As a Photoshop compositor I am a BIG believer in shooting all your own stock. There’s nothing quite like imagining, photographing and editing an image that’s entirely your own. Admittedly some people excel at editing with no interest in photography and it can be difficult to compete with artists who use stock to create. But there are so many benefits to photographing your own stock that I encourage it wholeheartedly. Benefits like having the freedom to use your image however you choose (the majority of competitions will not accept images created with stock), you’ll have not one, but two marketable skills, can shoot exactly what you need to complete your image, and your images will be totally unique. I see the same stock images used again and again and it really takes the shine off the final creation. Photographing your own stock library also means you can sell those images to others.
What you shoot will generally be guided by your idea and the elements needed to bring it to life but there are a few key subjects that every compositor’s stock library can’t do without:
Locations – shoot environments to put your subjects into.
Skies and clouds – photograph the sky in all its moods.
The moon – expose for the moon and not the sky or you’ll lose its details.
The ground – collect photos of interesting surfaces for your subjects to stand on.
Mountains – a mountain range will always make your horizon line more interesting.
Buildings – think castles, churches, abandoned buildings. You can add these to the background to help set a scene.
Animals – find a zoo and spend the day shooting some creatures.
Birds – shoot clusters of birds silhouetted against the sky.
Props – interesting items that will help tell a story – balloons, lanterns, picture frames, vintage suitcases, clocks, keys, birdcages etc.
Water – try throwing it around, shooting water lines in fish tanks, waves on the beach.
Textures
People – photograph models (or yourself) in costumes and various poses
Flora – photograph interesting trees and flowers
I recommend shooting your stock directly on, with a narrow aperture for greater focus, in flat, overcast lighting and, where possible, include a plain background so the stock is easy to cut out in Photoshop.
All of these suggestions will give you enough to work with to create entire scenes from scratch. Most people create a bit differently so you’ll get a feel for whether you prefer to photograph your model first and create the scene after (usually my preferred method) or create the scene first and shoot your model to fit. In either case, storyboarding and sketching your idea first will help you create a stronger image and will often prompt ideas you might not have had otherwise. It also ensures you don’t forget to shoot or include anything.
So take your camera with you on regular outings and start building your stock library right away.
Check out Creative Photo Folk for specifics on how to shoot stock. We’ve just released our stock library tutorial!
