Do You Photograph Yourself for Microstock?
Posted by Lee TorrensAre you photogenic? Do you have a photogenic partner or family member? If so you have a strategic advantage as a microstock contributor. Look at the evidence:
Andres Rodriguez
Super microstocker Andres Rodriguez has the reputation of being the nicest guy in microstock, and he’s also very photogenic. A large portion of his photos feature himself.
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Andres has accentuated this advantage by including his also-photogenic wife and also-photogenic sister who are both also unmissable in his portfolio.
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Lise Gagné
iStockphoto ambassador Lise Gagné mastered the self-timer before moving on to shooting models as her microstock career advanced. Many of her photos both past and present include her husband Louis LeBlanc.
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Yuri Arcurs
Market dominator Yuri Arcurs also took a few shots of himself in his early microstock days but it doesn’t look like they sold well enough for Yuri’s current expectations.
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He switched to shooting his girlfriend and shortly after rose to the top of the market (no surprise why!).
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Diego & Silvia
Diego Alvarez de Toledo and Silvia Boratti are an Argentinean couple who are both exclusive contributors at iStockphoto. They’re a variation on the photograph-yourself theme as they mostly shoot each other. And when you look like they do, why not?
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Do you photograph yourself for microstock?
Do you photograph yourself, your partner, or members of your family? Does it give you an advantage?
Posted April 25th, 2008 by Lee Torrens
I started shooting friends, but soon I wanted to expand the look of my models, since my friends are mostly in the same age-range…
I don’t think my comment went through because I tried to add links to show you what we do with shooting ourselves. But yes, our folio is littered with them here & there.
Well fudge, you need the looks for that kind of thing.
The only way I’ve shot myself so far is by including different body parts in the shot.
Yes, I’m the most patient model for me
example: http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/object/5653466_man_eyes.php?id=5653466
I’ve done it on occasion and if you’re short on willing models or too afraid to ask, it’s an obvious place to start. But to be honest, it’s not exactly optimal. In my experience, I get better results by focusing on the one thing I’m best at: Shooting! That said, there are some people who seem to have no problem at all doing both.
I just found an extra of Yuri, from his more “Chill Out” days
hm.. the link didn’t work so you’ll get it here instead…
http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img4166copyii7.gif
My answer would be no, but I do tend to ILLUSTRATE myself a little better than I look in the mirror.
I started out shooting myself, but got bored with it. Now I shoot my kids more. Although the kids don’t sell as well, it’s beneficial for me for tax reasons. Paying my kids is very beneficial for them, and for my business.