If you’re attending the Microstock Expo in Berlin in November as photographer, You’ll be aware that one of the highlights for photographers will be “The Uber Portfolio Review“. Although a portfolio review by itself isn’t new or original, the concept of Microstock expo is more innovative, and refreshing, as its counterparts, as the critique will be anonymous, and be held plenary for the convention’s audience. The panel of experts – so far – is also quite diverse: well known names of fellow photographers as well as recognised industry names. Each photographer who registered for the convention on 4 to 6 November is elegible to enter 20 photos to be critiqued. The panel will select the eye catching images without knowledge of the author, and discuss this selection with the audience. A unique opportunity.

We took this opportunity, to scruitinise our entire portfolio, selecting only 20 images, which we think are most representative of our style, ability and our views on how the (micro)stock market will evolve in the forseeable future. This means we didn’t just pick the biggest sellers, nor our personal favourites, not even the technically most competent images. Criteria used, during our selection process, were:

• Buyers’ motivation: Why do we think some images sell and some others don’t?
• What will change in the buyers’ behaviour, given the current market place, and which themes and styling will sell beyond tomorrow?
• In which type of photography are we able to (at least) equal the competition?
• Does our anticipated niche market fulfill its expectations?
• How are our images we’ve found being used, in what style, and to what extend do the found tear sheets reflect our intended commercial viability of the images in question?
• What images in our portfolio stand out, either compared to our colleagues, or because we’ve managed to successfully identify a less covered theme, subject or concept?

To avoid the remote chance influencing anyone attending the conference, I’ll refrain from posting the photos we’ve selected. There are a few images, I’d like to share, which didn’t make the cut.

This image is one of our best selling images, and possibly the most pirated one. I’m sure it will be no surprise, it’s also the result of a photoshop exercise. It took us quite some time to create, and was disqualified because it’s something we will not be producing on a regular basis.

Although the photo on the right is an image from a carefully planned shoot, this image qualified outside our top 20 because if we’d had to retake this scene, we’d change everything, except for the model.

An example of an image which sells reasonably well, and has been found in use in various places, but  lacks for several reasons, despite the fun we had organising this shoot, and the pride of being Dutch

We took this image straying away from our call sheet and storyboards during the shoot, and I’m glad we did. This image exceeds expectations, and is probably one of the highlights of our more successful productions. We still don’t believe it’s the strongest in the series we took that day.

We’ve excluded our best seller by far as well. The primary reason for excluding it, is that taking this shot is pretty much like bird watching. It happened in front of us when we happened to be there. No planning, nor production involved. Besides, we all have a background in engineering, and this theme is pretty much within our zone of confort.

I hope the “Uber Portfolio Review” will shed some more light on the criteria we used to select our images. Of course, we’re extremely curious to see which images from the 20 we’ve submitted  - if any - will be discussed during the Microstock Expo in Berlin.

We’re looking forward to learn from the convention which criteria they use to address the merit of the selected images, as well as gaining insight in optimising our processes and selection criteria. Even if the panel chooses to pick none, the selection process by itself was a worthwhile experience, both because of the creative, as well as the analytical processes involved in self critisising our own portfolio, something I’d recommend to any serious photographer.

If all goes well with the planned update of our website, I’ll post the 20 images we did select, with our reasoning behind it, after the convention, perhaps with an excerpt of the feedback received. Time will tell. For now, I hope to meet quite a few of you in Berlin.

In another article about the pace of change in the photography market, I discussed the current pressure on prices, and the need for any commercial photographer to adapt to the changing business environment.

This time, I’ll look at the cost-side of running a photography business, as everything you do can be expressed in money. Acquisition, the needed investments in hardware, software, model fees, the time to organize, plan, shoot and process, traveling to and from clients or shooting locations, to stationary and stamps and even switching on the lights. In the end, it all comes down to earning more money than you spend.

Most articles and posts I’ve read, discuss the technical and practical side of optimizing your workflow. Of course, it makes perfect sense to enhance your skills, and it may even increase the monetary value of your work. Increasing the monetary value of your photos, however, can only be successful, if you also manage to control the expenses side of your business – the two go hand in hand, in my opinion.

In business management, there are numerous methodologies and approaches to gain control of the costs of running a business. From my experience in the more traditional industry of manufacturing, a useful method can also be applied to photography. This method involves both the cost side as well as the value of the product – your photos.

The value train

Imagine your workflow as a long train, being pulled by a locomotive. The locomotive represents the revenues, generated by your efforts (selling photos, income from workshops, etc). Each of the carriages represent the costs of activities in the workflow, adding weight for the locomotive to pull. If the weight of the carriages is lower than the locomotive can pull, you’re effectively making a profit.

Step 1: Describe your activities

The first step, is to describe each of the carriages. Label them appropriately. In the traditional industry, this is usually done by categorizing generic value-adding activities on business unit level.  see example visualization, source

In photography, something similar can be achieved by splitting up the workflow into:

Primary activities:

• Research and planning. (increasing skills, organizing shoots, etc)
• Operations (photo shoots, processing, lectures, workshops, etc)
• Acquisition, Marketing & sales (Distribution, client-relations, etc)

Support activities

• Business management (taxes, business strategy, etc)
• Procurement (Hardware, software, travel, etc)

As the size of most photography businesses stand in no comparison to the big traditional industries, the activities are different. In the example above, I’ve used one possible division of activities, but, obviously, another grouping might suit your business better.

Step 2: Value your procedures

The second step is to value each of your activities by dividing them in procedures, and using three factors: time, expenses and capacity.

Think of an procedure to be a log of wood, carried by each of the carriages. It has a volume and a mass, respectively translated into time and expenses. Then, realize, a carriage can be overloaded, or half empty. This would be the factor Capacity.

• Time: the time spent on a procedure
• Expenses: The physical out of pocket expenses for a procedure
• Capacity: How much of each factor is used effectively? For example, running a single handed operation, you won’t use your camera when your processing images.

As a simplified example, I’m using a particular workflow.

• You put your camera aside, and take the card out. Won’t be using the camera, until you’ve done your post production.
• You use a card reader to transfer the images to your $5000. computer.
• You spent 3 hours with lightroom, photoshop or something similar to make a selection and run your post processing.
• This requires a monitor or two, a spacious desk in an office. Rent alone is $1500 per month. And you drink a lot of coffee. With a few too many cookies than is good for you.
• Then you need to save your work, archive them, and make backups on the 10TB NAS you’re running. Although idle since your last shoot (and with 6TB left unused), it was a bargain.

All the above procedures may make up the activity of post processing. Each of them take time, and (or) require monetary investments, even though not all your hardware is constantly in use.

In stead of spending considerable time getting this data together, you might consider using guesstimates, and comparing the total of guesstimates for each of the activities with your bank account and the hours you work.

Don’t forget to value your “locomotive”, too. For many, this is easier said than done, as it requires you to determine the monetary value of your work, as well as get an insight into what your clients are willing to pay for your work. The figures entered may well be different from the current situation.

Step 3: Do the procedures add to your products’ value?

The third step is to answer the following question for each of the carriages: Do the steps in my workflow add value for the customer to my product? In other words, which steps of your workflow processes does actually generate you money, and how much? Does the required input in assists time and money stand in good comparison to the amount that steps generates?

For the locomotive, the question is more complex: What is the value of the product? And what might a customer be willing to pay for it? This too is liable to changes  compared to your current business structure, and the answers may vary from business case to business case..

Another exaggerated example: A customer may be willing to pay you more for receiving your images in various sizes, than it would cost you – in time – to produce them, so he can go over the web sized images on his old laptop without having to open the 16bit tiffs you sent him for his brochure, but he’ll probably be less than thrilled if you charge him for presenting him with 50-odd photos to choose from, if he only requires three images.

Note, the costs in time and expenses, as well as determining whether a step in your workflow adds value to the product for the customer may be different for various fields of photography. This may require you, to draw up one of such diagrams for each situation.

Step 4: Rearrange your work flow

Once you’ve got a good insight which phases in your work flow are more costly than others, and which will actually increase the value of your product for your customer, you can start optimizing your work flow.

The easiest way to go about this, is to first assess whether a procedure can be changed. Some procedures are simply required by law (like filing your tax forms in time), and others are critical to your process. Usually, these procedures are very difficult to remove, but in some cases, restructuring your work flow may result in a more cost effective work-around.

The table on the right provides a simple overview of what procedures to change:

Typical methods to optimize your value chain:
1. Remove procedures, that do not add value to the end product, and aren’t critical to the processes.
2. Rearrange procedures, in order to make the workflow run more smoothy
2. Find cheaper alternatives, replacing costlier steps in the current workflow:
- Change suppliers
- Change workflow routine
3. Introduce new steps in your workflow, that circumvent – current – inefficient routines

How to change your procedures in order to optimize your workflow is based on experience, personal preference, accessibility of alternatives, feasibility, but also common sense. It makes sense not to change everything overnight. In most cases, the gained awareness of the bottlenecks, resource-consuming procedures by analyzing your value train already has a positive effect on the way you go about your daily tasks. Changing the procedures in small batches also makes it easier to monitor their effect, and fine-tune them accordingly.

The most common problems discovered during the value chain analysis are:

• Inefficiency: Not the right procedures per activity
• Ineffectiveness: Too many procedures per activity

The benefits and uses of the Value Chain analysis

• Although time-consuming, the value chain analysis will give you a profound and objective insight in your business’ operations.
• The value chain analysis can help you to make structured and rational choices in increasing the effectiveness of your business. Save you time and money, and potentially increase the perceived value of your product.
• The value chain analysis can provide you with a more thorough understanding of the value of your product.
• From the findings in the value chain analysis, you can easily generate important Key Performance Indicators in your day-to-day routine.
• The above described method, can also be used to determine the value chain of photo shoots, and can, once you get the hang of it, be easily converted into a selection filter used to choose between ideas and concepts.

Dangers of using the Value Chain analysis

• Remember, that the accuracy of the outcome is as reliable as the figures you put in. Plain and simple: Bullshit in = bullshit out.
• A full value chain analysis can become extremely time consuming, and thus a potentially costly exercise.
• The value chain analysis should be used as a tool to make your business more efficient and lean, but completing one should never become a business objective.
• By itself, the Value Chain analysis method does not add to your products (perceived) value.

Disclaimer

• My apologies for the simplistic and somewhat childish imagery. They do, however, serve a purpose in explaining the value chain principles.
• These tips are derived from my personal experiences, and may or may not work for everybody.
• The steps described can be applied and will have a positive effect, but there are other ways, too, which might even work better.
• Writing this article definitely took some time, and the prospected revenues are expected to be marginal, if not, none.  Applying the method discussed in this article to my own activities, I’d most certainly will have to stop writing these. However, somethings are just too much fun to do, and will hopefully remain a part of my presence as business owner.
• If you have any thoughts on his please share them by leaving a comment!

Everyone, active in a creative profession, has to deal with it every now and then. The Creative Dip. However, there are a few very basic tricks to overcome this feared block rapidly.

The situation

Over the last few months, I’ve hammered through a lot of shoots for clients and for stock. Processing the results, I noticed my enthusiasm for the photos faded away rapidly. Not that the images were bad – they matched my clients expectations – but somehow, they failed to appeal to me. They lacked the “wow-factor”. They were kinda bland, missing the sparkle and the eye catching effect. To me, those images were uninspiring, unimaginative and – basically – dull.

The next thing

Doubt. Frustration. Postponing things, because I didn’t feel like it. More evasive maneuvering. Rut. As I believe in the merits of striving for continuous improvement, this situation is opposite to where I’d liked myself to be.

The Pitfall

The danger of creating uninspiring images is that people will still buy them, creating room for leniency, and failing to pursue continuous improvement. There’s no creativity killer like indulgence. When you’re in a rut, it’s bound to lead to a creative dip. You’ll end up failing to follow up on leads, because you lost interest. A total killer.

The cause

Overproduction, perhaps. Shooting too many comparable images, shooting too many similar subjects, shooting too many familiar themes, and too little differentiating factors. It just all became repetitive. The weather has been gray, rainy and gloomy for almost 4 months now, forcing me into the studio a few days too many, producing more uninspiring images

At this point, some consider taking a creative break, and pursue other interests. I believe, there are several very useful – yet uncommon – methods to break this downward spiral. In this article, I’d like to are a few with you.

The solution

1. Back to the drawing board.

Put away the camera for a while, and stop trying to force yourself to get over it. I found it to be a waste of time, and it has only produced more uninspiring results. In stead, look at your latest images, and assess their weaknesses as well as their strengths. Be very critical of yourself. What could you have done better to make them tick? Make notes of how to improve on a technical and aesthetically level. It’ll make you aware of your weaknesses and the flaws in your images, as well as help you to accept the current dip in creativity. It’s widely accepted, acceptance is the first step to overcoming a challenge. So set yourself that challenge.

2. Changing the game

Changing the game is one of my favorite methods. In stead of shooting what others want you to shoot (or, in terms of stock, what you think will sell), think about what you would like to shoot, but never actually got around to – yet. Make a list things that you don’t get to shoot often, and which gets your photographers’ blood pumping again. Don’t forget to make the next step and start thinking of how to achieve the images you have in mind.Create the images in your mind! If you managed that, then start thinking commercially, again. It is entirely possible, that what’s not been selling today might start selling tomorrow. So connect to the real world and merge commercial aspects with your just found shooting list. Select a few subjects you’re not familiar with. Go out, and close the bridge between the known and the unknown. Add your own touch to the uncommon in your expertise.
(Personal note: I use mindmapping software, such as freemind, to collect, categorize and assess the ideas captured during this process)

4. Refreshing the way to look at things

Look around you. When you’re familiar with your surroundings, the same surroundings eventually become to look boring and plain. They aren’t. Be a tourist in your own town. Go to the sights, and look at what others are looking at. Observe others. What do the sights, common to you, do to others? How are strangers interacting with an environment that’s new to them? Go up, move down. Tilt your head. Wear sunglasses on a cloudy day; things will start to look differently. But whatever you do, don’t bring your camera. It’s all about scouting for locations and getting inspired again. Inspired by what others see. Consider it scouting for new opportunities. Gather intelligence for tomorrow’s game.

5. Change the tune

Switch to a different channel. Get inspired by other forms of art, whether it is music, the movies or other visual art. Try to capture the feel and the vibe, and think of ways to translate that into your work. And make sure, you go beyond your zone of comfort. Been listening to classic rock lately? Familiarize yourself with the vibe of pop or jazz for a while. It’s as simple as watching TV lying down; your mind adapts to the rotated image easily, however, the experience is entirely different.

6. Retrace your steps.

7. Step outside your zone of comfort.

Been shooting with DSLR’s? Pick up an old film camera, of change to a camcorder for a while. The former will force you to make every click count, and thus make you think twice before you press the shutter. The latter will force you to stay within a fixed aspect ratio, making the choices of composition more challenging. My preferred weapon of choice if I decide to change gear is either an old 6×6 camera, or the HDV option. A combination of the two is to limit yourself in choice of optics; In stead of a medium zoom lens, go for a fixed focal length lens

The theory behind it

As an industrial designer, the methodology of diversifying within the boundaries of the task at hand before converging to reach the final product is multifunctional. This methodology can be applied in a vast array of processes, provided you want to achieve the best solution for your client – whomever it may be – and pursue continuous improvement.

In the trajectory of diversifying, amending associative techniques, such as making cross references, transpositions of external concepts to relevant ones will always provide you new insights. Combine that with the foremost important rule of brainstorming – there are no such things as a bad ideas, but there will always room for better ideas. All you need to do is be open to those new ideas, execute them, assess their effectiveness, and fine-tune them. You’ll be back on track before you know it.

The Sources

My first boss once told me to focus on my strong parts during an appraisal meeting. Create the focus. Improve the strong parts, accept the weaker competences.
My Professor of Design methodologies – who told me, that when you get stuck trying to solve a problem, try to look at it from a different angle.
My dad, who said the answer to any problem is always easier than it may seem at first. Clear your mind, look at the provided information, make an inventory of the tools at hand, and the answer will be right in front of you.
Edward Deming – Plan, Do, Check, Act. [repeat] Mainly as safeguard, as it allows you to steer yourself in the right direction.

Disclaimer:

• This article is based on personal experiences, opinion and situations, and may or may not represent the actual situation.
• Some statements are rather bold, and rough around the edges (or too feathered ), and there are of course exceptions possible.
• If you think there are any discrepancies or flaws in reasoning in this article, please let me know
• As the topic of this article is of a subjective nature, other opinions are equally valid.
• Care has been taken the sources used are accurate.
• I’m probably my own worst critic, and my views will change over time.

If you have any thoughts on his please share them by leaving a comment!

We supply too many images to (micro)stock agencies, and there are too many photographers to base a sustainable business model on for most of us. The suppliers market seems to be over-saturated.

On the other hand, microstock is rapidly gaining market share as cheap source of images for many purposes. The RF microstock pricing structure facilitates new buyers looking for alternative (and cheaper) outlets, due to the current financial situation. As the marketplace is changing, and microstock as business is maturing, competition grows. For the contributor, this means a rapidly growing challenge in meeting the changing image requirements in quantity and quality. This new – microstock – type of User Generated Content is eating away business from traditional stock agents as well as commissioned based photographers. Microstock has changed the photography business. Possibly forever.

All doom and gloom, or has this cloud a silver lining?

Introduction, mindset and time frame

I consider the current market situation in photography to be unstable. Reading various sources on the internet, in blogs, twitter, and in forums, I notice an increased weariness about the (micro)stock industry amongst contributors, and – to a lesser extend – stock agents. What you’re reading now, is the prelude of a series of articles, setting apart my thoughts on the future or photography, based on my experience, and what I see around me. I’m not a visionary, nor an economist or a marketing expert. Even though I’ve spent a large part of my professional career in Business Development and Innovation, I’m foremost a photographer.

I’ve been active in photography for more than a decade, slowly but surely expanding my business, before diving in head first, changing attributes from “advanced amateur” to “professional photographer” in 2004. Early 2007, I became involved in stock photography. I still consider myself to be starting out, building businesses.

Chapter 1: From past to present

2009 is a strange year. Even though the initial panic about the financial crisis is slowly ebbing away, the effects are still very much tangible. According to the experts, this will continue to influence businesses around the world for at least the next few years.
In microstock, the current events indicate that there are also other important factors affecting the User Generated Content market, affecting the position of the contributor. A generalization:

Supply and Demand

• The demand in images still increasing.
• The supply of images, by us, contributors, is extremely high, and the number of contributors is increasing too quickly to facilitate the growth in demand.

Changing market

• From my own experience, large companies, who were previously hiring a photographer to shoot dedicated images, are now actively looking into sourcing their general purpose image needs from stock agencies.
• Stock agents are adapting their strategy to facilitate emerging buyers market, by adapting their license terms, opening new outlet channels, and creating more segmented collections.
• The difference between traditional stock agencies and microstock sites is slowly disappearing, with a professionalizing microstock market, and a traditional stock industry, focussing more and more on mid and microstock. The image stock industry is maturing rapidly.

The consequences

The increased competition forces the royalty and pricing structures to be under pressure. As the image collection of the major players in the industry explodes, the importance of image requirements in terms of subject selection, image quality and legal indemnification by the contributor is increasing, but revenues are lagging behind. To put it differently: A photographer needs to work harder, producing higher quality to sell his (her) images at a price level that is in disproportion with the needed effort. Because of the average low market share in number of images, an individual photographer has barely any leverage with agents to have any influence on the changing marketplace.

Changing business

I sell images, and make a living out of it. I’m currently selling the majority of my images for “pocket change”, ranging from $0,19 to $300 per individual sale, selling the same images over and over again. A few years ago, my core business solely consisted of commissioned work, with exclusive usage rights to our clients – selling a photo just once. The extremes in image pricing are staggering. A single commissioned image, made me roughly 130.000(!) times more than some of the subscription sales nowadays.
A realistic breakdown of the math, using fictions numbers (expenses and taxes excluded, inflation compensation included):

All in all, the grand total remains roughly the same, In addition to this, the total production costs for stock images (planning, model fees, travel costs, assistant fees, image selection, and not to mention acquisition) are substantially lower than for commissioned work. The comparison shows the net worth of an image has devaluated. Images are sold cheaper, against more lenient conditions. This is compensated by an increase in number of sales. Considering the current developments in the market, there’s little leverage to bring this effect to a halt.

Obserbvations

• Prematurely, my commissioned work seems to be picking up again, the number of requests is still lower than in the past, and the size of the tenders are, generally speaking, smaller. I anticipate commissioned work will not fully recover.
• Trend analysis, innovation and concept development, needed to assess and meet the customers’ demands, require much more market insight (and thus time!) than before. I find this challenge a valuable addition to my business, as it also stimulates creativity.
• The production quantity of images has increased big time, requiring more computer hardware, processing capacity and storage space, as well as a change in workflow.
• I believe that the critical success factors in both lines of photography augment each other, improving skills and quality in both fields.
• Investing time to build a stock portfolio a few years ago was a good decision. With the continuously changing market, it is yet again time to evaluate, and look ahead at the future.
• If it weren’t for revenues through stock, my business would’ve been pretty close to filing a chapter 11. With request for commissioned work increasing again, my business is growing again.
• With stock continuing to make up for an increasing portion of my turnover, I’m starting to miss the frequent contacts with my clients and users of my images.

To sum up

With a supply chain, which is over-saturated, with an aggressive competition between agents, and a change in buyer demands, the business continues to change at a high pace. The channels, through which images are sourced, have already begun adapting, but the majority of photographers is lagging behind. This makes sense, as the stock agents are for the most part rather large enterprises, compared to their suppliers – the photographers. The majority of photographers consist of hobbyists, or pro-photographers with a different core-business than shooting stock, and the few full time pros. Yet, we all need to change. Change is possible, and the changed situation also has a few positive side effects. The days of “business as usual” are over, and I believe that is a good thing, as “business as usual” is a creativity killer, and creativity is a bare necessity for any photographer. The market is professionalizing, and it is likely, that photographers, who refuse to adapt, will perish in this process, possibly bringing a bit of balance back to the supply and demand equation.
Ways to change to a dynamic marketplace:

• Market and target your business
• Build a brand (an oldie)
• Choose between quantity or quality
• Differentiate or diversify your products
• Research the future to predict tomorrow’s customer demand
• Increase efficiency and reduce costs (the open door)

In the next few months, I intend to explore these methods more thoroughly, elaborating on each in a few more articles, and cross linking them, to put them into (my personalized) perspective. These articles will be published in random order.

Disclaimer:

• This article is based on personal experiences, opinion and situations, and may or may not represent the actual situation.
• Some statements are rather bold, and rough around the edges (or too feathered ), and there are of course exceptions possible.
• If you think there are any discrepancies or flaws in reasoning in this article, please let me know
• As future events cannot be accurately predicted as of yet, other opinions are equally valid.
• Care has been taken the sources used are accurate, but I cannot guarantee their accuracy.
• I’m probably my own worst critic, and my views will change over time.

If you have any thoughts on his please share them by leaving a comment!

It’ll probably be an open door for you when I say that with a decent planning, you’ve already done half the work. I believe a thorough planning is vital for any photoshoot. Whether you work with models, or go go out into the wild. Both indoors, as well as outdoors, a planning will only help you to be more productive.

This guide thoroughly describes the way I go about my major productions – using a group of models, on location outside my studio, using one or more assistants. For most (micro)stock productions, this approach will be way too elaborate and time consuming, and a more lean approach can be followed.

1. Come up with a plan before you make a planning.

This sounds redundant, but is often overlooked. What I mean by this first step, is that you need to determine what you want to shoot. I keep a long list of possible ideas in a small notebook (read: iPhone) where I jot down just about everything that triggers me as a prospected photo-op. Every now and then, I go over that list behind my computer, and search those themes on the various stock sites, to see what’s already online, what’s available, and which type of photos are missing from the various catalogues. Based on those results, I pick the “niches“, and create a mindmap, exploring the niche’s potential.

• Notebook, text editor or the likes
• Mindmapping software
• Search function of your stock agent of choice

2. Make a storyboard

This step is actually exactly that. Using a whiteboard (or a pen and paper), I sketch the images I want to capture. As many as possible, but only venturing out into different concepts and settings, without distinguishing between portrait – or landscape format. This usually results in about 30 sketches, depending on the theme and the purpose of the shoot.

• Pen and paper or whiteboard
• Mindmapping software
• Camera (phone, point and shoot, etc – you only need them for reference!)

3. Create lists

The next step is to create lists. What do I need? Think concepts, translated into props, locations, and models. Do not forget to include a list of equipment needed (specific lenses, lighting requirements, etc). Organise them; divide them into things you need to arrange, things you need to buy, things you need to pack. Just write everything down that comes to mind – it’ll have to be revised later anyway.

• I use a simple text editor, post-it’s, or a task management tool, depending on the magnitude of the shoot.

4. Create a plan of action

The next step is to write down everything I need to do. I usually start by planning a date, on which the shoot is to take place, and then work backwards, to determine when I actually need to start arranging things.

The time before the day of the shoot can (still) be loosely planned. Be aware that arranging models and locations may be very time consuming, though, so calculate this into your planning, and be prepared to be forced to postpone the shooting date, when schedules simply refuse to coincide.

Based on the story-board I’ve created in step 2, I plan the day of the shoot meticulously with 15 minute time slots. My planning describes each of the themes and concepts, the various settings and the number of different photos I intend to end up with. Based on those three variables, I calculate the needed time in quantities of 15 minutes.

Make sure you include time in the planning for the obvious: Checking your gear, charging batteries, setting up on location, welcoming models, and allowing time to sign model releases. In other words, a S.M.A.R.T. plan is essential

• Spread sheet program
• Word program
• Project planner for big shoots to create a Gantt chart

5. Start following your plan

Again, an open door, but what’s the worth of a plan, when you don’t stick to it?

During the process of putting your plan in action, you’ll undoubtedly notice, that you need to revise it. Several times. During one of those revisions, you will realise, you might need a backup plan, too. This usually happens, when you have to commit to arrangements, and have to spend uncalculated money on models, props, and / or locations. It therefore is a sound advice, to think before you act, and seek for cheaper (if not free) alternatives.

During this step, you’ll notice the pieces of the puzzle will start falling together, and you’ll be able to refine stages 1 to 4. However, I notice, that often, those phases are so well embedded in my mind, that I omit changing the documents created so far, and I carry on to step 6. However, this is typically sloppy of me, and could well fire back, so I would urge you to at least jot down those changes.

• Telephone
• Agenda
• Word program with the planning and draft scenario open

6. Finalise the shooting schedule

When you’ve got everything sorted out, it’s time to finalise the plan of action you drafted in step 4. Usually, I split up this document into three different parts:

1. A full shooting schedule, including all lists, addresses (including telephone numbers), and all tasks I’ve jotted down earlier.
2. A concise shooting schedule, including the events for which you’d need the action of others, and the instructions and agreements with all parties involved. (As personal arrangements may vary, I tend to omit them from this shooting schedule) The concise plan consists of all contact information, including telephone numbers, route description, and the division of the 15 minutes’ time slots, including breaks, time needed to change sets, model releases, etc.
3. A summary, only including the 15 minute’s time slots of the shooting date, in a large font. I tend to make at least 4 copies of this; one is constantly in my pocket for reference, the other three are pinned on the wall for my assistants, the models and the hosts – if shooting on location – so they know when their involvement is required.

Now is also the right time to scout the location which hosts the shoot. Check for ambient lighting conditions, sockets to plug in a laptop, battery charger and extension chords for strobes, etc. Also look for dead spots (disturbing, or unwanted backgrouds, places to store your gear, etc).

If I can afford the luxury, I also assign one assistant as “time keeper”. Knowing myself, I know that when I’m shooting, I tend to loose track of time, and looking at the plan and my watch only disrupts my creativity. Having someone around to tell me to stop shooting and move on to the next scene is worth every dime.

Three days before the shoot, I email everyone involved the concise shooting schedule, including personal arrangements, which are added in the body text of the email. That’s just about when I also talk everything through with my assistants. In most cases, this will all be redundant information, but for two purposes: to stress the stakes involved, and to make sure there are no last minute surprises.

7. The night before the shoot

That’s also when I check my gear, and, if I don’t shoot in my own studio, when I check my bag, flight cases, and documents (model- and/or property releases, press card, etc)

8. The day of the shoot

The day of the shoot starts by setting up for the shoot. As all shooting sessions have been carefully thought through, it’s a piece of cake to set up the lights. I usually plan a slots (15 minutes) to take a few test shots, to check the camera settings. By the time I’ve finished that, the models show up, and I (or an assistant) welcome them, and give a short recap of the events ahead.

Bottom line

This guide perfectly describes what I should do. Usually, the time frame does not allow me to go through all the steps, or unforeseen events (inevitably) change everything. However, with every shoot I produce, I notice this preparation flow become more of a second nature. The result is that I become both more comfortable at organising big productions, become less alarmed when last minute changes occur, as well as make the process more lean by retracing my steps more often. Although the latter may sound weird, it actually saves time and increases the production level if I organise meticulously. It also allows me to skip steps, and helps me to be more on top of things.

Golden rule

Regardless of how perfect my planning is, the best shots I get out of such a production are always the impulsive, improvised – and thus the unplanned photos. A thorough preparation of a shoot is essential, but leave room for creativity and the unexpected! Remain critical of yourself. When I’m in charge, all mistakes are accountable to me, even if I’m not responsible.

Following up on my previous post on finding your niche in (micro)stock, I’d like to draw your attention to a very useful tool in assessing if what you have in mind is a potential niche to be explored; picNiche

Also, there is an interesting article for comparison on mystockphoto worth checking out (and not just in respect to finding your niche!).

Thanks to Roberto Marinello and Bob Davies for re-drawing my attention to this subject!

PicNiche is a simple looking tool, but it’s far more elaborate than at first meets the eye. It works very straight forward: you can enter your primary keyword or set of keywords, and it renders a few useful, yet basic, statistics after pressing the submit (analyse) button.

It’ll show you how many images, matching the criteria you entered, were found, how many views those images have generated, as well as how many times the matching images were downloaded. Essentially, this information is key to assessing if you’ve found a niche or not, but picNiche does more.

In picNiches own words:

picNiche is an easy to use keyword search tool for assessing the supply and demand of online stock photography images from microstock sites.

You search for a keyword phrase such as ‘business man’ or ‘orange socks’ and the search system assesses the sales statistics (demand) for images found relating to that search, along with the competition (supply) for that phrase, and returns a rating indicating the likelihood of making a sale as a result of that keyword phrase on your image.

The system rates keywords on an open-ended scale, so performing multiple searches will provide you with the highest rated keywords, those most likely to make a sale.

Rating < 10 is BAD
Rating > 10 and < 50 is OK
Rating > 50 and < 100 is GOOD
Rating > 100 is a NICHE

Thoughts and observations on picNiche

I believe this is a very helpful added value of picNiche. Having toyed around with it a bit, its definitely something I’ll be using frequently to select and prepare my shoots.

However, as with all tools, the information provided should be handled with care, though. The information you get out of it is as reliable as the information you’ve put in. (BS in = BS out) To illustrate this:

As picNiche makes optimal use of User Generated Content, it is also very much reliant on how other users have keyworded their images, and we all know there’s a lot of spamming going around. The consequence of this, is that very specific keywords, or sets of keywords put together with quotation marks might render a lower niche rating than more generic terms. Going too generic in search phrases, however, will also reduce the niche rating.

Example:

In light of the presumed higher number of purchases generated with the words “water“, “treatment” or “plant “, this makes sense. However, neither water nor treatment or plant alone necessarily refers to a “blast furnace”, thus stretching the query beyond the researched niche.

Another thing to bear in mind, is that picNiche does not seem to incorporate the actual buyer’s search terms with which the image was found and purchased – in other words, it remains very important to use common sense and try to think from a buyers perspective when choosing the keywords. Then, there is the complicating factor of iStock’s controlled vocabulary and keyword culling policies, which could well affect the results negatively.

The keyword tool picNiche offers is great to get ideas, and to check if the set of keywords entered is complete. As stated on picNiche.com:

These keywords are suggestions ONLY, any which do not describe the content of YOUR image, will NOT help your sales, and may even harm them, please use only as a guide

Needless to say, a high niche-rating is no guarantees for high sales. In the end, it comes down to the quality, composition and styling of your images, and how well they are keyworded. The line of thought:

“Hmmm; According to picNiche, “courthouse” (953 images) only has a niche-rating of 40,92, but “courthouse” AND “judge” has a niche-rating of 266,5 (282 images), so let’s get that judge there!” remains a dangerous conclusion. Adding the word “felony” to the query will reduce the niche-rating to 210,00 (2 images), however, I’m inclined to believe that’s mostly due to the scarcity of images that include all of those keywords, rather than a reduced demand for such images.

Toolbars

Another killer feature of picNiche is the firefox toolbar Bob offers. Won’t go into details here, as I couldn’t possibly top the review on microstockdiaries.com

Conclusion

Eventhough I initially looked over the tremendous potential of picNiche, I believe it’s an oustanding tool to determine niches and possible sales potential, as it is the only tool I know of that combines demand and supply in one, measurable, factor. But this only applies if handled with care and a bit of thought. I sure hope Bob Davies will continue his work on these tools, and perhaps eventually do his superb work more justice by spending a bit of time in a more fitting presentation?

It’s splattered all over the various forums of microstock agents: If you want to be successful in stock, build a large portfolio. Aim for a versatile collection of images, as that ensures a wide spread interest from buyers, designers, and such, and thus realises sales and generates revenues. All very well intended opinions, shared by the big names in microstock.

Outstanding! Now that’s something to aim for, then! Pick up that camera, and go shoot everything around you. If it moves – even better, right? – Wrong.

Five tips to build a porfolio that stands out, and can potentially make you some cash:

1. Do your searches. Start with popular themes, such as “business handshake”, which’ll generate a lot of hits of high selling images. I
2. Don’t copy what’s already popular unless you manage to find a new, refreshing, approach, targetting new prospective buyers
3. Go take a good look at the popular images. Forget what those images are about, but remember the style. you’ll notice a crispness and refreshing style, that sells
4. Try narrowing down the search query to a theme that complies with two rules: the subject of the photos is accessible to you, and there are only a handfull of images depicting that same theme. If you find a search that results in a few images with a lot of sales, then you’ve found a niche.
5. Expand that niche. What could images of that readily accessible subject be used for? How many angles of use can you identify? And how different would photos using that share the same theme look for different uses?

Let’s analyse the situation, and see where that advise originates. I’m all for a large portfolio, and will be the first to acknowledge, that size, in this case, does matter. The more photos you have in your portfolio, the higher chances are, they will be noticed by prospected buyers,who will then surf on to your portfolio for that one image they need for their project. But, to put it simple, if the storefront looks great, but the interior is a mess, or you end up in a pet store whilst being allergic to animals, you’re not in the right place, and you’ll find your way out in no-time, never to return. With a stock portfolio, it’s the same. If buyers don’t see what they’re looking for, they’re gone, and before you know it, your images will be tucked far away in the darkest realms of the search pages.

The big players in (micro)stock have collections of several 10′s of thousands of high quality photos. Most of them have been around since 2004 or 2005, and have learned the tricks of the trade. They have literally spent years in perfecting those tricks, and in assessing the efficiency in terms of generated revenues, by exploring new things. Remember, as microstock is only reaching maturity, in 2004, or even 2006, a lot of things were still new. Back then, it was presumably easier to figure out which images would sell, and which images won’t. And in due course, the themes that sell became apparent to a following crowd of microstock contributors, who started copying what once was hot. The top contributors now take a professional – and full time – approach to finding and exploiting hot themes, backed up by experience and a production mentality. That’s a tough proposition to compete with.

1. Do your searches

At any time, its important to know what’s hot and what’s not. It tells you what has sold a lot – note the past tense! Therefore, it’s also important to establish how long it took to generate so many downloads. And while you’re at it, browse through the contributors portfolio, to see what more he (or she) has to offer. This is all common sense, and generates proper competition intelligence, but also will stimulate your creativity by forming an opinion about the top selling images you see. It’s important not to try to copy those best selling images, as it’s a David versus Goliath proposition, where David (your imitated file) is bound to lose, and it’ll prevent you from developing your own style, brand and the fingerprint feel of your images by which clients might eventually recognise your portfolio.

Search for “business handshake”:

• on iStockphoto, you’ll find 3379 results.
• on Shutterstock, you’ll find 6895 results
• on Fotolia, you’ll find 5544 results

Considering the above agents have a collection of 2,000,000 to 6,000,000 photos those search results may not seem like a lot, and I’m sure you can come up with queries that result in far more images, but “business handshake” is already pretty precise, narrow it down to hands of businesspeople. I’m sure you’ll get my drift. (business alone generates 541,702 hits on shutterstock, for example)

2. Try to improve on what already has been done!

The key in such a search is to stimulate your own creativity – a trick that can be taught – Try to describe “the feel” of the images that appeal to you, and then think about how to achieve and perfect that feel in your own style. Also think about what you whould have done if it were you taking the photo,what you would’ve done differently, and try to guess the photographers motivation for his (or her) choice, resulting in the image you’re looking at. This is, as far as I’m concerned, the most important revelation of analysing top images, but a difficult one. If answering those questions result in a flow of new ideas and approaches, then there’s nothing stopping you form staging such a photo shoot. If you don’t, then pursuing other themes might be more advisable.

3. Analyse the general impact, feel and image quality of top sellers.

If you perform a similar search, as discussed above, you might notice something else: the clarity, vibrance and crispness – the general impact – of the images on the first pages makes even the thumbnail pop out from the screen. Browsing further back through the pages, images become sulkier, lacking contrast and thus also appeal. Try to describe “the feel” of the images that appeal to you, and then think about how to achieve and perfect that feel in your own style. This is, as far as I’m concerned, the most important revelation of analysing top images, and one I’m still struggling with. From experience, meticulous planning of a photo shoot plays a vital element in the quality of the final result.

4. Find your niche

By just looking at the astronomical number of sales of one of the top selling images, it might be tempting to try to achieve a similar type of image. However, I think you’ll find your chances improve by finding your niche. Although finding such a niche might be easier said than done, it is very well possible. If you apply the same types and techniques I described above to subjects and themes in your own personal sphere and surroundings, you are already half way there. Think which locations, what people, and which themes are easily accessible to you, and with which you feel at ease and confident. Explore the potential messages you could capture at such locations, and start planning a first shoot. Having knowlegde and experience in that area will definitely help to provide you with an a competitive edge. Then perform a few searches, using the prime keywords you would use to describe your idea. If you notice that those queries only result in a handful of decently selling images, then you might have found your niche.

Beautiful technology (ambiguous) as niche

As this might still sound a bit ambiguous, I’ll give you an example from my own experience. Being an industrial designer by education, I have worked for a large steel manufacturer for several years. This strengthened my passion for- and knowledge of technology, as well as sheer enormous structures. I decided to combine that competitive edge with my passion for night photography, motion, and long exposures. This resulted in what is now the top tier of my selling images, generating roughly 75% of the total revenues earned. My niche themes range from infrastructure (bridges, motorways, intersections, to logistics and construction. (off topic – Lookstat is a great tool to analyse the performance of individual images over time) The absolute sales figures are still far from impressive, but considering I’m only a small-time microstock shooter, I’d like to think those images have served me pretty well.

Good image, very little sales

The other end of the stick is also quite familiar to me. I have a huge collection of landscape and travel photos, which are lovely to look at, but with one or two exceptions, that collection stays well behind in sales, and quite frankly, most of them are still gathering digital dust on one of my hard drives.

5. Expanding your nice

After a first exploration of your newly discovered niche, get about 10 – 25 images online at your agents, and follow closely how they’re received. If you receive quite a few “abundant category” rejection, then it’s best to get back to the drawing board. On the other hand, if – depending on the agency – your images start selling almost immediately, are added to lightboxes or receive special recognition(initial ratings, editor’s choice), then you might be on to something.

Expanding the niche in transportation

The next step is to carefully examine the performance of individual images from that series. Try to determine what messages and concepts seem to be favoured by the prospected clients. Then start diverging to both improving the general appeal of that message, as well as to think of other potential markets with the same theme.

Friendly industry: pure steam (water)

Using my technology series as example, one could easily think of themes such as global warming, environmental damage and pollution as possible uses. Yet the reverse concept – illustrating heavy industry in a positive and more friendly concept – is also a valid – more positive – aspects to cover. Then, there are various other another angles that could covered: the current economic situation, triggering the decline of production, the hassle of commuting through heavy traffic by car in urban regions, or introducing the human element in the above mentioned examples to illustrate either the downside of automation, or the positive side of quality control. If executed properly, capturing these different themes will result in different images, thus creating a versatile collection of images, all derived from the same basic niche.

Disclaimer:

• These tips are derived from my personal experiences, and may or may not work for everybody.
• The steps described can be applied and will have a positive effect, but there are other ways, too, which might even work better.
• I’m still refining the process of finding a niche and exploiting it.

If you have any thoughts on his please share them by leaving a comment!