When I bought my first DSLR camera back in 2006, I had no idea what it would trigger. Until this day, I had been fascinated by photography but it never went beyond the casual point and shoot compact cameras.
I was about to go to Barcelona the next day, when I finally decided to buy my first DSLR camera. I got a Canon 350D with the standard lens kit – nothing fancy. As it happens, FC Barcelona was to win the Champions League two days later and hundreds of thousands of people went out on the streets of Barcelona to celebrate. A massive spectacle with bengal fires and people everywhere, even in the trees and on kiosks which would bend so much, it looked like they will collapse any time. That night, I’d come back to my hotel with about 600 photos and I realised the possibilities this type of camera had opened for me. For the next months to come, I’d bring my camera whenever possible.
What followed was just logical consequence. After understanding the technical basics, I learned more about advanced techniques and as I did, the expenses for more and better equipment were growing too. The interest had turned into a passion.
Around the beginning of 2008, I figured I could earn some money back by selling photos and then reinvest it in even better equipment. As a graphic designer, I was familiar with micro stock websites. I registered on iStockphoto first, but against my expectations, it wasn’t easy to get admitted. Oh boy, got I rejected by iStock! But I didn’t give up and I submitted photo after photo and at some point I had made it through the application process, just to continue the struggle afterwards. Not even half of my submissions made it past the photo inspectors and into my portfolio. Still, after some time, I had built up a small portfolio and some photos started selling and even though it wasn’t much money, I got hooked.
But at the same time something started to change and I didn’t notice first. I began to shoot everything under the aspect of “But will I be able to sell this on iStock?” and generally speaking, stock photography can be very restrictive in legal and also creative ways. In addition to these limitations, I was also limited by my meanwhile advanced but – in professional terms – still very basic equipment.
Of course I analysed which subjects and topics are selling. So among other pointless things, I ended up shooting still life with apples and bananas in a bowl, symbolising something like healthy nutrition. Many of these photos haven’t sold a single time in over 6 years. And in the end, everything was as exciting as watching one of the Klitschko brothers fighting another helpless opponent and as frustrating as it must be for their opponents after the fight. Soon I realised, it would take a lot of dedication to earn enough money. On top of that, the considerably high effort resulting in endless rejections began to annoy me to an extent it became demotivating and I stopped taking out my camera.
It wasn’t all in vain though. There was one good side to it. The high rejection rate forced me to understand what a picture makes a technically perfect picture and when I started to photograph again, it helped me a lot to improve the quality of my shots. I also had learned a valuable lesson: How the involvement of money can corrupt something you like doing, to the point where you’re willing to give it up. It took me about half a year to pick up the camera again and make a commitment: I only photograph for the fun of it and motives I like to shoot. No more apples and bananas in a bowl.