Life cycle of a stock photo

For me the life cycle of a stock photo begins with a basic idea or basic fact. I first take a photograph which captures an aspect of this basic idea or fact, such as this photo of a dollar bill stuck with surgical tape, which captures an aspect of the basic fact that the world is in financial crisis.

One aspect of the world’s financial crisis that some of the world’s leading currencies require emergency attention, and the surgical tape represents this emergency attention.
The dollar was chosen because it is the world’s leading currency rather than because the United States is in financial crisis. Other countries are also in financial crisis, but their currencies are not as easily recognisable as the United States dollar.
I could quite easily expand on this basic idea; I could create other images which are more interesting, more subtle and more visually appealing.

Dollar bill wrapped in surgical tape

But for now this basic image is sufficient for my purposes. It’s a starting point, a reminder; it reminds me of the idea and reminds me that the idea can be developed at some future point.