Ok, so after a little experimenting with the lighting setup, my tabletop and getting the background 100% white (not easy), I finally managed to shoot my first 10 still life microstock photos. Have a look at them below. It is really basic so far and I realize I still have a long way to go to get up there with the pro’s, but it is a start!

If you are reading this blog, it probably means you are a photographer wanting to get into microstock photography or are generally interested in the subject. In the next couple of months (probably more like years…), I want to take you into this wonderful world called microstock.

Microstock photography is an offshoot of traditional stock photography. What defines a company as a microstock photography company is that they (1) source their images almost exclusively via the Internet, (2) do so from a wider range of photographers than the traditional stock agencies (including a willingness to accept images from “amateurs” and hobbyists), and (3) sell their images at a very low rate (anywhere from $.20 – $10) for a royalty-free image.

In August 2008 I finally made the first step towards handling a Digital SLR. I had always been interested in photography, but I was still carrying around one of those compact Kodak cameras. Time for a change! With my birthday coming up my wife decided to buy me a Canon Eos 450D (Rebel XSI, for you US people).

Nearly a year later I got in contact with microstock (as I had to use some microstock images for my work) and I found it very intriguing to see people who were making money of (basically) everyday shots. So after having invested in new lenses and equipment for my camera throughout the year, I said to myself; “If they can, why can’t I?”

Of course, as I soon found out, there is more to it then meets the eye… So bookmark this blog or add it to your RSS feed, and see if I will succeed in this (saturated?) market…