Annual events and festivals are always worth shooting as there is obviously a recurring demand, especially for fresh contemporary images. Often it pays to stage events well in advance of their reality in order to get fresh material into the market at the right time. Shooting the reality shouldn’t be ignored either though of course, and is perhaps more relevant for submission to libraries like Alamy with more of a focus on images with a genuine feel of real people caught in the act!

The predictabilty of this demand though can be a double edged sword; there is a lot of competing imagery out there. It is by no means a niche subject but I think it’s worth any stock photographer having a few, hopefully interesting, shots in their collection for major events. Halloween might not seem ‘major’ to many of us but anyone who has visited the States in the run up to this festival of spookiness will testify as to its scale in America. It might just be another hook on which to hang consumerism in the US retail mallscape but, love it or hate it, it is a big thing there and the US is obviously a major marketplace for stock photography.

Often stock images are best produced with fairly simple flat even light. I thought Halloween might be a subject that lent itself to something slightly more creative so pulled out the old ring flash adapter. I’m wondering if maybe I might shoot again this year with a little flash in the pumpkin strobist style!

Of course it’s also worth getting a few shots while you’re preparing your props!