by Jim Zuckerman
Long after I return from a trip – sometimes years later – I am still using Photoshop to come up with new images based on the original pictures taken during my travels. One of the best ways to market your work is to focus on the icons that represent a country or a city.
For example, the Eifel Tower is the symbol that everyone recognizes as France and Paris. The Taj Mahal says India, the Sphinx is instantly identified with Egypt, and the Statue of Liberty is the icon for both the United States and New York.
These are the subjects that sell over and over again, and when they are combined with new backgrounds, and when new plug-in filters are used that add an artistic flare to the original, I can approach more photo buyers in a wider range of markets.
The two photos accompanying this artile exemplify what I’m talking about.
The twilight scene in Budapest (right) was taken from a hill above the city, while the statue in Hero’s Square was photographed elsewhere. I combined them, creating a scene that doesn’t exist. But in some markets, this doesn’t matter.
For example, jig-saw puzzle publishers don’t care about realism in many cases. They just want a great image that puzzlers will enjoy putting together. Art fair and gallery clientele want beautiful wall art – for many people, realism comes second to matching an image with their décor.
The picture of the Grand Canal in Venice (right) is another example. Here, I used the Buzz filter and then increased the saturation of the colors. This gave new life to the original photo and makes it saleable in very different markets.
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