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Does shooting for stock change your eye?


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On 28/01/2020 at 04:34, The Blinking Eye said:

 

Inspiring to hear how the work improves, no matter what the intended audience. I think that's part of what I'm grappling with. What is a good photo? And how to make it an even better photo?

 

The more you shoot, the more competent you become, and that helps you to think less about the technical stuff, and really concentrate on your vision. Experiment, have fun, shoot for stock and for yourself. Some photos are artistic, some are useful, some are both. You have a good eye, I don't think you'll lose it shooting stock.  

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7 minutes ago, Marianne said:

 

The more you shoot, the more competent you become, and that helps you to think less about the technical stuff, and really concentrate on your vision. Experiment, have fun, shoot for stock and for yourself. Some photos are artistic, some are useful, some are both. You have a good eye, I don't think you'll lose it shooting stock.  

 

How true...learning is a process that usually takes time...we don't instantly become experts at anything, so trial and error and experimenting until our own style  and skill levels improve..Look at pictures you like and photographers work you like to inspire you... Just take the time that you need to evolve / improve....Forcing it to happen and stressing is not productive, so learn from what you shoot and of course get the technical right...One thing is for sure and that is you never stop learning..little by little you get there, you don't have to be the fastest or the greatest..Just be happy improving at your own pace....

 

 

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10 minutes ago, William Caram said:

 

How true...learning is a process that usually takes time...we don't instantly become experts at anything, so trial and error and experimenting until our own style  and skill levels improve..Look at pictures you like and photographers work you like to inspire you... Just take the time that you need to evolve / improve....Forcing it to happen and stressing is not productive, so learn from what you shoot and of course get the technical right...One thing is for sure and that is you never stop learning..little by little you get there, you don't have to be the fastest or the greatest..Just be happy improving at your own pace....

 

 

 

Well said. There have been a few studies, particularly of people in creative fields, that show you are unlikely to produce your best work until you have had about ten years of deliberate practice. So, get out and shoot. 

 

I started painting and drawing with pastels, taking some classes at a local art center, this year. I haven't done either since high school (painting)/ college (pastels), so I'll be in my 70's before I'm any good LOL and that's if I practice regularly. I actually decided to take the classes because I feel like I'm in a creative rut with my photography. It happens from time to time, and I find taking classes in another art form helps get my creative juices flowing. I'm liking it so much I'm thinking of drawing or painting when I hike, come spring. That's the nice thing about photography, you can bundle up and take beautiful photos of the snow in winter ... I wouldn't want to be drawing or painting en plein air in January! (Well, at least not here in NY --out in California the OP has much better weather)  Guessing Ballarat is balmy this time of year for you William since it's your summer. Hope you are safe from the fires.  

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5 hours ago, Marianne said:

 

Well said. There have been a few studies, particularly of people in creative fields, that show you are unlikely to produce your best work until you have had about ten years of deliberate practice. So, get out and shoot. 

 

I started painting and drawing with pastels, taking some classes at a local art center, this year. I haven't done either since high school (painting)/ college (pastels), so I'll be in my 70's before I'm any good LOL and that's if I practice regularly. I actually decided to take the classes because I feel like I'm in a creative rut with my photography. It happens from time to time, and I find taking classes in another art form helps get my creative juices flowing. I'm liking it so much I'm thinking of drawing or painting when I hike, come spring. That's the nice thing about photography, you can bundle up and take beautiful photos of the snow in winter ... I wouldn't want to be drawing or painting en plein air in January! (Well, at least not here in NY --out in California the OP has much better weather)  Guessing Ballarat is balmy this time of year for you William since it's your summer. Hope you are safe from the fires.  

 

 

Hi Marianne, it's great that you are doing your art classes and enjoying same and you are being creative so it's a good thing..the camera is always there waiting...I tend to have short breaks from photography but i have been taking photographs for a long time and when i travel out to the goldfields i am always taking observational pictures as i scan the landscape..( but still watching mostly where i'm driving! most importantly ) We have a hot 39C degrees today in Ballarat and there has been a fire out at Smythesdale near Ballarat but the fire brigade or Country Fire Brigade got it under control..thank goodness...

We had a big fire out at Lexton which is about 60 kilometres North West of Ballarat early in the month, it burnt out 2700 Hectares of land, and i did manage to take some aftermath pics a week later and have uploaded them...The main area of bushfires in Victoria have been out in Gippsland and North East Victoria where there has been great devastation to bushland / animals and property...People have lost their lives as well..The fires go right up the East Coast of the State of New South Wales, and into the State of Queensland...There are many other States that have had fires also...The fire season is not over with hot dry conditions continuing so not a great outlook for many in harms way...

 

But life goes on and you only hope that the Government can help more with spending on firefighting resources and prevention strategies....but some say we haven't learnt much for our other past bushfire  disasters....

 

 

 

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5 minutes ago, William Caram said:

 

 

Hi Marianne, it's great that you are doing your art classes and enjoying same and you are being creative so it's a good thing..the camera is always there waiting...I tend to have short breaks from photography but i have been taking photographs for a long time and when i travel out to the goldfields i am always taking observational pictures as i scan the landscape..( but still watching mostly where i'm driving! most importantly ) We have a hot 39C degrees today in Ballarat and there has been a fire out at Smythesdale near Ballarat but the fire brigade or Country Fire Brigade got it under control..thank goodness...
...

 

But life goes on and you only hope that the Government can help more with spending on firefighting resources and prevention strategies....but some say we haven't learnt much for our other past bushfire  disasters....

 

 

 

 

Glad you're safe, hope that there are no more huge fires this year. So frightening to think of such large areas being decimated. 

 

I watch a tv show Dr. Blake Mysteries that takes place in Ballarat, so I think I have some idea of how lovely it is. With Netflix, Amazon, and PBS (the US Public Broadcasting System) purchasing the rights to so many shows abroad, it's really nice to get an idea of what shows and life is like outside the U.S. 

 

I've been taking photos since I was 6 - that's over 50 years - took some classes in high school and my senior year in college I really spent a lot of time diligently shooting and developing photos in the darkroom, then took a couple of classes in my 20's. I always loved photography, but other than a brief stint as a journalist the year after college, did not start shooting professionally until 2006 when I sort of fell into it. Photography has always been a part-time profession for me since I also write, but by now I guess I should be an "expert," though no matter how long you work at something, I think you can always learn more and get better. I think taking photos that really make you proud takes patience, skill, inspiration, some talent, and sometimes a bit of luck as well. 

 

More for the OP: @The Blinking Eye

 

Kristin, even if your goal is to shoot fine art, or an amazing emotional editorial images,  and even if you only shoot things that inspire you, every photo is not going to be a winner. Shooting stock regularly, whether the subject is exciting, beautiful, or simply utilitarian helps build the skills you need to rely on when inspiration strikes. 

 

I think the one way that shooting stock has changed my style is that I tend to look for copy space. Actually, that started before stock, when I shot some covers for a local magazine. Shooting commercially requires you to think of the requirements of the end user you are shooting for. When I'm shooting photos for a calendar, I need to think about how the image will work in a square format. These are constraints that change how I shoot, but they also make me work harder for the shot, and it doesn't stop me from looking for other types of images that satisfy my artistic inclinations, even if they do not meet the needs of the end user I have in mind. I shoot a lot of travel, something I've always loved, and since I began shooting stock I've shot a lot more nature than I ever did before. And I even sometimes sell fine art prints of those photos that have a lot of copy space, because I do my best to make the composition interesting. So, I don't think stock has hurt my artistic vision. Inspiration waxes and wanes, that's part of the creative process, and making photos that people actually use is worthwhile, for me.

 

Today I saw a friend who teaches in a city school in a poor neighborhood far from any beach. Like me, she loves Cape Cod, so I gave her a New England lighthouse calendar that has one of my images in it. She's got it up on her wall at school and she was telling me how it sparked conversations and enabled her to teach the kids about lighthouses and the sea, since none of them had ever seen one before. You never know how your photos will affect someone. It's fun when you find out. 

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My eye has changed, since I started doing stock. But one thing hasn't changed: I just can't do news. Maybe it's the idea of rushing that feels uncomfortable. My way of taking pix includes a lot of time: waiting for people to 'enter the pic', waiting for 'appropriate' light, waiting for a break in the clouds, etc. Putting time constraints on my picture-taking would feel very odd.

 

Kudos to those whose pix get used in the papers each day... but it ain't me...

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On 30/01/2020 at 19:38, Marianne said:

 

The more you shoot, the more competent you become, and that helps you to think less about the technical stuff, and really concentrate on your vision. Experiment, have fun, shoot for stock and for yourself. Some photos are artistic, some are useful, some are both. You have a good eye, I don't think you'll lose it shooting stock.  

 

Thank you! I feel encouraged today because I just sold my first iPhone photo. I had given up on uploading cell phone photos, but I have to say, I like my iphone portfolio more than I do my hi res Alamy one. I wasn't shooting to sell, and almost the only control you have is the frame and subject matter. Yes, it does make a difference  in "the best camera is the one you have with you" kind of way. I like working with extreme technical limitation, where it's almost soley about the eye, not technique. It's good practice.

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On 31/01/2020 at 03:09, Allan Bell said:

No it is still the same size and colour .

 

Allan

 

 

🤔 Is THAT why I suddenly needed progressive lenses? In fact my profile photo is from the day I got brand new glasses and gave up contact lenses. This all happened at the same time I started uploading photos... 🙀

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On 30/01/2020 at 23:10, Marianne said:

 

More for the OP: @The Blinking Eye

 

Kristin, even if your goal is to shoot fine art, or an amazing emotional editorial images,  and even if you only shoot things that inspire you, every photo is not going to be a winner. Shooting stock regularly, whether the subject is exciting, beautiful, or simply utilitarian helps build the skills you need to rely on when inspiration strikes. 

 

I think the one way that shooting stock has changed my style is that I tend to look for copy space. Actually, that started before stock, when I shot some covers for a local magazine. Shooting commercially requires you to think of the requirements of the end user you are shooting for. When I'm shooting photos for a calendar, I need to think about how the image will work in a square format. These are constraints that change how I shoot, but they also make me work harder for the shot, and it doesn't stop me from looking for other types of images that satisfy my artistic inclinations, even if they do not meet the needs of the end user I have in mind. I shoot a lot of travel, something I've always loved, and since I began shooting stock I've shot a lot more nature than I ever did before. And I even sometimes sell fine art prints of those photos that have a lot of copy space, because I do my best to make the composition interesting. So, I don't think stock has hurt my artistic vision. Inspiration waxes and wanes, that's part of the creative process, and making photos that people actually use is worthwhile, for me.

 

Today I saw a friend who teaches in a city school in a poor neighborhood far from any beach. Like me, she loves Cape Cod, so I gave her a New England lighthouse calendar that has one of my images in it. She's got it up on her wall at school and she was telling me how it sparked conversations and enabled her to teach the kids about lighthouses and the sea, since none of them had ever seen one before. You never know how your photos will affect someone. It's fun when you find out. 

 

That's a cool story!  Speaking of copy space, this is the photo I just sold...  I had never even heard the term "copy space" when I took this. It was just an interesting composition to me. But I have a feeling now that's why it sold.  This still makes me wonder about my more calculating mindset when I take stock now. I prefer the naive state of mind and snapping photos as I wander, out of wonder and beauty. But I guess that's the cost of taking photography more seriously as a profession -- one develops a more calculating approach.italian-cypress-trees-pointing-to-a-blue-sky-S1YRH3.jpg

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On 31/01/2020 at 03:25, John Morrison said:

My eye has changed, since I started doing stock. But one thing hasn't changed: I just can't do news. Maybe it's the idea of rushing that feels uncomfortable. My way of taking pix includes a lot of time: waiting for people to 'enter the pic', waiting for 'appropriate' light, waiting for a break in the clouds, etc. Putting time constraints on my picture-taking would feel very odd.

 

Kudos to those whose pix get used in the papers each day... but it ain't me...

 

This is very interesting and a very apt response to my deeper questions. I think that's great that you know that about yourself and make that choice. I don't spend enough time on my photos. It's all very happenstance, being in the right place at the right time. In fact, I don't tend to set aside time at all to take photos. I just pull out the camera when I pass by something interesting.

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9 minutes ago, The Blinking Eye said:

 

This is very interesting and a very apt response to my deeper questions. I think that's great that you know that about yourself and make that choice. I don't spend enough time on my photos. It's all very happenstance, being in the right place at the right time. In fact, I don't tend to set aside time at all to take photos. I just pull out the camera when I pass by something interesting.

 

 

i think this is the one thing that has changed for me in last 8 months, i now go out to find things that are "interesting" .  If i see something that i can write a story as a caption, i try and capture it.  but i think that's because i always was a story teller, but with a math background i finally found a medium that fits me.  

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15 minutes ago, meanderingemu said:

 

 

i think this is the one thing that has changed for me in last 8 months, i now go out to find things that are "interesting" .  If i see something that i can write a story as a caption, i try and capture it.  but i think that's because i always was a story teller, but with a math background i finally found a medium that fits me.  

 

I have started to earmark events or places that I want to photograph, and specifically choosing to go to them as either a photographer or a participant, not both. I am more conscious of the work it takes to find and frame a great photo, so now I don't try to do other things. That is all changing for me. A more deliberate and less casual approach.

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