It doesn't feel like work

- Initially I was a web designer in search of photos on the internet, but soon found out that I should start submitting my own images. I started uploading in December 2004 while working as a web designer, but made microstock my main occupation in May 2006.
Today Andres edits an average of 20 images a day in his own studio. In fact his studio is in his home, so in practice his lives with and for his photography.
- I´m also a keen furniture designer, and has also to an extent worked with furniture from time to time, but I do not have much time for that now. Almost all my time is spent in the studio, either taking pictures or editing them.

Andres, originally from Bogota, Colombia came to the UK in 1996 to be a student in Oxford, and moved down to London the year after.
- After all, coming from the buzz in Bogota to quiet Oxford was quite a transition for me. I moved to London after the English course was over, and have been there ever since, and must say that I like it a lot, eventhough it is very different from life in Colombia. Here I got collegues, friends and it is the place to be. Then again, in the age of the Internet, I suppose that I could be anywhere, as long as I have broadband, a computer, my camera, my flashes and a good supply of models.

Mr. Rodriguez has, to put it modestly, an extended portfolio.
- I do spend time researching. Of course one can just go around taking pictures of whatever, and hope that people will upload them. The reality, in my experience, is that you need to find out what pictures are in demand. I mainly concentrate on business, and have found that that is what I am good at. I think it is important to concentrate on a particular niche, and just be good at that.
- I need to add that sometimes I see other photographers copying my images, and as contradictory it may sound, it actually boosts my sales. There is a weird dynamic going on there, but I am not complaining.

- My models started as being people I knew but now they just tell their friends and other people and I shoot them, that's where I am at the moment, I prefer to shoot casual everyday people.

I ask this gentle and soft spoken Colombian if he has got any tips for photographers that want to do well in the microstock agency, and he gives me an answer that I put down on my notepad. As soon as I get back to my computer, and check my email, I find this:

Dear Tormod
About the question for newbies I felt I didn't quite answer that particular question approprietly so here it goes:
The stock world is very different from the photography art world. New photographers need to be aware that images they shoot for stock agencies need to have a clear concept and a clean commercial look, they need a lot more to them than being "just" beautiful photos of landscapes, flowers and animals. Always look at photographs that are already published, it is the best way to know what to shoot. Stock photography is amongst us everywhere in magazines, newspapers, tv, webpages ... so why not take a few minutes everyday and write down some interesting concepts and create your own interpretation of them for your photos? This is the best advice I can provide.
 
We are grateful for this advice, and recommend that you check out Andres´ portfolio.

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