Ellen Boughn

Most often the decision to use an image has two or three components.

National economies all over the world are fueled by small businesses. As an image creator, you would gain by adding images to your collection featuring the multitude of small enterprises as well as creating images that those businesses could use in brochures, on websites or in advertising.

Images that capture the essence of a season may only be active as downloads during a short amount of time in a year. But the most popular seasonal images are often traditional and don't go out of date so that their number comes up year in and year out when that season rolls around.

Group photos are among the most popular people shots for business, lifestyle, family and educational uses. Not surprisingly, getting a bunch of people organized into a coherent and attractive group is a challenge. How can you maximize your success in creating images of groups of people while on a budget?

Still life images of fruit and flowers were the mainstay of classical painting and in some ways, although to a much lesser degree, of the wall décor business today. There is something reassuring about the composition of bunches of fruits or even vegetables that is pleasing visually and also carries a message of health, abundance and color.

Many of you have indicated on our recent survey that you would like to have more posts on the topic, "What makes a winning image?" Several years ago I discovered a photo that embodies some of the best practices of a best selling photo. I've written about it in my book as well as using it as an example of how iofoto did everything right in creating this image that has been a consistent microstock best seller for years.

Twenty years ago when the baby boomers reached their mid-forties, smart photographers started using older models more often in lifestyle photos. Then came the "50 is the new 30" idea. Stock photo files were filled with shots of frolicking older folks on motorcycles and surfboards.

It may be some time before new home construction takes off in the USA, but that doesn't mean that the sounds of hammering have been completely silenced by the economic downturn. MSNBC recently reported, "The home improvement sector is off and running... on track to top $133.7 billion in 2011."

Why do many photos dealing with housekeeping have a retro look? My theory, until recently, was that no one since the middle of the last century has learned how to bake, sew, can, iron or grow vegetables. As a woman whose 1950's mother sent her out into the world with a sewing machine and armed with two wooden recipe boxes filled with generations of recipes, I felt sorry for my younger associates, some of whom would starve without Chinese takeout.

The first time my husband visited London, he wanted to leave the hotel as soon as we checked in. I was mildly irritated at his insistence that we hit the streets running. When we got outside, he started walking fast down the street outside the hotel. "Wait a minute!" I yelled at his disappearing figure, "Where are you going?" Then he realized he hadn't made any plans and hadn't a clue where he was headed or why. (He has since become a much wiser traveler).