Micro Venues
In micro stock photography, access and proximity makes you money. Having the image everybody wants, now or in future will pay off. But first you have  to put yourself in a position to get the shots nobody else has. Get roving and put yourself in new venues to get new shots. Plot your micro stock trajectory along new paths.
People often think of photography in terms of planes of access. A photographer for a prize fight, for example, has access to the locker room and fight. This is venue access. Venue access comprises fees, travel, ablity to stand or sit for long periods of time waiting for an opportunistic moment, these elements and dynamics of a pseudo-professional “hobby” are not for everyone.
But nobody can tell him what shots to take or how to edit them. A grainy black and white shot of a punch knockout on black and white pearlized paper at high resolution is an awesome thing to behold. But that same image could very well have been one of dozens crossed out in the proof stage. A matte clouded out frame of two champion heavyweights, with artifacts edited out, mantled in a dreamy “shadowbox”, creates an entirely cinematic effect.
These choices are individual, and micro stock editors want choices. Only by learning to package images as idea and concepts and utilize the editing tools and delivery media can the micro stock photographer truly make waves. Seeing how others “picture” image media packages can assist in grabbing new pictures, knowing how they will transfer to commercial and illustrative use.
Venues make outstanding walkabout events because so many colorful textures, shapes, peopl e and things appear in front of your camera a huge haul will be had back at the desktop editing bay. Just sortingp ictures into categories will make the micro stock editor feel rich.
Venues provide scenes with  a lot of detail and many tableaux out of the norm. A decent mega pixel camera can capture new and  unique colors and shapes, offering new colors and fresh textures to your personal spectrum of micro stock work. Venues like the picture shown above are replete with photo ideas that will fill every memory stick you can beg, borrow, or steal.
This image was taken at the 2009 Solar Decathlon in Washington D.C. in the National Mall. The photo opportunities in the shadow of the Washington Monument were stellar. But the curvilinear buildings and the unique, one-of-a-kind solar home models built by each team would have been each one an incredible venue and access triumph.
Only for those who got there with cameras.
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