GRAPHIC TIPS & NEWS

By Ben Kessler of the Graphics.com Network


Dateline: October 23, 2008
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Despite the many, many sweet smiles on display in the portfolio of Cathy Yeulet—or Stockbroke, as she's known on Stockxpert—its overall effect is never saccharine. Cathy gives us triumphant, loving, even silly scenes in settings ranging from hospitals to nightclubs, but all the images and spaces radiate light and warmth. Similarly, her well-chosen camera subjects win us over with modest poses and unforced gestures. The secret to her success may reside in the way her models connect with the camera—and with us.



Ben Kessler: Who are you outside of Stockxpert?

Stockbroke: My name is Cathy Yeulet and I am based in Wallingford, Oxfordshire. My previous company was Bananastock, which was a successful royalty-free agency that I sold to Jupiterimages in 2006.

Do you have any formal training in photography? If so, where were you trained? If not, how did you hone your craft?

I started in this business as a picture researcher for a rights-managed agency. Doing research every day for clients and understanding what they used taught me the subjects and styles that clients like and most importantly the images they wanted but could never find.

You came from the world of traditional stock photography. What drew you to microstock?

When I launched Bananastock it was in the early days of royalty-free and the traditional world was rights-managed. I could see that over the coming years royalty-free was going to become the primary way in which clients would buy imagery. I can see many similarities between microstock now and the early days of royalty-free, and am sure that as the quality of imagery improves more and more professional users will make the switch.

Have you had to make any changes in the way you produce imagery for microstock versus traditional RF? If so, what are they? If not, why is that?

We apply the same principles to our shoots regardless of who we are producing for. Our belief is that clients will not compromise on quality, no matter where they are searching. Having earned a reputation based on creating aspirational images that are real and natural, we continue to achieve this under any conditions.

What technological tools do you use to make your images?

We shoot on Canon and Hasselblad cameras.

How long, on average, does it take you to complete an image, from conception to upload?

It depends on the nature of the shoot. If we have been on location and have several thousand captures the editing, post production and uploading process means that we can have the images to market within 4-6 weeks. However, we recently shot some material to highlight the credit crunch in our studio, which was for sale within 24 hours.

What would you say is your ratio of pictures captured to pictures uploaded?

We use about 10% of the pictures we shoot after technical and creative editing.

Your portfolio features an extremely wide range of camera subjects. How do you find your models?

A lot of people tell us that our images are very believable. We achieve this by using a mixture of friends and their families and being very careful to choose the right models when we use professionals.

The "extended family outdoors smiling" is quite believable. Are they a real family?

Not on this occasion, although we have used real families before. It's really difficult to create the ideal family, but over the years we have understood the blend of models that work well together. Occasionally, models you have selected will let you down on the morning of the shoot and to be honest I have been known to cancel a shoot if I can't get the models I want rather than compromise.



"Young man skiing" is an impressive example of microstock action photography. How was this image captured?

Shooting in snow is such a difficult environment with the glare from the snow, the bright sunshine and getting your equipment to the location—very often you have a tiny opportunity to get the right shot. It's really down to planning to give yourself the best chance to get that one classic image. On this occasion we also used locals as models, so they really knew the lie of the land and recommended some great places to shoot.



It can be hard to make food come across as appetizing on camera, but you pull it off marvelously. Do you have any techniques for shooting food that you can share?

We can't give away all our secrets because, as with many things, there really is a very thin line between a food shot that works and one that doesn't. If I had to sum it up, it's between ensuring that all the ingredients are freshly prepared, composition is well thought out and the lighting is just right. We were able to use a professional chef to prepare the food, and it's fair to say that everyone was eating very well when we were doing these shots and were disappointed when we finished this project.



Your hospital shots convey a reassuring atmosphere, which isn't easy to do in that environment. How did you create this mood?

It's very difficult to create hospital shots that are both realistic and reassuring. Of course, it's vital to get the right location and models and do your research to make sure that all the medical equipment is being used properly! We try to view the shoot sympathetically through the eyes of the patient and always remember that these images need to focus on the positives.



"Family walking through poppy field" is an idyllic scene. Where was this shot?

This was shot locally to our office in Oxfordshire on a rare UK day when it wasn't raining.



"Nightclub" photos in your portfolio feature realistic lighting. How was this effect achieved?

It's always tough to recreate a realistic nightclub scene. The lighting needs to be pretty carefully controlled, but often the real key to a great nightclub shoot is making the sure that the models look like they are genuinely enjoying themselves—even if it's mid-morning outside.



Do you have any advice for people starting out in the microstock industry?

Pick your subjects and develop your own style. You've mentioned several times that our images look natural and believable and it's something we try to bring out in all our shoots.