One of my stock photos used on NPR!

Click here to see the photo on istock.

For the Love of Music

Another stock shoot.  And another chance to celebrate beauty in life.  Music is a language of the heart.  When I can't find words, I can often find a song to express what I feel.

So this was an interesting shoot.  And one I hope to revisit.  3 lights, a couple roses, and a piano (keyboard).  Just at home, a typical Monday evening :)

Behind the scenes:

And the first two photos from the session accepted by istockphoto (click on the photo to see it or purchase it on istock's page):

 

One other thing I learned today:  I'm so keenly aware of visual beauty being a photographer.  Then the music - my ears are always listening.  But I often forget to smell (except those smells that make us wrinkle our noses, right? ugh).  So, stop and smell the roses.  Or any flower you see (on the side of the road, in a vase, whatever it is!)  Who cares if people are watching?  The simple things like this help me feel truly alive.  And that is a reason to smile.

I know, I know, I'm a little more poetic than usual.  Sentimental.  Reflective.  Maybe even cheesy.  But I want to make a difference with every photo I take, and it's an exciting journey as I re-discover how to see the world through a camera lens every day.  It makes everything worth it.  I share these photos because I am a photographer.  And I am grateful.

Celebrating Beauty

  I had a wonderful conversation with an artist friend this week about photography, the purpose, and what really drives me.  Yes, there are times I get burnt out.  There are times when I want to give up photography all together.  But the people, the places, the beauty... That's what keeps me connected to my camera.  I have the opportunity today to show you why you are beautiful.  To let you see it through my eyes.  And the world.  This beautiful world we live in.  Every day, I see the mountains, I see a new sky - cloudy, sunny, colorful, or dark is dismal.  It's all beautiful.  And those moments of reality - tears shed, a crying baby, a playing child, the sun rising over the mountain, or even simply the way the light shines on the leaves of the trees.  Moments in weddings or families.  Moments in events or activities.  And moments of peace in nature.

Today, I am alive and that means I get to open my eyes and celebrate the beauty all around me.  As a photographer, my job and my opportunity is to show the beauty in the world as I see it.

Through my eyes, my lens, here are a few examples of the beauty in Turks and Caicos (Caribbean).  There's a story behind every moment, but today I just want to share the photos and let you see what you see.

 

Stock Photos in use

  My wonderful assistant Casey made a discovery this week.  He held onto this information for 2 whole days so he could see my reaction in person when I found out.  And yes, it was worth it.  I screamed, I did cartwheel, I ran sprints in the parking lot.  I have not experienced that much adrenaline in years.  Finally!  This is what I have been looking for for since 2011.  And here it is:  You can use Google search with an image, not just with words!  So I dragged some of istock images into google and was able to locate some of them in use!  So for starters, here are several examples of how my most popular stock image, the hot air balloon photo is being used!  Wahooooooo!!!

1000 Stock Photos Downloaded!!

  Today is a day for celebration :)

I have been an istockphoto contributor since November 2011 and yesterday, my 1000th photo was downloaded!

The 1000th image purchased happens to be one of my most popular, and coincidentally it's also a wedding-themed photo.

Also, I will be looking for istock models each week for variety of shoots.  You will get a free 8x10 if you want to participate, please leave a comment here or email me at whitneylewisphotography@gmail.com and I will put you on the list!!

  We're excited to see what the next 2 years for stock photography will bring.

istockphoto - Family at Liberty Park

  This was a beautiful day at Liberty Park.  Green grass, blue skies, and the sun was shining!

We met up with Rob and his kids for a quick stock shoot and playing at the park!

Rob is good friend and amazing musician.  He is a dj, a saxophone player, does clubs and weddings. But beyond that, he's an incredible and loving father.  It was so sweet to see him with his kids here...

Life is good, isn't it?

 

istockphoto - Fitness Model

Stock photo shoot of a personal trainer/fitness model:  Casey and I met Zach while working out at the gym, and the next day we were doing a photoshoot!  It was his first time modeling, but this shoot got him a gig for a big clothing company the next week.  It's fun to realize I played a small part in that. :)

 

STOCK PHOTOS - Snowboarding

Another stock photoshoot!  Brighton Ski Resort, snowboarding.  It was such a perfect day, we took jackets off for a couple of the runs.

  

The model: Rob Bennion.  He is actually a DJ and saxophone player as well as the owner a talent agency, but today he was our snowboarder!  I love it when people have multiple interests in their lives!  Rob is a very positive person and always loves being outside.  When we saw how sunny it was, he was quite excited that he didn't need his winter coat.  It was a great positive energy to have around for the shoot.

 

And here are a couple behind-the-scenes shots of me taken with an iphone:

 

It was quite a challenge to board with the camera on my back!  And a little bit nerve-wracking to hold it on the ski lift.  So high up there...  one wrong move and Oops!

Becoming a stock (not "stalk") photographer

Back in 2008, I attended a workshop by Rich Legg, one of Utah's best microstock photographers.  I was so excited after listening to him tell about this field, but didn't really have the skills at the time to make it work for me.  

So what is it?

I take photos of whatever I want then upload them to a database (I am a contributor with istockphoto.com)  Companies that want to use these photos for marketing purposes or people who want to buy them for their blog... someone wants to make calendars with certain themes... there are many options!  but these people choose the photo they want and pay istock for the file download.  The photographer then gets a cut of that purchase.  Over time, the residual income builds up and the photographer can continue to get paid from photos taken years ago as well as the newer photos.

I decided about a year ago to start dabbling.  It is HARD WORK.  And it was scary diving into something I knew very little about instead of sticking with weddings, where I already know what I'm doing.  But at the same time, it's an amazing challenge and has been an adventure for me.  I love the journey of figuring everything out.  And it's starting to make dollars instead of just cents :)

You'll be seeing several more posts about stock shoots I've done, but let me share a few of my favorites for now.

1. The hot air balloon.  I took this photo several years ago at a 4th of July festival in Provo.  I love the colors and how it turned out.  The fun part - this file is selling really well and for Christmas a friend of mine decided to celebrate that and gave me a coupon for a hot air balloon ride!  I have never seen it from that angle before :)

2. Smiling, happy children.  Now, I'm not told where the photos are being used, so I'd ask everyone to keep their eyes open and shoot me a message if you see any of my files in print or online.  It would be so exciting to see one of these in a marketing campaign or on a billboard somewhere!

3. Then the wedding themed photos... I found a way to include some of my skill sets from my previous work into stock photography also!

4. And lastly, Valentine's day is coming up.  We'll see red and hearts everywhere starting January 2nd.  I figured I'd beat them to the punch ;)

Check out my iStock Portfolio to see the rest of my photos HERE