Every month we feature one of our illustrators or photographers. This month we talk to Scott Griessel, alias Creatista. Scott is an Arizona-based photographer whose larger-than-life portraits gleefully fall outside the box of standard stock. Scott is not afraid to let his models emote or get messy or outrageous. Today we take a look inside his world of colorful characters— from smoking nuns to nagging moms, drag queens to femme fatales, bubblegum punks to yogis and beyond…

Scott Griessel

How did you get started in photography?

SC: I’m actually a TV and film guy. I started my career in video and worked up to being a producer and director for TV commercials, videos for shows, training films and that sort of thing. I spent a while as a creative director and partner in a boutique agency working for national clients like Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Freightliner, Airstream and others. I was working on a catalog job for Saab in Atlanta over a decade ago and the photographer had just switched to a digital back for his large format camera. I was skeptical and made sure he had lots of film and a regular film back handy. My first brush with digital was immediate love and I’ve never looked back. As I progressed in my career, I was able to integrate photography into my own company, Creatista. Now it’s about 20% to 30% of my business.

Who or what inspires your work?

SC: I’m a big fan of Cindy Sherman and Chuck Close. I guess I just like quirky portraits. People are endlessly fascinating.

What are your favorite images from your collection?

SC: Wow! I like a lot of them for different reasons. Here are five that come to mind… of course, on a different day I’d pick five different shots.

971485 © creatista

What’s your favorite subject matter?  Describe your style. What do you try to capture in your images?

SC: I love shooting people and characters. If I can set up a scene just like I would in a film or video, I’m happy. I like the pictures to end up with a sense of relationship and narrative. I’m not a picky scenic type, or an intense sort of ‘work for the one great shot’ photographer. I tend to shoot pretty fast and loose. I like to work on location and even enjoy a certain sense of messiness to my shots vs. pristine staging. Mostly, I just want to have fun while I work.

1120953 © creatista

If you had to pick just one camera to work with from now on, what would it be?

SC: I know it’s counter-intuitive, but I’m not that interested in cameras. I shoot Canon and have some great 1ds and 5D bodies and glass. Even so, I don’t read the trade magazines or spend much time thinking about my gear- except when it breaks. I’m in the Lance Armstrong school… it’s not about the bike and it’s not about the camera. Lots of my friends love their gear, and I’m often a bit sheepishly embarrassed by my own lack of knowledge. I just know what I like and I click the shutter when I see it.

309096 © creatista

If you won the lottery, what’s the one place or person you would run away to photograph?

SC: I have a dream to walk across the country for a year, stopping into the small towns and just meeting people and writing about them. I’m interested in the country and how we’re doing. Not in a political way, just what people are up to and how they live their lives. I’ve done quite a bit of editorial work for magazines and other clients and I really like it. This would be a personal project. In 2006 I produced and directed a documentary film called The Asphalt Gospel about a group of progressive Christians that walked from Phoenix to Washington, D.C. It was five months on the road moving very slowly from town to town. Guess I’m just itching to get out again.

1696314 © creatista

What do you do when you’re not shooting?

SC: Travel, baby! In fact, I’m on my way to Turkey with my wife in a couple days. We’ll come back with thousands of photos… so look out, reviewers!

What one tip would you share with someone who’s just starting out in the stock industry?

SC: Can I give more than one? OK. I will.

I’m a huge fan of microstock and stock. It allows a photographer to find a niche and work on subjects of interest to them. I’m not a birder, but, if I was, I would concentrate on creating excellent shots of birds. It’s like being a writer – ‘write what you know’.  Shoot what you know. I know actors and theaters and film-making, so that’s what I shoot.

It is seriously hard work. For everyone that I meet and refer and help out to get started, maybe one in ten will stick with it. The secret is, it’s worth it. It takes time and effort, but once your portfolio hits a certain size and your skill level continues to grow, it’s a great way to make a solid income. It is possible. I couldn’t live solely on my stock work, but it is a significant part of the entire platform.

Don’t take rejections personally. Reviewers are human and have opinions and have to make borderline calls on images. No photo is worth getting upset over. I used to agonize over every shot and feel an affront if it didn’t get accepted. Now I lick my wounds, try to learn from the experience, and move on.

4168425 © creatista

Do you have a favorite artist/photographer at Crestock?

SC: Since I shoot people, I tend to be drawn to other artists that do the same. Who isn’t in awe of Yuri Arcurs? I always enjoy images from andresr, and I think diego_cervo has an interesting eye and does a nice job with the post work on every image. For still lifes, Elenathewise, and nicemonkey rocks the vectors.

Do you have a website/blog or any other personal links (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc) that you would like to share?

SC: I’m everywhere. Easy to find on Facebook under my name, Scott Griessel. I’d be happy to make new friends. I also maintain a back-end invite-only site on Facebook called CreatistaPhotography with models, MUAs, stylists, actors and photographers. The main site is creatista.com… forever in need of updating but always fun, just the same.

4464257 © creatista

Would you like to share any other information?

SC: I’m from San Diego, and spent my formative years in the Midwest, including Detroit, which I love. Now I live near Tucson, Arizona and have a studio called 19 Below – that’s on Facebook, too.

I work with Eric Basir at Photografix for the bulk of my post work, since it’s too fast and furious for me to do all on my own. Theadra Taylor is a rockin assistant and model; she sets up our Creatista shoots. Edwin Serrano is the king of gear, staying on top of all the stuff when I don’t and making me look like I know what I’m doing…

See Creatista’s portfolio

767120 © creatista

4575877 © creatista

During this time it will not be possible to access www.crestock.com. Service is expected to resume by 4 PM. Updates and bulletins will be posted here if needed.

We apologize to our clients and visitors for this inconvenience. As always, assistance and information will be available through help@crestock.com if needed.

© anhmagaret / Crestock

With individual images starting as low as $1, you already get great value from Crestock’s two image collections. We now offer discounted Extended Licenses in several different categories to address various business needs:

Creative Collection (Photographs and Vector Illustrations)

Consumer Merchandise – Allows for image placement on products or product packaging intended for commercial resale or redistribution. Some examples include: mugs, mouse pads, t-shirts and other apparel, toys; greeting cards, stationary, calendars, stickers, posters, artwork and similar paper products.

Electronic Templates – Includes permission to resell or distribute the image as part of an electronic template, such as an e-greeting card, Powerpoint slideshow template, or software deployment package.

Unlimited Print Run – Our Standard License limits the quantity of reproductions to less than 500,000. This Extended License has no limit.

Multi-Seat – Enables multiple people within the same company to use an image, share it across the company network, or store copies on several company computers.

© darrenwhi / Crestock

Celebrity Collection

Two different editorial extended license options are available for images from the Celebrity Collection:

Cover Use– Allows the use of images on the cover of a book or magazine, or the front page of a newspaper.

Unlimited Print Run – Our Standard License limits the quantity of reproductions to less than 250,000. This Extended License has no limit.

Good To Know…

• Extended Licenses can be added to the Standard License at any time. Simply send your request via email to help@crestock.com to start the process.

• All images licensed from Crestock are eligible for Extended License coverage, whether purchased individually, paid for with credits, or downloaded with a subscription.

• Extended Licenses can be combined. For example, a Cover Use and an Unlimited Print Run license can be added to an image from the Celebrity collection for a combined fee of $100 (plus Standard License cost).
• For detailed licensing terms, please visit http://www.crestock.com/legal/image-license-agreement.aspx (Creative Collection) or http://www.crestock.com/legal/image-license-agreement-editorial.aspx (Celebrity Collection).
• Please note that neither the Standard nor Extended Licensing options allow the use of any image as a logo or trademark. In addition, Celebrity images cannot be used to directly or indirectly promote a product, service or merchandise. Use of Celebrity images in advertising or commercials, on packaging, album covers, or in electronic templates is not permitted.

Need an extended license or more information on what our images can be used for? Contact us or email your questions to help@crestock.com.

© pressmaster / Crestock

Mother’s Day is Sunday May 13th 2012 in many countries, although dates vary around the world.

To help you find content for all your Mother’s Day projects, we have put together a collection of some of our favorite images on the theme. (After many years of gift-giving, we have learned that the presents Mom likes best are the ones we make for her. That’s what she claims, anyway!)

With everything from woodcuts to cartoon tributes to your Super Mom, our Mother’s Day collection is sure to come in handy for publications or websites… even that last minute card you’ll need to print when the shops run out!

© LironPeer / Crestock

© MonkeyBusinessImages / Crestock

© IS2 / Crestock

© Shalamov / Crestock

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Write the funniest caption for the image below to win 100 FREE image credits!

© schotter / Crestock

Post your caption for our chosen image as a comment for your chance to win 100 FREE image credits.

We’ll choose the funniest among all the entries on Thursday May 10th at 3PM ET. Good luck!

Watch for our announcement of the lucky winner on Friday, May 11th!

Contest terms and conditions »

Like what you’re seeing at Crestock? Join our Affiliate Program today.

Share Crestock using your email signature, social networks like Twitter and Facebook or on your own blog with pre-generated links, buttons and banners – and get paid for it!

Easily track what you’re earning with your own online dashboard – right on the Crestock site.

Refer customers and you’ll get a 25% commission on all their purchases for the first 6 months of their membership.

Referring a photographer or illustrator will net you a 10% commission on any royalties they earn for the first 6 months. (It won’t reduce the amount we pay to the artist.)

Become an Affiliate today

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Find your favourite Crestock image to illustrate this quote:

“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.”

~Hunter S. Thompson

Simply post the URL of your chosen image as a comment below. We’ll add a thumbnail of the image to your comment. On Thursday April 26th at 3PM ET we’ll choose our favourite of all the entries. The winner will get 100 free Crestock credits added to their account.

Stay tuned for our announcement of the lucky winner – and the next contest on Friday, April 27th!

See contest terms and conditions

4424444 © kikkerdirk

We’re so sorry for sending multiple copies of our March newsletter.

Our Email Service Provider (or ESP) updated their software the same day we sent our campaign. A glitch with their update caused many of you to receive 5 copies of our newsletter.

Which is 4 copies too many. Sorry, our bad.

If you were affected, while there is no way we can clean out your inbox for you, we can offer you our most sincere apologies and a promise (and one from our ESP too) that this won’t happen again.

As a token of our appreciation, we’ve added another day to our current sale.

If you have questions or if there is anything at all we can do for you, please get in touch.

1810627 © DavidArts

Every month we feature one of our illustrators or photographers. This month we talk to illustrator David Sandonato, based in Italy, who goes by the alias DavidArts.

How did you get started in illustration?

DS: Three and a half years ago, I saw an article in a magazine about the microstock photography industry. I was curious about this new market and after some research on the web, I found major microstock sites. Then I discovered that this market was also suitable for illustrators. Since I was a child, pencil design, oil and airbrush painting and later all digital art were a huge passion for me. So I started learning Corel Draw and Adobe Illustrator. After two weeks, I was accepted to the first site. From that day on, I’ve created new vectors every day and submitted them on a weekly basis.

David Sandonato

Who or what inspires your work?

DS: A keypoint for contributors is to understand what buyers need. In my case, there’s nothing better than browsing bestselling vectors to see actual trends. Once you’ve found the “theme” that’s popular, you can start to use your imagination to create something competitive to add to the game. I always try to be aware of trends. 50% of my submissions are related to current trends. The other 50% are subjects like backgrounds, disco flyers – whatever inspires me – with no limitations.

What are your favorite images from your collection?

DS: I love to design images for Disco Flyers. I also love to design Vintage labels as well as holiday-inspired illustrations.

Recently I’ve started to design website templates like this  or this.

What’s your favorite subject matter?

DS: One of my favourite subjects is Disco Flyers, full of music related elements and an explosion of colours. I also like to create Vintage Labels, Christmas (and other holiday related) illustrations, abstract backgrounds and website designs. I honestly don’t have a specific favourite subject, the most important thing is that my eyes are satisfied with my creation.

2109747 © DavidArts

Describe your style. What do you try to capture in your images?

DS: I don’t know if I have a particular style, but many of my friends said they’ve easily recognized my images due to my colour combinations. I usually use bright colours to enhance shapes and composition. I hope the first visual impression of my illustrations induces the viewer to meditate a few seconds on my image and explore it in all its parts. I think color choice is one of the most important things for a successful vector, along with the shapes used and the overall composition.

3893367 © DavidArts

4088371 © DavidArts

If you had to pick just one medium, program or tool to work with from now on, what would it be?

DS: Adobe Illustrator is a must for vectors. It should be your only choice or at least your final step before creating a vector file.

4622011 © DavidArts

What do you do when you’re not working?

DS: Great question! I have so many passions. I like to ride my Harley Davidson (painted and modified by myself), go to the gym everyday or go fishing (in the right season). I also like to ride my mountain bike off-road and I really love to catch some sun on the beach! Even though my main job is to create vector illustrations, it really is one of my passions. The idea of “doing what you like to do for your job” is one of the most amazing thing in my life.

1719149 © DavidArts

What one tip would you share with someone who’s just starting out in the stock industry?

DS: The microstock industry is a really serious business, where only a mix of perseverance, ability and adaptability can help you become a full-time illustrator. If your target is to sell thousands of images every day, you’ll have to build a very big portfolio. You need to focus on quality and quantity, as both are important. Start to design and create every day and never stop. Every new creation will be better than the previous. Like in every business, you have to believe in yourself.

David adds: By the Way… I’m an electronic engineer but I feel more like an artist who has chose to work with his passions.

See David’s portfolio

1687997 © DavidArts

2478043 © DavidArts

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Write the funniest caption for the image below to win 100 FREE image credits!

3379409 © Daniel_Wiedemann

Post your caption for our chosen image as a comment for your chance to win 100 FREE image credits.

We’ll choose the funniest among all the entries next Thursday, March 29th, at 3PM ET. Good luck!

Watch for our announcement of the lucky winner on Friday, March 30th!

Contest terms and conditions »