Can your images appeal to a small audience and still sell as Stock Imagery? How personal do your images have to be before they lose an audience and potential sales? I think any image can sell in this crazy stock photography world where Eye Catching images can be a powerful force in creating a name and brand for a product or company. I believe an image can appeal to a buying audience if it hits a chord of truth with the viewer, resonates with some emotion the viewer has and you have anchored your audience to your subject. If a viewer can relate a similar or shared experience with your photo whether it is an abstract image or documentary image then you have a good chance to sell that image.
If you really think about it there really isn't any image you shoot that isn't personal. You choose your subject, (something must of struck a chord with you to be attracted to that subject in the first place) you choose a composition (your personal perspective) and you focus your lens on a particular detail of the scene that drew your attention to it. All of these things come from the inside out, your history, experience and worldly knowledge. Whether you are a documentary, commercial, editorial photographer you are still shooting personal imagery.
Personal work then becomes a matter of degree. If you are shooting recognizable subjects and putting your own character into the final composition, lighting, lenses, exposure etc.. then that is personal work with a broader appeal than lets say a more personal shoot with an abstract/symbolic subject that is less defined and less likely to be read easily by a buyer and therefore would have a limited audience appeal. The latter would fit more into a fine art crowd audience that is looking for a more aesthetic interpretation of the subject. How much of yourself have you revealed in the image. If a buyer can feel your intense connection to your subject and through that truth he/she also experiences something similar to your experience then you have bridged your personal work with audience appeal.
Shooting personal work can take the pressure off you to shoot only what the market place is demanding. Producing imagery vs experiencing a photo journey, as you explore new subjects and interpret new paths that can lead you to something more rich and powerful in your knowledge as a human being and as a photographer. If you shoot what you love, have a deep interest in your subject then it shouldn't matter if it sells or not. If your images happen to sell to a broader clientele then OK, if not, so what you are shooting what you enjoy, so enjoy it.
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