I’ve been spending more time shooting work for stock since I’ve noticed an increase in sales in the last two months or so.

Close up of a Microphone on iStock
For this shot I put the microphone on a daylight balanced lightbox and additionally lit it from above with a softbox. To get the bottom light to be effective it has to be balanced with the light from above. Since my aperture is already predetermined (f/13) as is the ISO (100) light balance is accomplished with the shutter speed. In this case 1/30 second worked perfectly in achieving a pure white background without blowing out highlights on the edges of the mic. I used my 70-200mm 4.0L along with an extension tube in order to really get up close and personal with the microphone.

Rad boombox on iStockphoto
This shot was also shot on my lightbox. In order to keep the highlights from blowing out on the chrome knobs I keep the dynamic range of the image in check and cut the product out from the background in post-production using the pen tool. Since the boombox doesn’t have an overly-complex shape it was fairly quick and easy.

Wisconsin State Capitol Building in winter on iStock
I’ve wanted to get some photos of the capitol in the winter after a fresh snow. I went to my favorite vantage point and shot this at 200mm. The sky is quite gray so I’ll have to go back and reshoot this sometime when there’s a nice deep blue sky.