Selling photographs taken on location

Images that sell in terms of programme requirements.
One potential way in which you can ‘sell’ your images is by taking some on location for programmes in which you are involved. By contract for each programme BBC Worldwide requires a package of ‘deliverables’ which are stills that they can use to promote the programme in UK and indeed worldwide publishing such as magazines and newspapers. These images are covered by a standard BBC photo contract.

So what are BBC Worldwide looking for?
Iconic species for that programme – locations where it was shot – making of pictures that show the team in action – images taken from the air. In general they would rather use images taken by team members as it provides a good continuity between what people will see onscreen and what they see in print.

If your a natural history researcher you will at some point be out in the field and may not have considered taking stills before. For cameramen it can be difficult to juggle the job of filming whatever you need to and then taking some stills afterwards / before or during. If you are not behind a film camera then you are in a good position to begin with for taking some "making of" stills.

Obviously some happy snappy cameras will not take images that are large enough to be used for any programme publicity nor indeed fit agency submission specifications. Inevitably you will be restricted with what you can do with some cameras but that shouldn’t stop you passing great images on to your local wildlife trust for example who may welcome them for their newsletter or entering local photographic competitions.

If you’re serious about selling your images then at some point you will need to spend some money on equipment but knowing what sells in the first place puts you in a much better position from which to advance.

Taken from a talk by Laura Barwick, ex-Nature Picture Library.Selling photographs taken on location