IOTD: Dennis Herron’s “sulfur pits” September 12, 2008
Posted by Team SnapVillage in image of the day.Tags: dennis herron, horizontal, image of the day, IOTD, steam, sulfur pits
2 comments
Image: 43-00534235
Title: “sulfur pits”
Contributor: dennis herron
Why we like it: Dennis Herron has been submitting some terrifically moody and evocative images lately. Check out his portfolio - especially the “landscapes - nature” set. Actually, it was quite tough to choose a favorite today! This image is definitely near the top.
It’s a unique view of a commonly photographed location, but rendered here in a silvery, almost otherworldly form. The two distant figures in the steam clouds are perfectly placed, and give a necessary sense of scale that balances the thin horizontal lines of the walkway and lines in the sulfur pit. Without those figures, the image wouldn’t have made it atop today’s chart!
What do you think?
- Brian
IOTD: LuMaxArt’s “Online Shopping” September 8, 2008
Posted by Team SnapVillage in image of the day, snapvillage.Tags: 3d, image of the day, IOTD, LuMaxArt, online shopping, render
1 comment so far
Image: 43-00534953
Title: “Online shopping”
Contributor: LuMaxArt
Why we like it: Mixing it up a bit - today we’ve selected a recently submitted image from LuMaxArt - creator of the famous “gold guys” and one of the most prolific SnapVillage contributors to date. This LuMaxArt illustration displays some of what makes his work so successful:
- Appealing 3D render
- Clean design - easy to drop into a variety of webdesigns and business publications
- Clear visual translation of popular concepts and metaphors
Similarly to the Monkey Business shot we picked last week, this LuMaxArt illustration captures a popular concept in a clear and accessible way. LuMaxArt takes advantage of the medium - conjuring a humorously literal take on online shopping in a way that would be a bit more obtuse in a photograph (not to mention difficult to capture without many hours of post-processing effects). Without overcomplicating, he adds some nice details too - the binary “1″s and “0″s that the online shopper is surfing into the laptop screen.
But if online shopping gets this interactive we may all be in trouble… 
What do you think?
- Brian
IOTD: Monkey Business Images Gets Down to Business September 5, 2008
Posted by Team SnapVillage in image of the day, snapvillage.Tags: diversity, image of the day, IOTD, lifestyle, Monkey Business, Monkey Business Images
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Image: 43-00525372
Title: “Woman and two young children smiling”
Contributor: Monkey Business Images
Why we like it: We’re proud to feature the fantastic shots recently submitted to us by Monkey Business Images. Their extensive and diverse portfolio on SnapVillage already tops 10,500 top-notch royalty-free images. Wow!
This image showcases a few of the qualities that make MBI stand-out:
- Great models
- Targeted to popular lifestyle themes
- Consistently solid execution - this was shot on the high-res Canon 1Ds Mark II
- Comprehensive sets - lots of variants/similars for buyers to choose from
The clean light and great expressions make this positive family lifestyle image a solid example of the type of imagery that is likely to appeal to buyers. You can easily imagine this shot being used for any number of advertising purposes - anywhere from banking to retail to a wide array of consumer services. Not flashy, and not the kind of work that will likely appear on a gallery wall - but the type of solid royalty-free image that deserves high praise in the stock photography world.
What do you think?
- Brian
IOTD: Looby’s pink flower still-life September 2, 2008
Posted by Team SnapVillage in image of the day.Tags: flower, image of the day, IOTD, looby, pink, still-life
4 comments
Image: 43-00526102
Title: “Close-up of flowers floating in water”
Contributor: looby
Why we like it: Looby’s been uploading some good stuff recently, with some especially good spa-style still-life’s rising to the top. This shot is a good one that could also easily be used by buyers in health, wellness and spa contexts. Great color here - the pink flowers are incredibly saturated and have a really nice contrast atop the aquamarine colored water.
Check out the rest of looby’s portfolio for more!
What do you think?
- Brian
IOTD: Yuri’s Light: Using Cinematic Flare to Create Mood August 29, 2008
Posted by Team SnapVillage in image of the day, snapvillage.Tags: cinematic, exposure, flare, glare, image of the day, IOTD, lighting, Yuri, Yuri Arcurs
1 comment so far
I
mage: 43-00310344
Title: “View from below of couple kissing”
Contributor: Yuri Arcurs
Why we like it: Today we’re highlighting several images - this time from one of the world’s top microstock shooters - Yuri Arcurs. In just a few years Yuri has become a true celebrity in the microstock world and his reknown has stretched into the professional photography community beyond. Yuri is a contributor we’re really glad to have on board!
Yuri’s images are almost always technically brilliant modern stock shots. Great lighting and exposure combined with the excellent post-processing that lends his work a distinctive edge.
While browsing through his portfolio recently, I started to notice several good examples of what I’d call “cinematic flare”. Instead of a potentially distracting technical flaw, lens flare and light bleed in these shots help create an evocative mood that is truly cinematic in nature.
The light spillover in these shots reminds me of scenes with flare effects from some of my favorite films and directors: Many scenes in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Punch Drunk Love” have flirting sparks of blue-tinged flare. The scene where Elliott Gould’s Marlowe descends in the elevator just before the opening credits of Robert Altman’s “The Long Goodbye” has a truly spectacular moment of flare - I am not sure if this is an accident or not - but it is an amazing moment.
Here are a few more images from Yuri Arcurs with cinematic-style flare:
Image: 43-00340529
Title: “Friends enjoying cocktails”
Contributor: Yuri Arcurs
Image: 43-00340019
Title: “Rocking the night away”
Contributor: Yuri Arcurs
Be sure to check out the rest of Yuri’s portfolio.
How do you use lens flare? Why not share your tips in the comments!
( IOTD will take the day off on Monday the 1st for the Labor Day holiday. See you on Tuesday! )
- Brian
Image of the Day: Thursday August 28th August 28, 2008
Posted by Team SnapVillage in image of the day.Tags: back to school, blue, illustration, image of the day, IOTD, office worker, Thorvis, vector
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Image: 43-00517756
Title: “Illustration of teachers holding books”
Contributor: Thorvis
Why we like it: It’s “Back to School” time here in the States so Thorvis’ cool blue tiled vector illustration of a man holding a document is a good find.
The color palette is great - the blue tones manage to look fresh and modern while simultaneously giving off a cool retro vibe. I also really like the stencil quality to this illustration - it really stands out as the kind of graphic art you might find on a hand printed poster.
This kind of illustration will work well for use in education settings (the dude has a teacherly feel), but also in generic office usages.
Nice work Thorvis!
What do you think?
- Brian
Image of the Day: Wednesday August 27th August 27, 2008
Posted by Team SnapVillage in image of the day.Tags: Elenathewise, ice cream, image of the day, IOTD, lighting, summertime, white background
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Image: 43-00520925
Title: “Assorted ice cream in sugar cones”
Contributor: Elenathewise
Why we like it: Despite the gray skies out in Seattle today, we’re not ready to give up on summer without a fight!
Elenathewise shows off three varieties of a classic summertime treat on a clean bright white background. Yum!
Mastering white backgrounds is an important milestone for many stock photographers. Clean backgrounds are essential to good shots of products and objects, and image buyers like that it’s easy to cutout an isolated object and drop it into their projects.
Here are three tips for nice clean white backgrounds:
- Use a seamless curved backdrop or a light tent:
- Use backdrop paper or cloth that is is as white as you can find. White muslin works great - or “Studio white” or “Pure white” paper from Savage works well.
- If you don’t have one already, you don’t need to blow your budget buying a kit. Here are some tips for constructing your own. DIYPhotography.net has suggestions for an incredibly simple starter kit:
- For a contained solution and for highly reflective objects, light tents are come in handy - and once again, you can make one easily!
- Worth1000 has a nice tutorial and equipment list to make a basic studio setup that would also be a good place to start:
- Light the background and the subject separately:
- Meter for the main subject(s) - and then set your background lights at least 1-2 stops higher so that it will be blown-out
- A meter will come in handy here as you’ll want to check that the background is bright enough.
- For best results with larger subjects such as people - you’ll need to have two lights on the background
- Meter for the main subject(s) - and then set your background lights at least 1-2 stops higher so that it will be blown-out
- Made a mistake? As usual, Photoshop can save you:
- While it’s always better to get it right in camera, if you find that your backgrounds aren’t very clean during post-processing - you’re in luck! Some fairly simple Photoshopping can save you.
- Check out Cheapshooters video tutorial here:
- While it’s always better to get it right in camera, if you find that your backgrounds aren’t very clean during post-processing - you’re in luck! Some fairly simple Photoshopping can save you.
How do you get bright white backgrounds? Share your suggestions in the comments.
- Brian
Image of the Day: Tuesday August 26th August 26, 2008
Posted by Team SnapVillage in image of the day, snapvillage.Tags: cloudy sky, exposure, HDR, image of the day, IOTD, low-angle view, Michael Svoboda, overcast, skateboarding
4 comments
Image: 43-00514255
Title: “Skateboarding”
Contributor: Michael Svoboda
Why we like it: In this retro-cool suburban skateboarding shot, Michael Svoboda uses a tilted low-angle view and motion blur to show off the rolling stock. Vintage tube socks and sneakers seal the deal for this inspired image.
The low-angle view helps to fill the frame with visual interest - and reduces the amount of the potentially distracting bright white sky that is visible.
Shooting under overcast skies can be a challenge (especially for us here in the Pacific Northwest as we get these days all too often). What looks like a textured grey sky to our eyes is usually rendered as an expanse of over-exposed white when captured with a camera. This is because the overcast sky is actually brighter to the camera’s light meter than a sunny blue sky. With a few exceptions - most cameras simply cannot capture the very wide range of tones presented under cloudy skies. You must choose whether you want a correct exposure of the sky, or a correct exposure of your subjects and scene on the ground.
Despite this, you certainly don’t want to let a cloudy day keep you from giving your camera a workout. Shooting on an overcast day can be fantastic as the light falls softly and evenly.
Image of the Day: Monday, August 25th August 25, 2008
Posted by Team SnapVillage in image of the day.Tags: camping, IOTD, noam, outdoors, sidelighting, tent
3 comments
Little girl at a camp - noam
Image: 43-00511180
Title: “Little girl at a camp”
Contributor: noam
Why We Like It: Very nice shot of a young girl at a campsite at night. I really like the light on this one, how he included the mixed light sources with sidelighting highlighting the girl’s face. The lights in the background inside the tent add depth as well.
Her pose and expression seem natural. It actually looks like she has a relationship with the person taking this picture – a unique thing about this image. It looks professional, but not staged. “Real” looking images like this one are very popular with image buyers right now.
Noam’s two sets of camping images are both very good, all have a similar feel and lighting. This is a great example of how to use the set feature to your advantage. A buyer may like this image but want something slightly different. Sets make it easier for them to find exactly what they’re looking for without leaving your portfolio.
What do you think of this image?
- Brian
Image of the Day: Friday August 22nd August 22, 2008
Posted by Team SnapVillage in image of the day, snapvillage.Tags: IOTD, yellowj, macro, foliage, leaf
2 comments
Image: 43-00511656
Title: “Red leaf”
Contributor: Yellowj
Why we like it: Shots of leaves and foliage lit from behind are now commonplace. We get plenty – including many that are technically perfect and showcase the unique patterns and textures of a semi-transparent leaf.
This example from Yellowj (his second IOTD! Congrats!) is not only sharp and well-executed, it outpaces the field in terms of aesthetic value. The diagonal red striping and the variation in the green tone make this look more like a watercolor painting than a macro photograph. Very nice!
Be sure to check out the rest of Yellowj’s portfolio. He’s been uploading plenty of exceptional content lately!
- Brian
