New Photos

Here are some photos from my most recent shoot.





These were all shot using three off-camera flashes. Two on the model and one on the backdrop. I used Photoshop to isolate the image.

You can see more images in my Shuttterstock portfolio here

New Photos

I haven't posted anything new in awhile so I thought I would share some of my new photos. The model is my sister in-law. We started out in the studio, then moved outside when the weather cleared up a little.

It was the first time I had the chance to play with using gels to change the background color. It worked great. I used one off-camera flash (w/gel) for the backdrop and one for my main light and a reflector for fill for the indoor shots. For the outdoor shots I used one off-camera flash and a reflector.

To see more photos check out my Shutterstock portfolio here

iStockphoto: Model Release Update

Just when you thought uploading your photos to iStockphoto.com couldn't be any more tedious...

Microstock giant iStockphoto recently announced that they were stepping up their standards for model releases (those little permission slips for models). The change that is going to make the most difference for my fellow photographers (myself included) is iStockphoto now requires a model release for every session with a model. No more universal releases for the same model for different shoots.

I have a hard time keeping track of releases for the 5-10 models I work with. The one that is really going to give me a lot of trouble is my son. I take photos of him almost everyday, most of those photos are ones I will sell. I can only imagine how many model releases I will have to fill out for him before he turns eighteen...lets say 2 a week for the next 17 years = 1,768! Oh, shoot me now!

All jokes aside, iStockphoto is one of my top earning sites. I can stop uploading new photos anytime, I choose to keep uploading because they are a great site and represent my work well.

Read the article at iStockphoto.com here

Make Money with Google Ads!

I recently added ads to my blog using Google's AdSence program. The thought of making less than a dollar (in most cases) for each click your ads receive might send you running to the hills, but it doesn't scare me. Being a microstock photographer, most of my sales are right around the one dollar mark. This might sound like chump change, but those small sales start to add up quick. I think Google ads are right up my alley.

If you are a microstock photographer like me you probably already have a website. Chances are even if you are a stay at home mom you probably have a website too. There are many ways to set up free websites and blogs. Blogger and Wordpress, to name a few. All you need to do is set up an AdSense account and you can start making money from your free website! If you have a Blogger page adding Google ads is as easy as a couple of right-clicks. Before you know it you will have ads that blend seamlessly into the background of your site.

Now hold on fella, I'm not telling you to run out and quit your day job just yet. Like I said earlier, you will probably only get around a dollar or so per person that clicks on one of your ads (generally). If your blog is truly awesome and you are seeing some serious traffic, you might be surprised how often those checks from Google start showing up in the mail.

Good luck and happy blogging!

Cutcaster Pricing Strategy Help

Cutcaster.com is one of the few stock photo sites that allow the photographer to choose the price that they want their photos to be sold for. This is a great opportunity for contributors, but some might be uncertain about how to pick a price that will get their images sold.

Here are some tips from a Cutcaster contributor on the Cutcaster blog:

"From a Cutcaster contributor in an emai to our support-

How I price my images on high paying sites? At Cutcaster, we can price our own images. So how do I go about picking a price for my images out of mid-air?? I find the best way to price them is based off of the prices at other agencies (non-subscription – ppd).

Once I have gotten an average of the other agencies pay-per-download prices for my images size, I then undercut the price. I cut the price because Cutcaster pays 40% (non-exclusive) or 50% (exclusive) royalty, as opposed to 20%-35% that other agencies payout. So, not only am I giving a lower price to buyers, but I am also taking in a high income in most cases. I can even take a few of my extras and submit them exclusively to Cutcaster for 50%, which is great.

Since Cutcaster does not have a subscription, I do not have to worry about comparing the prices to other sites that do have subscriptions, as obviously, Cutcaster is not targeting subscription buyers.”

Test it out yourself and see how the strategy works. Let us know what other strategies you have been trying out for selling your images and stock photography. What’s your strategy for your portfolio and how you sell?"

Updates at Mostphotos.com

Just got an email about some upcoming updates to Mostphotos.com that I thought I would pass along.

Announcement from Mostphotos:

"Hello everyone,

I just wanted to let you know that we are still on
schedule for a early September release of
Mostphotos 3.0. All the hard work we have put in
over the last year has really paid off and we are
really excited to show off the new site.

We have also decided to drop support for Internet
explorer 6 on the new version simply because IE6
lacks support of many of the new features that we
wanted to implement. So if you are still using
Internet explorer 6, please upgrade to a latest
version (IE8) or download a even better browser
like www.google.com/chrome, www.getfirefox.com,
www.apple.com/safari. This will greatly enhance
your browsing
experience.
You can read more about it here:
http://www.ie6nomore.com/

We will also have some downtime this Saturday
because of server upgrades. The site will be
down for at least a few hours. We will upgrade
all the servers so we would recommend you to
not use the FTP upload on Saturday to prevent
any canceled uploads.

Don't forget to check out the development blog
(http://devblog.mostphotos.com) if you want to
read about some of the new features in 3.0.
And follow us on http://www.facebook.com/mostphotos
or http://www.twitter.com/mostphotos for the latest
updates.

Best regards
Micke"

Dreamstime News

Dreamstime.com News for 8-19-2009

Announcement from Dreamstime:

"Scheduled maintenance is to be performed in the following hours. Services may be interrupted temporarily. We're doing our best to minimize the downtime (if any). Please email/call support if you experience any issues."


New Photo Assignment and a chance to win $1,000!

Announcement from Dreamstime:

"If you have not taken your summer holiday yet, the new assignment is the perfect opportunity. We want to see tropical getaways, white sand beaches, palm trees and clear blue oceans or seas. Moreover, we want to see all the fun you have in such locations. Show us the perfect shores with people lazing in hammocks, sipping exotic cocktails or wading in the surf. Capture the tropical holiday fun: water sports, yachts sailing on calm waters, splashes with friends in the ocean, people playing beach volley, building sand castles or scuba diving. Catch the sunny days or the seaside sunset as you're warming with your partner under the blanket near the camp fire. Don't pack your bags as the holiday ends because your vacation may be prolonged. Prizes for this assignment are again sponsored by Payoneer, our online payment partner so keep your swimming suits on. The winners will be rewarded electronic money on their Dreamstime branded MasterCard cards to continue holiday. First place winner will receive $1,000, second place $400 and third place $200 which can be used for summer fun payments or cashed from the card. In addition, all three winners receive the Dreamstime designer T-shirt to wear during next sea, sun and fun escapade. To learn more about the Dreamstime Prepaid MasterCard payment option, click here Good luck and have fun!"