Stock Photography - Make it Work For You.

stock photography
Often bloggers disregard stock photography, thinking that it’s all suits shaking hands, multi-ethnicity co-workers doing a group jump-shot, families joyfully eating vegetables, or the classic woe-is-me guy with his head in his hands. Unfortunately, these are the cheesy images that often come to mind when one thinks of stock photos. Webmasters often mistakenly assume that they need to hire a professional photographer in order to supply their site with relevant, good looking photos, which would be incredibly expensive.

But they’re wrong. Stock photography is a lot more than fish-eye lens cats and attractive older couples jogging in the park! Yes, these do exist in abundance, but they are FAR from the only options that royalty-free photography has to offer.

Giving stock photos a chance.

When I starting using stock photography, I was hesitant, however my husband is the son of a photographer, and I knew that some of his photos were offered as stock, and he’s anything but cheesy. So I started to peruse different sites such as iStockPhoto.com, PhotoDune.net, and even the creative commons section on Flikr.
I needed some pictures of pretty girls hanging out in nature, and whereas I found some pretty typical (although really pretty) photos, I also found some very unexpected, artistically-gritty, even editorial-style photos. I even came across a face that I thought would be perfect for my brand spokesperson!
This discover completely blew my expectations out of the water. I started perusing these sites, imagining only piggy banks representing the world economy, and business women in heels giving a high-five to a business man with a briefcase, but what I found was...art. I have to admit, I was hooked and started building a portfolio of images I liekd to use on a rainy, blogging day.

Surprisingly affordable.

Although I expected some of these to range in the several hundred dollar range, I was shocked to find that the most expensive photo was actually only $50 for the largest size option.
$50 is a steal if you use the photo prominently in your blog or website, but probably isn’t ideal for a regular ol’ post or article that just needs a little sparkle and pizzazz.
The good news is that there are tons of great photos that are being sold for about $1 a piece for smaller sizes, perfect for blog posts and articles!  Check out PhotoDune.net for some great, affordable pictures. You can even load your account with a few dollars in one go, so you can buy several pictures without having to whip out your credit card.

Free Options.

Of course, exploring free options is also good.
One method of acquiring free photos that I’m quite fond of is to check out the creative commons on Flikr.com, as I had mentioned. Choice is limited, depending on what you’re after, but you’ll find a great collection of old black and white photos, ranging from the mundane to the bizarre, that can add some quirkiness to your website.

Hone your skills.

Dusting off your digital camera is also a good idea if you need some very specific photos. No use searching the web for a picture of your own backyard, if that’s what you need, right? I’m certainly no photographer, but I think anybody can achieve better-than-decent results with a little persistence.

Good photography in a nutshell:

  1. Shoot in natural daylight.
  2. Experiment with different exposures, shutter speed and settings on your camera. Your camera won’t bite!
  3. Take MANY photos. The more you take, the more you’re likely to come up with a winner or two!
  4. Learn good composition and/or some good digital retouching skills. Fairly easy to pick up even with no prior experience, and a great skill to learn.
  5. Practice and be patient with yourself! Photography is equal parts luck and skill.
Also, remember that the internet is your friend, and teacher. When you’re feeling stuck and a little lost with your new ventures into photography, remember to reference some free retouching video tutorials for a quick and easy way to learn some valuable basics on how to make your photography even better.
Most of all have fun with this! Adding photography, whether your own creations or stock is a great way to get creative and really enjoy running a site or a blog.

1 comments:

Photographer Melbourne said...

Gorgeous !!!!!!!!!!!!
This is so beautiful blog and nice photographs ,thanks for sharing these photography blog...
Photography Melbourne

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