Post by eternity on Jun 16, 2008 19:19:57 GMT
Interview with `ElandriadeviantART - Stock Photography and Photo-manipulation
Administered by Eternity.
Name? Elandria Broughton-Sheard
Age? 27
Location? UK
Website/Gallery? elandria.deviantart.com
Transcendent-visions.uki.net (very much a wip!!)
What you enjoy doing for fun?
Reading, Drawing, Photography Costume/corset making
Your favourite website to visit (you don't have to own it)?
DeviantART.com(My usual haunt)
Webdesignerwall.com (That site is so damn funky!)
How did you first get into stock photography?
From never being able to find just the "right" stock pose amongst the then available resources on DA, so I decided to do my own for personal use then naively thought I should maybe share them. Since I posted my first set of stock I think the stock resources category has exploded, so now being able to find the "right" stock is not so much of a problem.
You get a lot of support from your friends. Do you think you could have gotten so far without their help?
Most definitely not! The constant encouragement and support of my very close friends and all the people on DA who stop by my gallery and use my stock help me to aim higher!
Do you ever plan out your shoots? Is there a certain theme you have in mind or just do whatever you feel like at the time?
Generally most of my shoots have a costume/medieval/renaissance theme, though I have to resist the urge to occasionally go dark
As far as planning a shoot, it depends on if we are on location or at home, being on location is an incredible bonus!Where are your favourite places to take stock and are there any advantages of shooting outside?
Rivington County Park and Rievalux Abbey have to be some of my most favourite places, both offer totally unique surroundings, all good for getting into the mood of things.
A lot of your photographs are purely of yourself, do you plan on taking any couple or group images in future?
Absolutely, just as soon as I can persuade Causticstock out from behind his own camera and into costume. Its one of those things we always laugh about and promise that we WILL definitely one day do group/couple stock since my fiancé flat refuses to do anything other than take photos.
Have you ever thought about offering or do you offer up your stock on paid websites, for example, www.stockxpert.com/ or www.istockphoto.com/
I like to have a personal touch with the artists who commercially use my stock. Its just something I think lacks with paid for or managed sites, and that's a real shame because the communication between artists and resource providers should be second to none, we are after all here to create stunning art, and artists who are paying for resources should be able to ask for that little bit extra I think.
You make your own costumes for many (all?) of your shoots, do you make these specifically for your photographs or where they for other events?
99% of all my costumes are made specifically for the shoots we do, having a shoot in mind or a new location drives me to make new costumes, though I do make cosplay stuff and corsets that tend to never get used in my stock, mainly because I'm never sure how well they would be received.
Along with the costumes that are used in the stock images I notice that you cosplay as well. When did this start for you and is it a big part of your life?
I can't remember when my fiancé and I first started going to anime conventions but its been at least several years on a fairly regular basis, our favourite convention being Minami based in Southampton (UK), its a small con compared to some of the others, but we love the relaxed and very friendly atmosphere. I've been watching anime since I was about 15 or 16 I think, so its been quite influential, though not especially on my art.
There is a lot of beautiful art made with your images featured in it, does it ever scare you how popular you works are?
All the time!!!!
Some of the artwork blows my mind with how detailed and beautiful it is, and the excitement of getting requests from artists to show the work in galleries and magazines will never wear off. Its the absolute best bit of providing stock.
Speaking of artwork, you have a selection of photomanipulations and various CSS journal designs (that are rather good I might add) in your gallery. Did you start artwork before or after you got into stock? How did your skills come about?
My mother is an incredibly talented pastel artist, and I believe she still has some of my "baby scribbles" somewhere. I grew up sketching the horses and cows in the fields across from my parents house with good old fashioned pencil and paper and anything else I encountered from my wacky imagination. I can even remember having "Paint" on our Commodore 64 computer which must have been around 1986 or 87 (Showing my age there - we still have it in the attic as well!!) which was needless to say terrible but never the less my first encounter with digital "art". I've been using computers and traditional media ever since and although 99% of what I draw/design never reaches the net I still love drawing and even did a BA in Graphic Design at uni, hence the occasional forays into the journal design following on from teaching myself html and css at some point in the distant past.
You use your own stock images in your art, is there any particular reason for this? Do you find inspiration from it for example?
Inspiration and back to the all important "just right" piece of stock that fits with what I am imagining. Being able to turn on the camera and take a quick shot of the right pose or knowing exactly what shots I want for myself when we go out on a shoot is a very liberating experience for somebody like me who never managed to master the art of the human form! For me taking the initial stock is just a process of the final artwork, and is just as as integral as choosing the palette and perspective and mood etc. Its much harder to take a piece of stock and try to create a visual impact by trying to merge the image in your head with the stock itself via the computer. Which is why the photomanipulating artists out there who do that very thing on a day to day basis have my complete admiration and respect. Its a lot damn harder than it looks!!!
Besides artwork, stock and cosplay, do you have any other hobbies?
Sewing and a passion for reading - I have a very very bad fetish for fan-fiction and anything fantasy/sci-fi, my fiancé and I both collect anime sculptures but books I couldn't live without and every room in our house is filled with piles of them from ancient history and literature to costuming, art books and novels of every description - they are my continual inspiration. (I've been known to write myself when time and muse comply). When I can manage it I love getting out into the countryside exploring new locations either on foot or on horseback (I've been an avid horse rider since I was about 10) and also love my Koi of which I have several in our pond that pretty much fills our small garden. (Digging a big hole is much easier than having to mow lawns and weed!!)
Finally, do you have any advice for those starting out in the world of stock photography, particularly modelling for them?
Never be afraid to experiment, don't ever compromise on quality over quantity - nobody wants to see a gallery stacked full of bad quality blurry shots, it won't make you friends/good reputation or pageviews, and always be yourself. Providing stock for others is demanding and requires a lot of personal sacrifice that others tend to never notice, even if you are not providing model stock.
For people considering posting images of themselves always remember that your face/image/body becomes a commodity, and believe me, people will abuse the generosity of you allowing your stock to be used, which is an unfortunate fact of posting anything on the internet these days as most artists/designers will attest to. Don't be afraid to have rules and stand up for yourself when artists get feisty (even when they deny being feisty ;P )
If stock ever becomes a chore or you end up dreading turning the computer on its time to say enough and stop. Stock should be exciting and a way into a fantastic artistic environment that you can participate in, you're not there to be taken advantage of or made a scapegoat for somebody else's issues when they leave personal/insulting/intimidating/rude comments.
If you plan to sell your stock commercially do as much research as possible and invest in the best photography equipment/props etc. you can afford at the time. A lot of managed stock sites are very picky about image quality etc. and you're never going to be a millionaire if you take stock that nobody else wants to use
Most important of all - ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY else there is no point at all!
