| One way to succeed in stock photography is to | | | | Then I simply had the model, in his bike gear, |
| create concept photos that fill a need for lifestyle | | | | stand up on the pedals and look like he was |
| or business uses, and provide a strong enough | | | | straining. I went to a nearby bike path and shot |
| visual impact to grab a viewer's attention. In this | | | | the bike path from the same low angle I used to |
| article I will take you through the process from | | | | shoot the cyclist. Next I Shot the background |
| idea to completed image sharing my process for | | | | totally out of focus using a 400mm lens on my |
| coming up with ideas, my criteria for a successful | | | | Canon 1ds MKIII at 5.6. |
| stock photo, my shoot methodology, and an | | | | Photoshop for Post Production |
| overview of my post-shoot digital imaging | | | | In Photoshop I pasted the out of focus |
| techniques. | | | | background onto the bike path shot and used a |
| Creativity Is a Muscle | | | | layer mask, painting black with a 2500 pixel brush |
| I am constantly thinking up ideas for stock | | | | to softly fade the background image away |
| photos. Your creativity is like a muscle; the more | | | | revealing the bike path and giving the impression |
| you use it the stronger it gets. I like to keep my | | | | of a single image with a crisp asphalt roadway and |
| creativity, at least for my work, in top shape. A | | | | a beautifully soft and un-distracting background. |
| favorite technique I have for coming up with | | | | Again with Photoshop I next used the pen tool to |
| strong conceptual pictures is to take a typical | | | | create a clipping path around the cyclist and |
| image and add an unexpected twist. In this case I | | | | bicycle. I then used the clipping path to create a |
| as I was walking to a nearby cafe to grab a cup | | | | selection and copied and pasted the selection into |
| of coffee a bicyclist sped by me pumping his | | | | the background image. Next I pen tooled one of |
| pedals furiously. It got me to thinking, what could | | | | the wheels, including the spokes, made a selection, |
| I do with a bicyclist that would make it stand out | | | | then used a combination of the warp tool (under |
| from all other bicycle shots out there? | | | | Edit>Transform>Warp) and the liquefy filter |
| Inspiration Speeds By | | | | to make the wheel square. Then I copied and |
| The cyclist that sped by me was working very | | | | pasted the square wheel into the main image. |
| hard, the effort he was putting out was very | | | | Since I really don't have room here to get into all |
| evident. His effort was inspiring in more ways | | | | the details of the Photoshop work, suffice it to |
| than one. Maybe there was something I could | | | | say it took me about six hours of work to finish |
| work with there. What would make a cyclist's | | | | all the details...but it looks great! |
| work significantly harder? Perhaps riding up a | | | | Work Smarter, Not Harder |
| ridiculously steep hill, or up stairs, or...having square | | | | The image fits my criteria for a great stock |
| wheels! That would be the shot; A cyclist, riding a | | | | photo. It was relatively inexpensive to produce; it |
| bicycle with square wheels. As an added bonus, | | | | stands out from all the other bicycling images out |
| the image would be funny and humor sells. | | | | there, and can be used to advertise a wide |
| A Simple Shoot | | | | variety of products and services. |
| Shooting the image was actually quite simple. I | | | | Trying out different headlines with the image can |
| hired a model with his own riding gear and bicycle. | | | | make a great test. For example, "Work Smarter, |
| Another friend of mine has one of those gizmos | | | | Not Harder" or "The Right Tool for the Job" both |
| that you can use to convert a road bicycle into a | | | | can work with this image. But the real test for |
| stationary bike by attaching a frame to the rear | | | | this image was when, as I had just finished it, a |
| hub. We set up the rig in the parking lot outside | | | | friend of mine walked in, saw the photo and |
| my studio. | | | | began to laugh out loud. Anytime someone |
| The Sun was pretty high up when we got around | | | | spontaneously laughs at one of my images I |
| to that shot (we incorporated that shoot into a | | | | know I have a winner. |
| larger shoot we had already planned). I used a | | | | To sum it up, exercise your creative muscles, |
| Profoto 7b power pack and two heads to provide | | | | come up with highly conceptual images with |
| supplemental light. I positioned 1 head to the left | | | | strong visual impact, and keep your shoots simple |
| of the bicycle and one head to the right. Those | | | | and inexpensive. Add a dash of humor and you |
| lights would provide both fill and a edge lighting | | | | just can't go wrong in the highly competitive world |
| that would add some subtle drama to the image. | | | | of stock photography. |