Creating a VIRTUAL Photography Studio
Photographers who begin to dabble on online stock usually start with generic images from around where they live and vacation snapshots. Then they may begin to do simple commercial concepts such as photographing a calculator, pencil, and a piece of paper on their kitchen table. If they study the business they’ll begin to realize the real money is with concise concepts with a strong focus on a specific theme.
The problem is the advanced stock imagery requires a photography studio or access to various location such as an office building. So is there a way to get access to a photography studio and other venues? The answer is… yes!
By thinking outside the box and taking a different approach from the traditional photography studio, you can create a virtual one by using Photoshop or an equivalent editing software. Oh… wait… you’re saying you knew there was a catch? You mean you’re now going to have to learn Photoshop? On top of purchasing the software? Well, look at it this way: If you’re going to set up a shoot in a business office, you first need to locate a site. There may be rental costs involved. Even if you can gain access to a site for free, it’s probably at specific times. If you want to use a photography studio, you’re going to need to rent the space and perhaps have its use for only an hour.
The time it takes to learn and use your photo editing software is no different than the time and money required to use a more traditional site or location.
So… if you’re willing to take your stock career to a new level by utilizing a virtual studio, how is that accomplished? It’s really done very simply: With your photo editing software, you can photograph an object or a model, remove the background with the software, and then drop the image into another image.
Take the image below this paragraph for example:
Here you have a small business owner who runs a dry cleaning business. This photograph was done by photographing the business through a window after hours when the business was closed. Then the model posed while holding a suit. The background was removed from the model and that was dropped into the laundromat scene.
You only need a small corner of your living room to photograph a model. Or just your kitchen table if you want to photograph an object. Yes, learning the software may be a bit daunting at the start, but once you figure out your workflows, it become a fairly simple process. You will get better results removing the background if you use a solid backdrop, such as a white sheet.
OK, now you know how it’s done, are you still wondering if it’s going to be too much work? There actually is an advantage to using a virtual studio and that’s because you can create a library of your models and locations. Once you have your base image, it can be used over and over for other concepts.
Check out the three images below. It takes time to build up your library of base images, but they can be used over and over for different and legitimate stock ideas. This saves you time and it allows you to earn more money by being able to create more and more unique concepts buyers are looking for.
All you have to do is photograph various sites and locations as you find them in order to create your concepts. Once you are more familiar and skilled with Photoshop and using layers, you will begin to realize how much potential there is to create images with graphics and digital objects. Building up a library over time allows you to use the same images over and over which is actually more convenient than using a studio or a live location.
Wished you had a photography studio? The entire world is available to you when you create your own virtual studio! When that happens, you will find there are no limits to what you can do within your imagination!
Originally published at www.dreamstime.com on December 11, 2017.
