File size to small to sell ?

[Naturenutz]

Hi folks,some advice needed please .I have a quite a few macro shots i was thinking of adding to my small portfolio of photo's to try and sell.They are between 5 and 7mb jpg and i have noticed a few image libraries i have looked at only except even larger larger files eg 24mb.please note i have not joined any libraries as yet i am trying to build a good portfolio.Are there any libraries that would except these sizes ,i do not want to discard them if at all possible.All the photo's have been taken on a nikon d300s and sigma macro lens Thanks in advance for any replies.

[paulthomas]

Micro-stock agencies tend to have lower requirements than the big boys. Getty have a link into Flickr so you could set up a Flickr account and hope for the best. But do be realistic. Unless you're already well known (e.g., winner of some prestigious wildlife photography competition) it's extremely unlikely that anyone will buy your images. You're just one of 10s of thousands (millions perhaps) of other people doing exactly the same.

[nigel_b]

or..

That's just what the "well known" photographers want you to think and do, roll over and play dead without even trying.

You go for it mate and the best of luck. You'll bring something unique to the party which someone will like somewhere.

Nearly 10 years ago I was made redundant and started my own business. My neighbour told me it would never work as the market was already taken up. Every month when I post those cheques to the bank I think to myself "so it wouldnt work eh Lewis?"

What inspired me were some small, really lacklustre photographs of trees in poor quality frames on sale in a well-known country park shop in a well-known county, for £30 each.

Yep, you have a go for it mate, maybe the large image size would be the raw files?

[birding dave]

Originally Posted by Naturenutz

5 and 7mb jpg

There's your problem - JPG.

If you want to sell your pics, you need to be supplying TIFF files. Start with RAW and convert to TIFF, you'll get higher quality than JPGs and much bigger files.

[zan]

I agree with birdingdave - I think they're likely to be wanting TIFFs if they're asking for files that size. Essentially, jpegs are compressed files, so every time you save a jpg without changing the filename (overwriting it) it gets compressed a bit again and you will progressively degrade the file. TIFF is a lossless format, which means you can save the same file as often as you like and it will always keep its quality because it isn't compressed. TIFFs also save seperate data for each of the red, green and blue colour channels in every pixel so you end up with a file that is about 3 times the size of a jpg (which has compressed the three channels into a single value for each pixel).

Having said that, there are plenty of picture libraries that will accept jpegs, so don't feel like you've missed out on an opportunity so far! I would recommend that you start shooting in raw if you're serious about starting with stock libraries, but keep looking and you'll find plenty of people who will be happy to sell your work! You'll need a LOT of pictures to start making much money, but give it a go and you might make enough to cover a few bits of gear

I would personally avoid microstock sites as you need thousands of images, adn they typically sell for pennies when they do sell. Check out photographers direct as a possible place to start.

[shenk1]

If its the same site I've looked at they do want jpeg at that size and I believe they want you to increase the size yourself.
This involves interpolation which enlarges the picture and "guesses" the pixels to make the picture bigger.
No, I don't understand it either but I think programs like photoshop can do it
Most of the microstock sites have max file sizes and will reject any that have been increased by the above method.

In the end its up to you which way to go -micro,stock or individual but don't let anything put you off.Don't expect immediate results whichever way you go but treat it as a hobby using the fact you may sell some as the incentive to get better at it

Good luck,shenk1

[Naturenutz]

Thanks for your advice,i appreciate it folks.I took the photo's on the best jpg quality setting on my camera.It was not until i read the stock library requirements i realised i need to use raw or tiff to get the size required.I will be using raw or tiff from now on,but want to submit these 7 mb jpg files if possible . Paul i do not expect to make anything and i am under no illusions,its my hobby and if i make something i will pursue it as far as i can.If i dont sell anything woopy doo . its fun .
Nigel thanks for that post ,you stated exactly how i feel,what have i got to lose.
I have a full time job on the roads and nature photography is a hobby,but dont get me wrong i know which i would prefer to do full time .I am quite critical and believe i know what will and what wont have a chance.Even small pennies will be fine for me but it must be great to sell a photo for good money.Ahh you never know do ya
regards
vic

[squishy]

You can convert JPEG files to TIFF.

I don't see how it'll improve them, but it'll certainly push the file size up!

[Naturenutz]

I used tiff format today for the first time.They came out at 35 mb,way too big doh .Is it possable to adjust tiff mb size in camera,or is it always done later with software ? I need to get 24mb if i can.

[squishy]

I don't know if your camera will be able to save as TIFF.

That is a very specific requirement. I don't think you can compress TIFFs to reduce filesize like with JPEGs. After all, the whole point of TIFF is that it is a 'lossless' format.

Are you sure it has to be exactly 24mb?

The only way I can think of reducing the size is to reduce the size of the image, in small steps until you hit 24mb. But that sounds like a much less than ideal solution.