Here a few tip's and tricks on how to make a good stockphoto youreself.
Take youre time. You dont want to rush anything. If you think, hmm I would like to make some stock right now. I put on some closes and go stand for a camera, youre wrong. Look around for some insperation. Quality before quantity. Choose a subject,character and emotion. Be sure of what you would like to make. If the stockphoto has a subject you will easely inspire digital artist and the artwork they will make will only be prettyer.If you have choosen to make un themed stock it will always be better than that you made a stockphoto without a theme just because you didn't took the time to think about it.
The photo must look like it is well thought over. If you cant think about how it is going to have a subject, others wont ether.
Take some care to the costume, background, asseccoires and make-up. Costume: Don't use to mutch synthetics,' in photo's they shine verry often. That will make blindspots and degreese the quality of youre photo. Be sure it fits right, if the dress is to big or to small it doesn't looks nice. You would look puffy.
Dont over sell. It is harder for a digital manipulist to remove things than to add things.
Background: This is something worthy of investment. Studio: Buy a big background, as large as it will fit in youre studio (or livingroom or where ever you take youre photo's). You will like to have some breating space in the photo. Some room to move around in. It's not nice to have a photo without feet or the tip of youre head.
The less noise on the background the better. Stike the foldings down'.
Choose a colour that is opposite to the main color of youre look. Bleu or green is almost always fine, White to, unless youre dress is white. Avoit black in youre background. It is nice to have some shade and with black there is none. Also it makes the picture way to dark and makes it hard to manipulate. A oposite background color makes it easyer to cut the model out of the background and place it in a new one, something that is often done.
Outsite: Take youre time choosing a background scenery that fits the theme of the shoot and isn't to noisy. A quiet nature scery is always fine. A stone wall is nice to but be sure it doesn't looks to mutch like the color of youre outfit and if it would fit youre subject. A nice rule to hold on to is, no more that 4 different colors and objects in the background.
Where ever you are, place the model or youre self atleast 1 and a half meter away fromt the background. (unless the pose reqiers it.)
Asseccoiries: Only when they are nessecery. To mutch assecoiries makes the photo to specific and it cant be used for verry mutch different thinks anymore. Also it could make you puffy and overdressed and is it extra noise in the picture.If you do use assecoiries, go for luxery, no cheap stuff.
Make-up: If you are not good in putting make-up on, just dont. It is better to where no make-up than to mutch or badly put on.Don't over sell, keep it clean and light. The manipulist can alsways put some extra on, less is way difficult.
For the foundation, be sure you take the right colour for youre skin type, nothing is ugglyer than you looking yellow or pink. Dont try to make youreself look tanned. A pale face is better than tanned.
Also for the foundasion, put it on every peace of skin that will be shown or put it no where. A mask of make-up or a make up line on youre cleavage is not done.
Look for some insperation on the internet. For example, on youtube you find allot of make-up tutorialvideo's on how to put on youre make-up and insperational photo's. For the last one Da is verry ncie for that also ofcourse.
Poses: Look around for some examples on good poses. it is no fun when you took all youre time in preparing, and sitting for the camera and dont now what poses to strike. Also a good stock serie runs on striking poses. Try atleast 10 different poses a few times. You will have a nice serie of poses in the end. Do you have a model working for you? Take care in making him/her comfortble. It have to be fun for the model to. Also a relaxt model looks way nicer on photo's then a model that is scared or nervous.Give to model credit at the end and below youre posted photo's. Send here all the work others make of the stockphoto. She would love to see them to.
Aquipment: Use a good quality camera. The photo's must be atleast 1500x2500 pixels for good use. Also it would help to make the photo dont look sharp and not overexposed. A good lighting set is nice to but not nessecary. There are many tutorials on how to set up some good lightings with almost nothing. Take the time to read them. Composition: Dont crop to mutch. It is best if you atleast have the whole model on it. Dont cut of feet, the tip of there head, an arm, fingers or hands. Place the model in the middle of the photo unless the background reqieres it differently. On portraits. Same as with full-body dont crop to mutch. You would like to have here whole head and atleast the shoulders. Also try to have all of the hair on the photo. If you work with wind and the hair is blowing all around it is nice to actualy see all the hair flowding all around. The digital manipulist can choose then for there selfs if they would like it all on the photo.Dont face the camera directly to the eyes. Sharpen it on the eyes and take the photo facing the camera to the tip of the nose. Otherwise the eyes will be black or red and that is not nice.
Try to make the photo from the right angle and not from above or below. It will morph the figure of youre model.
Aftermath: put the photo's good organized on youre computer, give them right names. Set up some rules on how to use them. Put them in full size on DA. The bigger the photo the better. If you put them in a stockpack put a .TXT file with the rules in the same file. Make a nice covercompisition ass display picture.Organize youre stock photo in youre gallery so artists that are looking for some stock easely can find what there looking for.
Credit the model/make-up artist, costume maker and be clear on what youre rules are and where they can find them.
If some one used youre stock and told you about it. Thank him for it. His work makes it fun to do youre work so you must be thankfull to him to. Fav his work, I have a special collection folder for work that is made out of my stock.
Also I like to put a link or thumpnail on my artist comment box to all manips that are made with my stock. It is nice for the artist ( A thank you from my side) and inspiraring to other artists.
Have fun.That is the main goal of making stock.
The second is to inspire other artist and to help them create beatifull art.
Art is a media of beauty and insperation. It makes the world a better place and the people in it happy.
I hope it was helpfull.
Regards,
Bianca Verheijen
My stockgroups:
Some of my modelstock:
Turorials of other that can be helpfull to you.
