I spy with my little eye
Posted on: May 2, 2009 (14) Comments
I spy with my little eye…
How letting a little mess into your photos = sales
Successful stock images are clean, conservative and simple…right? Well, yes. And no. You can also create blockbuster images by breaking those rules. If you’re running a little low on inspiration, consider messing things up a bit. I’ll tell you how I like to do it.
First, let’s face it: basic stock images are often bland, square, and all around vanilla. Yes, these photos have their place, but if you want to add a little spice to your portfolio, consider doing something more random and authentic. Use the I spy method and add a little mess to your pictures. I promise they will instantly stand out from the crowd.
What is I spy?
The "I spy" concept was introduced to me by Scott Gordon, former Chief Creative Editor for Veer Images (and now part of the Yuri Arcurs Production team). He and I talked about small variations that a photographer can use to enhance the creative output of a shoot. He explained his notion that a little bit of intentional chaos can sometimes make a good image great. This method is designed to engage a viewer’s curiosity. By leaving things in the photo that are vague but intriguing, it’s as though you’ve set out a trail of breadcrumbs – hints about the story behind the image, and this subconsciously captures our interest.
Real life isn’t always simple and ordered. It’s messy, it’s three dimensional and it doesn’t fit inside a tidy viewfinder.
If you can intelligently incorporate some of that real world chaos into your images, they radiate authenticity and the buyers love it.
This is a daring approach and should be used sparingly, but when it works, it really works. So what do I mean exactly by “mess”? Well, what I’m talking about is leaving some extra (even slightly distracting) elements in the shot, in the periphery. These unplanned items add a feeling of spontenaiety and truth to your pictures. When they work, the resulting images are alive and energetic, they add a mature level of sophistication to your portfolio and surprise—they sell.
Through the grass, glass or leaves
One of my favourite ways to use this technique is by shooting through grass, leaves or through glass.
Grass or leaves. Getting down to a bug’s eye view in the grass really opens up a new world of possibilities. Lay on your belly and let a few strands poke into the frame. This doesn’t distract too much from your main image, but it gives a wonderful sense of context and place. All of a sudden instead of a boring static shot, you have a picture with a sense of place, the viewer knows where they are and what’s going on, and feels as though they’re getting a sneak peek in on the action. They want to know more.
Glass. Shooting through glass gives a great alive and gritty urban feeling. There is a certain anonymous voyeurism to this type of shot. The viewer feels like they’re on a busy street catching the subject unawares. We get a sense that we are in a busy urban place where things are whirling about, but where our subject is unknowingly the object of attention. Put these elements together and you have a shot with some real oomph and charisma.
In conclusion – does it sell?
Yes. It sells. Adding these extras to your images makes them ring of truth, and in the end that’s what our buyers want. Using this method does something else that’s very important too. It beefs your portfolio up with something more mature, interesting and different, and in the end that’s what keeps our buyers coming back again and again. Give it a try and good luck!
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I spy with my little eye
That’s my favourite kind of composition and i don’t care really if it would sell or not.;) some things people should just do if they FEEL right, feel and understand. Altough don’t hava too many photos in my portfolio.
Thanks for the article Yuri… These tips are great! I’ll try them out and see the result!
Regards, Dan.
I love your articles, but would love to see more videos! Especially setup of a white background.
Debbi
Hi Yuri – thanks for always sharing all your amazing knowledge – I have read pretty much everything you have ever written and love your work as an aspiring photog. Anyway I returned some rental camera equipment this morning and when they where paging thru the booking sheets to find my invoice saw your name on one of the booking sheets! Welcome to my City! hope all the shoots go well!
All the best
Peter Lambert
Peter Lambert: Very cool! Thank you for not say which City or too many people would try to get a hold of me locally.
We are back in DK in a couple of weeks, but let’s meet on our next trip. 
Yuri
Hi Yuri! Very interesting read as always
I like the idea of leaving tiny imperfections in photos very much. I always loved them in many of my spontaneous shots, but it seems really worthy to insert such things on purpose.
BTW, waiting for more videos
Nikita
Great blog Yuri. Thanks! Good idea not to make the pictures too perfect, which is easily done when you work in a studio. Oftenreally good pictures are created before the shoot “begins” and you take test shots, or the last few frames of of a session, when the model is tired, and acts more naturally, the photographer is warmed up, and takes more chances…
I have posted this comment on another thread but did not receive any answers so I´m trying again. Afters several years in film, I am now going back to photography to try to make a little money from microstock (apart from other assignments). I have started shooting in my studio, and have a couple of hundred pics with releases and everything. I´ll try to submit pictures next week, and I have one question that seems very difficult for me:
How do you keep track of your pictures? If you submit the same or similar pics to different agencies, what do you do to know which ones have been submitted and where…
I really hope there is some smart way of doing this, or else I´ll be totally swamped in paperwork…
Thanks again for sharing your work and experience with us all. Peter Gaszynski from Stockholm, Sweden.
I m very happy because someone of photographers really want to help the other..I find very useful your advise and I would like to keep on..thankyou yuri..
That’s definately a different style. People might say there’s not enough negative space or you haven’t paid enough attention to your layers. It’s a step or five away from traditional ‘perfectly perfect’ microstock, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It gets a bit sterile, I think. Thanks for the write up and samples.
As an illustrator I like making a lot of abstract and crazy forms and then let my imagination create from that…sometimes good stuff comes out of that mess!!!
Well I always like to play the angles…and I think as I learn this business.. I will apply that to my Photography….and pick my mentors carefully.
I’m a Professional Musician as well…and to be really that good in the Music Business…..you have to be very fluent and very very creative in your playing.
Dear Yuri, I did an MA in Fine Art (painting) 4 years ago in London and one of the big areas we discussed was ‘Punktum’ the sweet spot in a painting or an image. This relates to a small part of an image that is not immediately noticed but is fundemental to and adding meaning and time into an image. The hand on the top photo is a classic example of that.
I do have an issue with stock photography with it’s blandness and ‘No Uglies’ response from Agencies and clients but that is not our fault just their ignorance of what constitutes an arresting image.
B
Yuri,
Im trying to decide on weather to buy the cannon EOS 5D Mark II or the cannon EOS-1D Mark IV.
Im aware that you are a stickler on image sharpness and that it can be the determining factor weather or not your images are accepted or rejected from micro stock sites, the EOS 5D Mark II is a 21.1-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor with DIGIC 4 Image Processor. and the EOS-1D Mark IV has An APS-H sized 16.1 Megapixel CMOS Sensor, Dual DIGIC 4 Image Processors. The IV is $4999.00 and the Mark ll $2499.00
Which would you recommend? Thanks.
Hi Yuri , l like the pictures ! it’s so cool ,