Cattle Grazing in Lush Pasture - My Vision

These are Black Angus beef cattle grazing in a pasture near Afton, Wyoming (USA).

Bigger is not always better - a composition tip for increasing your stock photo sales: You'll note that this image has a lot of blank space, making the main subject, the cattle, smaller. This is not only a composition choice (following the "rule of thirds"), but I have found over the years that many of my stock photos sell much better if they have space for designers to place type or other photos. By giving the designer this option, I often see my images published as the main photo in a story rather than being used as one of the smaller, accent or filler images. And if you'd like to see your images reproduced full-page, don't forget to shoot the same scene vertically as well as horizontal (see below).

The larger your images are reproduced, the more money you'll make (that's when bigger IS better). It don't matter whether you're licensing your images under a rights-managed model, royalty-free, or as microstock, larger uses make you more money. At many microstock agencies, the prices for "large" or XLarge download sizes are three to six times greater than those for "small" or medium downloads!


Another stock photo tip: if you'll looking for additional ways to increase your sales, read this short article I wrote about shooting on "spec".

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Hand Protecting a Young Plant - My Vision

I could have title this post, "How to breath new life into old photos". This was originally a black and white photograph, taken several years ago in the studio, on 4x5 B/W sheet film. I asked my next-door neighbor to be the hand model (cheap ;-).

I recently scanned the negative, and colorized the image in Photoshop. It has become one of my best stock photo sellers!

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Apple Orchard Harvest - My Vision

Here's an old-fashioned apple orchard harvest (Jonathan and Delicious) I photographed a few years ago around the end of September. You can see another cluster of bushel baskets in the distance. (Click on the image for a larger view.)

While through Payson, Utah a few years ago, we came across a small, family farm that raised apples (it's on the right side of the road, just before you drive up Payson Canyon). Ever since that first visit, we've tried to stop by around the last week of September.

Styling: As a former commercial photographer, I rarely photograph a shot just as I see, except when I'm doing editorial or environmental photography. My wife and I polished the top layer of apples (taking off the haze and dust) in the four or five closest baskets, in order to increase the color saturation; and I rearranged the position of the baskets slightly to make the shot more visually appealing.

A little styling BEFORE the shot will dramatically improve most photographs. I strongly believe in "fixing" problems before you start shooting, instead of trying to correct it later in Photoshop. The difference between a polished apple and an over-saturated apple in Photoshop is the difference between "appealing" and "garish".

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."