Wavebreak Media: Breaking a Story

Sean Prior: Pretty much always professional models – and very expensive ones – most of the time. At the cost of our productions we need reliable and highly professional models. I think it only makes sense though to do this when you are putting on very large shoots. It isn’t for everyone but it does make sense for us. This again is a case of risk versus reward.

Depositphotos: Let’s talk a bit about your competitors. Who are your favorite stock photographers? What do you like about their work?

Sean Prior: My favorites are very much under the radar and the ones who don’t go around telling people how brilliant they are! That is probably what I admire most about them. They are quite low-key and just have amazing talent but are also very humble. I very much admire this sort of people. There are too many here to list without doing an injustice and leaving out some of them, but I have personally sent many emails just to say hello and let them know that I aspire to be as good as them. At the early stages of our business, we were very much into looking at competitors. You may find this hard to believe, but we do this less and less now as we have grown. We look more at overall trends and how to produce great content in an effective way. We focus more on themes, trending, and producing stuff that is hard to replicate. It’s more creative going this route, and you get a much better kick when you produce content that does really well.

Portrait of two adorable children baking in the kitchen | Stock Photo © Depositphotos | Wavebreakmedia

Depositphotos: Can you give us a brief forecast of the main trends in stock photography for the near future? What topics are going to remain or become popular?

Sean Prior: I always wonder if I am qualified to answer these sort of questions! There are far more experienced people who know a lot more than I do on this topic. I do think that sometimes this area is over-complicated through analysis. I can only speak from my own experiences, but I think you need to reinvent what sells well in a new way; fashions, hairstyles, the latest technologies coming out , etc. Tweaking what you are doing can reap greater rewards than trying to find something that in the end you find there isn’t much demand for. Sales of your own photos can tell you more than anything else.

Depositphotos: What do you consider a secret of your success?

Sean Prior: Success is different for everyone and I am not sure what the measure is here. Success for me isn’t really about money, although that is needed to grow our business. Success for me is about other things, which only those close to me may have worked out! (My main motivation in anything that I have done has never been about money. I am happy driving a relatively old car and I don’t have expensive hobbies, so I feel I have enough money). I am not sure if Wavebreak can class themselves as a leader (yet) but we are trying and it does involve taking risks, which you can lose a lot of sleep over. I guess you need to always be looking a minimum of three years ahead, and that is tricky when you have big overheads. We are trying to become a leader but I think we have a fair way to go yet.

Depositphotos: What should one do in order to join your team?

Sean Prior: Send a CV to admin@wavebreakmedia.com – we are always looking for talent. We don’t mind training people if they have the raw talent and dedication.

Depositphotos: And last, but not least. What do you like about Depositphotos and working with us? 🙂

Sean Prior: Great staff and nice royalties at the end of the month.