Photography Props Numbers
Microstock Photography – The New Approach To Ensure Success
For the past four or five years that I’ve been submitting to the Microstock Photography market I had always said it was a numbers game. Therefore the more images that you uploaded to the libraries or agencies the more downloads you would get resulting in higher earnings.
But I feel that over the past year that has changed. You now, more than ever need to target a niche. And then dominate that niche. You see the wherever you look on the internet the picture quality has increased. This is just the same for the libraries. The overall quality has shot up and therefore we need to submit a higher quality image.
Fortunately, in recent months, the demand for the pictures has exploded. With the present economic climate even the large companies are using microstock photography rather than employing the services of a professional photographer.
I am pretty sure that if you look at your online portfolio, as I did, you will realise that your images follow the 80-20 rule. That is that the top selling 20% of your online images rake in 80% of the money. I have now changed my approach to microstock photography. Instead of going out and shooting anything and I am now being very selective what I shoot for the microstock market. I am looking to increase the number of top selling images rather than just the number of images online.
Let’s assume we are going to concentrate on still-life and we are looking for a new subject. First I would look at what is topical either in the news or browsing on the internet. I’ve found that here in the UK the adverse weather is creating a quite a concern and that heating bills are shooting through the roof. So we could look at finances, bills, weather, heating, insulation etc. For arguments sake, I’ll go for heating bills how I can illustrate the subject with images.
I then search the subject for images that will give a spark of inspiration. Note I said inspiration and not to copy. If an image catches my eye I will study it and work out the variations and how I could make improve it or interpret the message in more suitable way. I do this until I have about twenty ideas that are all related to the subject.
I then make a shooting list and a list of props that I need to shoot all twenty ideas. After I have got the props I will then, and only then take my camera into my studio (converted garage) and begin shooting.
The great advantage of this methodical process is when it comes to uploading your images. You only need one set of categories and keywords. In addition you have a set of pictures that depict a topic that is in the news and already being searched. Also you will find that working in this way you will emerge from the photo session with far more pictures than you intended. Once you start your creative juices flowing, the ideas leap out at you rather than wondering what to shoot.
Another plus to this approach is that the photo buyer usually buys more than one image to illustrate the article of blog etc. If you are supplying over twenty images that hit the spot they are more likely to choose more than one image.
Of course you income is still related to the number of downloads. You can also put other images on as before but I can almost guarantee, if you take the time to research the subject, the niche subjects will be in the top 20% earning 80% of your income. You should, therefore, earn more money for less work. If you’re serious about microstock photography – Then maybe my new approach may work for you?
About the Author
I have been interested in photography for most of my life. About 25 years ago I entered the world of wedding photography. More recently I discovered the wonderful world of Microstock Photography. A world that allowed me to earn money from my photography, yet with a freedom, not only of time but freedom to express myself creatively.
Why not take a look at my latest images that are currently selling through Microstock at http://www.gbphotostock.com/stock or view more articles at http://www.microstockconfidential.com
The Tyro – Project: Direct
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