New photographer!

[dgendy]

Hello everyone, my name is David and I started photography recently. I am having some problems creating interesting compositions, usually I end up taking close up shots of plants and trees in the garden and find myself limited to this. The photos look nice I guess but they are not that interesting. I don't really know where to start with composition or how to come up with anything. How would I start thinking of more interesting composition?

Also I am hoping to put photos on stock websites. 15 are put up on my account of dreamstime but I am hoping to put more on. Where would I start if I wanting to learn about taking commercial type imagages?

Thanks

 

[Gaerek]

That's a lot of information. I don't have much knowledge of the stock industry, so maybe someone else can be more helpful there. I know that the more prominent stock houses out there (like iStock Photo) require a certain level of quality with the initial images you send them, before you can have any available for purchase.

For your first question, why don't you post some pics? It's hard to tell where you're coming from if we can't see your current work. Composition is an incredibly broad topic, and the more info we have to begin with, the better.

 

[halestorm]

yeah I'm more into street photography and portraiture but I can say that one of the best ways to capture interesting composition is street photography I would recommend taking your camera everywhere you go for a while and shooting anything you see interesting. photography is a numbers game 1 good shot out of 100 is great so get out there and shoot as much as possible!

 

[tirediron]

Head down to your local library and borrow/read everything they have on photography, search the Internet for terms such as "Golden mean", Rule of thirds", "Photographic composition" and "Portrait composition". As far as stock phtoography goes, IMO, that's almost a pointless undertaking now. There are so many photographers submitting so many images that you have to be in the VERY top percentile to make any sort of money at all.

Any of the 'sites at which you are likely to make any reasonable amount of money at have very stringent guidelines which you must meet. Chances are if you're still at the 'learning about composition' stage, you're not quite ready for those 'sites yet. The 'sites which will take any image or have minimal critieria tend to pay next to nothing; pennies for an image, if you're lucky. Not worth the effort IMO.

Not meant to be discouraging, just an observation. Good luck.

 

[dgendy]

When I try to upload my fils, an exclamation mark appears and no files uploaded? does anyone know why this is?

 

[KmH]

what makes an image compelling - Bing

Learn Composition

Guidelines for Better Photographic Composition.

diagonal method

Microstock Agencies – An Overview for Beginners | Yuri Arcurs

What should I shoot and what sells well? | Yuri Arcurs

Legal ABC for stock photographers | Yuri Arcurs

For info about commercial see;

http://asmp.org/ Learn about 'use licensing' and other issues by clicking on "Business Resources". Get their book ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography, 7th Edition

http://www.johnharrington.com/ The web site of a commercial photographer based in Washington DC. Click on 'Pricing".
Best Business Practices for Photographers, Second Edition

A Digital Photographer's Guide to Model Releases: Making the Best Business Decisions with Your Photos of People, Places and Things

Learn about US copyright. www.copyright.gov

 

[imagemaker46]

Hello everyone, my name is David and I started photography recently. I am having some problems creating interesting compositions, usually I end up taking close up shots of plants and trees in the garden and find myself limited to this. The photos look nice I guess but they are not that interesting. I don't really know where to start with composition or how to come up with anything. How would I start thinking of more interesting composition?

Also I am hoping to put photos on stock websites. 15 are put up on my account of dreamstime but I am hoping to put more on. Where would I start if I wanting to learn about taking commercial type imagages?

Thanks

I think most every photographer starting out has shot close ups of flowers, trees and bugs. As far as stock photos go, most stock agencies aren't interested in flowers, trees and bugs, or clouds, sunsets or sunrises, unless of course you are shooting them in exotic locations, and they must be exceptional images. Learning composition, look through books, magazines, anything with pictures, try and copy what you see, then work off of that and do your own thing, being original is what makes photography what it is