Living with a full-time stock photographer is something quite different from ‘regular’ life. Instead of having a routine of waking up, going to work, fulfilling humdrum daily tasks, heading to the gym/leisure activities and back home again, we lead a lifestyle that is centered around the very thing we do here at Microstockhelper – that is microstock photography. There is no such thing as routine around here, our days vary with the organising, execution and follow up of photoshoots for uploads on to the various microstock agencies.
Although there is a lack of daily routine, there is a workflow that we do subscribe to and I will share it with you. Today’s edition will be Part 1 of a 5 part series describing the typical workflow of a Microstockhelper shoot from pre-conception to post upload. I think this information would be useful to those who are new to stock photography and for those willing to take stock photography one step further than the occasional travel picture from a weekend away. Organising photoshoots will not be as daunting as one would imagine as long as you have your bases covered.
A simple and easy way to make your images stand out is to give your models a clean and fresh looking smile. Not everyone has perfectly white teeth, but there is a way to help them look more appealing. This really helps with stock photography as buyers generally are going to be drawn to the images with the cleanest smiles. In this video I will show you a simple technique for whitening teeth quickly and easily. If you are interested in selling photos online, then check out my microstock agencies page for information on how to get started.
We recently did a cool shoot of breakdancing in or cape town studio. one of the most important things to factor into a dance shoot is flash duration. We shot this with Elinchrom RX600 lights which have a short flash duration at full power as you will see in the BTS video. In the video we take you through a few lighting setups as well as some post production through lightroom, adobe photoshop and capture one. Below you will see some lighting diagrams and finished images to show you
A family friend who is a wedding photographer recently contacted me and asked if I would help teach him some lighting techniques and post production workflow in order to help him get into the world of Stock photography. Please note that it is not essential that you have a studio, fancy lighting or the best equipment in order to submit to stock agencies, you can start with as little as a Nikon D90 and a 50mm lens. Donavan Whyte has always wanted to shoot more fashion style images and hence his desire to master studio lighting. So he decided to fly me up from my Cape Town Studio and spend a day and a half helping him out.
I was happy to see that he was somewhat prepared for the shoot, arranging 4 models, makeup, props and
It was rumored that Canon would announce a new camera on the same day that RED are supposed to announce the Scarlet, but it seems they wanted to get the word out sooner and perhaps steal a little of RED thunder. Similarly Nikon have been rumored to announce their delayed D800 sometime this month or next. Needless to say this is an exciting period for professional photographers, new improved technology and choices are all coming out from some of the leading camera manufacturers and lets face it, new technology is what helps drive image and video quality up and onto a whole new level. For a long time the Canon 5d Mk 2 has been the camera to have for photographers who want to be able to produce good video as well as super high resolution images. Nikon have been under pressure to rival this camera and RED have threatened to blow it out of the water. The new release from Canon has just raised the bar for the other cameras rumored to be announced, but it is safe to say that either of them will be a fantastic piece of equipment for any photographer to own. especially those producing stock images for agencies such as Shutterstock and iStockphoto where image and video quality standards are high. Below is the official press release with all the tech specs of the new Canon.
Living with a full-time stock photographer is something quite different from ‘regular’ life. Instead of having a routine of waking up, going to work, fulfilling humdrum daily tasks, heading to the gym/leisure activities and back home again, we lead a lifestyle that is centered around the very thing we do here at Microstockhelper – that is microstock photography. There is no such thing as routine around here, our days vary with the organising, execution and follow up of photoshoots for uploads on to the various microstock agencies.
