I am on a disability pension & would appreciate some help/info so I can make an incom

I am on a disability pension & would appreciate some help/info so I can make an incom

Hi


I thought I would ask you this question in the hopes you can either give me some information or guide me to where I may be able to get some more .

I am on a disability pension and at the moment I can only make an income sitting down.

What I would like to find out is much more direct but at the same time consise and straightforward information about "stock photography".
I would mainly be looking for what kinds of photos are the most popular as well as what kind of equipment is the most popular to use to get it best results.
At present I have a "Canon S5 IS" camera and although it it is very good I was looking the possibility of buying a "DSLR" in the future. I was looking at the "Nikon D80" or the "Pentax K10D" . I also have to consider the fact that my budget is limited, I have two "Pentax lenses" but have been told that it is the sensor in a digital camera as well as the lense you use that matters. I am sure that you have a lot more knowledge about this than I might ever have.


I would appreciate any help you can offer thanks Craig

Hi Craig,

I'm glad, that in your present condition you have a sense of humor! Your lack of malice to the world speaks well of you. The best place for your needs is likely to be http://www.dpreview.com where the people are very resourceful. They are expert on everything and know much more than anyone on all topics related to photography.

Here we are a small forum, so limited in our focus and lack the specific dedicated and knowledgable resources for the challenge you set.

My best wishes,

Asher

Craig -- I'll echo Asher's good wishes.. and add the one thing I know about stock photography which I learned two days ago.

The secret to success in stock photography (or so I was told on Friday by Chase Jarvis -- one incredibly successful photog dude) is simply to choose a subject that no one shoots. That's it. Go for it!

Ok, that deserves a little explanation perhaps. If you are going to shoot stock, don't shoot flowers, children, or anything else that can be found by the millions on the stock websites.

Chase discovered that there were no stock photos when he searched for 'carjacking'. Next photoshoot: Carjacking.

Chase discovered that there were no stock photos of ninja dudes standing sideways on a wall. Next photoshoot: Ninja dudes standing sideways on a wall.

In both cases, he hired models, MUAs, locations, and everything necessary, on his own time and budget. The way he described it, it sounded like these are very profitable ventures for him.

There you go... according to Chase, the key to success in stock is to find a subject that hasn't been well covered and go for it!

I should add Chase's comment -- "There has never been a more exciting time to be a photographer" -- this on the heels of Getty's decision to sell stock for $49 for web use. "There are images everywhere!" The stock world, thought changing, is a huge opportunity.

Ron

Yes, you may find millions of images in the stock industry of flowers, children, etc., ... but if you can even approach these subjects in a different manner than everyone else and do it well, ... you could easily have many knocks at your door.
Worked for me!

Best of luck Craig,
Mike

Yeah, but Michael........

Your flower pix are in a whole different league. Utterly stunning.

This is not your everyday flower picture...



No wonder they knock on your door.

This is brilliant work. A entirely new perspective on an old subject.

Ron

Mike --

I was going to sent you a private message... but there really is no reason to... I should stand on a soapbox and scream this as loudly as I possibly can.

Your Photoshelter portfolio is truly outstanding.... its not just one or two shots that speak to me... it's pretty much all of them.

Wow. unbelievable stuff. (And I'm a tough one to impress!)

These shots should inspire all OPF readers to look at their own favorite subjects in a new way. I know I'm energized!

Keep it up!

Ron

Hey, ... thanks Ron.

It's just that I think that many can or will get into this mindset at times, thinking that everything has been done to death and then they will leave that particular subject alone.
If one can come up with a whole new perspective on a subject, ... shoot it, ... and shoot it well, ... then there is the possibility that a world full of doors could open up for that photographer.
Sort of like these iconic landscapes that have been done to death and nothing new can come from them, ..... or, ..... can they?

Oh yeah, ... sorry, but I don't know which image it is you have mentioned above.
For some reason, it simply shows a image/message about the image does not exist and my browser not allowing cookies.
Never seen that one here before.


Oh well, hope you and everyone else is doing okay, living life to the fullest, shooting and creating like you never have before, ..... and simply having yourself some fun!

Take care guys,
Mike

We must have been posting at the same time!

Thanks Ron for the very kind comments. Really appreciate it!

Michael Brown said:

We must have been posting at the same time!

Thanks Ron for the very kind comments. Really appreciate it!

Click to expand...

Mike -- don't thank me yet. I haven't begun. I'm almost ready to start a fan club!

And for everyone else...

I guess Photoshelter didn't want me to hotlink to the image...

Here is another link to the Mike's picture I linked to above...

http://www.photoshelter.com/img-show/I00001K6s0TnZoxI

However, my fellow OPFers, it's just one of many of his work.... look at them all for inspiration.

(and don't try to hotlink to Photoshelter... they don't like that!)

Ron

It is sad that 3 out of my 4 browsers will not display your photos.

By the time I found a way to view them I am so P.O.ed at the hosting service that I can not be objective.

please don't blame photoshelter... they are a class act.

The roadblocks they put in place are to protect photographers.

Click the link on Mike's message above and that will take you right to his stuff.

Ron

Well, ..... that sure is strange, and the first time that this has ever happened.

The only one that would not show up for me in my portfolio was the one particular image that Ron was pointing to, but still confusing me as to why.

I do know that PhotoShelter has started a new service, (starts tomorrow), and they supposedly are intergrating some things with the newer site, so maybe that's what is causing this hiccup of sorts.

Will e-mail PhotoShelter tomorrow if it continues.

Thanks again guys for the heads up!

Mike

Ron, It is still there responsibility to maintain a usable site. So many sites use the latest gimmick SW without testing it on more than one version of only one browser. There are many class act web sites that have no clue whatsoever as to usability! The average user walks away in disgust after the first failed attempt.

It must have been a site issue as they are now all showing up only in Safari.

Just in the past 45 minutes, I have noticed that a lot of new pages for PhotoShelter has been added, and they did send out a message the other day about some downtime here and there and starting after midnight.
I have already seen about 20 new pages with a whole lot of new things for the members.
Cool stuff too!

Hopefully it all will be added in by sunrise.

At the moment, it seems traditional stock photography is having some problems with its business model. Corbis is said to never have turned a profit, and Getty Images is restructuring. The rise of micro-stock agencies is probably good news for picture users, but their very low fees make it difficult to obtain an income through them.

Given that you have to work sitting down, and, if I understood correctly, finances are somewhat limited, this would indicate that some fields of photography are probably less suitable for you. Big productions involving up-front payment of MUAs and models, or location shots for example. Anyway, the best field is probably the one you are most interested in, as you will have more of a competitive advantage there, as is the case with Michael Brown and his gorgeous nature close-ups.

Concerning equipment, stock agencies sometimes require a minimum file size, which means paying for DSLR or even a medium format outfit, which is a considerable financial outlay.

One thing I would consider is recording the collections of local museums or other institutions. They might not be able to afford professional services, but still be interested in a visual record. For a web presence, any digital camera makes big enough files, so you could upgrade fom the revenue of your first jobs.

Your local library will have one or two books on the business of photography. That should be worthwile reading.

I hope this helped, good luck
Christoph

Christopher,

Craig has not replied once!

When I saw the post I said either this is a tragic circumstance or else someone is poking fun at OPF's openness!

We are in fact to more than kind to newbies and even helping out when the basic terminology is not even understood! IOW, this is a pretty silly forum. Add to that our help for one photography with a lovely child struggling with leukemia, would make us into a band of rather naive do-gooders.

Still we have among us some top flight, internationally recognized fashion and beauty photographers, prizewinning architectural photographers, landscape artists and commercial shipping photographers to name a small sampling. We have photographers that are accomplished in film, polaroid, platinum, gold and mixed media as well as every format imaginable.

One thing that I realoize though is that we do need a resource to prepare newbies for OPF, as we are serious about makling pictures, but are not a school, just a place for sharing. So we'll make a resource to which people can refer and ask for contributions in the form of explanations, diagrams and simply references to good tutorials or and texts.

Returning to you Craig, if you are in need of professional advice, I still believe that dpreview.com has the widest array of photographers with enough experience to help you.

If its just a humorous poke at us, that's fine too!

Asher

"One thing that I realize though is that we do need a resource to prepare newbies for OPF, as we are serious about makling pictures, but are not a school, just a place for sharing.

So we'll make a resource to which people can refer and ask for contributions in the form of explanations, diagrams and simply references to good tutorials or explanations and texts."

Yes! Yes! Yes, please!

Christopher, ..... well said!
We got a touch off topic I guess, and you put it right back on track with some very thoughtful ideas/suggestions.
So, ... let me add my "atta boy"!
Thanks.

I also think that maybe adding or working up something for those who are new at this would be beneficial as well.
Remember, ..... we all were once there ourselves!

Back to editing, ... so take care gang,
Mike

If Craig has not answered yet, there might be different reasons for it. I am not always able to visit the forum on a daily basis. Even if it was a joke, the information might still be useful to somebody else, who stumbles on it through Google or in another way, and I hopr it adds in a small way to body of information and knowledge on the forum. I have profited in the past from posts which answered somebody elses questions, so I do not think that anybody who replied to Craig has wasted his time.

I think the openness and the helpful attitude shown by the members of the forum make it special, on others, threads can get attitudinal at times. I am not sure that a special collection of articles for beginners would be the best idea, Craig's question was very precise, and I doubt he would have found a readymade answer. Having said this, I would really love, if all the very accomplished photographers on this forum would find the time to explain how they did it. That would be tremendously generous. So now I have steered this thread off course, maybe this answer should be transferred somewhere else on the forum. Anyway, thanks for bearing with me.

Christoph