When I first started photography, I was inspired by the street shots of masters like Cartier-Bresson and W. Eugene Smith. I wanted to tell stories of places and capture fleeting moments. But like many beginners, I stuck to shooting easy subjects: Nature, landscapes, and buildings. Landscapes and buildings don’t judge you. You don’t need their […]
Have you “given someone the cold shoulder” lately? These days, Millennials call it “ghosting.” But the original “cold shoulder” expression comes from a social custom in medieval England whereby hosts would literally give an overstaying guest a cold cut of meat to let them know it was time to leave. Or how about “burying the […]
Stock agencies, magazines, and other photo buyers are often on the lookout for photos that have a “human element”—that is, photos that subtly feature people. The biggest reason why you want to include the human element in your photos is because it exponentially magnifies your sales potential. Whether your market is stock or editorial, buyers […]
If you suddenly had a free day to do whatever you wanted, what would you do? Would you call up some friends and spend a day on the town? Or maybe escape into nature to recharge? Wine tasting? Golf? Fishing? Shopping? Hanging out with family? When you start taking and selling photos, the really cool […]
Check out these four photos below. Can you tell what they all have in common? The answer is: Copy space. While each of the photos above show completely different subjects, they all use copy space very well, and that is what makes them so successful as stock photography. Copy space simply means empty space that […]
Color psychologists agree: If you want to make a good impression at a job interview, wear blue, gray, or black. Avoid orange. If you want to make people hungry, use red and yellow. And if you’d like to keep someone calm, surround them with pink. Bonnie here, for Day 7 of our Summer Photo Refresh. […]
Summer has finally arrived—bringing with it lots of bright sunshine. That sunshine makes this the perfect time to enhance your images by using a very simple technique called sunbursts. Bright light can be tricky for photographers—when shooting against the sun, you often end up with an unappealing white blob in your image. To avoid that, […]
Ah, summertime. It’s the season of picnics, barbecues, and dinners on the deck. Which means it’s also the perfect time to add some summer-inspired food images to your portfolio. Creative food images are always in demand, whether it’s with stock photo buyers or magazine editors, so it definitely pays to put some effort into this […]
Have you ever stood in the middle of a giant redwood forest and looked up toward the sky to get a sense of the true height of the trees? Chances are you might feel a sense of great awe and even a bit of vertigo due to their extreme perceived height. If you point your […]
Perspective can mean a lot of things, depending on the situation. It can be used to describe the way you think about things. Or for giving form and depth to a drawing on paper. For photographers, perspective is a handy tool you can use to enhance your shots and get better photographs. We all start […]
