P#4 Q5: What Picture Makes The Ideal Stock Image?

People are some of the best stock images -- but a stock image of a person requires a model release

Scott Stulberg: Probably the number one thing that the stock agencies want are images with people. Anything to do with kids, grownups, grandpa with the hospital staff, people getting married, love, the girl lying on the guy at the beach reading a book -- anything to do with people.

It's one of the toughest things for people to overcome, going up to someone and saying, "I'd really like to shoot you," or, "Could I take a picture of you?" even when they're traveling.

If it's their friend it's no problem, but it's people that they don't know that they have a problem with.

If you want to get good at stock and you want to start making the big bucks, you can't just be shooting the scenery in Hawaii.

You have to be shooting people, in every way, shape, or form, in every kind of position.

You have to be comfortable photographing people because the number one thing you're going to not only be shooting them and putting them in good positions, and setting up these shots that are going to be great sellers.

But first, you have to get them to sign a model release.

A model release is super critical because that image cannot be used for anything commercial at all unless the subject signs a release saying, "Go ahead, you can use it however you want." If they don't sign the model release and you take a picture, it can only be used for editorial -- newspapers, education and things like that where nobody is making money off of the image.

With advertising, the company is hopefully going to be making money from that image. They need a model release so that the person in that image doesn't come back and sue them for big bucks and sue the photographer as well.

Advertising stock photos sell for a lot more than editorial photos -- so you need the model release.

Learning how to shoot people is extremely, extremely important.

I love going to exotic locations but I take most of my pictures locally. Both are big money-makers. It's much easier to set up shots locally and shoot in your backyard. My number one selling image is my cousin on the bleachers at my high school, lying on her stomach, looking at my laptop.

I take all kinds of laptop and cell phone pictures, and people just doing every kind of everyday things. That can be done in your own backyard. I have lots of images that sell from all over the world but traveling costs a lot of money.

Travel photos are not the number one thing stock agencies are looking for. They like all kinds of everyday things.

One of the things I tell my students that will really help them more than anything is to look at TV commercials.

I hate TV commercials but I watch some of the high-end ones because the lighting, the ideas, and the set-ups are absolutely amazing. I write down, "Oh, great idea with the clear blackboard and writing on it with this ink. She's wearing this outfit."

It gives you ideas because if it looks good on the high-end TV commercial, it's probably going to look good in an ad in a magazine.

Looking at all kinds of stuff like that is going to help you a lot. You don't have to go to France or Africa to get these kinds of shots.

Conclusion

A successful stock image -- one that an agency will buy -- should feature a person, or people. They don't need to be in exotic locations doing exotic things. The everyday stock image is more desirable and useful to a stock agency.