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Ti at Cafe · Joined: 09 Sep 2012 Posts: 24

Hello all,

I got a lot of tips from the community here on how to take good pictures, but I don't know what to take pictures of.

How do I know what is in demand? Not just this moment, but down the road to keep up with the trend (or whatever that is called).

Thanks.

ruxpriencdiam · Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 9:13 pm

If anybody knew that answer they would be rich and wouldn't tell you anyhow.

It's a guessing game and once in a while you get lucky.

hhltdave5 · Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 10:29 pm

There are certain things that sell better than others. Shots with people in everyday situations often do well. Things that deal with family life, health, fitness, business etc. Food is often a good selling category if done well. Landscapes can do well.

The thing is that you must do them technically well and make them appealing to the buyer. This means that if you are doing food it should make the viewer want to stick their head into the monitor and eat it. If it is a landscape it needs to make the person want to go there. If it is a lifestyle situation it must hit home with the viewer.

Also you need to make sure that you keyword the shots well. An image no matter how well done will never sell if the buyer cannot find it.

There are always certain things that really take off as Barry said but no one really knows just what that will be. Years ago it was blondes talking on cell phones, then it was shots looking up between tall buildings, then it was family and kids jumping high in the air on a hill, then it was sunflowers. The trick is to find the next big thing but we never know what that is.

rinder99 · Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 2:37 pm

trgowanlock · Joined: 02 Feb 2010 Posts: 273

A bit of humble advice from someone who has been in this now for almost 2 years, ie fairly new. It's hard work but it does start to pay off.

I think it is very difficult to say what will work for you as an individual contributor. Pretty much everything has been done and done well, you name it landscapes, people, food, textures etc.

What has worked for me is to keep it varied, expecially at first. Shoot everything and strive to do it to the best of your ability. Get a few hundred shots in your portfolio then take a step back- see which ones are doing well- chances are it will be a small proportion of the total. Then look carefully at those pictures, try and find them in use perhaps. I have found some of mine being used for things I never even thought of but made perfect sense when I saw the use! Why are they successful, what is it about them? The content, the composition, the post processing, are they unique subjects? You will gradually learn from yourself, learn your strengths and weaknesses and build on them. I learnt something from a piece Yuri Arcurs wrote, which was about shooting what you can do fairly effortlessly, what is accessible and within your skill set. And most importantly what you enjoy. A successful portfolio represents something that has put together with enjoyment, and says a lot about the artist.

Just some thoughts :-) Good luck!

rinder99 · Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 10:20 am

Great advice.