Shooting for Stock Libraries

Shooting for Stock Libraries Jeremy Webb


	Relaxing on holiday is something we all need to do, but don't doze-off when you have saleable picture opportunities around you. This snoozing cat was eventually used as a postcard image. It also has the advantage of being the type of image which is very slow to age - a huge advantage when it comes to shooting stock for libraries.

Several years ago I was invited by my stock library to pop down to London for a visit and a chat. I had had some success with placing some of my travel material with them and was making regular sales, so I was as curious to meet with them as they were to meet with me. It would simply be 'good for business'.

Apart from the warm welcome, the friendly staff, the pleasant environment and the endless cups of coffee, I left the offices in Covent Garden with one abiding memory. Over their huge light table, I had had a chat with a very pleasant lady who was busy editing and indexing a batch of recently-acquired transparencies. I was keen to learn from her what the secret was to good stock photography, and so I asked her some very direct questions regarding the current state of the market, future trends and so on. She paused long and hard after my lengthy enquiries and responded with a statement so stark and simple that I have since repeated it over and over again, like a mantra or a tape loop that won't switch off.


Some libraries may have special collections of Industrial images, or those which reflect the construction industry. I grabbed this shot from the car window and the sky helped to make this a dramatic shot. If this image were ever to be used on a magazine cover, there is plenty of useful space in the top half of the frame for a masthead and contents listing underneath.

"The real secret" she said "..the real secret of success in (general) stock photography, is to think "M.O.N.E.Y - MONEY", simple as that. We gobble-up images which show you how to make money, and once you've made money, what to spend your money on. That's the bottom line"

Crude, simplistic, but annoyingly true. I began to think of countless examples of photographs which upheld this law - travel images used to entice people to spend money with airlines and holiday companies, lifestyle images providing images of situations to aspire to or things to buy, and the most "saleable" people pictures showing people slaving away at their desks, rushing about madly (being busy AND a productive economic unit), or couples canoodling in a sunny buttercup field. OK, so the pictorial content of this last one doesn't quite fit the frame, but think about the contexts in which this type of image is shown. At a guess, my top 3 would be Insurance (money), Pensions (money), or Healthcare (money). I rest my case.

Of course, this all applies to the field of general stock photography if such a loose term applies. By which I mean those libraries or agencies seeking travel, people, or lifestyle mainly. Photographers who specialise in a particular field AND serve a market successfully with their images of World War Two aircraft, or African Snail habitats, or whatever, serve a niche market that sits outside the pressures of money-making and are more concerned with images for information and illustration for known and valued customers of a common interest group. These photographers may not be the highest earners from their photography compared to the top personality or beauty stock shooters, but I bet they lead less stressful and more meaningful lives. A hobby combined with a good knowledge of photography can be a very powerful tool indeed.

I was lucky enough to spend a good part of my twenties travelling, and supplied my library with images from all over the Mediterranean, the Greek Islands, Spain, France, and basically anywhere where my camera and my curiosity took me. Eventually, more down-to-earth commissions beckoned locally, my library merged with other libraries (diluting my sales), and I settled down to have a family. These three factors together put a temporary halt to my stock photography for a few years, although I have since returned to this weird and wonderful world which I thought I'd have to leave for good.

This image was a failed attempt to depict a dandellion in the breeze. I keep it in my notebook to remind me to re-shoot it at a later date, and to make sure I do a far better job next time! As a library image it fails on many counts - background too dark and confusing, spores not well-spread within the frame, image too soft, and many more faults besides. The successful image however, could be used to illustrate the passing of time, or the theme of 'Fragility' for example.

Apart from the M word, its hard to define precisely what makes a great stock image, or what makes a great stock photographer for that matter, and I'm certainly not claiming to be part of that crowd. But I'd like to set out some ideas which might help to focus our thinking, and share some thoughts with my fellow photographers out there who might be wondering what the whole scene is about.

The basics

Agencies and/or stock libraries are businesses. Some photographers scoff at the idea of them taking a cut of their talent, which is generally a commission of 50%. Bear in mind however, that firstly, they are not going to invest in a photographers talents unless they think they can make some money (that word again) out of him or her. Secondly, they are in the business of selling full time, leaving you to concentrate on producing the images which they need. Thirdly, they have staff and overheads to pay for - including big glossy brochures for the industries top picture buyers which one day just might feature your images prominently displayed on the cover.


The Rule of Thirds was applied here, to divide the frame into 3 areas in order to create a more interesting composition. With travel-based images, libraries prefer sunlit scenes, blue skies, and well-saturated colour.

Most picture libraries and agencies ask for a minimum initial submission of between 100 - 500 images and require you to leave your work with them for a fixed period of time - a year or more would be specified in your contract. They would also expect you to regularly submit new material. Remember that the agency is in the business of selling Reproduction Rights based on such factors as the size of reproduction, the length of time the image is loaned for, the circulation of the media to be printed in, and so on. Copyright of the images loaned from the library is always that of the photographer, unless the image has been bought outright (this is rare) by the library.


	Happy, smiling children are always wanted by stock libraries. Social events and gatherings, parades or festivals will provide some good opportunities for these shots.

The busiest and best stock photographers are those that are highly self-motivated and fully tuned-in to what their agency requires from them. It's the same whether you submit 500 a year to a small specialist library, or 5000 a year to one of the top general libraries. Building-up a good relationship with your library can bring its rewards in the form of commissions to shoot stock which the library might be lacking from its files.

Be Specialised

Recognise your strengths as a photographer, and decide which hobbies and interests could provide you with a long-term source of images. Similarly, If you have friends or colleagues who work in the construction industry, you have the gateway to a source of images here. If you know of an athletics club, or rock-climbing club, you could have a ready source of images here in return for a favour.

Be Proactive

Don't just sit back and wait for the quarterly cheques to come rolling-in. A passive attitude won't get you very far. Build a relationship with staff at the coal face - the people who initiate and conclude repro rights deals, day after day. They are the people who know what's needed and their finger is usually on the pulse.


Pictures of recognisable people will have to be accompanied by a signed model release if a stock library is to use them. This picture was used to illustrate a magazine article but it has the potential to find other uses such as to illustrate lifestyle features on 'Fashion Accessories' or 'Jewellery'.

I once received a commission which netted me £500 for 2 hours work which was spent getting an ariel shot of an ancient building in Ipswich. The client phoned my agency in a panic, requiring a very specific shot which couldn't be found anywhere. Knowing that Norfolk/Suffolk was my area, they gave me a days notice and a day to get the pictures to them.

As things turned out, the shot required some pretty dangerous clambering through church bell towers and squeezing through ancient staircases to get the shot. But it was an exciting challenge which arose because I had had recent contact with the agency. I am proud to have supplied a completely unique shot which was well-received by the client even though it caused some minor injury to myself (but that's another story)


	This time of year will provide plenty of opportunity for winter images. The low-angled sunlight in this shot provided just a splash of warm colour across the blueness of frosty leaves in the shade.

Be Patient

Your contract with an agency or library is a long-term investment which may take a while to bear fruit. Your initial submission may be accepted into the library if the standard is high enough, but they may also ask you to mount, caption and log your images in a certain way which may fill you with dread at the thought of this painstakingly-slow ordeal. On the other hand, the agency may have the time or resources to do it themselves - each agency will have its own policy. Once you have learnt how they require your images to be mounted, captioned, and presented, it becomes easier for you. Great patience is required in just about every area when it comes to stock library submissions.

Be Different (but not too different)

Wildlife or natural history libraries may have dozens of saleable images of wide-mouthed frogs on lily pads, but do they have a shot of the frog from underneath, captured as it hops onto your carefully-placed and carefully-lit piece of glass? This is exactly the kind of information you will need to discuss with your agency.


Candid shots with an upbeat, humorous tone could find a market with some libraries looking to update their files. The clothes will eventually date this image, but for the time being it has found a certain amount of success as a light "filler" to accompany regional "Whats On"-type listings magazines.

General stock libraries are saturated with the same subjects over and over again - usually because they sell time and time again. Think of that palm-fringed tropical beach scene, or the middle-aged couple strolling happily barefoot with their Labrador through the Atlantic surf as it splashes around their feet. These images sell concepts - Happiness, Fulfilment, Contentment and are so appealing to picture buyers because they are so familiar to us all, and so powerful in their communication of a simple, universal message imparted with economy and directness.

If you can create still-recognisable alternatives to these clichés, you're well on your way to your own happiness, fulfilment and contentment. But don't stray too far from the message in your attempt to do it differently. A good agency should be able to discuss image ideas with their photographers without the photographer feeling that he or she is a burden to their busy day.


	Early morning dew, backlit sun, and a 500ml mirror lens were the chief ingredients to this shot. Despite the fact that large areas of the image remain unsharp ( I had just emerged bleary-eyed from a tent at the time. honest!) it conveys an atmosphere which compensates for this lack of pin-sharp clarity.

	A stormy sky with a very still and simple foreground make this a successful stock image. This one has been used many times for many different purposes; Tranquilty, Mallorca, Sailing, and so on.

	Most of the general libraries will have images of sunrises and sunsets of an outstanding quality. This image just doesn't compete with what my agency had in its files (images which have sold repeatedly for 10 years or more) and so it wasn't accepted. When I saw what they had to offer the picture buyers from their brochure It re-emphasised for me why they maintain such high standards.

Spot the trends

How many of us predicted the incredible rate at which mobile phones would sweep through the population? How will society change in 10 years time, and could you take photographs to anticipate some of those changes now? Which new extreme sports are about to explode onto the scene and enthral the next generation of thrill-seeking twenty-somethings? Which environmental issues are rumbling away in the background waiting to burst into the consciousness of the nation? The ability to spot trends and anticipate societal or cultural changes can lead to huge rewards if stock photography is considered a serious income-earner.

The world will always want pictures of giggling, gurgling babies, but there are a multitude of opportunities for the socially-conscious photographer, and the sales expertise of the libraries and agencies which will find markets for these images.

Be ruthless

Its a tough lesson to learn, but only the very best will do. Weed out all those images which are poorly-saturated, ever-so-slightly blurred, or just lacking any particular punch. When I started submitting to my library I had an acceptance rate of Images Accepted to Images Rejected of roughly 1 : 8. I am now averaging 1 : 1/1 : 2 because they have forced me to become more critical of my own work and over time I've adapted aspects of my shooting style (sometimes kicking & screaming I must admit) to their requirements, as opposed to my habits.

So where does all this leave the photographer interested in giving it a go? Well, before you make an approach, make sure you have at least a few hundred top-notch transparencies to submit. Be ruthless with your editing and as objective as you can be. Although the digital realm appears to be taking over every aspect of our lives, recent feedback from industry conferences and summits suggests that film is still the preferred medium. It remains to be seen how long this will last. Those libraries who will accept digital files will require very high resolution scans which naturally come with large file sizes.

Above all, keep an eye on the publishing industry as it changes and adapts to technological developments, social trends, and so on. It may not appeal to all photographers, but if you have the self-motivation and the discipline to compete in this field, you could find yourself professionally fulfilled - and bringing-in more of the M-word as a result.