For the past month I have been scanning slides from my 10+ year-old stock collection. These consist mostly of images of women in sports and recreation including cycling, triathlon, running, walking, and golf, along with a smattering of city and industrial images. I have started to put these on my PhotoShelter archive for public sale of editorial or commercial licensing, and prints. I was encouraged by photographer and stock guru Dan Heller who bluntly suggested I just "get started" no matter what form that took. He said not to get too hung up on e-commerce features at this time, as it takes a while to get "noticed" by Google and the online world. I am counting on the search engine optimization (SEO)* techniques that I learned from Dan in a recent PPOC sponsored workshop of his that I attended in Canmore last October. Now that I am done slide scanning, I shall edit and compile my digital stock image files.
As a result of starting this tedious task, I have a new enthusiasm for sports and fitness stock photography. Seeing all my images compiled in one place gave me insight into my style and my way of shooting. I have developed some new ideas on how to improve my work and I am already planning some stock shoots, lining up models and scouting locations. Locations are what drive my work. Looking through my images, I recalled that in most cases I found a location first, and then figured out how to photograph the person in that location second. Adding to the formula a beautiful day, colourful clothing, and a willing participant, results in the iconic imagery I strive to produce.
I welcome your comments on my images. Please pass the word around to photography buyers that you know. I will be constantly upgrading the viewing and shopping experience, but for now I just want to get the work online as quickly as possible.
*What is SEO? Search engines can't "see" a site. They can only "read" a site. Pretty does not talk to a search engine. What "talks" to a search engine are the words, the content, the material in your site that explains, shares, informs, educates, and babbles. As pretty as photographer's Flash sites are, it's best to design your site with SEO in mind so that search engines can read it. You can do both, but make sure your designer is aware of how to design sites with SEO in mind.
As a result of starting this tedious task, I have a new enthusiasm for sports and fitness stock photography. Seeing all my images compiled in one place gave me insight into my style and my way of shooting. I have developed some new ideas on how to improve my work and I am already planning some stock shoots, lining up models and scouting locations. Locations are what drive my work. Looking through my images, I recalled that in most cases I found a location first, and then figured out how to photograph the person in that location second. Adding to the formula a beautiful day, colourful clothing, and a willing participant, results in the iconic imagery I strive to produce.
I welcome your comments on my images. Please pass the word around to photography buyers that you know. I will be constantly upgrading the viewing and shopping experience, but for now I just want to get the work online as quickly as possible.
*What is SEO? Search engines can't "see" a site. They can only "read" a site. Pretty does not talk to a search engine. What "talks" to a search engine are the words, the content, the material in your site that explains, shares, informs, educates, and babbles. As pretty as photographer's Flash sites are, it's best to design your site with SEO in mind so that search engines can read it. You can do both, but make sure your designer is aware of how to design sites with SEO in mind.
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