matter.  I originally came up with the idea because I wanted to be close to an elephant…to be able to touch one and just hang out with it for a while.  So I came up with a few “elephant” ideas.  When I found out it would cost me $5,000.00 just to rent one elephant I put the project on the back burner.  A year ago I planned a trip to South East Asia.  I was going to shoot in Myanmar (Burma) for a couple of weeks.  I would be flying to Yangon, Myanmar’s capital, out of Bangkok.  I began to wonder what I could shoot in Thailand as long as I was going to be there anyway.  Then it popped into my head…elephants!  Perhaps it would cost less to rent one there.  Yes…one elephant cost me $450.00.  For a whole day!  Well, I got to hang out with, and touch, an elephant.  And in the eight months that I have had the resulting images in the market place I have already earned almost $20,000.00 from those images! 

Because of stock I have had the opportunity to “hang with” a lion, a tiger, and an elephant…I’ve had the chance to shoot a baboon in my studio too.  Animals, of course, are not the only “perks” I have been able to enjoy from shooting stock. I spent a week (and made a nice a profit off of) one of the swankiest Penthouses in Buenos Aires, a magnificent “casa” in Mexico, …heck, I have even rented a disco (also in Buenos Aires) and had a crazy fun time shooting what in effect was a private disco party complete with a crowd of dancers, throbbing music, and smoke machines.  Cool!

For me stock is the highest form of commercial work.  It requires discipline, creativity, and guts (hey…it can take real guts to spend large sums of money on a speculative shoot).  But as they say on late-night television infomercials; wait…there’s more!  There is the friendship and fun factor.  For me, it is a lot more fun shooting stock where there is no “outside” pressure to perform and no one but myself to answer too.  Also, for a number of my shoots I have invited other photographers to join me.  For the disco shoot I shot with three other photographers.  We all shared in the cost and worked together…but each producing our own set of images.  A “creative” way to reduce the expense of our shoot, to spread the production time and labor out…and to get to work with some close friends.  When was the last time you invited some close photographer friends to shoot with you on an assignment?

Well, there you have it.  My view of why stock is actually the highest form of commercial photography.  It is all on your shoulders…and with the only limits being those you place on yourself.  You don’t have to add to those gazillion images of business people on cell phones…or laughing couples on the beach.  Sure you can…but you can also allow give yourself amazing challenges with rewards that are commensurate. 

John M. Lund asked:


The Guest House at the base of the Simatai section of The Great Wall was typically rural Chinese in its bare and no-frills atmosphere.  I had been sicker than a dog for a week now and really was looking forward to a nice hot shower.  It was March and here in Simitai it was freezing cold and windy.  I checked into my room and turned on the shower.  I let the water run a very long time but it didn’t seem to be getting any warmer.  I checked at the front desk and the clerk dispatched a man to my room to see about the hot water.  He told not to worry there would be plenty of hot water in the morning.  Swell.  The hot shower would have to wait.

The next morning (which at 4:00am came all too quickly), I turned on the water and surprise, no water.  Not even any cold water!  Oh well.  I bundled up, grabbed my camera gear and headed to the lobby to meet my traveling companion, Ginna Fleming, and our guide.  We needed our early start so that we could be well up on the wall and in place to shoot the sunrise.  I have learned from years of travel, stock and assignment photography that there is no such thing as “too early” but “too late” comes in a hurry!

It was a short walk to the wall.  It was too soon for anyone to be around; just the two of us and our local Chinese guide.  She was a villager from nearby.  She explained to us that the village had once been located here, but that when the wells went dry the village had to move about 4 kilometers away where they could find more water.  She told us that village life was very difficult and guiding tourists was much easier.

We began to walk up the wall, which climbed the side of the mountain at a fairly steep incline.  The top of the wall was, in effect, a stone staircase and we walk up from watchtower to watchtower one step at a time.  We climbed the “staircase” for almost two hours before the sun began it’s own climb into the sky. 

 

We passed beyond the portion of wall that tourists normally stop and past warning signs prohibiting us to go further…but it was early and in the winter and there was no one there to stop us. 

Here the wall had not been reconstructed and was in ragged disrepair.  Our guide pointed out graffiti that the men and women who built the wall so many years earlier had left behind.  The stones were loose and crumbling and we had to be careful as we hiked up the structure.  As the light began to spread across the landscape we set up our tripods and framed a distant section of wall that spread out below us like a gigantic snake undulating up and down the brown and barren ridges and hills.

For me it was one of those peak experiences, one of the primary reasons I travel.  The sense of history was almost palpable; the only sound the chirping of a few birds.  No tourists, no one hawking guidebooks.  Just this ancient wall, a grand vista of the Chinese landscape, and the cold wind pressing on us as the sun struggled through the morning mist.  When its rays finally reached the valley below us and etched the details of the wall in it’s warm light I knew the photos too would be the effort.  While I was there to create adventure and travel stock photography, I was also there for the experience and spent several hours in mostly quiet reverence. It wasn’t until we were well on our way down that we came across anther person who passed quietly by us on her own journey up the Great Wall.

Started under Qin Shi Huang circa 220 B.C., the first 3,000-mile section of the Wall required the efforts of 70% of China’s population…over a million peasants, prisoners and soldiers.

There are over 10,000 watchtowers and beacon towers on the Great Wall.

There really is no “single” wall, but rather a series of walls, some brick and some earthen and built over a span of 2000 years.

The stone and bricks from the Ming dynasty portion of the wall would be enough to circle the earth five feet high!

Our guide told us that the wall had never stopped any incursions. The intruders simply went around the wall or bribed the guards to let them through.

John M. Lund asked:


Let’s say you have made the commitment to join the world of stock photography, you have an excuse, and a valid one, to go out and buy some photography gear.  What I will share with you here is not necessarily the perfect answer as what to get, but what does work for me.  I can give you some guidelines, and tips, but in every case you will need to take into consideration your own situation, what and how you will be shooting, what your budget constraints are and a host of other personal considerations.

Let’s start with cameras.  I have a fair number of would-be professionals ask me what cameras they should buy…and most of the time they end up putting price ahead of quality.  That is a mistake.  If you want to shoot professionally, and to compete with all of the others who are doing so, buy a professional caliber camera that meets the image quality requirements of the big agencies.  To fail to do so will be putting you at a significant disadvantage.

You can’t go wrong with the high-end cameras from Canon and Nikon.  The models and specs keep changing and improving, but if you go with one of their professional level models you well have spent your money wisely.  I, at the time of this writing, am shooting with a Canon 1ds MKII, a Canon 1ds MKIII, and a Canon 5d MKII. If I were starting out today I would buy the Canon 5d MKII. 

To determine which camera is best for you, you should go to a camera store and hold the top models, see how they feel and get an idea of what would be most comfortable for you.  If you shoot sports you will probably want a different model than if you shoot still life.  If you shoot in low light levels you might want a different model than if you shoot primarily in bright light. That is why you must do your research. BTW, the newest Canons and Nikons have truly remarkable low light performance that represent a sea change in photography.

Your lenses are your next choice.  I could probably do all my stock photography with the Canon 24-105 IS L series lens.  That being said, I also find useful, pretty much in this sequence, the Canon 100-400 IS zoom L Series, the 16-35 Zoom, 70-200 f2.8 and a f2 135mm.  Buying Canon or Nikon lenses over third party lenses, in my experience, give you a bit more sharpness and a lot more ruggedness.  If you are on a budget, start with a lens in that 24-105 range, and use that until you find that you are consistently in need of something more.

It is my firm belief that if you are competing in the serious world of stock photography you will need some form of lighting equipment.  Even when there is plenty of light, say at 4:00pm on a sunny day at the beach, you can create images with more impact, and that will sell better, if you add additional lighting. 

It may be as simple as a reflector, or might involve strobes.  Recently I found myself back pedaling through the edge of the surf at the beach, shooting away at a model running towards me, while an assistant back pedaled alongside me holding a power pack in one hand and a strobe head in the other.  The added highlight from the flash provides that little extra something that sets that photograph apart from the countless other competing images.  My experience has consistently been that used intelligently, supplemental lighting invariably produces a better image than I can obtain without.  Even when shooting Padueng Tribal Women in remote regions of Myanmar (the ones with the “rings” around their necks) having an on camera flash to add a little pop in the dark confines of their huts made a huge difference.

Every stock shooter needs at least one reflector, and a collapsible 32” reflector with white on one side and gold on the other is a versatile workhorse that is large enough to handle a torso-sized subject and small enough to fit in your backpack.  Get one of those.  Personally, that one size has been invaluable for me and I always have one available when I am shooting.

As far as flash units go, over the years I have used Elinchrome, Balcar, Speedotron and Profoto.  They have all worked well for me.  At this point I am using Profoto 7bs.  Each pack can handle two heads with a total of 1200-watt seconds and have removable batteries, which can handle of 200 full power flashes. 

I am totally happy with these units.  I have taken them with me to Buenos Aires, Bangkok, Mexico and India.  Again, though, do your own research.  Check the forums, read the reviews, even better, rent some units and try them out. You will need to take into consideration the flexibility of the units, the weight and size, the power output, whether they are battery operated or not, and all the various features the different units offer. 

If you do end up using studio (and location) power packs I highly recommend radio triggers or “slaves”.  I use Pocket Wizards, but there are a number of brands and my lack of experience with other brands should not prevent you from checking the other ones out.  Once you go wireless, you can’t go back.

While I mostly rely on my “studio” power packs for my produced shoots, in certain situations on camera flashes play an important role for me. On my last trip to India to shoot stock photos I wanted to travel light, and relied on the Canon 580 EX unit supplemented with a Quantum Turbo SC battery. 

At one point we even had two photographers sharing the Quantum at the same time (it has two power outlets).  It was a great decision for the kind of photography and style of trip I had planned.

On occasion I have used hot lights too.  I own a pair of Lowel Tota Lights for the rare instances when I need continuous light. They are very portable and with a 1000-watt bulb put out a good amount of light (and a lot of heat too).  Don’t plug them in to a 220-volt source though; then they become flash units capable of only one flash, as I found out in a moment of inattention while shooting in Argentina.

The coming thing, however, might just be continuous fluorescent Lighting.  Google that term and you will find plenty of information on it.  The light is beautiful, but in the past when I have tried them I have found the low output a little limiting.  Now, however, with the new increased ISO speeds possible with the latest Canon and Nikon cameras, and possible advances with the lighting units themselves, they may be a great option for you.  Try them.  My advice is to try everything and find out what best meshes with your style of shooting and the look you are after.

I firmly believe in having the right tool for the job.  If you don’t or can’t own, rent.  But trying to skimp when you have the success of a shoot in the balance is false economy. 

Get the basics then start shooting and learning.  With the instant feedback of digital cameras you can make adjustments after each exposure until you get it right.  So what are you waiting for? Go shoot!

R. Dodge Woodson asked:


What is Stock Photography?

R. Dodge Woodson

What is stock photography? To many photographers it is a path to profits. Other photographers find it to be a hole of frustration. Realistically, stock photography is somewhere between these two extremes.

There are three ways to look at stock photography. The first is the view that photographers have of it. Stock agencies will see stock photography differently.  Buyers of stock photos are sure to have their own impression of what stock photography is.

I am assuming that most readers here will be looking at stock agencies through the viewfinder of a photographer. Still, to be successful at stock photography you will need to understand all three angles of the business.

All three views share some common elements. We will start with these shared views as stock photography secrets are revealed.

Is Stock Photography A True Business?

Is stock photography a real business? Many people involved in it will agree that it is very much a business. Some photographers see it as a place to warehouse their mediocre photos. For them, the business element is unlikely to come into play.

Stock photography consists of existing photographs that can be used for various purposes ranging from advertising to educational uses. The concept for buyers is that it is much less expensive to buy a stock photo than it is to commission a photographer for a specific assignment to create similar photos.

Stock Photography As Seen By Buyers

Stock photography is very appealing to buyers. This has never been more true. The creation and growth of micro stock agencies have changed the face of stock photography for everyone involved.

I entered the stock photo arena back in the old days. You know, back when photos were taken with the use of film. Now we have digital cameras, electronic photo manipulators, and micro stock agencies. Old grey beards, like me, can feel very intimidated by all of the changes in the business.

Back in the film days it was common for stock agencies to send out original slides for potential buyers to review. Now photos are uploaded and emailed and shown in online galleries. The selling process is very different. Stock photography today is instant gratification.

It used to be important to choose an agency that was well known and that had strong connections in the buying world. This is still true, but it is not nearly as important as it used to be. Now if you can get your photos to come up in searches on the Internet, sales can be made. Hell, you don’t even need an agent these days.

Buyers are looking for specific types of photos. They don’t care if they come from a photographer or a stock agency. If you have the picture that the buyer wants, you have the power.

We will talk more about agencies in a later chapter. This chapter is meant as an overview, not a detailed description of what your options are and how to take advantage of them.

In short, buyers are looking for high-quality photos of specific subject matter that can be licensed for a reasonable fee. It boils down to the picture and the money. There is no loyalty between buyers and stock agencies. Yes, times have changed.

I just finished writing a new e-book that is a Book Buster entitled: Sensible Stock Photography: Secrets Revealed. I have been a stock photographer for about 30 years, so I have a bit of experience to share with people new to the business.

What Are The Basic Goals Of Stock Agencies?

Stock agencies exist to make money. Few agency owners do what they do as a hobby. It is all about the cash. If you can make money for an agency, they will be interested in you and your work.

There are many differences between agencies which we will discuss later. For now, it is enough to simplify the issue by saying that agencies what to represent photos that will sell often and for high prices. You can bet your best lens that agencies see what they do as a business.

Stock Photographers

Stock photographers come in many forms. Some are more serious than others. Photographers often look at stock sales as beer and peanut money. Other photographers make their entire living shooting and selling stock photos.

What type of stock photographer do you want to be? How much money do you want to make from your photos? Will you be happy to see your photos published even if you don’t make a lot of money? Since this book is expected to be of the most interest to photographers we will spend more time on this topic.

What do you want?

What do you want from your stock photography? Is your main goal to see your work in print? How important is the income from stock sales to you? Only you can answer these questions, and they must be answered.

If you are looking to make a lot of money, you should look at other means of income. It is surely possible to make big bucks with stock sales, but far more photographers make less rather than more.

Stock photography can provide many things to photographers. The list below identifies some of them:

A goal to shoot for Something worthwhile to do with your photos A source of unknown and unlimited income Critical assessments to make you a better photographer A chance to see more of your work published Legitimacy for your camera business tax deductions The excitement of being notified of a sale that you didn’t know about The hope of  using stock photography income as part of your retirement The thrill of competition

There are, of course, other benefits to be had from stock photography. You will know what is right for you when you try it.

An Opportunity

Stock photography is an open opportunity for all photographers. Your existing credentials don’t count. It doesn’t matter if your name is famous in the industry, although this never hurts. As long as you can produce high-quality photos on a consistent basis, you can be a stock photographer.

It used to be common to be an exclusive photographer for one agency. This type of arrangement still exists, but it is now common for photographers to be represented by multiple agencies at the same time. This can increase sales considerably. Most photographers in the digital age choose non-exclusive representation.

Themes

Some themes sell better than others for stock photographers. I love to shoot macro photos, nature, and wildlife subjects. These types of photos are sometimes purchased from stock agencies, but they are far from the best-selling categories.

Weddings are usually the main moneymaker for local photographers. People photos are the key producers in the stock market. Models have to sign releases, but the work can be simple, easy to plan, and you can produce a high volume of photos in a short time.

Photos that can be used as backgrounds for advertisements are another popular seller through agencies. These can be anything from photos of clouds in the sky to colored pebbles. Creative photographers excel at these pictures.

Food is a very popular seller with most agencies. Shooting a bowl of fruit in a studio might not be your idea of glamorous photography, but it can pay the bills quite handsomely.

Objects are another fairly popular category. This could be a jar of candy, a hammer, or a toaster. Avoid trademarks in this type of photography. If it exists, there may be a request for a picture of it at some time.

It’s What You Make of It.

Stock photography is what you make it. Some photographers consider it a waste of time. A lot of photographers use it for supplemental income. Photographers occasionally make great livings shooting stock. What will you make of it? Well, your feelings now may change considerably by the time you finish this rare, unveiled look at what stock photography really is and what it means to photographers.

John M. Lund asked:


John: Rick, I know you as the CEO, principle founder and chief architect of Blend Images, a young and very successful stock agency owned and run by photographers.  You have a long history in stock as a shooter, an entrepreneur and in management.  Can you fill in the details on your experience in stock?

Rick: I graduated from  Rochester Institute of Technology in 1990 with a BFA in Photography and headed west with my then girlfriend, Megan, who was to be a PhD student at UC Irvine in California.  I was intrigued by stock photography in the late 80’s when I stumbled upon one of Westlight’s early catalogs.  Naturally, I contacted Westlight when I landed on the west coast and ended up taking a job within months of getting settled in Irvine.  At Westlight, I started on the light-table doing research – pulling transparencies from the filing cabinets for client requests.  I then moved on to be an Account Executive and finally a Photo Editor working directly with photographers.  I, too, began shooting some stock but it was a bit intimidating as I edited work by some of the world’s top editorial and commercial photographers like Craig Aurness and Chuck O’Rear. 

After a relatively short time at Westlight, I was hired as a Director of a small traditional photo agency in Orange County, CA called PhotoBank.  While a much smaller operation, I enjoyed the opportunity to work in a collaborative environment and to have the flexibility to work both with photographers creatively and in digital systems development both on the imaging side and on the business systems side. 

Having been a computer geek since my father purchased me one of the first Apple II in about 1979 while I was in Junior High, I have always enjoyed programming and still “get under the hood” every now and then.  Following Photobank, a close friend of mine purchased a software company which produced programs for Mac users in Real Estate.  He asked me to come on board as President and oversee development of the products. 

As I had begun to spend a lot of my time shooting stock, and I was very interested in early digital image databases – like those starting to come on board for MLS services and Kodak’s new stock on-line service based on PhotoCD, I thought running a software company would be a fun change of pace.  BusinessEdge ran for about 3 years and we ended up moving to Santa Barbara and becoming an ISP and a web-design company emphasizing database services. 

Our first client was DigitalStock, one of the first Royalty Free agencies, located in San Diego.  Coincidentally, I had been producing stock content for one of the owners of Digital Stock, at the same time the other owner used BusinessEdge software to run his real estate company and had contracted with me to build their first web-site.  One thing lead to another and I decided to come on board to work with the owners in developing Digital Stock from both a technical and creative perspective. 

We ended up selling Digital Stock to Corbis, and I joined Corbis as Co-Director for Commercial Content Worldwide.  I truly enjoyed my time at Corbis and met some great photographers and created a lot of wonderful content.  Due to an integration of RF into the larger RM strategy at Corbis, I was laid off in 2001.  Often opportunity comes from what one might perceive as a difficult situation.  Having the free time to actually shoot stock was a real blessing. 

I signed with a few agencies, and did some custom work for Corbis and was having a great time being a full time stock photographer for the first time in my life.  My wife had moved to Las Vegas as she took a job as Professor in the English department.  So, I moved from Los Angeles to Vegas (we were a commuting couple for several years), and shot a lot of stock photos for all the usual agencies. 

After about 3 years of shooting, I got wanderlust again and missed the company of working with others and the entrepreneurial energy of the ‘start-up.’  Throughout my entire career in stock there was always one unresolved constant – a dearth of high-quality, non-stereotypical, multi-ethnic business and lifestyle content. 

As a photo editor at Westlight, Digital Stock and Corbis, it was all I could do to get photographers to really concentrate on generating these much needed images.  And as the world around me seemed to be continuing to become more and more diverse, it seemed to me the time was now to “to it right” – not just shoot a few African-American images, but to really put together a collection with breadth and depth and with a real mission to create content that helps everyone communicate respectfully with one another through marketing and advertising messaging. 

So, I knew what I wanted to do, and tossed the idea around with my friend Jack Hollingsworth, and we got together a list of photographers we thought might be intrigued with the idea.  I said, “come to Las Vegas and bring your checkbook, I’ve got a thought.”  They all did, they all wrote checks and committed to shoot, and Blend was born.  We started with no images and of course, no revenue.  About 4 ½ years in we have about 80,000 images, over 70 photographers and sales just over 6M a year.  It’s been a great ride so far.

John: Blend Images is about four years old now.  From just an idea, to a full service agency with $6,000,000.00 in sales, an innovative and fast growing web site, an ownership position in a larger agency, and a roster of some of the biggest names in stock, Blend has been a remarkable success.  Can you share with us some of the factors that have made Blend so successful?

Rick: Three things made Blend successful

1. Our photographers and their photographs.  We only brought in top selling stock shooters to start Blend, and we’re really choosy with whom we offer contracts to shoot for Blend.  We have a small staff and we simply don’t have the ability to ‘hand-hold’ shooters who are just getting started (but always happy to help photographers find a good home for their work.)  I believe in experience when it comes to stock.  We have 23 owners / investors who founded Blend.  There is only one of these investors younger than me (I’m 40).  Why?  Experience counts.   I’m all for new blood, new techniques, hep, cool, pix.  But understanding the concepts that sell and those who have survived, and indeed thrived throughout the ups and downs and changes in the stock world are folks I want on my team.  We had such a strong roster coming out of the gate, that we signed many of our distributors without showing them a single photo.  They got it. And they wanted to be a part of it. 

2. Our staff.  We have a small staff only about 9 full-time employees.  But each, in their own right, is an entrepreneur.  They all have the ability to do jobs outside of their main discipline.  In fact, we just hired a new employee to handle our royalty accounting.  But, true to form, she was one of the first employees at Photodisc and has done everything from creative to sales.  Training took about 3 hours. She’s up and running.  We all take the trash out, we all do windows.  I only hire people who have their own ‘deep bench’ in terms of skills. 

3. Timing.  We got lucky to start the company when we did.  Everything came together at the right time. 

John: You have twenty-four founding photographers.  There are many who have said that it would be impossible to get so many photographers to work together successfully. Has that been difficult?

Rick: Yeah, I think it was Jonathan Klein, CEO of Getty Images who gave me a friendly reminder that “co-ops” are hard to run. Or maybe he said “you’re f’ing crazy” – something like that.  Truth is – they are.  Photographers are passionate people and they all have relevant business experience.  So there are a lot of cooks in the kitchen from time to time.  It’s to be expected.  But we’re really blessed to have just the right amount of sugar and spice.  We do an annual owner’s meeting in NYC every year where we can all talk about the business – what’s working, what’s not. 

But ultimately the key to our success so far with regard to corporate governance is that we immediately set up a management structure which allows me to operate the business unencumbered day to day.  Of the 24 owners, we select 4 to manage our LLC, and the CEO also sits on this Board of Managers.  This group hires the CEO, and the CEO is tasked with all of the day-to-day operations.   The CEO then reports monthly – financial / operational reports to the Board of Managers and we in turn report to all the owners quarterly with updates.  It works out pretty well.  Of course, some of us ‘get into it’ now and then, but it’s like a family.  It happens.  But we’ve been fortunate to work through individual concerns in a respectful and constructive manner.

John: What can you share with us about your vision for Blend’s future?

Rick: Blend Images will be the “go to” service for licensing ethnically diverse media for marketing and advertising.   We have room to grow both vertically and horizontally through our brand.  Obvious extensions are motion content, audio content, and editorial content.  We may have a lower-priced RF collection as well.   To grow the business further we will, of course, need to shoot the best pictures we can.  But also, we need to continue building out our technology base to generate a “closed-loop” between photographer, agent and client. 

We want photographers to be able to understand what our clients are looking for and be able to respond rapidly.  Our new back-end system for photographers we call “Loupe” allows our shooters to track their sales in real-time, download their royalty reports, and review their sales history all the way back to day one of Blend.  In the future, photographers will be able to analyze all aspects of our sales data. 

What’s are the best selling Latino subjects in the UK?  Do African-American family dining shots sell better than African-American family TV watching shots?  Craig Aurness, founder of Westlight, was a master of data mining.  I learned a lot from him and want to give our photographers as much information as possible.  Agencies hold this kind of data too close to the chest in my opinion. 

Micro agencies have been successful for a number of reasons – price not being the top reason in my opinion.  Transparency, community and ease of use are prime drivers of micro’s popularity.  Blend has learned from micro’s success and while we’ll never be a micro agency, we do want our photographers and our creative team to understand, as much as possible, objectively what’s working and what’s not.

John: Blend has expanded beyond the original founding photographers and now includes contributing photographers as well.  Is Blend continuing to take on new contributors?

Rick: What do you look for in contributing photographers?

We’ve been blessed to have so many great photographers want to be a part of Blend.  And yes, we’re always looking for new contributors.  Blend is more than just a photo agency – we truly are a community.  Blend photographers are automatically added to our Stockpros forum where top end commercial shooters share information, offer assistance, and sometimes just let off steam.  Are you looking for a modeling agency to work with in San Diego?  One post to the Stockpros list and you’d likely have it solved.  

We also provide our photographers with more creative research and feedback than any other agency that I’m aware of.  It’s understandable that larger agencies can’t offer one on one service as much as they used to — just too many photographers and too many images.  Blend can still provide the one on one.   We absolutely understand that our shooters make images for many different agencies.  Heck, I do. 

I wouldn’t suggest to anyone to put all your eggs in one basket.  What we aim to offer our shooters is, of course, to make a decent return on your shoots for Blend, but as important to open doors to a community of the best of the best stock shooters.  When you’re a Blend photographer our concern is that you do well in stock – all of it – not just at Blend. 

We all celebrate a shooter having a great year at Getty or Superstock or Veer.  Our feeling is together we’ll all do better — it can be lonely out there!  Of course anyone interested in learning more about our agency, just e-mail Sarah Fix, our Creative Director at sarah@blendimages.com, or you can even e-mail or call me directly.  We’re casual.

John: We are in a very challenging time for stock photography.  Microstock has burst on the scene and is sorting itself out, RF seems to be drowning in its own weight and the economy is setting the wrong kind of records. Can you give your perspective on Microstock, the oversupply of Royalty Free, and how the economy is going to be impacting stock?

Rick: The economy is in shambles.  Advertising and marketing budgets are some of the first to go.  It will get better in time, but seriously – it’s a mess out there.  2009 is going to be very hard for the commercial creative arts.  It’s not a Microstock thing (completely).  It’s not an oversupply thing (completely).  It’s mostly a ‘the whole world is broke’ thing.  But still – even if there’s a 50% decrease in stock sales, we’re still talking about, what?  700M in sales out there. 

One thing is especially important to keep in mind – now is not the time for a shotgun approach to production.  The last decade was about creating massive amounts of RF imagery.  Now there’s too much similar content. RM has been underserved with new imagery, but it’s a relatively small market.   Micro is interesting, but a lot of hard work and not completely clear one can generate the same returns as in traditional stock. (Yes, some do, but very few.)  Chill out in 2009.  Figure out what you’re truly good at shooting, figure out what the market is missing and make fewer, but better targeted content.  Don’t count the success of your 2009 in the number of images you produce. 

John: Blend is pioneering a new model; Non exclusive distribution of RM stock.  How does that work, and how is it working?

Rick: Truth is there are very, very, few exclusive sales — a couple of percent per year.  So we handle exception sales through our Seattle office and notify sales partners where appropriate.  The bottom line is that RM imagery simply has much less exposure than RF imagery.  RM shots might sell a few times a year, micro shots might sell hundreds of times a year.  Most folks license RM pictures because, well, they like the picture – not that it’s RM.  We sell RM on our site every day.  We sell RF on our site everyday.  Often the price point is the same. 

John: Do you see the market for stock photography changing?  If so, how?

Rick: I would concur with some of the stock smartypants folks that yes, there will be less need for high-res content as pictures are used more and more in digital environments.  But low-res doesn’t necessarily have to mean low cost.  We’ll have to work out new pricing paradigms in the future.  I know Jim Pickerell has given this a lot of thought.  And, no, the Micro or subscription model can’t work for all content — just not possible. 

It’s one thing to license a “long tail” shot for $399.00, quite another to license one for $1.00  A lot of content will simply not make enough money to justify it’s production costs in a micro environment.  Photographers will figure that out eventually.  And the rush to micro by photographers will abate.  The market will find new equilibrium – photographers need to make a living, clients need a good value, agencies need to generate profit. 

Right now in the micro world, some photographers are making good money, I assume Getty for example finds running iStockphoto profitable (and be careful here, being an agency owner I assure you that not all agencies are profitable), and clients seem to love the model (some clients of course.)  But if more and more shooters pile in more and more similar content, each shooter will make less and less and at some point, it’s just not worth the effort.  So, then the photographer will decide to make less fungible content – unique content – but truly unique content doesn’t work well in the micro environment which requires massive multiples of sales.  That shooter moves into doing traditional RF or RM content naturally.  The nature of images in the traditional RF and RM libraries is likely to change in the future because of micro option. 

John: What advice would you give to someone just entering the field?

Rick: Find a veteran, and offer to be a second shooter or assistant for a couple of years to learn the craft.  Don’t just throw stuff up on micro sites and assume the results you get are indicative of our skill.  Such an endeavor might be indicative of your skill at producing for micro – and / or your lack of understanding of key-wording, how micro agencies rank content, etc. but get with some folks who’ve been doing it a long time.  Heck, come by our office in Seattle.  Always love to meet new shooters.  Always help to point you in the right direction. 

John: Stock photography, looking ahead…optimistic, or pessimistic?

Rick: The world is getting more visually oriented, not less.  Still images don’t require a captive audience like motion.  Still images are portable and can evoke emotion almost instantly.  The world will continue to need more pictures and as “developing countries”, well,  continue to develop, contemporary photography will be licensed more and more. 

There will be micro RF collections, and subscriptions and RM, and even medium and high-priced RF. — lots and lots of options for licensing.   Database technology will continue to improve which will help researchers target content more effectively.  The value add an agency can provide to a client will be in the agencies ability to locate the right imagery from vast collections of content. 

The editing function / research function will become increasingly important.  At some point every agency could represent every picture (for all intents and purposes), the key is who can drill down most efficiently?   There used to be massive product differentiation from one agency to the next.  Of course with the consolidation of the industry at the top there is less and less differentiation.  At the next level, though, there is becoming less differentiation as well.  Ultimately agencies have to answer the “why shop here?” question.  This is something I ask myself all the time.  “Wow, another RM sale on our web-site!”  “Why did they come to Blend?

I know our content rocks, but there are so many places to buy our content.” – ultimately, for business and lifestyle shots, we’ve got a nice collection without having to dig through a bunch of other stuff.   In other words, our collection, in and of itself offers instant relevancy to certain clients.  Agencies that can provide the best search and retrieval tools for their clients are bound to do well.

As far as being optimistic – sure – why not?   The best thing about a massive economic depression is that at some point it’s all going to point up.

Dan Feildman asked:


tography is simply photos taken “on spec”. This means the photographer takes pictures of various objects, people, or situations, and sells them after the pictures have been taken. They are not on a specific photography assignment, instead they are taking photos of subjects they\’d like to take pictures of.

Stock photography is primarily used in printed advertisements, brochures, magazines, and web sites, though there are many other ways stock photography can be used.

Stock photography is licensed in several different ways. The two most popular are Rights Managed Stock Photography, and Royalty Free Stock Photography.

Rights Managed photography is the use of stock photos that are licensed for a specific, limited time and purpose. If an advertiser for instance, needed a stock photo for one specific ad campaign, they could license a photo for that specific use. And they\’d be limited to using the photo only for that campaign. They\’d also be charged based on the size of the ad campaign they intended to use the stock photo for.

If they wanted to use the same photo again, they\’d have to pay another fee. And that fee might be different, if the campaign use and sizes are different. These recurring fees are called royalties, and with rights managed stock photography they can be quite hefty. Ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars for the limited use of one photograph.

Royalty free stock photography allows you to pay a license fee once, then use the photo multiple times. There are usually limitations on this form of stock photography, however the restrictions are not nearly as narrow as rights managed photography is. A designer or advertiser could license one photo for instance, and use it in hundreds of different ad campaigns, without incurring additional fees. In other words: No royalty fees need to be paid.

Generally royalty free stock photography can be licensed for as little as $50 up to several hundred dollars depending on the licensing source and rights given.

One of the most popular forms of stock photography for small and web based businesses, is royalty free micro stock photography. This is a variation on the royalty free model, but it\’s referred to as “micro stock” because designers and advertisers pay just a dollar or two per image license.

This type of stock photography has become quite popular with web site owners particularly, because it\’s a very inexpensive way to get top quality photos for use on their web sites. Quality stock photos can be licensed for as little as $1 in smaller, web friendly sizes. And prices go up to about $3 or $5 for larger, print quality photo sizes.

Since these photos are royalty free, designers can use them multiple times for that one time low cost. Be sure to check the licensing restrictions though. Royalty free does not automatically mean “public domain” or “copyright free”, and each micro stock photography site has their own particular use restrictions on the photos you license.

Once you have grasped the basics of photography you will be half way there to making an great monthly income supplement, by selling your photos on Stock Photography Sites, so make sure you take a good look at this basic photography course

John M. Lund asked:


Micro stock seems to be taking over the world of stock. Not just in still photography either.  In the last year more video content has been made available over You Tube than in the previous sixty years of material created by the big three television channels.  Now it seems as if every stock agency is announcing new video collections. If you read the forums you’ll find out that a lot of the new “creators” of stock don’t even care that much about money!  Many of them, and perhaps rightfully so, spurn the pressure associated with making money and would rather just enjoy seeing their images being used.  Many more are quite content just earning enough to buy that new lens.

Many of those that see the potential of earnings are mobilizing to maximize that potential.  Yuri Arcurs, for example, is a machine churning out literally more images than the Micro sites are willing to digest.  I heard him say he puts out 600 selects a month…and that he could do more if the agencies would take them!  The scary thing is that he does them so well!

Large producers and declining RPI

Most of the producers of Royalty Free photography, the larger producers who have made very high levels of income form their stock, have reacted to declining RPI (return per image) by ramping up their own production and streamlining their operations.  It becomes a vicious cycle of over supply lowering prices and creating the need for said producers to create yet more images.  Now they are eyeing Rights Managed images.  I can’t tell you how many times I have heard big RF producers now saying that RM is the place to be.  Oh boy, here we go again!

What’s a little stock producer like me to do?

The answer is to do what most of the others are not doing. The answer, or at least a big part of it, is to differentiate your self from the masses.  Develop a new skill or vision, add a new dimension to your work, or find an entirely new market.  Here are three examples of such strategies as seen in the first three photographers in the interview section of my web site.

In the case of Jack Hollingsworth, he has found a whole new direction.  Jack is now helping other photographers deal with the new realities of the market place.  He is utilizing his tremendous amount of experience and success in travel and stock photography to help others enter that market, and is also offering workshops for photographers to “re-invent” themselves for this new Internet age.

Marc Romanelli has successfully incorporated video into his stock photography business.  He began that process a few years ago.  Now that crowd-sourcing is entering this arena too, Marc is going to ramp up the quality of his video by moving to a higher end camera, such as a Red One or Scarlet, and shooting more RM video and less RF.  I am taking a cue from Marc and have become dipping my toe into motion (though with an entry level Panasonic HVX-200).  I now have my first clips up on Getty and they are selling well.

Colin Anderson already has a unique vision that sets him apart.  He is further developing and enhancing this vision by learning 3D.  He is incorporating 3D into his already formidable arsenal of Photoshop and photography skills.  Colin, in a sense, is competing with few, if any, other photographers.  His images are like those of nobody else!

Enjoy the challenge

The question to ask yourself is how can you differentiate yourself?  I sincerely believe that to be successful at such an undertaking, you have to also enjoy the challenge of that new approach.  I’m not ready to learn 3D, but I have enjoyed “playing” with motion.  I have shot my motion in conjunction with others, teaming up with David Fischer, Shalom Ormsby, Drew Kelly and Sam Diephuis to produce footage.  Find a way to differentiate yourself that you can approach enthusiastically and you will be on your way to securing your future in this incredibly exiting world of commercial visuals!

Terry Edwards asked:


Photographs are often taken for posterity reasons. The preservation of moments captured by the camera lens in these photographs are very much loved by all people for years to come. In fact, many families around the world have a camera or two in their household in order for them to take pictures of treasured times. There are also those people who take professional courses in photography and upon completing the course, sets up a professional studio to meet the needs of the society for really outstanding pictures.

But if you are just a simple person that has the talent for taking extremely good photographs, and want to make a living out of it, you definitely can. There are several ways of making money with photography. It has even gone beyond the traditional freelancing opportunity that it was years back when the use of the Internet was still limited to a lucky few. Nowadays, people like you have found a good way in making money with photography online. Here are the three ways that you can earn money from the photographs you take.

1. Selling your photos at stock photography websites is one way for you to earn money online. Stock photography websites stores photos that can be licensed for different purposes. Many magazines, publishers, ad agencies, artists, and designers go to these websites to get the photos that they need instead of hiring a photographer, which entail more costs. As the photographer, the photos you shoot exclusively become your stock and are copyrighted to you. This just means that if a particular person is interested in a photograph, he will have to pay you for it and since you hold the copyright to your photos. The big advantage, and asset here is, you can sell them over and over again, reaping for yourself more profits each time you do so.

2. Another way to earn money from your photos is by selling them through your very own website. Before you complain about all the technicalities of putting up a website, think of the advantages it can bring you. First, having a website will definitely establish you as a photographer. Plus, you can sell directly to your clients without having another entity to get a cut from your sales. And it won’t really cost you much to have a company host and maintain your website. In fact, you are looking at about $10 a month for hosting.

3. The third way in getting income from your photographs is through photo-sharing sites. Marketing your photos in these sites will get you the attention that you need to make money with your photographs since many people visit these sites frequently. And though you really can’t sell your photos through these sites, you can subtly imply to the users that licenses to your photos are for sale so they can further contact you.

These are just some of the ways to making money with photography online. If you take any of these steps to create a flourishing online business for something that you love doing, surely you will get the profits that are right for your talents. And it won’t even feel like work because it is something you enjoy in the first place.

Nicholas Normandy asked:


Stock photography can be a much overlooked sect of digital photography. Although, portraits, nature, abstracts and so on are more known through out the photography community, that isn’t to say that stock photography isn’t as important. What makes taking stock photos so different to all other types of photography is the applicable means to which stock photos are presented. Other types of photos such as portraits and macro sometimes don’t have a definitive analogy to where such photos lie. A portrait can carry the quality of being a ‘portrait’ with no other applicable use besides the art in itself. Contrarily, stock photos have a very clear purpose and may even cross the line as to calling them a job instead of a type of photography. A proper explanation of stock photography is needed in order to further pursue the career.

First it is important to know where the term stock photos comes from. This is term coined, more fluently, on the internet, and most of the time it refers to selling and buying photos through a stock photo site. A stock photo site is a place that anyone can sign up and upload their photos in order for buyers to purchase their pictures. You can earn money based on whatever guidelines the site may have. A variety of people purchase stock photos mostly for job related reasons. The most popular frequenters of stock photo sites are graphic designers, marketers, magazines, and advertisers. They may use the picture in whatever way the want, they may edit the image or leave it completely unchanged.

In order to learn how to become successful in the business of freelance stock photography you need to know what buyers want and how it differs from regular photography. Depending on the practices of a job, buyers need digital stock photos for specific purposes that make it easily editable or accessible. They might need pictures of macro, landscape, and industrial subjects but just presented a little bit differently than what most are use to.

Advertisers might need pictures of self-directed compelling premises, that easily convey what they are trying to sell. Graphic designers want digital photos that are easy to edit that lack complex backgrounds and over shadowing. Also, a lot of jobs need several different versions of the same picture in order to find one that will do the project justice. Meaning pictures of the same subject but presented at different angles and camera positions. For a more comprehensive tutorial on how to take stock photos go look at thetutorials and jobs in digital photography.

That is the basic explanation of what stock photography is. It can seem simple but learning the complexities of how to take profitable digital photos can take a while. If you are looking to pursue a career doing this freelance and on your own, then dedicate enough time, work hard and you will have something to show for it.

Danny Haberg asked:


Although there is quite tough competition in the photography industry, yet the fact is that it is still not that tough to make a mark in this field. You need to acquire a few technical skills and work hard to succeed in this area. Moreover, you should also know where to sell digital photos and earn good return for your work.

You can upload your stock photographs or images on special sites meant for this purpose. Stock photographs can be uploaded on the websites of these agencies. So, you can explore on this aspect and earn handsome profits for your good quality images.

Stock photography

Stock photography is gaining wide importance these days. It includes images of people, special events or functions and historical landmarks that have the potential for fetching good returns. Although, this type of photography is not done on some prior work orders, the decision is solely of the photographer who takes these photographs because he thinks that these have good market value and will bring in good results for him.

Online agencies

Stock photographs can be sold on special sites also known as online agencies which can be accessed through the internet. You need to contact these agencies and upload the images on these sites. The prerequisite is that the photos should be of good quality and high resolution. If the images are of poor or substandard quality, then they are rejected by these agencies. Hence, before submitting any photo, make sure to see whether the image confirms the standards required by the agency or not.

Rules and Guidelines

For those who wish to know where to sell digital photos, online agencies are a good option. But, make sure to go through different rules and regulations as well as guidelines of the online agencies before uploading your photos. There may be certain specific guidelines like the size and dimension of the photo or the color effects etc.