1. KAC Productions represents several other nature photographers. Is it difficult to devote adequate time and attention to your photography while promoting other's work? Is there a conflict?

Sometimes I get so jealous of the photographers in my stock agency. I look as their work as it comes in, and I envy them being out in the field. But I'm also very realistic. Most professional nature photographers find that they spend about 40% of their time in the office marketing, labeling, filing, and managing finances. It's unrealistic for me to think that I could ever spend each and every day out in the field making great photos.

I love photographing and will always be a photographer. My photos illustrate my husband's weekly nature column in the Houston Chronicle, so that forces me to get behind the camera regularly. I also take off and photograph two or three days every month.

Because I get to look at incredible photos from my photographers every day, I find that my quality standards have increased. I'm pushing the envelope with my own photos as well as with the work of the photographers I represent.

Is there a conflict? Gad, no! I get excited every time one of our photos is published. There is no bigger thrill than to call one of the photographers and announce that their photo will grace the cover of an upcoming magazine. We've been celebrating today, for example, because we have a good showing in a magazine that arrived in our mailbox this morning.

When pulling images for submissions, I favor my photographers' work, because I see the flaws in my own photos. But I photograph subjects like gardens and backyard birds more often than other photographers in my agency. That means some submissions naturally contain more of my images. It all balances out in the end.

2. How does one know when they have enough stock and when they should start sending in images?

An editor recently told me about being bothered by "one shot wonders." He said that these photographers were a waste of his time. Ouch! This statement came from a very kind man but also a very busy man. He doesn't have time to deal with a package that contains only one or two good images that have no place in his magazine.

Your question is hard to answer because there is no right number. I usually try to send 40 or more images for a general request like butterflies of Houston. For a specific request like pintails in flight, I might be happy to send 10-20 images. One or two images would be okay, though, for a specific request like squash vine borer.

I'd set my sights on sending twenty to forty general stock images to a new magazine client. That's enough images to show-off your style, prove you're not a "one shot wonder" and show the editor that you're a serious photographer.

3. If I wanted to set up a business to sell photos in Texas, what would be the best way to go about it? A sole proprietorship, LLC or other?

Most small businesses in the U.S. are sole proprietorships which are easy to set up and close down. A stock photo business works well under a sole proprietorship. You set up a sole proprietorship by going to the country courthouse and filling out some paperwork. Then you can open a checking account and you're rolling. Annual taxes are usually filed with your personal income tax.

A partnership would be good, if you had a partner so things are divided. Dissolving a partnership is harder than dissolving a sole proprietorship. The same holds are establishing a partnership.

S Corporations are good if you're trying to protect personal assets. The downside to an S corporation are that it's more complicated to establish, paperwork has to be maintained to corporate standards and closing an S corporation is time consuming.

There's a lot of literature available from the Small Business Administration, so I suggest you check with them for the legal answers.

4. Do you represent only photographers that have a significant body of work or do you take occasion great images from amateurs?

The odds of one great image selling are pretty slim. This is an odds business and you have to have a lot of photos to beat the odds. I like photographers who can produce a lot of images on a wide variety of subjects.

A lot of images on a wide variety of subjects can mean many things. One of my photographers loves bugs. Today I catalogued incredible images of accurately identified bugs ranging from butterflies to beetles. I have complete life cycles of some of the butterflies and different angles and behaviors on the bugs.

I recently finished a batch of images shot in one region of a state. The photographer knows that region inside and out and covered it well so the images were very exciting.

I like batches of work that cover a subject well versus a great image here and there on a variety of subjects.

5. To be one of the photographers in your stock service, what are the qualifications?

The ability to produce beautiful, well identified photos in sufficient quantity. I'm also looking for people who understand how to shoot editorial photos. (There's a difference between an editorial photo and a photo that might win a local camera club competition.) I like photographers who enjoy interacting, too. We email each other a lot, and that makes it fun.

6. I am interested in learning how to make submissions. What can I expect to learn from your course on this at Leisure Learning?

I'll teach you what I've learned in the eleven years I've been in business. Of course, I have to squeeze that into two or three hours.

I'll cover finding a market for your photos - fine art, editorial, galleries, etc. - but I'll spend most of the time talking about the editorial market. The discussion covers terminology, setting up your office, edit your slides, making contact with photo buyers, staying in the loop with buyers, resources, and avoiding problems. I try to be very realistic but still optimistic. There's nothing better than seeing one of your photos in print.

I'll present a longer workshop entitled "Surviving Your First Five Years in Business" at the annual NANPA Summit. That's in Portland, Oregon, next January. In addition, I have a day-long marketing seminar next May at the Sonora Desert Museum Art Institute in Tucson, Arizona. Registration for that seminar is on my web site.

7. There are so many great images on the market, what can I do to make my submission stand out from the rest?

Your submission should be tightly edited and well packaged. The submission guidelines should be followed to the letter. Images should be well captioned, clean, and packaged correctly. The photos should have your style, as much as possible, and not the style of the masses.

Remember that you are part of the submission. You should deliver the images on time, in a professional manner, and always be courteous. The majority of photo editors are simply trying to fill the magazine with great images that fit the words in a timely manner. If you help them, then you have a good chance of seeing your images in print.

Also try to develop your own style. I shot with a 300mm lens for ten years. The photos with that lens show the bird in its environment because I couldn't get close. As a result, my images looked different from someone shooting with a 500mm or 600mm lens. Master the basics of photography, and then try to develop your own style.

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Kathy Adams Clark is the owner of KAC Productions. She started the company in 1995 after a career in human resources. Her photos have appeared in many places including Birder's World, Ranger Rick, The New York Times and National Geographic Books. Kathy's provided photo/text packages for Bird Watcher's Digest, Birder's World, Texas Parks & Wildlife and other magazines. She's provided corporate photography for Compaq Computer, South Texas Electrical Project, and The Woodlands Corporation. Her years of college teaching experience are put to good use teaching photo classes and workshops. Kathy also leads tours for Voyagers Photo Tour Network. She speaks frequently at association meetings and nature festivals. In addition, she is a member of the Board of Directors of the North American Nature Photography Association