The answer to this question is neither simple nor straightforward, but it is an important one for any stock photographer to ponder. The first thing to realise is it that a great photo doesn’t necessarily make a great stock photo. For a photo to have potential as a stock image it needs to have the usefulness factor that will mean it can serve a purpose for picture buyers and researchers. This is, in fact, more important than the image being great; it just has to be right. An average image that paints the proverbial thousand words on an in demand topic will probably do better as a stock image than a great creative photo that has no obvious use.

© Maurice Crooks

Some time ago I made an off the cuff remark on the Alamy forums in relation to an image another contributor had posted. When I saw Maurice Crooks’ shot of a Maori performing the Haka I was so I confident it would do well as a stock photo I promised to eat my lens cap if he didn’t get a sale. Well, fortunately for my digestive system, I’m pleased to say Maurice contacted me recently to report the first sale of the image. I say first because I’m equally confident it won’t be the last time his picture sells!

Why do I like this image as a stock photograph? Primarily because it, almost literally, screams New Zealand! Ask anyone with the most superficial knowledge of the land of the long white cloud what they associate with NZ and they’ll quickly come up with Maori’s doing the haka. It is an iconic image that instantly places the viewer in the desired head space, and Maurice’s shot is a great photo too.

His picture is strong as a thumbnail; Search Alamy for Maori Haka and you’ll see the shot at the top of the results and it pops out at you. If I was wanting to illustrate an article on New Zealand or produce promotional material for the country this is exactly the sort of picture I’d have in mind when I started my search. Maurice has caught the subject in the midst of an intimidating display yet somehow he still looks attractive and friendly; it makes for a really positive image. The framing is tight around the subject which while it leaves no space for copy has, I suspect, cropped out distracting elements around the subject. The background is also nicely blurred adding to the clean simplicity of the image. In the search results it is easy to spot Maurice’s other two shots of the same subject which have something sneaking into the background and consequently aren’t quite as strong.

In the longevity stakes I suspect Maurice is onto a winner with this image. The haka and its significance isn’t going to diminish over time and in this photo the subject will retain his youthful vigour even as he ages in real life! So the image shouldn’t date and at present is one of the strongest in a small search of less than 200 results at Alamy. More general searches for Maori and/or New Zealand are a lot more competitive but now the image has sold I suspect Maurice’s image could find itself gaining more prominence, possibly aided by a little keyword tweaking using ‘All of Alamy’ for research.

So the next time you’re browsing the work of another photographer see if you can pick out the winning shots that you’re confident will sell or have sold. It’s a useful exercise to put yourself in the critical mind of a buyer in order to pick out the shots that are great as stock images. In the meantime I’ve kept a spare lens cap in the larder confident Maurice will have more success with this shot!

My thanks to Maurice for his permission to use and chat about his image. Check out his Alamy collection here.