Introduction to Stock Photography
Neil and Terri Petrie
March 2013

Agenda
Introduction to Stock
What is stock photography?
How does stock photography work?
What makes a successful stock photographer?
Getting started
Caritas Images
Who we are and how we work
What our customers are saying
Images in demand
Case Studies
Disability Shoot
Business Woman Shoot
2

What is stock photography?
Use business marketing principles
View stock photography like any other business where you are supplying a product to a target market
Forget about stock being art
Businesses and publishers and creative agencies buy stock to illustrate something, a concept or meaning. They’re not buying it to put on their office wall. 
In for the long game
Long term revenue stream as stock images sell over and over


Analyse and research
Never go out without working out what you need to shoot
On-going detailed analysis and planning


3

Stock versus Artistic images
4

How does stock photography work?
5

Stock photography workflow

6

What are the qualities of a successful stock photographer?
Obsessed with image quality
Systematic and self-disciplined
Creative thinker – constant stream of new ideas
Relentlessly productive
Be prepared to work very hard
“For every week of enjoyable shooting there is a month of processing, keywording, submitting, keeping track of images, etc.” Elena Elisseeva
Track sales and return per image

7

Getting started
Full time or part time? How much time will you give to stock?
Decide what you want to get out of it
Set yourself goals
Decide on your speciality, but retain variety
Throw away your artistic photo magazines
Read everything you can about stock
Get equipment, software and skills
Research stock agencies
Set realistic expectations
Reprogram your thinking
8

Caritas Images- who we are
9

Caritas Images - Main site
Sign up
How to submit
Legal stuff
Quality and content guides
10

CariChat - Community portal
Guides
Resources
Customer requirements
11

How we work
Contributors:
Provide Contributors with community, collaboration and support – relationships are important to us!
Constant flow of customer requirements, shooting tips and ideas
Customers
Build relationships with media buyers – understand and anticipate their needs
Named list : face-to-face and telephonic contact

12

13
What our customers are saying
Include people interacting with the environment
Show identifiable locations and buildings
When shooting wildlife, the location must be identifiable
Use everyday people, not Hollywood models
Convey positive messages
Include Model and Property Releases

14
Not wanted!

15
Yes!

Case Study 1 – Disability Shoot
Research market needs
Contact the carer
Negotiate with the father
Planning and scheduling
Taking the shots
Post production – sorting, retouching, enter metadata
Clearing with the father – signed model releases
Sharing with the model
Submit images
Send lightboxes to prospective customers

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Case Study 2 - Business Woman Shoot
Research market needs
Contact a friend who has drama and modelling experience
Negotiate rates and usage
Planning and scheduling
Taking the shots
Get signed model release
Post production – sorting, retouching, enter metadata
Send small images to the model
Submit images
Send lightboxes to prospective customers

19

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21
Time to ask questions!