Photobuyers are Looking for You
It's nice to be wanted. The good news: If your collection of stock photos matches a particular photobuyer's photo needs, you become an important resource for that photobuyer.
Most entry-level stock photographers produce quality images of grapes, oranges and apples and try to sell them to photobuyers who buy images of pineapples, lemons and pears.
LESSON: Determine what your interest area is and focus on taking pictures in that area, where you have or will develop expertise. You'll not only speak the language of the photobuyers that need pictures in that special interest area, but you will be the person they contact for assignment when they need someone.
Your photobuyers need pictures that go beyond the general stock pictures (sometimes called "stockshlock"). They want photos that allow the viewer to "read into the image." That is, you present images that allow the viewer to be a collaborator, and you bring your own meanings and dimension to the seeing of the image.
Photobuyers will recognize your talent to "illustrate" as well as your knowledge and passion for the subject area. Your photos will augment and bring a completeness to an article that a standard stock photo cannot do.
But how do you find the photobuyers who are, at this moment, waiting to see your specialized photos? You may have two or three interest areas where you feel you have expertise (or are eager to develop it). Let's take one example, since this system to search out your buyers will work for most subject areas.
Children's Health. You don't need a degree in nursing or medicine to be qualified as a stock photographer in this area. Nor do you need to be a parent. All you need is the passion to express your interest and share it with your viewers.
Most photobuyers are not interested in purchasing documentary or general pictures in this area. Such images are readily available as free stock images from pharmaceutical companies, staff photographers at hospitals, and insurance agencies. Buyers want the intimate, personalized, and current images offered by independent photographers familiar with their field of interest.
The Internet has become the research tool of choice for stock photographers. List several subjects involved in your area of specialization. In the case of children's health, ones to use would include: parent, child, school, nurse, medical, allergy, pediatric neurology, asthma, nutrition. Using the query tab of a search engine such as Google, type in the word magazine, plus the word child and the word health. For example, the results of this combination: "magazine child health school," retrieved 22 possible magazine contacts. In fifteen minutes of searching, you can easily find one hundred potential outlets for your specific photography. Hint: when entering your choice of words, put the most important words (in this case, magazine, child, and health) early in your description.
In additional searches, in place the word magazine, insert " book publisher," "association," "organization," or "products." You'll find a few hundred more outlets.
An added help in this process is Alexa.com, a toolbar that you can install (free) on your computer (www.alexa.com). When you retrieve one site, Alexa will also suggest four or five "similar" sites on the same subject
Once you have selected several dozen magazines, prioritize them according to how well they match with your primary interests. For example, a magazine concerning dyslexic children might go last; a magazine concerning children with asthma might go first.
Next, ask the magazines for their submission guidelines. These can also be found by using the search tool on the magazine's website. Frequently the magazine will include the photographers' guidelines within the "Writers' Guidelines" section.
You'll be instructed on how to submit your images: CD, e-mails, or a LightBOX*. Rarely will the photobuyer ask to see actual slides.
If you are a beginner at submitting digital images, this report is useful: www.photosource.com/products, click on "Digital Marketing Guide."
How many photos should you submit once you have found a target market? A sampling of six photos is enough for the photobuyer to get an idea of your work. If you are e-mailing: put your best shot as the first of your six jpegs. Hint: check out the web samples or newsstand samples of the magazine to see the style of photo they prefer. Adapt your submission to reflect their preferences.
Rohn Engh is director of PhotoSource International and publisher of PhotoStockNotes. Pine Lake Farm, 1910 35th Road, Osceola, WI 54020 USA. E-mail: info@photosource.com . Fax: 1 715 248 7394. Web site: www.photosource.com.
* To learn more about how to use a LightBOX: www.photosource.com /account the I.D. # is 2484; password: demo (lower case).
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