Oh, I wish that life were so simple that an image simply sold itself to viewers. While I acknowledge that it happens sometimes, I prefer not to count on chance. When I select an image for licensing as rights protected stock I go through a process that is aimed at helping me sell that image to someone for some special purpose. When I can figure out how to do that, I have sales potential that can be worth thousands of dollars. Below are some examples of the approach I take.

I selected three images to make several points. Each of them has a sunset or sunrise in it. Each of them was rejected for use by a stock agency because “There are too many sunsets in stock files, and they don’t really sell well.” The editor looked at Figures 1, 2, and 3 and saw a sunset in each. When I looked at them I saw concepts and subjects that just happened to have the sun in the photograph. Let’s examine how I saw and pitched each photograph.

Figure 1 is a photograph of an Inukshuk, which is a manmade trail marker or guidepost found worldwide in the Artic regions where Inuits have been building them for centuries. I saw three elements in the photograph: 1) an iconic monolith, 2) a bold composition, and 3) an upper left section that was begging for some text. Keeping the “trail marker or guidepost” in mind, I thought the photograph might work well for a travel agency. After some extensive Internet searching, I found one in Europe that sold very expensive arctic region tours. When the bargaining was over the travel agency had the right to use the image exclusively for one year, and I had a handsome fee.

Figure 2 is a photograph of electrical power lines at sunset. I saw a contrast between the electrical power and solar power. I found an energy company in Europe that was actively engaged in developing both kinds of energy applications. That company bought exclusive rights to the photograph for six months, and used the image in an ad campaign for one month during the middle of the six month period. They bought six months to assure that the photograph did not appear anywhere else immediately before or after their use of it.

Figure 3 is a photograph of the bridge over Deception Pass in Washington State. Once again, I saw the sunset as just adding drama to a photograph of a bridge. Who wants a picture of bridge that has iconic value? Companies that build and/or maintain bridges want them. The photographed was licensed to such a company for exclusive annual report rights for one annual report and exclusive Web use for the twelve month period after the annual report was released to the public.

Figure 4 is a photograph I took two years ago at Blenheim Palace in England. I have not yet licensed it to anyone. When I look at it I see something like a light at the end of a tunnel. I have not figured out how to make that fit a need yet, but I am finally getting around to thinking about it. I suspect an idea will come to me soon. Maybe a poster with an inspirational message is how it will end up.

You should now understand what I have been saying about marketing rights protected stock yourself. The process I go through is not duplicated at stock agencies. Agencies are volume operations that don’t have great capability at aiming their photographs at specifically researched prospects that have been selected based upon a conceptual approach.

Is all my effort worth it? It is for me. I can make more money from five or six rights protected sales annually than I can by licensing rights managed stock through an agency. The specific is always more valuable than the generic, if you know how to market it, and I get 100% of the sale.

Part 11 of this series will follow soon. It will explain why I pulled all my rights managed stock out of circulation, and why I am placing it with a new agency, who that agency is, and why I selected it.