The ultimate insider guide to creating stock shots that sell from a veteran iStockphoto inspectorAn iStockphoto inspector since 2002, author Rob Sylvan has spent nearly a decade as part of the team that decides which photos get sold on one of the largest, most popular microstock sites in existence. He's also made tens of thousands of dollars off of his own microstock photography. As a result, no one knows better than he does what it takes to get your photos accepted to stock sites-and what to do to make those photos sell. In Taking Stock, Rob shares his hard-earned insider knowledge on how to shoot, edit, and tag photos so you can earn while you learn, regardless of which microstock agency you're using.In this book, you'll learn how to look at the world through the eyes of designers, photo editors, and stock photographers. You'll also learn the importance of focusing your energy on creating stock content that resonates with your passion for photography. But we all know time is money, which is why Rob explains how to set up an effective digital workflow-the real key to making money in the high-volume, low-cost microstock market. By the end of this book, you'll look at your work with new eyes, enabling you to make more money doing exactly what you love: shooting photos that sell.You will learn:

Table of Contents Ch 1 Is this Book for You? How I Got Started From Content Consumer to Content Creator The $13,000 Christmas Tree What's in it for You? Quality vs. Quantity Ch2 What is Stock Photography? Who Uses Stock? When is a Photo a Stock Photo? Understanding the Licensing Models Rights-Managed Royalty-Free Editorial The Ways that Money Changes Hands Pay-As-You-Go Subscription The History of "Microstock" The Top Microstock Sites to Start With Ch3 Getting into a Stock Frame of Mind Knowing Your Customers Doing Your Research Keeping Track Thinking Like an Image Consumer Greater Than the Sum of its Parts Spectrum of Stock Ingredients of a Stock Photo Communication is Key Simplicity of Message Give Equal Weight to the Background Assignment Ch4 Of Rights and Wrongs Reading the Fine Print Permitted Uses Editorial Options The Role of the Model Release Finding People Willing to Model Can I Get a Witness? A Healthy Respect for Property Prevention Pays Off Being Inspired by Others Assignment Ch5 Tools of the Trade Gear Crazy Camera Choices Raw vs. JPG Keeping Your Options Open Key Camera Settings Do Touch that Dial Beyond the Camera Ch6 Shooting Tips From the Pros The Importance of Good Exposure Reading the Histogram Highlight Clipping Warning Top Tips for Your Next Photo Shoot Get Ready Day of the Shoot After the Shoot Moving Forward Ch7 Setting Up Your Digital Darkroom Hardware Choices Computer Plan B (For Backup) Your Monitor Calibrating Your Monitor Software Choices Choosing a Color Space Color by Numbers Understanding Bit Depth Answering the Question Assignment Ch8 Digital Editing Basics Focus on Quality Work Smarter A Little About that Bear Photo Setting Defaults and Creating Presets Choosing a Default Rendering Creating a Develop Preset Adjusting White Balance Using the Tools Speeding Up the Process Making Exposure Adjustments Exploring the Exposure Adjustment Tools Practical Exposure Adjustments The Presence Controls Sharpening for Stock Making the Sharpening Adjustments Dealing with Noise Making the Adjustments Assignment Ch9 Avoiding Rejection Digital House Cleaning The Dreaded Purple Fringe Cropping for Composition Removing Distracting Elements Downsizing to Fix Minor Problems Avoid Over-Processing Adding a Vignette Creating a Reverse Vignette Assignment Ch10 Seeing Like an Inspector Being Your Own Worst Critic Capture Time First Review Post-production Objectivity Practice Developing an Inspection Workflow Creating an Upload Pre-flight Checklist Dealing with Rejection Assignment Ch11 Putting it All Together First Things First Backups on the Go Software Solutions Importing into Lightroom Import Interface Orientation A Typical Import Creating a Metadata Preset Wheat from the Chaff: Reviewing Decision Time Collecting the Keepers The Wonderful World of Metadata Search Engine Optimization Adding Titles and Descriptions Keywording 101 Creating a Keyword List Applying Keywords Ch12 Moving Out into the World Save Your Final Versions Lightroom Export Lightroom Publish Services Establishing a Name for Yourself Going Through the Application Process Find Your Photos in Use Google Google Google Reverse Image Search Move to the Next Level Parting Words Afterword