Life style images photography is one of the most under appreciated stock photography niches. It's a field packed with high-paying customers with a never-ending need for fresh current photographs, and it is a field many photographers just aren't interested in. And that makes it one of the best fields of all for the savvy Life style Photographer.
Powerful commercial images of lifestyle themes capture a slice of life in a captivating way that draws the viewer in and creates an emotional connection. It gets the viewer to a psychological space where they can imagine themselves (or their friends/family members) in a similar situation,, or at the very least leaves them thinking about what the experience would be like.
It is that viewer-connection that lifestyle picture buyers are on the lookout for, so that they can append their own message to the image. When you capture lifestyle pictures that convey that sort of message, you are creating pictures with real sales potential, high appeal and very limited competition.
For better or worse, most photographers are a touch shy when it comes to photographing people, and many of these who do are unwilling to get involved and actually direct their models. A lot who consider themselves life style photographers tend to hang back and document human activity, rather then going hands-on and composing the photographs their purchasers need.
As a result, those life style photographers who take a professional approach and work with punctiliously selected and directed models to create powerful pictures with a clear message or storyline, are generally going to do very well.
You need to use (unpaid) friends and family as your models, as long as you control the shoot. That typically means ensuring everyone is clear of what message you are trying to convey, and ensuring all of the components of the image... Location, clothing, styling, props, poses, expressions,lighting are all congruous with that theme.
As far as lighting goes, the key is generally to make it simple. Plan outside shoots with dual locations: the perfect overcast day location and a back up site out of direct sunlight. Have reflectors and fill lighting available to balance it out. Indoor shoots can mostly be handled with a simple off-camera flash set up, again using reflectors and bounced light to create the required result.
For the shoot itself, communication with your model (s) is paramount. Before you start everyone should be on the same page, totally clear on what you've got planned. Then as you start the shoot, try for distinctly different moods and themes, and watch what your model is most happy with and adept at. When you have 2-3 specific concepts, work through each individually, directing the model as needed to get the images you want.
For all this direction and management, the real key for making successful images of lifestyle subjects is to make sure the images look natural and unstaged. Models will rarely be looking at the camera, but instead should be connecting physically and emotionally with the situation that you've placed them in.
All the components of the photographs need to fit, and there should be something going on "other than a photo being taken "the viewer can instantly recognize and connect with. There should be enough detail to tell the story, though not such a lot that it becomes cluttered.
Beyond that, there truly are no restrictions to the subjects and themes that will work. Sports are big, as is any type of hobby or pastime, family activities and interactions, eating, drinking, relaxing: anything people do can work, and if you shoot it in a way that photo buyers can hitch their own message to the image, then it'll usually sell too.
Life style photography publishers will be interested in the demographic and ethnic grouping of your models as much as the activity itself, so try and use different models in the same set up whenever you can. You can also alter clothing, styling and props to create different moods & storylines from the same set, and increase your output exponentially.
Finally, remember that lifestyle photographs are all about the individual being photographed and what they're experiencing at that point of time. The difficulty with amateur models is that they often struggle to convey that, so if you're serious about selling stock photos of lifestyle subjects, you'll either have to pay for professional models or get very good at directing your volunteers.
Either way, if you concentrate on producing photographs that people can look at and identify with; pictures that people see themselves or their own friends and family in, or wish they could be part of, then you will be shooting some of the most profitable stock photography possible.
Powerful commercial images of lifestyle themes capture a slice of life in a captivating way that draws the viewer in and creates an emotional connection. It gets the viewer to a psychological space where they can imagine themselves (or their friends/family members) in a similar situation,, or at the very least leaves them thinking about what the experience would be like.
It is that viewer-connection that lifestyle picture buyers are on the lookout for, so that they can append their own message to the image. When you capture lifestyle pictures that convey that sort of message, you are creating pictures with real sales potential, high appeal and very limited competition.
For better or worse, most photographers are a touch shy when it comes to photographing people, and many of these who do are unwilling to get involved and actually direct their models. A lot who consider themselves life style photographers tend to hang back and document human activity, rather then going hands-on and composing the photographs their purchasers need.
As a result, those life style photographers who take a professional approach and work with punctiliously selected and directed models to create powerful pictures with a clear message or storyline, are generally going to do very well.
You need to use (unpaid) friends and family as your models, as long as you control the shoot. That typically means ensuring everyone is clear of what message you are trying to convey, and ensuring all of the components of the image... Location, clothing, styling, props, poses, expressions,lighting are all congruous with that theme.
As far as lighting goes, the key is generally to make it simple. Plan outside shoots with dual locations: the perfect overcast day location and a back up site out of direct sunlight. Have reflectors and fill lighting available to balance it out. Indoor shoots can mostly be handled with a simple off-camera flash set up, again using reflectors and bounced light to create the required result.
For the shoot itself, communication with your model (s) is paramount. Before you start everyone should be on the same page, totally clear on what you've got planned. Then as you start the shoot, try for distinctly different moods and themes, and watch what your model is most happy with and adept at. When you have 2-3 specific concepts, work through each individually, directing the model as needed to get the images you want.
For all this direction and management, the real key for making successful images of lifestyle subjects is to make sure the images look natural and unstaged. Models will rarely be looking at the camera, but instead should be connecting physically and emotionally with the situation that you've placed them in.
All the components of the photographs need to fit, and there should be something going on "other than a photo being taken "the viewer can instantly recognize and connect with. There should be enough detail to tell the story, though not such a lot that it becomes cluttered.
Beyond that, there truly are no restrictions to the subjects and themes that will work. Sports are big, as is any type of hobby or pastime, family activities and interactions, eating, drinking, relaxing: anything people do can work, and if you shoot it in a way that photo buyers can hitch their own message to the image, then it'll usually sell too.
Life style photography publishers will be interested in the demographic and ethnic grouping of your models as much as the activity itself, so try and use different models in the same set up whenever you can. You can also alter clothing, styling and props to create different moods & storylines from the same set, and increase your output exponentially.
Finally, remember that lifestyle photographs are all about the individual being photographed and what they're experiencing at that point of time. The difficulty with amateur models is that they often struggle to convey that, so if you're serious about selling stock photos of lifestyle subjects, you'll either have to pay for professional models or get very good at directing your volunteers.
Either way, if you concentrate on producing photographs that people can look at and identify with; pictures that people see themselves or their own friends and family in, or wish they could be part of, then you will be shooting some of the most profitable stock photography possible.
About the Author:
Matt Brading is a contributor to GlobalEye Photo Stock Agency, which represents many top life style photographers. Click now to view their best images of lifestyle themes. If you would like to know more about selling photography online with GlobalEye, you can download a free stock photography business kit in our photographers area.
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