There is no question, there is always a demand for quality people photographs. All of the stock photography books and sites will tell you this, so anyone serious about selling photographs online is going to attempt to add these to their portfolio on a constant basis. Unfortunately, most photographers do it without actually considering the end-user, and as a result, most of the people photographs you see online are never going to sell in a hundred years.
As with most fields of stock photography, if you take a Client-centric view and think about the needs of your end-user, the photo-buyers, it's really quite straightforward to not only shoot more commercial people stock images, but you can raise your output exponentially too. Here are a few tips to get you moving.
1. Get To Know Your Markets
Consider the demographics of your regular 'models ' and then take time to take a look at how pictures of those groups are used? If you photograph a large amount of seniors, explore the markets for those photographs. If you mostly work with kids, it's going to be different buyers/buyer-types again, so identify as many of those as your are able to.
Start a shot list for every one of your key markets, so any time you've got a photograph opportunity, you will know exactly what you want from it. It's all about getting clear on who might use the images you shoot, so that you can capture images that are optimized for their wants. So that means studying the images that are being used to identify what elements are most crucial for each buyer-type?
Most photographers aren't going to bother, so any effort and time you put into this is going to help you, and your pictures stand out from the masses.
2. Tell Stories
There truly is little demand for posed portraits in stock. If you are photographing people in the hope of selling the photos as stock, you have to be creating photos that tell a story or convey a idea or emotion. They don't have to be action shots, but the components of the image need to convey that there's more going on than somebody having their photo taken.
You can do this with setting, clothing, props and face expressions, and each component should be congruous with the message of the image. The message itself can be really subtle, so long as everything fits. (In reality subtle photographs frequently work best as the photo-buyers can then add their own copy to the photographs to finely tune the message).
3. Focus on the Eyes
People being people, when we take a look at a photo of an individual our eyes instinctively look to the face to determine what's going on in the image. I suspect it's some kind of primitive survival instinct that permits us to assess mood from a fast glance and in people stock photographs, the eyes, and the facial expression will usually be both visible and clear.
If either of these are obscured, it's done deliberately to convey another message entirely. In those cases you want to guarantee the other parts of the image are congruous with that and as a result, the accidentally obscured shots are rarely going to work.
4. Stay in Front
There's very little demand for rear-end perspectives of people. For commercial work, photo buyers need clear emotion and expressions that they can tie their own message on, and as fast as you shoot from the rear, you lose any chance of capturing that.
I really see a large amount of shots like this in photographer submissions where they caption the image with some emotionally detailed phrase ... Because that's how they remember the situation ... But taking a look at the photo, the viewer wouldn't know if the model was giggling, weeping or sound asleep.
5. Get in Close
Another problem I see far too frequently is shots obviously taken anonymously from a distance. There truly is little value in this. Far better you approach the people in question and simply ask if you can take their photo. Tell them what you'd like to achieve and encourage them to work with you to get the shot.
Sure, some will decline the offer, but just as many will be very happy to try for you. Of course you should have some pocket releases with you, and offer to send them a low-res copy of the image for their own use in return for a signature and their e-mail!
6. Take Control Of Candid Scenarios
I think there is a certain mythology about some of the great street photographers, in that they fired from the hip and just happened to catch their incredible photographs, almost by chance. The simple fact of the matter is, good 'candid ' photography is mostly the results of really careful planning and preparation, and a good knowledge of the subject's habits and behaviour.
The shots could have been caught in an instant but the set up could have taken hours.
Shoot from the hip without that sort of preparation and you'll be getting pictures with zero commercial potential. You might get fortunate from time to time, but do not hold your breath. On the other hand, make sure you know your subject so you can predict behaviours and reactions, and you stand a good chance of catching some great images.
Take it a step farther and plan for 'candid ' situations which tell stories that photography buyers might be in a position to use, and you'll also be making photographs with real sales potential.
7. Take Care With Friends & Family
If you are only ever photographing family members or close friends, making commercial photographs is a big ask. The emotional connection with your model makes it very difficult for the photographer to work impassively and even harder for them to assess the results, particularly when the photographs are shot in the course of a social/family event.
In our library I'll regularly spot terrible 'family ' images from some of very talented photographers, and when I follow up, the photographers are absolutely unable to see the problems, as the emotional memory of the situation is so strong.
That said , it's a great way to learn and practice, if you do it right. The first step is to treat it as work, and be totally clear on the message or story you are trying to convey with each frame. Write out a shot list prior to starting and make sure your model knows what you're trying to realize.
Make sure the setting, the clothing, the props all work towards the same purpose, and work with your model to make the poses and expressions work as well. And when you are done, make sure you're absolutely objective when assessing the results!
8. Lighting Considerations
This is easier than you could imagine. Out of doors look for overcast days or find a location away from full-on daylight. You can always use reflectors and fill flash as required, but if you start with a 'good day ' the extras are just tweaking what's already there.
Inside, light your subject any way you like, as long as you don't use on-camera flash. If you're serious about shooting commercial people stock photographs, you'll need to invest in some extra lighting or flash kit.
It does not need to be overly expensive or complex, so long as you can move it and fire it away from your camera. Even a flash you can hold outstretched in one hand, while you hold and fire the camera with the other hand, will be a signicicant improvement over on camera flash.
As with many fields of photography, there are going to be exceptions, and most rules can be ignored from time to time. But as a place to begin, if you keep these under consideration whenever you have got the opportunity to photograph some human subjects, you will get some stronger images with real commercial prospects.
As with most fields of stock photography, if you take a Client-centric view and think about the needs of your end-user, the photo-buyers, it's really quite straightforward to not only shoot more commercial people stock images, but you can raise your output exponentially too. Here are a few tips to get you moving.
1. Get To Know Your Markets
Consider the demographics of your regular 'models ' and then take time to take a look at how pictures of those groups are used? If you photograph a large amount of seniors, explore the markets for those photographs. If you mostly work with kids, it's going to be different buyers/buyer-types again, so identify as many of those as your are able to.
Start a shot list for every one of your key markets, so any time you've got a photograph opportunity, you will know exactly what you want from it. It's all about getting clear on who might use the images you shoot, so that you can capture images that are optimized for their wants. So that means studying the images that are being used to identify what elements are most crucial for each buyer-type?
Most photographers aren't going to bother, so any effort and time you put into this is going to help you, and your pictures stand out from the masses.
2. Tell Stories
There truly is little demand for posed portraits in stock. If you are photographing people in the hope of selling the photos as stock, you have to be creating photos that tell a story or convey a idea or emotion. They don't have to be action shots, but the components of the image need to convey that there's more going on than somebody having their photo taken.
You can do this with setting, clothing, props and face expressions, and each component should be congruous with the message of the image. The message itself can be really subtle, so long as everything fits. (In reality subtle photographs frequently work best as the photo-buyers can then add their own copy to the photographs to finely tune the message).
3. Focus on the Eyes
People being people, when we take a look at a photo of an individual our eyes instinctively look to the face to determine what's going on in the image. I suspect it's some kind of primitive survival instinct that permits us to assess mood from a fast glance and in people stock photographs, the eyes, and the facial expression will usually be both visible and clear.
If either of these are obscured, it's done deliberately to convey another message entirely. In those cases you want to guarantee the other parts of the image are congruous with that and as a result, the accidentally obscured shots are rarely going to work.
4. Stay in Front
There's very little demand for rear-end perspectives of people. For commercial work, photo buyers need clear emotion and expressions that they can tie their own message on, and as fast as you shoot from the rear, you lose any chance of capturing that.
I really see a large amount of shots like this in photographer submissions where they caption the image with some emotionally detailed phrase ... Because that's how they remember the situation ... But taking a look at the photo, the viewer wouldn't know if the model was giggling, weeping or sound asleep.
5. Get in Close
Another problem I see far too frequently is shots obviously taken anonymously from a distance. There truly is little value in this. Far better you approach the people in question and simply ask if you can take their photo. Tell them what you'd like to achieve and encourage them to work with you to get the shot.
Sure, some will decline the offer, but just as many will be very happy to try for you. Of course you should have some pocket releases with you, and offer to send them a low-res copy of the image for their own use in return for a signature and their e-mail!
6. Take Control Of Candid Scenarios
I think there is a certain mythology about some of the great street photographers, in that they fired from the hip and just happened to catch their incredible photographs, almost by chance. The simple fact of the matter is, good 'candid ' photography is mostly the results of really careful planning and preparation, and a good knowledge of the subject's habits and behaviour.
The shots could have been caught in an instant but the set up could have taken hours.
Shoot from the hip without that sort of preparation and you'll be getting pictures with zero commercial potential. You might get fortunate from time to time, but do not hold your breath. On the other hand, make sure you know your subject so you can predict behaviours and reactions, and you stand a good chance of catching some great images.
Take it a step farther and plan for 'candid ' situations which tell stories that photography buyers might be in a position to use, and you'll also be making photographs with real sales potential.
7. Take Care With Friends & Family
If you are only ever photographing family members or close friends, making commercial photographs is a big ask. The emotional connection with your model makes it very difficult for the photographer to work impassively and even harder for them to assess the results, particularly when the photographs are shot in the course of a social/family event.
In our library I'll regularly spot terrible 'family ' images from some of very talented photographers, and when I follow up, the photographers are absolutely unable to see the problems, as the emotional memory of the situation is so strong.
That said , it's a great way to learn and practice, if you do it right. The first step is to treat it as work, and be totally clear on the message or story you are trying to convey with each frame. Write out a shot list prior to starting and make sure your model knows what you're trying to realize.
Make sure the setting, the clothing, the props all work towards the same purpose, and work with your model to make the poses and expressions work as well. And when you are done, make sure you're absolutely objective when assessing the results!
8. Lighting Considerations
This is easier than you could imagine. Out of doors look for overcast days or find a location away from full-on daylight. You can always use reflectors and fill flash as required, but if you start with a 'good day ' the extras are just tweaking what's already there.
Inside, light your subject any way you like, as long as you don't use on-camera flash. If you're serious about shooting commercial people stock photographs, you'll need to invest in some extra lighting or flash kit.
It does not need to be overly expensive or complex, so long as you can move it and fire it away from your camera. Even a flash you can hold outstretched in one hand, while you hold and fire the camera with the other hand, will be a signicicant improvement over on camera flash.
As with many fields of photography, there are going to be exceptions, and most rules can be ignored from time to time. But as a place to begin, if you keep these under consideration whenever you have got the opportunity to photograph some human subjects, you will get some stronger images with real commercial prospects.
About the Author:
Matt Brading is a contributor to GlobalEye Photo Stock Agency, which represents many people photographers. View their best people pictures photography here. Talented photographers can find out more about selling photographs online and download a free stock photography business kit on the GlobalEye website.
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