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Three Habits That Make a Photographer A Pro
Through our stock library, I sometimes look at 25-30 new photographer applications every month. I've been doing that for well over 10 years now so that's about 3000 photographers and 40,000 images. I also spend lots of time every month watching the new images being uploaded to both our photography agencies. Again this adds up to many more thousand photographs every year.
I'm able to tell you, in all those photos there have been many thousands of photos that would have been great stock photographs with real sales potential, if the photographer had only done their job right. The frustrating part is, in all those cases, the damage was done by one or two reasonably simple mistakes that would have been easily evaded.
Now I'll freely admit that I'm no master photographer ... In truth I've barely touched my cameras since we started work on OzImages back in 1998 ... But I know what separates an OK photo from a stock image with real sales potential. So in this two-part article I am going to look at 3 main differences I see between the part-timers and the pros.
Lighting
If I could only make one recommendation, this would be it. Most amateurs only think about lighting after dark. An even then, all they think to do is pop up the flash. Some 'outdoor ' photographers might time their work for early morning or late afternoon light, but even then they still tend to look at lighting as a separate component of from the image.
The pros on the other hand, consider the lighting of their subject, and they do it with each single shot.
Their focus isn't just on the light, but the way the light affects their subject and whether that works for the message they are trying to capture. The pros will consider extra lighting, or shading, on every single shot. It is as much a part of their routine as removing the lens cap.
So make it part of your pre-shot routine to stop and ask yourself how your subject is lit.
Are the important features properly lit? Is there anything you can do in order to make it better? Flash might be an option, but so might a reflector, a different camera position, turning on a light ... Coming back in a few hours time.
Remember, nothing kills the commercial prospects for an image as speedily as uneven lighting ... Photo Buyers take one look as deep shadows and/or washed out highlights and walk away without a backward glance.
Make the lighting of your subject your principal concern and your photography will seriously improve in both quality and commercial potential.
Patience
If all you do is capture a visual representation of what's there at the time, you're taking pictures, and they are a dime a dozen. If you really want to capture stock photo images that are going to stand out from the crowd -- and sell -- you have got to convey a message or a story about that subject to your audience.
So make it a habit to study your subject in detail before you even look thru the view-finder. Work out what it is that you wish to convey to your audience? Conversely, what might your viewer want to know about the subject? What are you able to capture and convey that the viewer may not know?
Once you are clear on the major elements of your subject, you can start considering the effect different points of view might have on the final image. Then you'll find you're actually creating fresh and new images with real potential.
Too many of amateur images come across as indecisive. You get the feeling the photographer 'knew ' there was a photo op there, but rather than dig around a bit and find it, they just kept pressing the shutter hoping to get something. Often they might get something, but more often than not, the final result is vague photographs with a subject lost in the middle-ground, too much clutter in the background and no clear point of interest in the foreground ... And no sales potential.
Work out precisely what it is you're attempting to say before you even remove your lens cap. Then think about your lighting. Then use your technical talents and creativity to capture it.
That is what we'll look at in part two ... Talk soon!
Matt Brading is a writer & photographer with GlobalEye Photo Stock Agency and reccommends the Co-op approach for selling images online.
How to find the best camera angle for your model with the right lighting?
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