There's no question, there is always a real demand for quality people images. All the stock photography books and websites will tell you this, so anybody serious about selling images online is going to try to add these to their portfolio on a regular basis. Sadly, most photographers do it without truly considering the end-user, and as a consequence, almost all of the people images you see online are never going to sell in a million years.
As with many fields of stock photography, if you take a Client-centric view and consider the requirements of your end-user, the photo-buyers, it's actually quite easy to not only shoot more marketable people stock photographs, but you can increase your output dramatically also. Here are some pointers to get you going.
1. Study Your Markets
Think about the demographics of your usual 'models ' and then take a little time to have a look at how images of those groups are used? If you usually photograph a lot of seniors, explore the markets for those images. If you usually work with youngsters, it will be different buyers/buyer-types again, so identify as many of those as you can.
Start a shot list for every one of your key markets, so any time you've a photograph opportunity, you will know exactly what you want from it. It's all about getting clear on who might use the photos you shoot, so that you can capture photos that are optimized for their requirements. So that means studying the photos that are being used to identify what elements are most important for each buyer-type?
Most photographers are not going to trouble, so any time and effort you put into this'll help you, and your photographs stick out from the crowd.
2. Tell Stories
There really is very little demand for posed portraits in stock. If you're photographing people in the expectation of selling the photographs as stock, you need to be making photographs that tell a story or convey a concept or emotion. They do not need to be action shots, but the parts of the image need to convey that there is more going on than someone having their photograph taken.
You can do this with setting, clothing, props and face expressions, and each component should be congruous with the message of the image. The message itself can be really subtle, so long as everything fits. (In reality subtle photographs frequently work best as the photo-buyers can then add their own copy to the photographs to finely tune the message).
3. Focus on the Eyes
People being people, when we take a look at a photo of an individual our eyes instinctively look to the face to determine what's going on in the image. I suspect it's some kind of primitive survival instinct that permits us to assess mood from a fast glance and in people stock photographs, the eyes, and the facial expression will usually be both visible and clear.
If either of these are obscured, it's done deliberately to convey another message entirely. In those cases you want to guarantee the other parts of the image are congruous with that and as a result, the accidentally obscured shots are rarely going to work.
4. Stay in Front
There's very little demand for rear-end perspectives of people. For commercial work, photo buyers need clear emotion and expressions that they can tie their own message on, and as fast as you shoot from the rear, you lose any chance of capturing that.
I see a lot of shots like this in photographer submissions where they caption the image with some emotionally descriptive phrase ... Because that is how they remember the situation ... But looking at the photograph, the viewer would not know if the model was laughing, crying or sleeping.
5. Get in Close
Another problem I see far too frequently is shots obviously taken anonymously from a distance. There truly is little value in this. Far better you approach the people in question and simply ask if you can take their photo. Tell them what you'd like to achieve and give them encouragement to work with you to get the shot.
Sure, some will refuse the offer, but just as many will be happy to try for you. Of course you ought to have some pocket releases with you, and offer to send them a low-res copy of the image for their own use in return for a signature and their email address!
6. Take Control Of Candid Photo Settings
I think there is a certain mythology about some of the great street photographers, in that they fired from the hip and just happened to catch their incredible photographs, almost by chance. The simple fact of the matter is, good 'candid ' photography is mostly the results of really careful planning and preparation, and a good knowledge of the subject's habits and behaviour.
The shots could have been caught in an instant but the set up could have taken hours.
Shoot from the hip without that type of preparation and you will be getting snapshots with nil commercial potential. You might get lucky from time to time, but don't count on it. On the other hand, get to know your subject so that you can forecast behaviors and reactions, and you stand an excellent chance of catching some great photographs.
Take it a step farther and plan for 'candid ' situations which tell stories that photography buyers might be in a position to use, and you'll also be making photographs with real sales potential.
7. Take Care With Friends & Family
If you're only ever photographing family members or good friends, capturing sellable photos is a major challenge. The emotional connection with your model makes it extremely tough for the photographer to work objectively and even tougher for them to evaluate the results, especially when the photos are shot in the course of a social/family event.
In our library I'll regularly spot terrible 'family ' images from some of very talented photographers, and when I follow up, the photographers are absolutely unable to see the problems, as the emotional memory of the situation is so strong.
Having said that , it is a superb way to learn and practice, if you do it properly. Step one is to treat it as work, and be absolutely clear on the message or story you're wanting to convey with each frame. Write out a shot list before you start and ensure your model knows what you are trying to do.
Ensure the setting, the clothing, the props all work towards the same end result, and work with your model to make the poses and expressions work too. And when you're done, ensure you're completely ruthless when reviewing the results!
8. Lighting Considerations
This is simpler than you may imagine. Outside look for clouded days or find a location away from bright sunlight. You can always use reflectors and fill flash as required, but if you start with a 'good day ' the extras are just fine tuning what's already there.
Indoors, light your subject any way you like, so long as you do not use on-camera flash. If you really are serious about shooting commercial people stock pictures, you will need to invest in some additional lighting or flash gear.
It does not need to be overly expensive or complex, so long as you can move it and fire it away from your camera. Even a flash you can hold outstretched in one hand, while you hold and fire the camera with the other hand, will be a signicicant improvement over on camera flash.
As with many fields of photography, there are going to be exceptions, and most rules can be ignored from time to time. But as a place to begin, if you keep these under consideration whenever you have got the opportunity to photograph some human subjects, you will get some stronger images with real commercial prospects.
As with many fields of stock photography, if you take a Client-centric view and consider the requirements of your end-user, the photo-buyers, it's actually quite easy to not only shoot more marketable people stock photographs, but you can increase your output dramatically also. Here are some pointers to get you going.
1. Study Your Markets
Think about the demographics of your usual 'models ' and then take a little time to have a look at how images of those groups are used? If you usually photograph a lot of seniors, explore the markets for those images. If you usually work with youngsters, it will be different buyers/buyer-types again, so identify as many of those as you can.
Start a shot list for every one of your key markets, so any time you've a photograph opportunity, you will know exactly what you want from it. It's all about getting clear on who might use the photos you shoot, so that you can capture photos that are optimized for their requirements. So that means studying the photos that are being used to identify what elements are most important for each buyer-type?
Most photographers are not going to trouble, so any time and effort you put into this'll help you, and your photographs stick out from the crowd.
2. Tell Stories
There really is very little demand for posed portraits in stock. If you're photographing people in the expectation of selling the photographs as stock, you need to be making photographs that tell a story or convey a concept or emotion. They do not need to be action shots, but the parts of the image need to convey that there is more going on than someone having their photograph taken.
You can do this with setting, clothing, props and face expressions, and each component should be congruous with the message of the image. The message itself can be really subtle, so long as everything fits. (In reality subtle photographs frequently work best as the photo-buyers can then add their own copy to the photographs to finely tune the message).
3. Focus on the Eyes
People being people, when we take a look at a photo of an individual our eyes instinctively look to the face to determine what's going on in the image. I suspect it's some kind of primitive survival instinct that permits us to assess mood from a fast glance and in people stock photographs, the eyes, and the facial expression will usually be both visible and clear.
If either of these are obscured, it's done deliberately to convey another message entirely. In those cases you want to guarantee the other parts of the image are congruous with that and as a result, the accidentally obscured shots are rarely going to work.
4. Stay in Front
There's very little demand for rear-end perspectives of people. For commercial work, photo buyers need clear emotion and expressions that they can tie their own message on, and as fast as you shoot from the rear, you lose any chance of capturing that.
I see a lot of shots like this in photographer submissions where they caption the image with some emotionally descriptive phrase ... Because that is how they remember the situation ... But looking at the photograph, the viewer would not know if the model was laughing, crying or sleeping.
5. Get in Close
Another problem I see far too frequently is shots obviously taken anonymously from a distance. There truly is little value in this. Far better you approach the people in question and simply ask if you can take their photo. Tell them what you'd like to achieve and give them encouragement to work with you to get the shot.
Sure, some will refuse the offer, but just as many will be happy to try for you. Of course you ought to have some pocket releases with you, and offer to send them a low-res copy of the image for their own use in return for a signature and their email address!
6. Take Control Of Candid Photo Settings
I think there is a certain mythology about some of the great street photographers, in that they fired from the hip and just happened to catch their incredible photographs, almost by chance. The simple fact of the matter is, good 'candid ' photography is mostly the results of really careful planning and preparation, and a good knowledge of the subject's habits and behaviour.
The shots could have been caught in an instant but the set up could have taken hours.
Shoot from the hip without that type of preparation and you will be getting snapshots with nil commercial potential. You might get lucky from time to time, but don't count on it. On the other hand, get to know your subject so that you can forecast behaviors and reactions, and you stand an excellent chance of catching some great photographs.
Take it a step farther and plan for 'candid ' situations which tell stories that photography buyers might be in a position to use, and you'll also be making photographs with real sales potential.
7. Take Care With Friends & Family
If you're only ever photographing family members or good friends, capturing sellable photos is a major challenge. The emotional connection with your model makes it extremely tough for the photographer to work objectively and even tougher for them to evaluate the results, especially when the photos are shot in the course of a social/family event.
In our library I'll regularly spot terrible 'family ' images from some of very talented photographers, and when I follow up, the photographers are absolutely unable to see the problems, as the emotional memory of the situation is so strong.
Having said that , it is a superb way to learn and practice, if you do it properly. Step one is to treat it as work, and be absolutely clear on the message or story you're wanting to convey with each frame. Write out a shot list before you start and ensure your model knows what you are trying to do.
Ensure the setting, the clothing, the props all work towards the same end result, and work with your model to make the poses and expressions work too. And when you're done, ensure you're completely ruthless when reviewing the results!
8. Lighting Considerations
This is simpler than you may imagine. Outside look for clouded days or find a location away from bright sunlight. You can always use reflectors and fill flash as required, but if you start with a 'good day ' the extras are just fine tuning what's already there.
Indoors, light your subject any way you like, so long as you do not use on-camera flash. If you really are serious about shooting commercial people stock pictures, you will need to invest in some additional lighting or flash gear.
It does not need to be overly expensive or complex, so long as you can move it and fire it away from your camera. Even a flash you can hold outstretched in one hand, while you hold and fire the camera with the other hand, will be a signicicant improvement over on camera flash.
As with many fields of photography, there are going to be exceptions, and most rules can be ignored from time to time. But as a place to begin, if you keep these under consideration whenever you have got the opportunity to photograph some human subjects, you will get some stronger images with real commercial prospects.
About the Author:
Matt Brading is a contributor to GlobalEye Photo Stock Agency, which represents many people photographers. View their best people pictures photography here. Talented photographers can find out more about selling photographs online and download a free stock photography business kit on the GlobalEye website.
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