An Attempt At Stock Photography

Posted by Justin Korn

on December 14, 2009

A few months back, I become a beta tester for a new stock photography agency, with a twist, FocalPop. FocalPop aims to provide a custom online photography marketplace.

We help photo seekers get the exact shot that they want without having to dig through thousands of images or spend a large amount of time and money on a custom shoot.

We help photographers finally find buyers who are actively looking to buy now, and arm them with the info they need to provide the right shot, not to mention a very attractive commission rate on the sale.

So, I finally got my act together and participated in one of their current request:

Woman Stretching

This shot will be used to represent a section of fitness content for women. Want to see a woman in her twenties or thirties sitting on the ground with one leg out, the other leg folded, and her reaching/touching the toes or ankles of the extended leg. The woman should look fairly athletic and should be dressed appropriately for someone about to run or work out (hair pulled back, wearing athletic clothes and shoes. etc.).

I emailed a few friends, convinced them to participate and headed out to a nearby park and got my photography on.

First off, I’m sure I’m stating the obvious here, but, shooting for an assignment is completely different than shooting leisurely. To top it off, shooting for an unknown client of which you don’t know any more details than what is provided (as displayed above). You are basically trying to convince someone you’ve never met, and will never meet, that the pictures you are providing convey the message they are looking for. It’s quite a daunting task.

Once I was out at the park shooting, my friends and I had a blast, making jokes, and just enjoying each others company. I ended up working with all natural light and kept to what I do best, keeping the pictures looking candid.

My final pictures have been submitted. It is now just a matter of waiting to see if the client will choose mine over the 40+ other submitted pictures. I actually don’t have my hopes up for this one. I really just wanted to give stock photography a try to see what I could come up with on assignment.

Here are the pictures I decided to submit: