Bio
Born in Aberystwyth in 1958, Keith Morris studied Geography, Economics and Urban Planning at university before becoming a freelance photographer in the early 1980's.
Apart from his time in education and a brief flirtation with life in California in the mid 80's he has spent all his life in Aberystwyth, living in the house once owned by his grandfather.
He is a regular contributor to many photography agencies and libraries in the UK, Europe and the USA, specialising in Welsh and Wales-related environmental, social and political subjects.
The transformation of photography by the digital revolution has made it possible for him to continue to live and work in his home town while being able to get his images bought by users all around the globe.
He is currently working on a series of portraits of women allwearing the same black and white dress, some of which were exhibited at Aberystwyth Arts Centre during The Eye documentary photography festival in 2014.
The project is scheduled for completion in 2015
How long have you been shooting stock?
I started shooting for Photo Library Wales about 25 years ago and I’ve been doing stock on and off since then but really with any degree of seriousness since I joined Alamy about 8 years ago.
What type of stock images do you shoot?
It’s all secondary editorial. I don’t do landscapes, I don’t do travel I don’t do celebrities. So, it’s all basically illustrative stuff about health issues, social issues, educational issues,
stuff I can either piggy-back on existing commissions from clients or I can shoot on the streets here in Aberystwyth. I don’t travel. I’ve not been abroad since 1987.
I’ve barely travelled outside of Wales in recent years. I’ve travelled outside of Wales about 10 times in the last decade. I mostly work in the county of Ceredigion. Then most of the time I work in Aberystwyth.
I have a local palette to work with but I try to make the most of it.
Do you shoot RF and RM or just RM?
It’s all RM. I very rarely do anything RF. Largely because the nature of my content means it’s impossible to do RF because it’s all unreleased stuff with people. If I was doing plants,
landscapes or wildlife then it would be much easier to shoot RF but as I’m doing street photography with people with brands and organisations in then RF is not an option.
Do some images sell better than others?
Yes some images do sell better than others, people doing stuff, a person doing a thing is always good. It should be a nice clear image showing someone doing something and if that something is around an
issue or a concept or a current popular activity then all the better. You have to be really clear in the picture as to what’s going on. I see so many stock images where the message in the picture is not clear.
If there’s any doubt then the picture won’t work.
Do you have a favourite stock image?
No I’ve got 30,000 stock images and I don’t have a favourite really. Stock photography is not about being precious about the images. If you have that attitude then you shouldn’t be doing stock. Stock is about
getting the most from the opportunities you have. So I don’t a have a favourite in that sense, there are images that I like, that are popular, but I don’t a favourite per-se. This is a business and can’t afford
to be sentimental about it. I’m always looking forward to the next challenge. Tomorrow is international Handstand Day so I’ll be shooting something about that tomorrow. I haven’t got time to think about my favourites really.
Are there any stock photographers whose work you admire?
No, I really don’t look at other stock photographer’s stuff. I do my own stuff. I look at images a lot in newspapers and magazines. I look at what images are being made. I don’t look up the photographers.
I don’t follow individual photographers but do follow themes, directions and styles.
You use are a frequent user of social media, why is that?
When you are a working freelance self-employed you have to take every chance you can to self-promote and that’s often the difference between a successful and unsuccessful photographer.
It’s not so much the ability to make the pictures, it’s the ability to actually promote themselves as being able to make the pictures is I grasp every opportunity I can to makes sure people are aware of my abilities.
Do you have any advice for a new starter in the stock market?
You are probably too late would be my advice. In terms of getting a reasonable return on your effort in a reasonable amount of time it’s much harder now than it was even 5 years ago. The rates per sale per
image are low and the number of images are high so unless you have a very tightly edited, on message and focused set of images then anyone new entrant to the stock market is going to be frustrated.
It’s still possible to make money but you need to have either a considerably large portfolio of images or a very well thought-out strategy for making hot, on-message stock images.
What do you think the future of stock looks like?
The market is getting bigger as more opportunities for picture use arrive. For instance The Mail Online are a veracious user of stock images online. When they do a web story they will be typically
using 80 or 90 pictures online. So there are opportunities for newsy stock there. More and more people are blogging and tweeting and they are using images there. It’s how you monetise that usage is the problem.
Certainly video stock is going to more popular. If I knew the answer I probably wouldn’t be telling you anyway as it’s such a competitive market you need to protect any slight advantage you have.
Do you see any common mistakes amongst new stock shooters?
They don’t know what they’re doing, they don’t do any research. They bump up their favourite pictures which their mates say are lovely and they have no commercial sense whatsoever. They don’t know how to tell a
story in a succinct way and have no sense of editorial or narrative. They don’t look at what the agencies they supply to can sell. I’ve run workshops and I’m amazed at how ignorant people are of what actually sells as a stock image.
If they spend a month before submitting any images cutting out every single stock image they come across and have a 40 or 50 page portfolio of other people’s stock images to see what kind of stock
images are wanted. Research is essential. I was lucky I came from a newspaper background and I know what newspapers want to tell a story.
You also run courses for new stock photographers. Can you tell us about those?
My courses are going well. The next course is October 3rd (This interview is from 2015 so this date has now passed) in Cirencester and is a one day Alamy Stock Photography and Key-wording workshop. Attendees will come away with a whole range of new skills and
awareness of stock photography as well as an Alamy goody-bag!.
What's the best bit of photography advice you were ever given?
I don’t think I’ve ever been given any photography advice. I’m not a trained photographer I’m making it up as I go along.
The best bit of photography advice I could give is to bend your knees. So many people don’t vary the view point from which they are taking the picture. All of their pictures are taken from 5’3” they should
get down and change their viewpoint.
Also, never trust a photographer who hasn’t got scuffed knees. All of my trousers are scuffed because I’m kneeling down all the time.
Contact details for Keith
Website: www.artswebwales.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/@KeithMorrisAber
Instagram: www.instagram.com/KeithMorrisAber
Facebook: www.facebook.com/FfotoKeithMorris
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/keithmorrisaber
Keith's Alamy workshops are organised by
Graham Light LBIPP, Abbey Studios Ltd., 13 Keels, Cricklade, Wiltshire, SN6 6NB
01793 752671 or 01285 653069 - 07733 305519 (mobile)
www.abbey-studios.co.uk
www.abbeyphotoschool.co.uk