CalevPhoto

So you want to get started in photography

I am a very biased and opinionated person on all subjects I care about – so it is especially true for photography.  I really have not published a ‘beginners photography’ blog because there are so many of them out there already.  However, after seeing a number that I sharply disagree with, I thought I would post my own.

I will not talk about specific camera models or Nikon vs. Canon here.  This is for those who want to become photographers – not equipment collectors.  Therefore, the following are my recommendations for people who want to get into photography.

What should I do first?

This is simple, do not buy anything? Huh!? Before buying any equipment, I strongly recommend you go to the bookstore/library and get one or two books on the type of photography you are interested in.  I do not recommend the general photography books as those aren’t very helpful.  Get books from photographers known for their work.  The book I started out with is John Shaw’s Nature Photography Field Guide – though if you’re into portrait photography you’ll probably want a different book.

The point is you need to understand some things before you buy.  Unless you understand what an SLR does for you and what the differences are between different lenses, you’ll be unlikely to make an informed decision.

Continue Reading…

Introduction to Microstock Photography – Other Rejection Reasons

In this post I will finish with the main reasons a photograph will be rejected.  I will start off with the Not Stockworthy category and its very similar category – Too Many on Site.  There are certain subjects that microstock sites have far too many of and don’t sell that well in the first place.  Some of these types of photos will even anger the reviewer – who likely has to sit through endless pictures of seagulls and ducks at times.  Most sites – IStockPhoto in particular – have long lists of types of photos that they do not want any more of.  The most common ones are

- Flowers – Most sites have every type of flower you can imagine now.  Certainly if you send an image of a flower and put in the description “pretty flower” it is almost sure to be rejected.  However, if you take a picture of a flower that is not very common (such as a rose or rhododendron) and you include the species name and location of the flower it may be accepted.  Even with roses – I suspect if you include the variety there is a chance it will be accepted.

- Fruits – There are endless pictures of apples, pears, and other types of fruits on the microstock sites today.  They come in baskets of fruits, isolated fruits, fruits on sale, fruits falling, eating fruits, and every possible thing involving fruits.  Do not bother submitting pictures of fruits unless they are a rarer tropical variety that is not already covered well.

- Sunsets – Pictures with descriptions of ‘Gorgeous Sunset’ are almost sure to be rejected.  However, I have found that if I am very specific about the location of the sunset – and it’s a good sunset – it has a chance of being accepted.  Some locations – I suspect Hawaii – are still overdone here and no matter how great the sunset is it will still likely be rejected.

Continue Reading…

Introduction to Microstock Photography Part I

This is the first part of a multipart series on microstock photography.  For a bit over two years, I have slowly become more involved in this strategy for selling pictures.  There are quite a few guides out there on the Internet about this subject, but I suspect that my philosophy on it will be a bit different from the others.

Before I get started, I want to let you know whom this series is intended for.  People that meet the following criteria are most likely to benefit from this series.

1) You are already familiar with the basics of photography.  You are very familiar with terms such as shutterspeed, aperture, depth of field, noise, etc.  You know about the rule of thirds and what makes a good picture vs a poor one.

2) You have a stable job that is paying you enough that you are not worried about paying the bills every month.  You certainly wouldn’t mind earning some extra money, but you are not dependent on it.  The money you make from selling photographs is intended to pay for more photo equipment, not change your standard of living.

3) You already take pictures often and have a good idea what types of pictures you enjoy taking and what types of pictures you don’t.

4) You are not a photographer by profession.  During the day you do something else.

If you meet these criteria and are not already participating in microstock photography (or are just beginning) then I hope the info in this post and the ones that follow will be of use.

Continue Reading…