In a recent post, Looking for stock photos? Here’s how to take your own, I listed the Four Basic Elements of Stock photography:

 

1 Background

 

2 People (Model/S)

 

3 Subject

 

4 Involvement

 

I covered Background in How to create the right stock photo background.

 

Now this where you will learn how to use people in your stock photography.

 

First up – the Model

 

 

You’ve got your background ready or least you have an idea what background you are going to use.

 

The next step is to choose the model/s you are going to use.

 

Now if you have a big budget you can elect to use actual professional models but I’m going to assume that you are not on a big budget.

So, who do you choose?

Well that depends on what you are going to represent in your image.

 

Models can be anyone and from any walk of life. They could be neighbours, relatives, celebrities (if you know any well), schoolteachers, lifeguards, police officers, children, (be careful of this one, there are some paranoid parents out there) or just strangers in the street.

So let’s say you have an DIY product, then have a think of who you your audience is.

After all if it’s no good selecting someone they can’t relate to. Especially if they look like the sort of person who wouldn’t know how to spell DIY let alone do it .

 

We have a hardware chain, Bunnings, that always has its store staff on TV spruiking their general principles.

They are all middle aged or older because that’s the demographic that’s more likely to be involved in DIY.

But the other demographic they aim for is the younger crowd who may feel much better getting advice from someone with experience.

 

One thing you should ensure, is that whoever you select is interesting looking and appealing.

By all means if you can get a beautiful looking model go for it but that’s not necessary.

 

Position

 

 

Once you have your model you need to manoeuvre them in such a way that they are doing what you want.

You do not want posed portraits.

Generally speaking, you want to depict a snapshot in the life of someone using your product or service or representing your company.

 

Most of us find watching people doing something is more entertaining (hence all those the fitness videos on YouTube)

 

Background

 

Now is the time to think about where they are in relation to the background.

Are they in the way of something you want depicted? Do they have something ‘growing out of thier head’?

Try different angles before clicking that shutter button.

Or take a few snapshots with your phone and see if any of them work for you.

 

Lighting

 

Lighting is the next element to be aware of. Watch out for shadows across the face or over a part of the body that’s showing the product.

If you are using natural light and the sun is overhead, watch out for blown out highlights or very dark, almost black shadows.

Don’t get me wrong, you can use both blown out highlights and blacks quite effectively sometimes but more often than not you don’t want them.

If you are using artificial light then watch for shiny skin.

 

If you are using a flash try to tone it down a bit.

There are so many images out there that give the impression that of a deer in headlights because the flash is too powerful.

A better way is to use fixed lighting.

That can be from the lights you already have in the room or space through to specialist lighting products.

 

Activity

 

 

Now the important bit activity.

There is nothing more boring than having an image that shows someone doing nothing.

We, as humans like seeing what people are doing.

I once heard a quote from unknown source “Watching other humans was probably the first form of entertainment for early man”

And as a business you want the viewer to see what your models are doing.

The trick is to show it in a way that stands out.

One way is to show that they are engrossed in the activity or product for example.

As an example, take a look at car advertising.

Sure, a lot of their images are of cars but look closely and they nearly all have people in them.

They might be driving, or looking longingly at the car.

Some images have people walking past the car (or the car driving past them). 

They have a couple on vacation with the car in the frame.

They might be at the beach or at a café.

They do that so that you can relate in some way.

And it works.

Does it make people want to rush out and buy a car?

Probably not, but it does cement the brand in the sub conscious and when they are ready to buy a car that business can be front of mind.

Or, when they are buying and they see these images the contact that they have made could pull them in that direction.

 

Model releases

 

Now for the fine print!

Model releases.

Do you need them?

If you are advertising, yes.

If you are using the model to depict an idea such as an editorial piece on your blog. Maybe not.

But my advice get one anyway and you’re covered.

So, what is a model release?

A basic definition is that it’s a written and signed agreement between you and the person you are photographing.

This agreement gives you as the photographer the right to photograph the model and use the subsequent image for the purpose you have stipulated.

 

I’ll go into this in more detail in a future post so subscribe below and get notified when it gets published.

 

So, to finish off let’s take a moment to revise the main points again:

 

We talked about 6 basic principle in using people for your stock photography

 

1 Choosing people

 

Models don’t need to be “models’ they can come from any walk of life

 

2 Positioning people

 

Avoid taking photos that are obviously staged

 

3 Background

 

Tweak your background, assuming that you have already chosen it, to suit the model

 

4 Lighting

 

Be careful about lighting. Ensure that there are no ‘blown out’ highlights or very dark shadows

 

5 Activity

 

Remember humans are much more interested in other humans being active.

 

6 Model release

 

Make it simple, get a model release for all your models.

I’ll leave it to you to decide if you sexy aunt or uncle need to fill one out.

 

Assuming you have read the whole article as you have got down this far I’d like to thank you for reading it.

 

And now that you have got this far, keep going and subscribe to my newsletter where you will get info not necessarily found elsewhere. I’ll even give a guide for your trouble.

 

You can share your portraits and questions in the comments below. Just leave your ego at the keyboard.

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