Shutterstock Photographer Forum :: View topic - For Newbies,,Just something to consider....

kenny123 · Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 1:50 am

Asking for critique is really good,and you will get some good advice-but before you heed any advice, it will pay you to look at the critic's gallery,to make sure in your mind that he/she knows what they are advising.

Also, If you need to ask if your image is "good enough", then it probably isn't-Keep in mind that the opposite of "good" is "Better".

Zelda Behr · Joined: 08 May 2012 Posts: 9

That is some great advice and i did as you said.
Found some real inspiration and i'm am so set on getting in and doing it at 110% of my ability.

banepetkovic · Joined: 03 Mar 2012 Posts: 135

jhuls · Joined: 02 Jan 2012 Posts: 1046

I think one other thing newbies should ask themselves before posting is this forum. Do I know the basic photography terms such as these:

1. Aperture
2. DOF (Depth of Feild)
3. Shutter speed
4. ISO settings
5. Manual verses Auto focus
6. Composition
7. How to use The M setting or all manual setting on my camera
8. If you can't adjust any of the above settings on your camera you probably don't have the right camera for stock.

If you don't know 1 or all of these terms. Don't start posting in here. There are many great websites with free tutorials in which you can learn about these terms and practice. Stock photography is very technical. We can't even begin to help you here, if you don't have at least a basic understanding. I'm not trying to be discouraging, but stock photography is hard even for those of us with the proper knowledge and experience. This is not a place to learn the basics, it is a place to help you hone your skills as a stock photographer.

smileus · Joined: 07 Oct 2008 Posts: 587

jhuls · Joined: 02 Jan 2012 Posts: 1046

mattgibson · Joined: 11 Nov 2009 Posts: 601 Location: London

Then don't respond.

If they are asking for basics, don't respond.Won't waste your time then.

I don't diasgree with what has been said, all too often people post without a clue about photography let alone any knowledge about stock.

But, and it is an important but, it is up to you whether you respond or not.

smileus · Joined: 07 Oct 2008 Posts: 587

Matt nailed it. I think for those people it's better not to get any replies than getting pointless scoldings after posting an image. I've felt quite sorry a few times after seeing such threads.

jhuls · Joined: 02 Jan 2012 Posts: 1046

I feel like you are taking my post in the wrong way. I am not meaning it to be mean, actually the exact opposite. I think we agree on more points than we disagree. I feel bad for photographers who post in here without knowing the basics only to get slammed with harsh responses about things they don't even know about. It has to be somewhat discouraging to some people. And I wonder how many do it and just throw their hands up and say forget it.

With my above post I am pointing out that if a poster does not know the basics there is no sense in posting here. It will not do them any good, in fact it may as you guys pointed out it actually may do them more harm than good. So I think if there was some sort of general guide lines of what a photographer should know before posting in here it would be beneficial for everyone. (not that anyone would pay attention to them, they never seem to pay attention to the how to post 100% crops : )

semmickphoto · Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 11:25 am

smileus · Joined: 07 Oct 2008 Posts: 587

@jhuls: Yes well, we agree then. But still, some replies are really unnecessary.

This 100% crop thing pops up much more often than it would be necessary. The thing is that the sticky thread leaves out a very important point. It's no good scolding newbies when they probably have read it but haven't managed to get it right. This whole thing is a complete misunderstanding. People think just because they zoomed in to 100% when they cropped it's a 100% crop, and that's how the sticky post sounds and some chant it like a mantra. The post doesn't explain that people are not to resize it, it just says save it to no more than 500 pixels bla bla. And how are people supposed to save it to 500 px? That's where things go wrong.

matthi · Joined: 30 Sep 2010 Posts: 485

the sticky can be indeed confusing hence it is so simple and needs just one line:

if you cut out a 500px / 500px part of an image you are always left with a "100%" crop of it...that is so easy that I can´t even get where the problem is...

For those with PS:

use the rectangular select tool, nail in styles: fixed size 500px / 500px, then select whatever part of the image is the one where the focus should be, then Image => crop and you have cut out a piece of your image fitting into this forum, with 500px by 500px.

This is by nature 100%, cause you are not changing the image size at any point and it works regardless if you zoom into 3000% or do it zoomed out to 6%...

bottom line: just cut out a piece no longer than 500px on any side of your original image and you are done.

smileus · Joined: 07 Oct 2008 Posts: 587

kenny123 · Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 1:23 am

kenny123 · Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 1:26 am