Learning How To Take Great Stock Photos

By Author: Tracy Narvaez
Total Articles: 348
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Like with most endeavors, there are things that can stand in your way when it comes to taking great stock photos. Some of these things you have limited control over, like which items the market in photography is interested in. Other things you have much more control over, like the overall quality of your pictures, and the subjects that they contain.

When choosing what to photograph, it is more important to think in terms of how to do it well, than what specifically to shoot. Although there are major categories where more photographs sell, most of the time it is how well done your picture is that determines whether it sells. All sorts of images are needed by the people who purchase them, and there's no way to cater to them all.

People are very popular subjects and pictures of them tend to sell well. Any number of poses or action shots are appreciated by the advertisers and designers who purchase the most pictures. Single-item images are also very good sellers. These are pictures which contain only a single item, anything ranging from a lamp to a cat, on a contrasting but simple background.

Uncluttered backgrounds ...
... allow the eye to focus where it should, which is on the subject of the image. People are not likely to purchase pictures with cluttered backgrounds, because this will not draw the focus to the item that they are trying to place front and center. Adding variety by using different backgrounds, however, and clothes on models, does not go amiss.

Practice and research until you can take good quality photographs. Pictures that are blurry due to motion or being out of focus are unlikely to sell. The same is true of pictures that are over or under-exposed, or has dull or washed out colors. Poor composition, such as only showing the lower half of a person, can also be a reason for a picture not to sell.

Sharp focus and good lighting are very important when taking your pictures. Some of this comes from research on how to take a good picture, and some of it only comes from experience. A good quality camera is also required, although it doesn't necessarily have to be top of the line. A mid-range digital camera might do the job, but your cell phone camera probably won't.

Editing your photographs is part of getting them ready to sell. There are many modern photo editing programs, and they can provide assistance like brightening or darkening the picture, removing red-eye, adding contrasts, or changing the color ratio. Most image photos will also benefit from being cropped well, so that the focus is on the item that is supposed to draw it.

Taking great stock photos comes from a combination of factors, including using a good camera, learning what you are supposed to be doing, and having the experience to do it correctly. Buying the camera and spending some time doing research on techniques will help you with the first two, but you'll need to put in the hours to learn how to make it all come together.

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