Book Review: Digital Stock Photography How to Shoot and Sell
A couple months ago I received a copy of Digital Stock Photography How to Shoot and Sell by Michal Heron from the publisher. I'm terribly behind in reading and reviewing it but it was a good, inspirational book to read near the first of the year so alls not lost.
Looking at the title and cover of the book I wrongly assumed it would focus on microstock. Perhaps because I'm such an internet person when I think "stock photography" I automatically think of microstock as well as the big agencies like Corbis and Getty. Microstock is actually barely touched on in this book and the term "microstock" isn't used at all. Instead sites like istockphoto are referred to as stock portals. Not using the common term and not discussing microstock in depth seems an odd choice but I really can't say the book suffers from that choice. If anything it's a really nice reminder that the world of stock photography existed long before the concepts of royalty-free and microstock were ever dreamed up and will probably (hopefully) be around for even longer still.
Outside of the microstock omission this is a thorough book that goes into detail on building and running a stock photography business. From organizing a clip file for inspiration and education, being thorough on stock assignments (including self assignments), dealing with models and locations, digital asset management and even rudimentary business forms (including model and property releases) this book has a little bit of everything related to shooting stock for money.
The author is very much a glass half full kind of guy when it comes to whether stock photography is a viable business option for modern photographers. With talent, hard work, the right business temperament and the ability and willingness to find and shoot "gaps" in the marketplace he believes stock photography is very much still a viable option for photographers.
I enjoyed this book and found a good deal of new information in it. Definitely recommended for anyone with an interest in making a living (or at least a little income) with stock photography. This includes people interested or even already involved with microstock.
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