Zamurovic Brothers: “Embrace Creativity Instead of Copying Ideas”
Some stock photographers work to channel their unique vision and style, which is evident at first glance at the portfolio of the Zamurovic brothers. Ivan and Bojan produce unconventional and original images that are also highly relevant for marketers and often seasonal, making them versatile for online projects. They are perfect for both holiday marketing and bold creative projects.
When creating images on popular topics like Christmas and Easter, every day they try to think outside the box to create content that would stand out on stock photography platforms. The key factor in their line of work is producing images that sell.
How do they achieve this? What’s the philosophy behind their unconventional works? What does their workflow look like? Find the answers to these questions and even more interesting facts about the Zamurovic brothers in this interview.
On passion for photography
My brother Bojan Zamurovic and I work as a team. We both started using cameras even before the digital age. Since the first time we picked up a camera, we always collaborated and worked together. Our father is a photographer, so his passion for photography led us to this career. A big milestone was the moment when our father bought his first digital camera, a Sony Mavica with a floppy drive. From that time on we knew that digital photography is the future.
On thinking outside the box on a daily basis
Every day we are doing our best to think outside the box. With every new idea, we try to get out of our comfort zone. In order to stand out in the stock industry, one must always evolve and be on top of current trends. Once you feel safe with the style and the appearance of your work, then it’s time to experiment with something new.
I would describe our photography style as surreal minimalism. It is based on still life images with punchy pastel colors. We are trying to create images that have some creative ideas or concepts beneath first impressions and initial appeal.
We push ourselves to put as many art elements in our photos as possible, thus, creating stock photos that don’t yet exist on the market. Escape from usual content on stock sites is what drives us to find unconventional subjects and incorporate them into popular themes.
On marketing approach and the workflow
The marketing approach was developed naturally in that way that we try to picture common seasonal and trendy themes with a different and more artistic perspective.
When working on commercial projects or creating content for stock photography platforms the workflow does not differ at all. I would say commercial projects are even easier as the subject is almost always defined by our client.
In order to stand out in the stock industry, one must always evolve and be on top of current trends.
Speaking about stock photography, the biggest season is definitely Christmas and New Year. We start to upload Christmas images in October to give our works time to reach customers and climb up in popular image searches. Similarly, for every season, 5-6 weeks prior is the best time to start uploading.
Our editing process is very simple and doesn’t take much time. After capturing images, we import them into Lightroom and usually apply some of our custom-made presets. Then images are exported as JPEGs and opened in Photoshop. Sometimes we only use healing and crop tools, but often we create a completely new composition with layers from different JPEGs.
On the philosophy behind surreal images
The key element for our inspiration is to look at life from many different perspectives. We find it very interesting when images with surreal and magical quality include everyday objects because we expect them to appear in everyday scenarios.
Escape from usual content on stock sites is what drives us to find unconventional subjects and incorporate them into popular themes.
In the photo with an egg and a fuse bomb, we were trying to emphasize the upcoming Easter holiday spirit. The fuse of the bomb symbolizes time left for holiday preparation.
On simplicity being a keystone in composition
One thing we learned is that images with copy space are in high demand. It is not necessary but it will sell more if you can make some copy space without degrading the overall look of the image. The next level of copy space is creative copy space. Creative copy space is an actual element of an image and composition and interacts with other elements of the image. Simplicity is our keystone in composition.
Don’t just copy things that you see at stock sites. Not only is this illegal, but it will also block your creativity, and you won’t be able to make something ‘big’ anymore. It’s okay to admire some of the best selling photos out there, but try to embrace creativity instead of copying the idea or expression of that idea.
