If it hasn't happened yet, it will. Sooner or later some of your friends and relatives are going to say, "You know, your photos are GREAT. You should try to sell some of those." "Really?" you think, as the old ego does a back flip. "Maybe I could sell some of these. Heck, mine are as good as some I've seen in the calendars and magazines. Why not?"

The seed, now firmly planted, begins to grow as you venture down to the nearest Barnes & Noble and spend your entire paycheck buying the complete stock of photo marketing books. And there are plenty to buy. You got The Business of Nature Photography by John Shaw, The Professional Photographer's Guide to Shooting & Selling NATURE & WILDLILFE PHOTOS by Jim Zuckerman, How to Start a PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS by Ted Schwarz, How You Can Make $25,000 a Year With YOUR CAMERA by Larry Cribb, and of course, the latest edition of The Photographer's Market to name just a few.

In fact, there is so much advice out there that it soon becomes completely overwhelming. Are you really ready to invest big bucks in letterhead stationary, business cards, photo managing software programs, etc? Who would have thought that selling a photo would be so difficult? What to do? Then, somewhere in the midst of all the confusion, one avenue of marketing stands out and best of all, seems reasonably simple; PHOTO STOCK AGENCIES! You send them your prize-winning photos, they provide the clients, you split 50/50. What could be easier? Just sit back in the old easy chair, check the mailbox every day, and watch the money roll in! Sure, you may have to send in a few more outstanding images from time to time but that's OK; more photos on file, more money. Right? Professional Wildlife & Nature Photographer, has a nice ring to it doesn't it?

Hee, hee, hee. May I suggest, oh disillusioned readers, that things in the photography business are not always as easy as they seem? Don't give up that day job just yet. Do not sign the contract for that new Hummer. Tell the homebuilder you may change your mind about those Italian marble counter tops. It may turn out that you don't even need a mailbox.

Here's the dirty little secret. Those stock agencies DO NOT NEED all your photos of white birds wading in the water complete with beautiful reflections. They DO NOT NEED all your game farm animals even if some of them are of those darling, cutesy, bobcat kittens. They DO NOT NEED any more whitetail does, bugling elk, butterflies on flowers, cardinals in the snow, scissortails on barbed wire, lizards on a rock, or any of the other common critters your files are bulging with. Want to know what they really want? I called a stock agency (which shall remain anonymous) and asked for a list, a Want List it's called. These are the images they have a need for and can sell rather easily or so they claim. And now, as a public service, I shall share this list with you. In the interest of space, I have narrowed it down to the TOP TEN PHOTOS (that you don't have) and to borrow a line from columnist Dave Berry, I am not making this up!

• NUMBER TEN: A Root Weevil (You step on these, you don't photograph them)
• NUMBER NINE: Dolphins With Young (Oh sure, an easy shot if you're an accomplished scuba diver and the dolphin doesn't shove you into the coral for messin' with her babies.)
• NUMBER EIGHT: A Duck-billed Platypus (OK, so maybe a zoo might have one of these, but do you really think that will do? Nooooooo. The agency will want it in a natural habitat, probably with baby platypuses.)
• NUMBER SEVEN: California Condor (They're all gone, right? Extinct! And even if they weren't, they would be by the time you got to California.)
• NUMBER SIX: A Yak (Name me one person that REALLY wants a picture of a yak!)
• NUMBER FIVE: Lizards from the Dominican Republic (Gotcha! You thought, "I got lizard shots." Not from the Dominican Republic you don't. So naaaa, naaaa, naaaaa.
• NUMBER FOUR: A Dugong (What the hell is a Dugong you ask? Even the agency was forced to put in a footnote for this one; it's a marine mammal. Now you know.)
• NUMBER THREE: An Arctic Char (So maybe all you Eskimos have photos of Arctic chars hanging there in your igloos right next to the ones of your kids, I don't know. But all us shooters down here where the sun shines don't.)
• NUMBER TWO: A bear hibernating (Now I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want this to be the last photo I ever took. I believe I'll pass on that one, thank you very much.)

AND THE NUMBER ONE PHOTO THAT YOU DON'T HAVE: A Libyan Wildcat! (Imagine the scene: "Hello Mr. Qadhafi that you? Listen, this is ol' Billy Bob from down here in Godebo, Oklahoma. I was a wonderin' if it'd be OK if I was to come over there to your place, you know, Libya, and see if I could get me a pitcher or two of one them wildcats you got over there. See, I got this stock agency ... hello, hello?

Editor's Comment: Let us know what you think! Please email the Editor to let us know your thoughts.

Warren Williams has been doing photography for over 25 years focusing mainly on Nature and wildlife. His work has been published in several magazines, including Outdoor Photographer, Outdoor Oklahoma, Oklahoma Today, and Persimmon Hill (the magazine of the Cowboy Hall of Fame). Several of his photos have also appeared on calendars by Smith-Southwestern. Warren is an active member on Photo Migrations and would also invite you to visit his website located at: Warren Williams Photography - Images of Wildlife and Nature.