Obtaining Ideas for Your Next Shoot

A little planning goes a long way when your objective is to shoot stock photography.

Many of us are not full-time photographers. We shoot because we love it and do not consider it a job. Due to our casual shooting habits, we do not like to plan. We simply carry the camera around and shoot whenever something or someone interesting shows up. Often, some stock photos come out from the random photo shoots.

If you would like to increase the number of your stock-worthy images, read on for some handy pointers on how to come up with ideas for your next photo shoot. No, it doesn’t mean that your favorite hobby will become tedious work. It will still be fun, I promise!

1. The news

   Its a good idea to stay current with the news, especially now that so many major issues exist. Presedential elections, economy struggles, war in Iraq, global warming, etc. – all of these topics have a direct effect on everyday life. Obviously these are not so easy to portray in stock photography. Start paying attention to imagery that often accompanies the news and ideas will start coming to you naturally.

   

2. Existing advertising

   This is the easiest way to obtain shoot ideas. Flip through magazines, look at posters taped to store fronts, billboards, online banner ads and website design elements. If you go this route, you might be duplicating what’s been already done, but it does not have to be frame for frame. You can come up with your own take on the same subject matter.Remember if the image has been already published and appears in advertising, then its a proven concept that is in demand by designers.

   

3. Human relations

   If you love to photograph people, like me, this will be super easy to incorporate into any casual photo taking. Basically the idea is to capture how people interact with one another or simply catch the emotions of your subject. If you think about imagery often used in advertising, you will realize that people are depicted more often than objects. People respond to advertisement containing people a lot better because they can relate to the person shown. Therefore, your task is to capture a wide array of emotions so that the general pupulation can relate to your subject.

   Keep in mind that your models should appear neat, wearing simple clothing and neutral make-up. Ideally, they should not be overly fashionable and good-looking, but sort of common nice-looking people. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule.

   The emotions that speak well in the photo are generally those that are exaggerated. It is in your best interest to explain to the model that the emotion you are trying to capture should be emphasized by exaggerating facial features or adding other gestures.

   

In summary, a good place to search for ideas for your next shoot is your every day life. Pay attention to what is happening around you throughout the day and come up with ways to portray it conceptually in your images.