Photo Tip: Stock or Not Video

This week’s photo tip is coming to you on video.
I asked professional stock photographer, Shelly Perry, to pick a few photos from this month’s Photo Challenge and tell you whether or not they would be suitable to sell as stock.
Shelly did the whole thing on video so you can hear her full critique. Scroll down below to see which pictures made the cut…
Lori Allen
Director, Great Escape Publishing
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May 13, 2009
The Right Way to Travel, Weekly Photo Tip
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IT’S TIME FOR… STOCK OR NOT?
By Shelly Perry in Portland, OR
The stock inspector in me is excited about this month’s Photo Challenge — it’s filling up with some really strong shots. And though I can’t see them at 100% to be sure that they meet all the technical requirements necessary for stock photographs, I can tell you that there are more than a handful in this month’s Challenge that are worth a closer look.
Here’s how today’s game of “Stock or Not” works…
Note: As a stock inspector at istockphoto.com, I enlarge every photo that comes across my screen to 100% to check for flaws. As I can’t do that with the photos uploaded for our monthly Photo Challenge (they’re too small), I’ll just have to assume that they meet all the necessary technical requirements and judge them only on their subject matter, composition, and appeal.
Also Note: This video only discusses these photos in terms of their saleability as STOCK photographs. But just because a photo is not acceptable for stock, doesn’t mean it isn’t a great shot, or saleable to magazines, newspapers, and as fine art.
The model release requirements are different for stock, magazines, and fine art, too. So my comments on this video about model releases may only apply to this image if it’s sold as stock.
Click here to watch “Stock or Not?” and find out which photos from the Challenge make the cut: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/eletter/0905_stockornot.mov
[Editor’s Note: Learn more about how you can turn your pictures into cash in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel.  Sign up here today and we’ll send you a new report, Selling Photos for Cash: A Quick-Start Guide, completely FREE.]