Customer Reviews

Digital Stock Photography: How to Shoot and Sell

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Microstock, Google's "Image" search capabilities, and rampant stealing of images from Shutterfly, SmugMug, or PBase have made stock photography a lot less possible, and a great deal less profitable in recent years. However, if you're good with a camera and know how to produce large quantities of salable images, you can still make money in stock photography. Just don't expect big fees, and be happy with small payments that can pile up if your work is good.

This book, published in September 2007, is up-to-date enough that it advises you how to optimize your stock photography sales in today's real world. Read it carefully, re-calibrate your expectations, and get to work.

Michal Heron has been a successful freelance photographer for over thirty years, not only selling her products to photo agencies but running her own stock business and giving lectures at seminars and workshops around the country. Her DIGITAL STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY packs in the basics of capturing digital images, from working with scans and delivering acceptable product to evaluating equipment, creating releases, handling copyright options and much more. No aspiring professional photographer should be without it: it's an essential key to understanding the routines and demands of the stock photo business, and photography as well as general-interest lending libraries catering to photographers will find it an invaluable reference.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This book was very informative and well written, but lets you know right off that getting started in stock photography will not be easy, and probably quite expensive. The equipment requirements may prove to be prohibitive for those on a tight budget. Nothing worthwhile in life is easy, and stock photography is no exception.

Looking for ways to market my photos I found this book full of useful comments. There is major difference between what one "likes" to shoot, and what "sells" in the marketplace. This book teaches you to shoot for the marketplace and develop your eye for those concepts.

Digital Stock Photography: How to Shoot and Sell

I originally bought this book to learn more about the business of stock photography, which I did. However, I learned more about digital cameras and how to use them than I did from the manual that came with my camera (I have had SLR and 35 mm cameras for several decades). Sure, the owner's manual said to go online for questions, but when you are out in the field, it's nice to have a reference book to rely on. Also helpful are the types of photos to have in a portfolio, obtaining permission from models and property owners, and what NOT to show in a photo. Excellent book for the novice photographer as well.

I have found this book very facinating. It has all the info I could ever hope for in one book. It seems to cover literally everything, including needed forms for releases, etc. This is exactly what I was wanting to get started in digital stock photography and didn't know where to begin--Michal Heron to the rescue. I looked on Amazon.com and found this with the access to read some pages and knew I had to have this one. I looked at some others and they were no comparison. I would highly recommend this to anyone who doesn't know where to begin, but wants an education in this area at a very reasonable price without having to take a college course to get it.

This review pertains to the KindlePC version. I find this book to be excellent for my purposes. It contains 25 shooting projects with 1,2,3, steps which I need in order to become more organized. You need this book if you are trying to figure out what to shoot, how to get models, how to work with organizations to gain permission to use locations and so much else. This book will be one of my most used. I am selling some stock but I really want to become successful. If you like books that basically hold your hand you will like this one. It is not a book on how to take beautiful pictures. It gets you started in stock photography. The book does exactly what the title says. I appreciate that.

What a great little book. It is very informative and a awesome starting point to give an overview of stock photography from it's start to the current digital age.

It is well written, easy to read and is also very easy to understand if you are new to professional photography. It doesn't matter in what country you live, this book covers topics that are the same the world over. Basically, it covers everything you need to know about setting up your own stock photography business. I particularly loved the assignments given as a starting point on which to build a stock portfolio.

This book is great value for money and I would recommend it to everyone who wants to embark on a career in stock photography.

PS. The stock photography agency that I hope to work for in the future recommended the previous version of this book however I chose this version as all my work is now digital.

This book is a must read for the first time microstocker.Its full of usefull infomation everything from how to select photos for your submission to how to run your stock company.

Really enjoyed this book. Of the many photography books and business books I've had in my home, this one I read from cover to cover. It was like taking a workshop in the business of digital stock photography (albeit, based on 2007 information). Excellent. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in getting into stock photography. Although I've read it from cover to cover (from the library), it is an owner for my reference shelf.