I am not saying this personally to you, since I think one of your strengths is bringing every-day and serious images in with the happy ones, I’m just saying this as a stock buyer.

I recently spent some time looking at vintage ads and found that they (surprisingly) used family interactions to advertise their products more than beautiful models. Perhaps it would be wise to take a cue from them (since there is a definite and continuing trend to return to vintage looks and feels in advertising.)

One more piece I would love to give to stock photographers – look for wide ethnic appeal in models (i.e. dark hair and medium eyes) and wide age range. There are some women that can be either European or Middle-Eastern or Latina, depending on what they are wearing and their context. I would love to see more photos of people who live in the center/south of the planet and more photos of people in the 35-55 age range doing normal, everyday stuff.

Oh, and don’t crop the images too much, photographers. I need that background or top-of-the-head you just cropped out to merge my image with my copy area. It’s a hard balance, to make an esthetically pleasing shot with enough background detail to be functional. Unfortunately, my copy space is rarely suited to a 5×7 rectangular composition.

ps. love your monopod setup

Thanks for that article – I don’t know how you find the time to research and write such in depth features as well as run your business. Fantastic (written) English by the way – Anyway thanks for sharing!

I have always believed in info sharing and continue to do so as long as people want to ask me questions.

I’m new to micro stock, been trading for just over six months now and I’m beginning to see a good return. However, I read with interest about using real (girl next door) models. I have used new up-and-coming people so far that want to break into modelling, which tend to be more real looking and not the great commercial models that you refer to in your couple on the beach shoot, but I can see the trillions of sales generated by this couple through your port aswell as see them in print all over the place so I’ve pondered on investing more into people to get that ‘commercial’ look for my own shoots. I would suspect designers buy good looking people images because, well, we all like a pretty face after all and many people react differently to attractive people. For instance, an advertising agency and art director would use this type of model (your beach couple) to advertise sun lotion say, as to entice people into buying it. I believe a pale couple with crooked teeth may not do the same even if it were a good representation of my fellow countryman here in the UK – just kidding there are some good looking people here! With that said, I’ve found my best selling images are all of the above you mentioned. My partner who is a beautiful Scandinavian like your models, who works in the care industry, posed for a shoot with her clients – real people, old, over seventy infact and in their own homes along with there dated curtains. Although I would never say the images are award winners, each shoot has a story attached, conceptual background and real looking people involved. These are by a million miles my most successful shots to date and the reason why I can pay my bills everyday!

My conclusion is this: Perhaps there is room for both types of model, it just depends on what content they are used. It still requires plenty of thought and planning on the photographers behalf. Look at magazines which contain lifestyle images and study the supermarket shelves for the faces that sell the products and plan around what you see already works.

You got me thinking however, so thank you. I won’t go and spent profusely on commercial models just yet until my planned briefs require it.

Just to add finally. There is a daily ‘soap’ ,series whatever you want to call it, called ‘Hollyoaks’ here in the UK that my partner forces me to watch – um honest!. It has a target audience of millions and is repeated repeated repeated everyday. One of you images (of cecilie, grey top, side on, isolated) appeared printed on a poster in a bus stop during a scene today. Just thought you may like to know your image has been viewed by millions in the UK.

Cheers look forward to sharing more info in the future.

Dean

You wrote:

Do you think it is important to specialize and shoot a specific kind of stock?
Absolutely. With the kind of competition today you really need specialization. Specialize as much as possible, but don’t specialize in a non-selling niche subject matter however.

Do you think that still-life concept shooting is a commercially viable specialty?
Yes. But there are some really great shooters out there. I can’t compete in this area. The guys shooting still life are just too damn good!

I assumed that you meant that Lobo was hurting IS (Istock.) I didn’t mean to imply that you were doing the hurting. I meant that it might be a stretch to say that enforcing forum rules by locking your thread is a stretch. It doesn’t help, but most people are going to continue shooting the same way regardless of your thread. I for one, am going to try to shoot differently, but will likely fail and end up with some kitschy, useless stuff.

Question to Yuri and those reading this comment board:

Do you think it is important to specialize and shoot a specific kind of stock?
Do you think that still-life concept shooting is a commercially viable specialty?

Must be new at work or maybe drunk, cause there is no need to think a lot to see that Your ‘picture’ is a MASSIVE bait to all ‘stockers’ and wannabe’s.
Same with that article, when people start to cry about 0 DL and so on, such infos-posts keeps them alive.
I’ve commented that at SS cause You give even too much knowledge to people, but the good is that not everybody understands and the competition grows but not so badly (such JOKE;)).
Finally i want to personally send a big thanks to You for one simple trick that i knew, i did read about, i’ve heard and did NEVER tried to use (me – doubtful me). That trick was the -Canon mirror up-. At last tried that after watching one of Your tutorials and i’m angry as for today cause that belief in Canon’s IS was so naive strong! They got me. So keep up the good work;), lucky me with my different image subjects.