Shutterstock pictures - what are your thoughts on these?
Discussion
These are the kind of pictures I'm thinking of submitting to SHutterstock (aqmongst others).
They're straight out of the camera, no processing at all (apart from the odd 90 degree rotation) - snaps "really".
I realise some of them have the odd "stray" element (like the extra flowerhead on the bee one, the straw on the left hand side of the wood pile, etc, but I am on the right lines do you think?
I was also thinking of pictures along the lines of "textures" ie the woody ones, or "groups" eg nuts and boltys, pencils, etc.
All comments/criticism gratefully received - I know I've got some work to do on the techincal side, it was more the composition/subject I was after feedback on.
Texture:
Flowers (semi close ups)
Actual pictures of real stuff (!)
They're straight out of the camera, no processing at all (apart from the odd 90 degree rotation) - snaps "really".
I realise some of them have the odd "stray" element (like the extra flowerhead on the bee one, the straw on the left hand side of the wood pile, etc, but I am on the right lines do you think?
I was also thinking of pictures along the lines of "textures" ie the woody ones, or "groups" eg nuts and boltys, pencils, etc.
All comments/criticism gratefully received - I know I've got some work to do on the techincal side, it was more the composition/subject I was after feedback on.
Texture:
Flowers (semi close ups)
Actual pictures of real stuff (!)
wood pile is nice but could be brought "out" more I feel
Saturation on the cobs could be increased to give a bright yellow. Food seems to be a funny one - natural colours don't go down too well.
You'll be amazed at what will sell. I've sold a picture of a dead mouse - admittingly it doesn't look dead but it's looking over the top of the trap I caught it in, but from my point of view it's 0.25
Saturation on the cobs could be increased to give a bright yellow. Food seems to be a funny one - natural colours don't go down too well.
You'll be amazed at what will sell. I've sold a picture of a dead mouse - admittingly it doesn't look dead but it's looking over the top of the trap I caught it in, but from my point of view it's 0.25
Sweetcorn on shutterstock.
I think when submitting your first batch; it is best to use a variety of images i.e. not all wood. 3 & 5 would be good for backgrounds. I took a picture of a not very interesting stone wall; that sold within the first day I think.
I'm sure Bob will be along soon, telling you too watch out for noise.
edit: I also like the zig zag fence. (IMO) Choose a maximum of two wood shots.
I think when submitting your first batch; it is best to use a variety of images i.e. not all wood. 3 & 5 would be good for backgrounds. I took a picture of a not very interesting stone wall; that sold within the first day I think.
I'm sure Bob will be along soon, telling you too watch out for noise.
edit: I also like the zig zag fence. (IMO) Choose a maximum of two wood shots.
Edited by Platinum on Wednesday 27th September 22:35
)graham@reading said:
Forget the flowers.
As technical as they may be, they're flooded with them
A valid point. As technical as they may be, they're flooded with them
Platinum said:
I'm sure Bob will be along soon, telling you too watch out for noise.
Dibble said:
too much competition!
If you dont mind me getting on my high horse for a minute, read on... I dont agree that competition is fierce yet, or even an issue, although that depends on what you are shooting. I calculated that there are only a couple of thousand photographers who are actively submitting to shutterstock (out of their 30'000+ registered photographers).
I have my crap moments, where I bung an unsalable object into the light tent, shoot, and then repeat with another equally unsalable or ubsightly subject. And I photograph objects in the outside world which are equally miserable looking (garden taps etc) and then keyword, upload, etc...
But when it comes to corn, or any single item specific subject, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever why you cant take a best selling image which is as good as or better than 99% of the other similar images online, if you plan ahead and put in the effort. Especially if the image is of a single object. Shot on white. It just doesnt get any more simple than that.
I find that, roughly speaking, to get a best selling orange, lime or onion, i need to:
1) Buy the best 10 I can find from the supermarket
2) Clean them, peel onion layers away to reveal fresher cleaner layers underneath, check for blemishes I missed in the supermarket
3) Choose the best onion of the bunch. I bought about 50 onions and cloves of garlic for the onion competition we did this month, an entire carrier bag full up
rotate them, find the best possible angles, see how they sit on a flat surface, test, repeat...
4) chuck in tent. adjust lights. shoot several times. check results. reshoot as necessary.
5) When youve whittled your shots in photoshop down to the best/last few, then process. Levels to the max, whatever looks best, staying within the limits when creating noise so that you only create noise which you know you can remove with noise ninja
6) keyword, upload, finished
The thing is, if you want the best "something" in life, you dont have to to work twice as hard to be twice as good as everyone else. Like winning a horse race, you only need to be a nose ahead. If you dont like the steps involved then shoot tits and ass instead of stock. T&A sells better than food
But to get a best selling onion or corn photo, one merely has to go through the necessary motions before and after shutter release. Its an art, but it isnt hard.Dibble said:
[idiot]What's noise...?[/idiot]
Turn up your ISO or ASA to its max setting, and your shutter speed increases. The higher the ISO/ASA the more "noise" is created. Noise looks like grain, lots of little dots and a lack of a smooth surface. Take a green apple, and make it much more green in photoshop. You will notice that the grain, or the amount of "noise" seems to increase.
Noise means images look too grainy, especially when viewed at 100% (ie zoomed in on the pc, or blown up in a print). Too much noise means your photos will be rejected. So...
1) Shoot in raw. You can twean your images more than you can tweak jpg images, and less noise will appear AFTER tweaking.
2) Shoot with your ISO or ASA setting turned down to its lowest setting.
Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff