I've looked over some portfolios done by photographers who bemoan low rates of acceptance or sales...
I see some GREAT images, with good technical skills and solid aesthetic appeal. However, there is something that MIGHT help boost those numbers. Allow some SPACE within your composition to make your photo more USEFUL!
(I know you're often told to "get in close to your subject", but there are many ways to succeed here!)
For you, the subject IS what you are photographing, for your "client" the subject is the FOCAL POINT of a nice image. When you have the camera and subject together, try to imagine how your photograph might be used. Picture it in a magazine as the background for the headline of an article (YES, it needs some "space" for type to be overprinted...). Then think of it on the face of a greeting card, (OH MY, it needs some "space" for those words they like to put on cards...). Then imagine it running across two pages with some other photos dropped over it, (HEY, it needs some "space" for those other images, and YES it could stand a bit more space for some more type).
The next time you take your camera out of the bag, really explore your subject and how it fits into it's surroundings. Consider how the images might be used. Shoot some tight shots, and back up to capture that wonderful space that has use to your "clients". Imagine your shot as able to be cropped several different ways. Capture some of those crops, and allow space in your composition that allows a few more crops you hadn't even considered!
