Shutterstock Photographer Forum :: View topic

jason bell · Joined: 22 Jun 2012 Posts: 132

Hello all, i have been lerking here for a little while and finaly plucked up the courage to ask a few questions.
First let me explain my situation so you understand that some the normal options such as taking a course etc are not open to me. I live in a fairly isolated area on a small holding, i also have an illness that makes it next to impossiable to travel very far and despite major surgery this isnt likely to get much better.
I love photography and would relish the chance to take a 2 year course on photography but unfortunately the nearest one to me is a 3 hour round trip by car and that just isnt an option any more. I would like to get into doing stock photography (and maybe macro wildlife) but i have limited funds and knowledge (for knowledge read zero with funds very close behind that :D )
But on the plus side i have the following in my favour!

1. A real desire to earn enough money to feed myself and familly.

2. A camera!! i have a SONY A300 wich of course i got without doing any useful research.

i also have the following lenses and equipment.

Tamron 75mm-300mm tele 4.5f

SONY 18mm-70mm that came with the camera
MD-MA MINOLTA lens converter

MD fit Kiron 2.8/105 Macro 1:1

Miranda 70-210mm f4.5-5.6mc

2xMX teleplus MC4 teleconverter

Flimsey tripod (saveing for a good one)

i also have a old minolta x300 slr camera body

I would like to know the best way forward for me to learn "the trade" i dont mind hard work. SO whats next???

ruxpriencdiam · Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 9:18 am

hhltdave5 · Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 9:23 am

I would take in all the information we have given on other threads for other people and put that to use. It sounds like the one thing that you do not have that would be helpful is some type of lighting system. There are inexpensive ways to do this plus you can use natural light. Get a good understanding of light and how to photograph it properly.

It would help us if we knew just what you wanted to photograph. Are you interested in doing product work? Food? People? Nature? Knowing this will help us narrow down what you need to work on.

What Barry said is right, post what you think is your best stock image so we can see what we have to work with. Good luck.

jason bell · Joined: 22 Jun 2012 Posts: 132

Hello and thank you for replying, I did have some pictures that a week ago i would have shared on here and to be honest i would have probaly been proud of them!! but after a week of spending hour upon hour reading this forum there is no way even with a gun pointed to my head that i would show them :D i am seeing obvious things wrong like very bad focus and light that a week ago i didnt notice. So i am going to take some more pictures tommorow morning and hopefuly the light will be better than it has been today (very very grey and dull with drizle).
As for what pictures i want to take, i like nature (the macro lens is on the way i brought it sunday) old buildings and dramatic landscapes (ish) food dosnt interest me as a subject, and portraits probaly not a option at this point as the family wouldnt pose :D. as for the light question i dont as yet have any lighting but i do have a daylight mercury vapour light that is meant to be pretty close to daylight for corals that i could use. but i will save for a decent flash unit as well for outside work.
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply having been bed ridden for 9 months it means alot to me.

penywise · Joined: 26 Nov 2006 Posts: 62

Jason,

I understand how you feel. I used to do outdoor photography, until it got to the point I had more and more difficulty walking. I walked with a cane for years, and it finally got to the point that I couldn't go out alone, because I would be screwed if I fell down. Eventually I was in a wheelchair.

So to keep my sanity, I made a mini studio in my apartment and started taking photos of items and miniatures. Eventually I had back surgery and knee replacement, and though I no longer walk with a cane, I can't walk for long periods of time. Plus the indoor studio meant I could take pictures at anytime without worrying about the weather or the time of day.

So the point is, find out what you like to do, and work within any limitations to start, and progress from there. Cheers!

aynia · Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 2:56 pm

Post a pic or two... even if the tech quality is not up to scratch, we can tell you if you have an eye for composition and detail etc!...

Or a link to another non stock portfolio.

There are many photos that are not stock that people have here and sell. If they say it is stock, they will be killed for bad or uneven lighting, perhaps composition and other things.

It's about understanding the market.. !

rinder99 · Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 3:15 pm

Great post Dani.And spot on. Further more and I don't want to discourage you but , you said "Make enough to feed myself and Family" I don't know how much that is to you because we all have different needs and expenses and live in different parts of the world with different economies But to make a living doing this or even feed yourself and family is gonna take some serious work on your part. great original Unique concepts, The highest Quality possible and Mass Quantity [ In the thousands of Images] along with very good Processing skills.The good news Is yes, It can still be done even with competition in the 20 million Range Just on this one site. I,ve been shooting for 50+ years, I've Been here 7 years with a port of 4200 Images and 150 Video Clips and Im also on 9 Other sites with even More Images,Video and sound effects.

I can Feed Myself and my family,Buy cars and car Insurance and Buy the best equipment out there Just From Microstock and thats about it. And that only accounts for maybe 20% of my expenses. Luckily I still do commercial catalog work,Corporate work and actor head shots. And very Thankfully I also have an annuity from owning hundreds of copyrights for Film And TV work.

Could I live on Microstock alone? No.Could I have if I did things differently 6 years ago? Yes, Probably.

If you want this at the scale you do, Be ready for a LOT of hard work. My very best of luck to you and we are here to help when we can. Don't take anything personal because we are gonna tell you the truth. What we need first is some Pics so we can see what you see and we will go from there.

Again Good Luck and we look forward to seeing what you can do.

How do you be unique??? Shoot what turns you on, it's the only way. Find a niche and be as good as you can at it.

robhainer · Joined: 03 May 2010 Posts: 2741 Location: Dallas, GA, USA

Yep. Lot of hard work and coming up with creative ideas, which is actually the hard part. I figure based on my current income, I would need 10,000 to 15,000 images online (unique concepts, no similars) to pull a middle-class lifestyle out of this.

jason bell · Joined: 22 Jun 2012 Posts: 132

Thanks all that is realy encourageing!! i am working on getting some shots done, but have gone right back to the start! i didnt realise just how little i knew about my camera, i have always used it in auto mode and i have taken some great "snaps" of the kids etc wich are proudly hanging on the wall. But after reading here for a couple of weeks and studying the pictures i realise they are what they are "snaps" fine for the wall but nothing else.
So i am slowly taking pictures of different things like candle flames and water drips and trying different settings etc. my tripod isnt upto the job thats for sure so will be replaced, i am also somewhat miffed to discover i dont have a mirror lock up feature!! as for a cable release i can make one of those with timer and a few fancy features (electronics was my game before i got ill).
on the money side of things i dont actualy need much to live on so if in 18 months time i can earn on average £400+ a month then i will be happy!
i hope to have some pics within the next couple of days but i realy want to play with the camera first and wait till the macro lense gets here.
would it be better if i shot the pictures in RAW format?
and before i forget..... i am not in a rush to submit my ten i would like to take my time and get it right :D its funny how when i first thought of doing this i had a million ideas! now i am strugling to find any that fit the what would it sell promote etc test lol. funny how the perspective changes once you want to make money from it :P

hhltdave5 · Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 6:38 am

rinder99 · Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 10:35 am

And.....study whats here and been done to death.Search before you shoot.Forget Candles Burning and water dripping. Shoot and think Lifestyle, Emotions etc.Your job is not merely getting accepted, Thats easy. Having Images that sell is very hard.400E or $500 a month in 18 months is doable but It all depends on what you submit.....Not how many.

jutia · Joined: 15 Apr 2012 Posts: 290 Location: Dominican Republic

robhainer · Joined: 03 May 2010 Posts: 2741 Location: Dallas, GA, USA

rinder99 · Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 12:18 pm

Very true. This shot of yours to me is a 100% perfect stock Image.Couldn't have been done better.So many memories, It brings back the kid in all of us.

robhainer · Joined: 03 May 2010 Posts: 2741 Location: Dallas, GA, USA

Thanks.

It seems once you get the focus, lighting and composition issues worked out, then you have to come up with new ideas. That's the hard part.