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© Jim Erickson/EricksonStock
PHOTO DISTRICT NEWS AND PHOTO SOURCE PRESENT STOCK GUIDE 2008!
Our latest edition of the Photo Source Stock Guide presents some of the latest trends and issues facing the stock industry today. Our comprehensive, yet compact reference guide provides information on some of the best stock agencies in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia, whether they are well-known or smaller niche agencies providing great imagery and excellent customer service.
This issue of the Photo Source Stock Guide 2008 takes a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to produce a stock shoot. "Producing Stock" profiles three successful stock shooters as they share their experiences planning and shooting one of their most recent projects. Our End Page also features a useful roundup of upcoming stock photo workshops with information on the people behind them, where they are located and what value they can bring to your creativity and work.
As always, Photo Source Stock Guide 2008 offers mini-reviews and comprehensive listings with contact information that includes phone numbers, e-mails and Web addresses of stock agencies throughout the world. Our compact, easy-to-use desk reference provides it all and can be just as fast to use as an online search to locate information, especially when specialized agencies with descriptions are needed.
The PDN Photo Source Stock Guide 2008 continues to provide new insights on some of the most topical issues in this ever-evolving industry.
—The Editors
JIM ERICKSON
www.ericksonstock.com
LOCATION: China
PRODUCTION TEAM: 15 people from the U.S. and China
DURATION OF THE SHOOT: 28 days including travel time, 17 days of shooting
NUMBER OF FINAL SALEABLE IMAGES: 3,500
The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics aside, Jim Erickson saw a need in the stock market for compelling China imagery and decided he and his team were just the people to fill it.
Based in Petaluma, California, Erickson is the founder of Ericksonstock.com, an independent stock company that employs 21 people. In order to keep the stock content fresh, he and his team continuously brainstorm ideas, examine what the site could use more stock images of, and then produce two to three stock shoots per month.
For the China shoot, what started as a wish list of lifestyle and business shots compiled by Erickson's 12-person U.S.-based, planning team in December 2006 turned into a 28-day shoot in April 2007 covering 31 locations throughout mainland China—including Shanghai, Beijing and Southern China, using 300 local talents as models.
"It was a very ambitious project and what we wanted to accomplish was to be the best resource for the pictures from China around," explains Erickson.
After talking with three production companies, Erickson's team hired one from China that met its needs in terms of dollars, communication, timing and availability. A Chinese production company was necessary because of the cultural barrier; Erickson's team not only needed translators, but also needed someone who could teach them about cultural nuances in order to accurately capture the interactions between people depicted in the various scenarios they were planning to photograph.
Additionally, Erickson felt that a local crew would be more knowledgeable about how to find the kinds of facilities he wanted to shoot, such as banks and factories; know whom to contact to gain permissions to shoot there; as well as give guidance as to what was impossible. For example, Erickson's team had wanted to get an aerial shot of Shanghai's skyline, but because of government air restrictions, it couldn't be done.
"The China Project was the visual equivalent of running the gauntlet," he says. "It was time to put up or shut up."
Although Erickson admits that during his initial research of China imagery he was disappointed by what was out there, once he arrived in China, he realized why. "When I went over there and started working, I got this awareness that it's harder to work over there than it is over here because it's a reserved culture," he relates. "People don't quite know what's going on. There are a lot of suspicions about photography because it is a communist country and there was a lack of good talent available because the Chinese people were very reserved." He adds, "Our brand is really about emotion and lifestyle—people living life. So, to get them to emote that, or to get those pictures, was an extra level of difficulty."
While in China, Erickson's main roles were principal photographer and creative director, as there were six other photographers, one videographer, and two to three backdrops operating simultaneously on one set. At the beginning of each day, the team would meet and create a shot list. Unlike the wish list of images, the shot list enumerated emotions, rather than actions or physical composition. The various photographers on set would then capture different angles or activities going on within the one environment. At times, Erickson would even hand the camera to a talent after setting the aperture for them.
"As I look back, maybe we could've made the production team slightly smaller and even more productive for the amount of money we spent, but I think with it being the first time out, what we intended to do, and where we went, the size of the production was pretty good," Erickson says.
JONATHAN FERREY
www.gettyimages.com
LOCATION: Miami Homestead Raceway
PRODUCTION TEAM: 20, including the three-person Getty Images team, Jonathan Ferrey, and two partner Miami-based production companies—Jeff Maher's M2productions and Lincoln O'Barry's Don, Inc.
DURATION OF SHOOT: 4 days
NUMBER OF FINAL SALEABLE IMAGES: 71
Motorsports is not a new subject for Portland, Oregon-based photographer Jonathan Ferrey, but when Getty Images assigned him to shoot stock images of a NASCAR crowd and car racing at Miami Homestead Raceway for its collection, he found it posed some new challenges. "It was the biggest shoot I have ever been involved with," says Ferrey.
Ultimately, Getty's aim for this shoot was to create conceptual imagery of racing, including the fans and their emotions in the environment of a racetrack. The agency's stock needs are constantly being assessed by an in-house creative research team, which determined that Getty needed this type of imagery in its collection.
"The popularity of motor sports has reached a real tipping point over the past three years and has truly hit mass consciousness, as evidenced by the extensive media coverage of female driver Danica Patrick, and the commercial success of Will Ferrell's NASCAR lampooning film, Talledega Nights," says Pam Grossman, one of Getty's lead creative researchers. "Concepts of speed, competition and power speak to a wide variety of our clients' campaigns, and striking visuals help them get their message out more effectively."
Elizabeth Shiah, Getty Sports Manager, Motorsports, adds, "We get requests from our clients for cleared racing fan imagery that show a cross section of men, women and children of all age groups and nationalities. We recognize that the popularity and fan base of motorsports are growing and we are bringing these concepts into our creative imagery to better represent this trend while fulfilling our clients' needs."
To create most of the track imagery, Ferrey, along with Getty Art Director Adam Sternin, photographed cars in action by circling the track during actual practices and races. However, when it came to images of the fans, the process was slightly more complicated. Because model-released crowds are in constant demand, Getty had to create images of large released crowds in the context of a race.
Sternin decided to approach this need by shooting the actual NASCAR crowds during practice and race days, in such a way as to hide their identities. These photos were then used as templates so that, a 20-person crew could later come back to re-create the shots with 150 extras, using model-released talents in the foreground.
"It was important to match the exact location and time of day of the shots we took during the actual race so that we could drop our released crowd in the foregrounds and have it match up as best as possible," Sternin explains. "If we could have simply brought our cast to the track during an actual race and put them in the stands, we could have done this all in-camera, but that simply was not an option."
An on-set director was essential to mobilizing and motivating such a large group of extras, while a producer on the team made everything run smoothly, allowing Ferrey to concentrate solely on the images.
"At first, it was quite difficult to visualize the final product in my head," Ferrey says, adding that he was used to seeing his shots immediately unlike this assignment where he had to wait weeks before seeing the final image. He adds, "I had so many questions about how the images would be completed: Would the depth of field in the background look correct? Is the lighting similar enough? Is the angle I am shooting at precisely the same? Adam assured me there would be no problem and that most of it could be taken care of in post-production."
LEV DOLGACHOV
www.istockphoto.com
www.shutterstock.com
LOCATION: Dolgachov's home studio in Tallinn, Estonia
PRODUCTION TEAM: 2 (Dolgachov and the model)
DURATION OF THE SHOOT: 2 hours
NUMBER OF FINAL SALEABLE IMAGES: 20
Lev Dolgachov didn't set out to be a microstock photographer. Instead, he followed his passion to make art through photography, which eventually led to using microstock sites as an art distribution channel for his work.
Models regularly approach Dolgachov with ideas and this is how much of his shoots are conceived. For this particular shoot, the model proposed a "sad angel" theme that she was interested in exploring and the two met to discuss the project further.
According to Dolgachov, because of the long queue of models that are interested in working with him, the actual shoot doesn't tend to happen until five to six months after the initial meeting. He never charges the models a fee, nor does he pay the models for their time. He does, however, require the models to sign model releases, and provides them with a CD of the images as compensation.
"It doesn't take a lot of money or gear to make a good-selling shot," Dolgachov says of his images. "It takes intention and creativity combined with an understanding of light."
Once shooting day for the "sad angel" came, the model arrived at Dolgachov's home studio where he had already set up the lighting and backgrounds. His usual make-up artist was unavailable that day, so the model did her own makeup. After shooting the model in angel wings and lingerie against a white cloth background and a black cloth background, Dolgachov and the model improvised with different ideas, such as using red jam as fake blood.
The "sad angel" shoot, took about two hours, and resulted in 400 RAW photos, 150 of which Dolgachov deemed saleable. As of press time, Dolgachov had post-processed 20 of the images for sale and hopes to post-process more in the future. After retouching each photo, Dolgachov keywords each image so that they can all be sold through the microstock sites.
"This particular shot was made with no team at all," Dolgachov stresses. "We didn't have a make-up artist, we didn't have a big studio and I didn't even have proper seamless paper." He adds that, despite these factors, "I think I maybe sold 3,000 to 5,000 licenses [so far] from this particular shoot."
Producing Stock photo credits (from top):
Image worthy: One of more than 3,000 photos from Erickson's 17-day shoot. © Jim Erickson/EricksonStock
Crowd control: Model-released fans were directed to emote feelings like excitement and anticipation. © Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
Musical hit: Dolgachov's angel image was used as an album cover. © Lev Dolgachov
THE COMPLETE COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHER: SUCCEEDING IN ASSIGNMENTS AND STOCK
www.ppsop.net/coph.aspx
Bryan Peterson, founder of The Perfect Picture School of Photography, and Sarah Wight, an art director at Corbis, New York, run this six-month, 28-lesson online course. Because of the Corbis connection, students immediately have the opportunity to have their work accepted with the agency. The workshop starts with the basics, such as what constitutes stock photography, and covers everything from source-based advertisements to direct promotion and letters of introduction. Students have weekly assignments, upload their shots every week and receive critiques from both teachers and their peers.
DATE: September 12, 2008-March 27, 2009
COST: $2,995
TRAVEL STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
www.santafeworkshops.com/workshops/calendar-detail.php? workshop=227
This weeklong workshop in San Miguel, Mexico, is designed to help amateur and professional travel stock photographers recognize opportunities and avoid pitfalls. Patrick Donehue, vice president and chief photographer for Corbis, will look at what users of travel photography like, as well as images that have done well historically and how students can apply their unique vision to travel subjects to sell to international markets. Afternoons and evenings will be spent shooting on the streets and the following morning will be classroom time, including an analysis of the previous day's work.
DATE: November 2-9, 2008
COST: $2,395, including accommodation and most meals.
STOCK UNPLUGGED: MASTERING LIFESTYLE STOCK TODAY
www.photoplusexpo.com
The stock business is changing so fast and so drastically, that stock photographer Jack Hollingsworth prefers to call himself a "content creation specialist," and he'll explain why in his upcoming seminar at PDN PhotoPlus Expo in New York City. Join Hollingsworth in a frank discussion about contemporary casting, using bulletproof releases and whether lifestyle imagery as a whole has reached a saturation point. Also, check out the complete PDN PhotoPlus seminar schedule online for additional seminars focusing on stock.
DATE: TBD
COST: $80
PORTRAITS AND POSTCARDS
www.chrislhurtt.com/workshops.html
Learn how to see commonplace subjects, like Venice, Italy, at new and different angles as instructors Chris Hurtt and Bobbi Lane show eight to ten students how to shoot stock photographs that will stand out and sell. "You need to shoot the locals to get compelling work, which is what you see in stock agencies," says Hurtt.
Along with the opportunity to photograph Venice with two successful pros as your photo guides come lessons on the business side of stock—invoicing, bookkeeping, taxes—plus how to market your images. This course is open to advanced amateurs and emerging professionals who are taking their work to the next level.
DATE: September 24-28, 2008
COST: $1,095, instruction only.
MAKING MONEY IN STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
www.aspenphotoworkshops.com/stockphotography/ breakinginto.htm
Learn what makes a saleable stock photo, the equipment you need and how to shoot for clients. This workshop in Bend, Oregon, run by veteran commercial photographer Charlie Borland, is open to eight students, and is aimed at photographers who want to hone their stock skills. Mornings and afternoons will be classroom based and students are set loose with their cameras in the evenings. Models will be provided, along with model releases, so students can sell their images. "Students will gain a much greater understanding about what's selling," says Borland.
DATE: September 6-13, 2008
COST: $1,495, excluding hotel and meals.
Stock Workshops photo credits (from top):
© Bryan Peterson
© Patrick Donehue
© Jack Hollingsworth
© Charlie Borland
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