1) When was your first encounter with photography?
I received in 2004 a small compact camera and began playing with it. I took it all over with me, feeling the need to learn and experiment as much as possible with the camera and light. In the mean time, without being perfectly aware, photography became an essential part of my life.
2) Why commercial photography ?
Out of luck, while searching something on the Internet, I found some microstock photography sites that, unlike traditional photography agencies, sell photos at a lot smaller price, for a larger number of customers. They also have a huge photo base, because a contributor can become anyone whose photos correspond to certain quality criteria. It is an online system, very fast and efficient, that connects photographers and clients all over the world, that in my opinion can be(come) a serious competition for traditional photography agencies, as well as a simple way for selling images.
3) Is commercial photography different from any other types? In what way?
While artistic photography can find a purpose in self, like art does, commercial photography serves other purpose. Commercial artistic photography is involved in portraying concepts in order to sell products. This does not mean that commercial photography can not be artistic, or that the boundary between these two types of photography are that rigids, yet I believe that the two types can differ in the way they are used.
4) As a specific category, you approached “stock photogrpahy”. Can you detail a bit, why you chose this category and what does it involve?
A brief definition would be “everything that sells”. Since the possible clients come from all kinds of advertising and designing agencies, small publishing houses and small firms, thus the photographs must cover a wide range of categories, from product photography and fashion/glamour, to scenery, portraits, nude, abstract or press photography.
5) How do you choose your themes?
Photography in general must portray an idea, a concept, a life style, so that it can be used in commercials or article illustrations. That is why I try to approach themes and concepts searched on the market, such as the Internet, environmental issues, recent problems, or photos about all kinds of holidays. Many times I link stock photography to other activities such as a concert, a football match, a walk in the city, or a trip can be a good reason to take photos and sell them.
6) On average, how much time do you spend on a stock photo, from the idea to the final result?
It depends on the photograph. If I have to look for a special occasion or a particular model, of course it takes longer. Then there is the processing part, that can take from seconds, such as adjusting the contrast or cropping the image, to several hours, in the case I apply specific effects or make a photo collage.
7) What would be the advantages in stock photography? Or the disadvantages?
Like I said earlier, one of the advantages is that micro stock concentrates the demand and supply of images from all over the world, so it is a simple and easy way to find customers for your photos. Of course, that is if the demand is high enough and the photos uploaded are varied, original and interesting enough to survive from the pool of images. Also, although the copyright belongs to the photographer, once bought, the images kind of loose their identity on the Internet and becomes impossible to track their route in order to know who is using them and on what purpose.
8) What characteristics should a stock photo have in order to be accepted and downloaded as many times?
In order to be accepted in the data base, it must respect some general esthetics criteria, to be clear, without chromatic aberrations, with a well thought composition, no noise, etc. In order to be downloaded as often as possible even months or years after being accepted, it must be original, thus having an added value compared to other similar photos.
9) How would you describe your photos? How do you think your customers would describe them?
At first, I tried to copy the photos that had the biggest sales and learned a lot about stock photography by doing this. On a long term, the imitation will not work, because the search engines will show only the good photographs, the original and well thought ones. That is why I try to upload fewer photos and more inspired ones, or to discover new themes, that do not have such a big offer. Of course that in the portfolio remain the older photos as well, that these days I probably would not recognize, yet on the first page always remain the newest and clearest ideas and photos. I do not know who actually purchase my photos, though I believe that there are some customers that return to my portfolio, because they know they can find different photographs on the same theme.
10) What advice would you give a photographer that wishes to approach this type of photography?
To upload high quality photos and to be very patient. Because building up a rich and diverse portfolio takes a lot of time that eventually will pay off.
Melinda Nagy (www.dreamstime.com/melis82_info)
Sebastian Vaida, Camera Obscura
