Turtles on a log

tyashinsky · May 10, 2010

Last weekend I was at Perrot State Park in Wisconsin and took some pictures of some turtles sunning themselves. My goal is to try and put some pictures that I take onto iStockphoto and sell them as stock photography. I know I am extremely amateur right now so no need to tell me that. I will never make a living with photography but its a fun hobby and if I can make a little bit off it to keep up with some new gear I'll be happy. So below are some pictures of the turtles I took. Let me know what you think, how I can make them better.
1.

DSC_0265 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

So let me know what you think, how can I make this better. Is it worth to submit this for stock photo? Is it not what they want? If you click it you can follow it to my flickr album and get the full sized one if you want to do some editing on it. Also there are more pictures of the same turtles on there.
Thanks!

Sbuxo · May 10, 2010

I almost didn't notice the turtles because the log and the shadow are the most dominant things in the photo.

tyashinsky · May 10, 2010

Thanks. Do you think I should reduce the shine off of their shells as well?

Sbuxo · May 10, 2010

Um, maybe you can so it's just a dime on their shells? But that's just my opinion, don't change anything until more people come.

tyashinsky · May 10, 2010

I agree full heartedly with the shadows being too strong. I'm working on them right now in photoshop. Just takes someone to point things out to me for me to see it. I'm still trying to find that eye for good photography.

tyashinsky · May 10, 2010

Made it a little better. I still don't like how shiny it is with the shells and the water in the background. Any tips?

PerfectlyFlawed · May 10, 2010

The Glare on the water..and mostly on the turtle shells....thats really takes your eyes away from the main subject , imo.. Composition kind of bugs me... But its not a shot *I* see every day... i think its really different and i like it alot! Cute shot

ghache · May 10, 2010

thats so funny! great capture

Derrel · May 10, 2010

It's a nice natural scene. I went to your Flickr and looked at some of this same sequence of shots, and the technical quality was no quite high enough to be acceptable for stock photography submission. The focus was off on some of the frames, and the lens quality just did not look up to snuff; if this same scene had been shot with say a prime 300mm Nikkor or another top-flight lens, the image quality could have been much higher. Today's stock photo houses are looking for absolutely top-grade images. This turtle scene is a good scene, but the IQ needs a boost.

Josh220 · May 10, 2010

Derrel said:
It's a nice natural scene. I went to your Flickr and looked at some of this same sequence of shots, and the technical quality was no quite high enough to be acceptable for stock photography submission. The focus was off on some of the frames, and the lens quality just did not look up to snuff; if this same scene had been shot with say a prime 300mm Nikkor or another top-flight lens, the image quality could have been much higher. Today's stock photo houses are looking for absolutely top-grade images. This turtle scene is a good scene, but the IQ needs a boost.

I agree.

While it is a fun snapshot, I wouldn't bother submitting it to a stock photo site (no offense). I wouldn't worry about that for now until you get some better gear and practice more. They want professional quality images. In any given category, you will have images with the same subject to compete with. Ask yourself, do you think they will choose yours or one of the many other photos next to yours? Also, I wouldn't plan on it paying for your gear unless you have a LOT of amazing quality images that people want. Stock photography is a slow trickle until you build up massive collection. (i.e. some pro's might make $1000 off an image, but that may be spread out over the course of a few years).

tyashinsky · May 10, 2010

Thanks to all for their opinions. I'm open to harsh criticism because I want to get better. I don't take it personally because I know that I have a lot of work to do. As for paying for gear, I mean cheap gear, like a strap and stuff like that. Not a new lens or anything like that. I know i"ll never make much but it'd be cool to get a few pictures accepted for stock. It'll take a while but if I can get ok at it it'll be cool. Just a goal to shoot for right now. Keeps me shooting.