I submitted 6 photos to AdobeStock and 4 got approved and are for sale on their site. None have sold yet.
The ones that didn't get approved were fine compositions but failed because they weren't technically perfect -- wildlife has a habit of moving faster than the shutter speed (the slightest motion blur can cause a rejection).
I've got thousands of photographs, it's a hobby. I'll add more. If I sell enough, I'll be considered a pro and be able to clam a tax deduction on my gear If not I'll just be happy to make enough to buy some coffee.
Really great photos. I also use to do a lot of photography and have thousands of digital photos and also film negatives and slides. I've recently looked into buying a negative scanner to digitize some negatives and slides.
I'm pretty sure that's not an eagle. <grin> Nice Osprey shot Notes, where was it? I've only seen them in MI and Minnesota. The others are nice too. FWIW we use Adobe Stock daily in our web development division, so we love it when new stuff gets added.
bummer story that ages me: I took a Minolta on a survival trip, got some great shots. Came home and asked the wife to take the film to the shop to develop .. forgot I had never showed her how to make sure the film was rewound. I still have the memories of eagles and ospreys hunting the lakes/rivers we traveled, as well as moose, mink and wolves on the other side of the river, but sure would have been nice to have the pictures.
A couple years later I took that camera on a smaller weekend excursion and we flipped the canoe. Trust me, a running river is hard on a camera and lenses. I figured after those two fiascos I'm better off keeping any cameras on terra firma.
signed Bird snob
Make your sound your own! .. I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
The first picture is a sunset in Key West, Florida.
The second is a road somewhere in the Outback of Australia (we roamed about a lot not knowing exactly where we were). Mrs. Notes and I did 5 weeks in a camper van all over the eastern half of the continent.
The third is a spiral staircase in a church in Kutna Hora, Czech Republic
The last is an Osprey on the nest in the Everglades National Park in Florida
I, too, have thousands of slides. I just bought a scanner, though I haven't tried it yet. It's a PlusTek Optic Film 8100. I don't know if the resolution will be good enough. Time will tell.
Notes
Last edited by Notes Norton; 04/16/2112:49 PM. Reason: speling misteak
Nice work Stephen. I'm extremely impressed! I like the subject, the composition of the shots, the lighting, and clarity. Notes
Thanks Notes! By the way, I noticed you said you might earn the price of a coffee from your images when then sell. While this can be true, with some images (and depending on the agency) it's also possible to make a lot more money. My Alamy images (I license maybe 3 or a 4 a week) often fetch upwards of €50. The one below was licensed last week for $425. Several pots of Skinny latte Mocha!
For Bob in this case, but in general, my browser blocks the link because it checks for HTTPS secure sites (the 'S' at the end). On my own website, I went through and updated all the internal links, then got a Comodo/Sectigo certificate from DreamHost who is hosting the site. Something to consider.
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If I sell enough, I'll be considered a pro and be able to clam a tax deduction on my gear laugh If not I'll just be happy to make enough to buy some coffee. …
How much is enough? Is it a percentage or dollar amount? I’m not asking for actual figures—those are nobody’s business but yours.
When I realized that I was making part of my living making music over iOS, my iPhone became entirely deductible, not just the percentage of use for my business.
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How much is enough? Is it a percentage or dollar amount?
In the UK and Ireland there are 2 criteria that I go by:
1) Accreditation by the National Union of Journalists as a photographer requires that you earn at least 50% of your total income from photography. I've been a member since 1981.
2) Again in the UK and Ireland, the term 'professional' legally applies to anyone who earns any amount of income from their work and declares it for tax purposes. In this case, the term 'part-time' can apply if the income is split with other work. When that happens, the tax relief (on workspace, equipment etc) may be proportional, in relation to the income earned and the time spent at the specific work.
Mike, if I sell one photo for $0.25 I'll consider myself a pro, and ask my accountant if I can start legally deducting expenses while I build my catalog.
StephenP, another nice shot. I'm glad you can make money at this, I hope some day to be able to join you at that.
I've got thousands of photographs from the places I've traveled, unfortunately many of them are on slides or were shot in the early days of digital photography when the resolution isn't near what it is today.
The slides were shot with an EOS film. I may try scanning them.
I'm using a Panasonic Lumix now, but it looks like I'll have to upgrade if I want to sell all that I submit. I've had about 25% rejected for technical problems, mostly extremely fine points of focus. For wildlife, which has a habit of moving, I use the auto-focus and auto exposure mode which doesn't give me as much control over the shot.
But I'll upload a few per week after I edit them to make them look a little better.
It's more of a hobby than a profession, but if I can make a few bucks at it, I'll be happy.
StephenP, another nice shot. I'm glad you can make money at this, I hope some day to be able to join you at that. I've got thousands of photographs from the places I've traveled, unfortunately many of them are on slides or were shot in the early days of digital photography when the resolution isn't near what it is today. The slides were shot with an EOS film. I may try scanning them.
Thanks for the kind words, Notes. A decent flatbed scanner for film will set you back at least $800. Don't bother with anything cheaper, because the quality will not be up to stock image use.
I digitize my black and white negs as seen in this video . This method may also work for color slides.
I've got about 60 more tutorial videos on my YouTube channel, you may find some of them useful.
"I'm using a Panasonic Lumix now, but it looks like I'll have to upgrade if I want to sell all that I submit. I've had about 25% rejected for technical problems, mostly extremely fine points of focus. For wildlife, which has a habit of moving, I use the auto-focus and auto exposure mode which doesn't give me as much control over the shot."
Set your aperture according to the available light, and focus manually. You may take more out-of-focus shots, but the ones you manually focus will be sharp.
I've had about 25% rejected for technical problems, mostly extremely fine points of focus. For wildlife, which has a habit of moving, I use the auto-focus and auto exposure mode which doesn't give me as much control over the shot.
I've been teaching photography for over 20 years, including 5 years, full-time, with the world's biggest online professional photography course. I constantly recommend students to use Aperture Priority (A or Av, depending on the camera) and Auto-focus - most of the time.
There are specific reasons why Manual exposure and manual focus are better choices, but for now don't worry about them.
Since these two are music related, I'll share them here:
They are pictures of my MacSax tenor sax. It was a custom job - the "Notes Norton" signature model. As far as I know there are two of them out there. Somebody wanted one just like mine. MacSax is no longer in the sax business, but is where the real profits reside for sax players, mouthpieces.
When photographing instruments (or any inanimate object) think very carefully about the background. The viewer will see that, as much as they see the instrument (although you may not). How well the background fits with the instrument will determine if your image sells. See my 2 examples below...
When photographing instruments (or any inanimate object) think very carefully about the background. The viewer will see that, as much as they see the instrument (although you may not). How well the background fits with the instrument will determine if your image sells. See my 2 examples below...
snip ... My Alamy images (I license maybe 3 or a 4 a week) often fetch upwards of €50. The one below was licensed last week for $425. Several pots of Skinny latte Mocha!
And we get to see it for free!
This is an interesting conversation, beautiful photographs and very informative tips. Loving every minute I read.
I used to do manual focus with my Pentax K1000. The K1000 was all manual, and it forced me to think about f-stop and aperture, which was great but with a target like wildlife that can move unexpectedly, the extra seconds it took could be the reason I didn't get the shot I wanted.
I upgraded to a Canon EOS and started to use auto-focus in the manner than StephenP explains in his video.
It's a much quicker way of getting the shot.
But the way I see it, there is an advantage to both methods.
Notes, I think you hit on a critical point here. And that is the importance of understanding aperture size, shutter speed and how it affects depth of field, foregrounds, and backgrounds.
No issues with using auto-focus at all, but understanding the theory and technology behind the technique basics always works in your favor. I'm sure that both you and Stephen would agree.
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My humble advice comes from a lifetime spent in photography, as both an amateur and a professional. My father was a professional, and he taught me to shoot. He also taught me darkroom skills, developing and printing, dodging and burning, etc. That was over 60 years ago now. Back then it was all manual, and one had to learn the essentials of photography to apply them successfully.
That experience equipped me to actually work in the field, running a photography department for 16 years at the third largest teaching hospital in the U.S. - Jackson Memorial.
I would also advise against 'digitizing' negatives with a camera mounted on a copy stand. For $229, you can get a decent scanner that will digitize photos, negatives or slides, and give a better result.
One (Everglades Sunset) is a Kodachrome slide I scanned with a dedicated film/slide scanner.
The slide had been stored too long and had some small spots that wouldn't blow off with the rocket, so I used editing software to get rid of them. It was time-consuming but pleasant to see it get better.
This was a very old slide, I think from back in my K1000 days. That's when I was living in Ft.Lauderdale and this shot was from the levee behind Ft.L before they expanded the city even more and ate up more of my beloved Everglades.
I'm not spending much time at this, only when I have a few spare moments, but I'm enjoying it.
I'm not spending much time at this, only when I have a few spare moments, but I'm enjoying it.Notes
And that's the main thing to bear in mind, make it something you do for pleasure. Unfortunately, since the advent of digital cameras, half the population of the world seems to be into stock photography.
This makes it more about 'numbers' than quality images. With 15 images, you've got more chance of making money from the lottery than photography.
I've got nearly 9000 images with the stock library I use, and probably only sell 5 images a month, even though my photos get looked at a lot - because there is so much competition these days.
That said, a friend just sent me an image she sold with Stockimo (the library for camera-phone images) to ask if I would re-size for a print, as someone else want to buy it. She's probably only got 10 images with Stockimo, so you never know!
I'm definitely enjoying myself, and don't expect to make enough to buy a second home in the south of France, but I'd like to sell at least one so I can go on record as a professional
I just edit and upload when I have a few spare moments.
I need to convert my slides because I've got thousands of them. I'm not sure my slide projector works anymore, it's been in storage way too long. Plus I live in a tiny 900 square foot house and storage space is always at a premium.
The main problem with the slides is that I don't live with air conditioning, and there are some dust specks that the rocket will not blow off or the microfiber cloth will not gently remove.
I've scoured the 'net and there doesn't seem to be a very good way of removing the stubborn ones without unmounting the slide, cleaning, and remounting the slide, and I don't have that much free time.
Depending on where the spots are, I can edit them out. If not I'll keep scans that are good memories.
I now have 17 images on AdobeStock. I am the proverbial needle in the haystack. I don't think I'll hit 9,000 any time soon so you don't have to worry about competition from me
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If not I'll just be happy to make enough to buy some coffee.
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