# Why do you (as an amateur) want to sell your photos



## LRYoung (Mar 28, 2012)

First off, I wasn't sure which board this should go on - please move it if this is the wrong one...

I've only been on this board for a few days, and already I have seen several posts along the lines of "I want to start selling my photos, how do I start?". Reading though the posts, some people are clearly trying to become professionals, but others are not looking to make that leap, just sell some photos. That got me to wondering why sell photos if you are not trying to go professional - its a subject i'm pretty curious about. 

Are you in that group? Are you an amateur looking to sell photos, but not go pro? If so - can you explain why?


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## SCraig (Mar 28, 2012)

No, I'm not.  I've been an amateur for 40+ years and during that time I have given away thousands of shots but I have yet to charge for a single one of them.


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## o hey tyler (Mar 28, 2012)

LRYoung, why do you sell photos?


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## IByte (Mar 28, 2012)

I would sell photos because I have a computer and weightlifting hobby to maintain.


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## analog.universe (Mar 28, 2012)

I've thought it would be cool to sell some photos so I could blow more money on glass...  but that'd be years off if it happens at all.


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## LuckySe7en (Mar 28, 2012)

I haven't sold any photos yet.  But I have sold my time.


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## 480sparky (Mar 28, 2012)

I sell my work to fund my NAS.


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## Mrgiggls (Mar 28, 2012)

I offered to sell a woman a picture of her and her Border Colie I took while they were out for a walk in a local park.

She declined the picture, but ended up soliciting my services as a man-wh*re.  <sigh>   I guess I'll never be able to resist a couger with a fiver.


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## spacefuzz (Mar 28, 2012)

Mrgiggls said:


> I offered to sell a woman a picture of her and her Border Colie I took while they were out for a walk in a local park.
> 
> She declined the picture, but ended up soliciting my services as a man-wh*re. <sigh> I guess I'll never be able to resist a couger with a fiver.



so your saying she liked your L lens?


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## LRYoung (Mar 28, 2012)

o hey tyler said:


> LRYoung, why do you sell photos?



1) You get to set the value for your own work. If you value it as worthless (free) then expect others to do so too. I almost never give photos away for free, even if I do "free" shoots for friends, I will normally ask for at least a beer or a pizza in return

2) It stops people asking me to do really dull shoots, as they appreciate that there is some effort and value attached to taking photos


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## cgipson1 (Mar 28, 2012)

So is this thread a subtle way to suggest selling your photo's can make you money.. and oh, btw.. check out the site in my (OP's) sig?


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## SCraig (Mar 28, 2012)

cgipson1 said:


> So is this thread a subtle way to suggest  selling your photo's can make you money.. and oh, btw.. check out the  site in my sig?


Nice shots, Charlie, but that damn WATERMARK is ruining them and has GOT to go 



LRYoung said:


> 1) You get to set the value for your own work. If you value it as  worthless (free) then expect others to do so too. I almost never give  photos away for free, even if I do "free" shoots for friends, I will  normally ask for at least a beer or a pizza in return


Why is it that the people who are trying to sell something are the only ones who equate "Free" and "Worthless"?


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## cgipson1 (Mar 28, 2012)

SCraig said:


> cgipson1 said:
> 
> 
> > So is this thread a subtle way to suggest  selling your photo's can make you money.. and oh, btw.. check out the  site in my sig?
> ...



hahaha... not MY SITE.. the site in the OP's sig! but you knew that.. you just giving me cheet, right!


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## JeremyDueckPhoto (Mar 28, 2012)

I decided awhile back to sell all my photos, but on occasion I'll do some limited work in exchange for marketing. Obviously if everyone charged for photos, sales would increase for those that are getting the work. 

I know one of my local papers has a new policy to not buy any photos anymore.  They also cut a photojournalist position because they had so many people submitting "good" photos for free. I think most photographers should at least realize that asking for some form of payment is beneficial. Some people just think there is no other way.


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## slackercruster (Mar 28, 2012)

No, never sold any or aspire to.


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## greybeard (Mar 28, 2012)

I've sold a few over the years, usually spend the money on more photo gear.


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## LRYoung (Mar 29, 2012)

cgipson1 said:


> So is this thread a subtle way to suggest selling your photo's can make you money



I assume most people know that selling stuff can make money


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## LRYoung (Mar 29, 2012)

SCraig said:


> Why is it that the people who are trying to sell something are the only ones who equate "Free" and "Worthless"?



If you give something away totally for free it takes no effort on the part of the receiver, "It's free, I'll take all the free stuff I can get". The fact they downloaded it is not any indication that they want it - they are just seduced by "free". 

As soon as they do something in order to get your photos, they are showing they value it. Money is one way of doing that, even if its just $1, but may not be the best way. If they made the effort to send you an email asking for a copy of your photo. That took some time, so it is no longer "Free".

Thats just how I feel, you may well disagree and I won't try and argue you round


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## SCraig (Mar 29, 2012)

LRYoung said:


> SCraig said:
> 
> 
> > Why is it that the people who are trying to sell something are the only ones who equate "Free" and "Worthless"?
> ...


So, by the same argument, if someone gives you a gift at Christmas then it's totally worthless, right?  It has absolutely no value whatsoever simply because someone gave it to you without you having to do anything for it.

You are right in that I disagree.


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## molested_cow (Mar 29, 2012)

I don't completely agree with you. I've not sold my photos before, but would love to.
However, I've given photos away for free, because people asked if they can have a copy to print. They wanted to pay with something but I just offered the photos to them for free.
Other times, I've given framed prints as gifts. I can tell you that they appreciate the photos more than if they paid for it.

I don't really want to get into the stock photo business. I am thinking along the line of selling for a purpose, like fund raising, and it should not be just random photos but perhaps themed around the purpose of the event. For example, if I were to sell photos to raise fund for a school, I'd probably shoot with subjects related to the school.


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## LuckySe7en (Mar 29, 2012)

I don't understand why some of you would give away your prints.  The way I see it is very simple: I put time and effort into my work so at the very least if you want a print, you can purchase a print for what it costs me to print it.  I'm not going to buy the print for you.


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## RedVixen81 (Mar 29, 2012)

I voted and i put other.. The idea to sell my photos is one that has crossed minds many times.. but right now since i am still an armature i don't think i would till i was 100% confident in the work that i was producing. Now that is not to say that if someone offered to purchase a photo, that i would tell them no. But for right now i don't plan to market my photos for sale on my own.


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## SCraig (Mar 29, 2012)

LuckySe7en said:


> I don't understand why some of you would give away your prints.  The way I see it is very simple: I put time and effort into my work so at the very least if you want a print, you can purchase a print for what it costs me to print it.  I'm not going to buy the print for you.


I don't understand why there are people who feel that they have to put a price tag on every single thing that they do in life.

What happened to doing something purely and simply because you enjoy doing it?  Does absolutely every thing that people do have to be so they can get paid for it?  I ENJOY photography.  It isn't my career, nor have I ever wanted it to be, it's something I do because I want to.  If I take a photograph of someone at a race they are more than welcome to a copy of it.  I have never turned anyone down, nor have I ever charged a penny.  It makes me feel good to give them something that is useful to them and that is "Payment" enough for me.


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## LuckySe7en (Mar 29, 2012)

SCraig said:


> LuckySe7en said:
> 
> 
> > I don't understand why some of you would give away your prints. The way I see it is very simple: I put time and effort into my work so at the very least if you want a print, you can purchase a print for what it costs me to print it. I'm not going to buy the print for you.
> ...



Maybe you misunderstood me.  I enjoy photography as well and I've done a lot of free stuff and continue to.  I'm more than happy to order you a 4x6 or maybe even a 5x7, I'll just throw it in with my next batch of prints.  But you have to draw the line somewhere or people will take advantage.  
Let's say you took a picture of someone at a race and they come up to you and say "hey, do you mind giving me a 20x24 framed print of that shot?"  Are you willing to do that?


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## JeremyDueckPhoto (Mar 29, 2012)

SCraig said:


> What happened to doing something purely and simply because you enjoy doing it?  Does absolutely every thing that people do have to be so they can get paid for it?  I ENJOY photography.  It isn't my career, nor have I ever wanted it to be, it's something I do because I want to.  If I take a photograph of someone at a race they are more than welcome to a copy of it.  I have never turned anyone down, nor have I ever charged a penny.  It makes me feel good to give them something that is useful to them and that is "Payment" enough for me.



I dont want to criticize people who are hobbyist photographers (because they do have a choice). Overall I need to take the best photos to require payment anyway. It pushes me to excel. But many photographers dont understand economics. The reality in the industry is that 1 million hobby photographers giving away free photos is like Napster giving away free music, it drives the professionals out of the industry. 

I talked to a budding photographer last week that was doing a free gig for a client. She thought she was getting exposure and experience and there wasn't anything else she could do. But what she didn't realize is that she probably took money out of the hands of a paid photographer. And it was like a light bulb went off in her head when I said she could charge for her work... she didn't think she was "good enough"


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## Tkot (Mar 29, 2012)

For me, as an amateur I want to sell photos 1) just to make some extra money to support my hobby, and 2) as a way of gaining experience in the art/photography world. Eventually I'd like to have my work in galleries, so this is my first step in that direction.


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## KmH (Mar 29, 2012)

If you have $1000 invested in photography gear, another $300 in image editing software, $1000 in computer gear, and sell a photo for $25 - you didn't make any money by selling the photo.

However, you only have $2275 left to of your capital gear investment to recoup. Of course that's assuming you don't take your time shooting and editing into account.

In other words, if you sell photos for an average of $25 each, and have $2300 worth of gear, you will have to sell 92 photos to break even on gear amd software alone.


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## Railphotog (Mar 29, 2012)

I never started out taking photos with the idea of making money from them, but it sorta happened.  I belonged to a car club that operated a local drag strip, and the club needed a few photos of the action for PR.  I evolved from taking a few photos once in a while to being the track photographer.  I did my own B&W developing, and offered enlargements to the racers; my part time career had begun.  I would have been at the races if I wasn't taking photos, so I had the fun of being trackside seeing the action up close.  Next race I'd offer photos for sale.  I expanded into other distant tracks too, and then to a stock car track.  While my trips to these distant venues probably didn't actually make much if any profit, I was enjoying two hobbies at little or no cost.

Got into part time wedding photography, did that for about 25 years.  It was always nice to have some extra cash to support my photo hobby, and not have the guilt of spending money from our household budget.

Started photographing aspects of another hobby of mine (model railroading) and submitted photos to hobby magazines.  Have been doing this for about 35 years now, and it has been fairly rewarding.  Again I was participating in two hobbbies and having fun, and getting paid for it!  With over 850 hobby photos printed, including 30 covers, my wildest expectations have all been met.  And they paid me for the photos too!  Doesn't get better than that.


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## SCraig (Mar 29, 2012)

LuckySe7en said:


> Maybe you misunderstood me.  I enjoy photography as well and I've done a lot of free stuff and continue to.  I'm more than happy to order you a 4x6 or maybe even a 5x7, I'll just throw it in with my next batch of prints.  But you have to draw the line somewhere or people will take advantage.
> Let's say you took a picture of someone at a race and they come up to you and say "hey, do you mind giving me a 20x24 framed print of that shot?"  Are you willing to do that?


No, I'm not willing to do that.  I go to events such as races as a spectator and when I do I take a lot of photographs. I'm more than happy to give anyone who desires one a high-resolution copy of the photograph, post-processed and everything.  If they choose to have it printed that's up to them, and that's what I would tell them if they asked for one.



JeremyDueckPhoto said:


> I dont want to criticize people who are hobbyist photographers (because  they do have a choice). Overall I need to take the best photos to  require payment anyway. It pushes me to excel. But many photographers  dont understand economics. The reality in the industry is that 1 million  hobby photographers giving away free photos is like Napster giving away  free music, it drives the professionals out of the industry.


Yep, and I couldn't care less.  I've said this before and I'll say it again: If you are in a position where amateurs are taking your business away then you are either doing it wrong or charging too much.

Professional photographers bemoaning the fact that amateurs are taking business away from them have lost sight of the fact they that are supposed to be professionals.  They are supposed to be able to surpass the abilities of any amateur, they are supposed to have the equipment, abilities, and knowledge to accomplish that, and they are supposed to be able to accomplish this in a timely manner and at a reasonable price.

This is not optional.  A professional photographer is REQUIRED to produce professional results.  If they cannot do so then they are in the wrong profession.  If amateurs are taking business away from them then they need to look long and hard at how they are doing things and figure out a way to reverse that situation.  It is NOT the responsibility of the amateur to stop giving away photographs, it is the responsibility of the professional to justify their fees through professional conduct and abilities.  If they cannot do that, then it's time to look for another job.


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## LuckySe7en (Mar 29, 2012)

My initial comment was "I don't understand why some of you would give away your prints."


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## Overread (Mar 29, 2012)

LuckySe7en said:


> My initial comment was "I don't understand why some of you would give away your prints."



Because sometimes its nice to give someone a gift if they'll enjoy it. The fact that you made the gift (or at least the original upon which the gift - the print- is based off) is kinda not hear nor there; though for many I will say that its a mark of compliment to have someone actually "want" your work. 

Asides which one has to remember not everyone with £1000s in their camera gear wants to be a pro; nor has any idea of the life of a pro. They just shoot cause they like to with no intention of going any further. The free or cheap prints they give/sell away are simply a little pocket money from the hobby.


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## mishele (Mar 29, 2012)

I picked other. I would like to think I'm taking pictures for myself. If someone else enjoys my work and wants to purchase prints then that's an added bonus.


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## LuckySe7en (Mar 29, 2012)

Overread said:


> LuckySe7en said:
> 
> 
> > My initial comment was "I don't understand why some of you would give away your prints."
> ...



I totally agree with the gifts.  I'm not saying that I charge everyone for prints but you have to draw the line somewhere.  I've given out tons of prints.  But I also have a familiy to support so I can't keep buying people gifts


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## SCraig (Mar 29, 2012)

LuckySe7en said:


> My initial comment was "I don't understand why some of you would give away your prints."


You're right.  I did miss that and I apologize.  There is a difference.


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## LuckySe7en (Mar 29, 2012)

SCraig said:


> LuckySe7en said:
> 
> 
> > My initial comment was "I don't understand why some of you would give away your prints."
> ...



No worries.  This is a sensitive subject but I understand both sides.


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## Natalie (Mar 29, 2012)

I checked all the choices, because they all apply to me lately...



 *To make some money on the side: *I'm a college student who's moving out of state next month for a new job, so I'm not exactly rolling in cash. If I could make a few extra bucks by selling some prints, I'm going to give it a go.



 *To tell if my photos are any good (only good photos sell): *I still consider myself a beginner photographer, but I think I've come far enough that I'm beyond the "crappy snapshot" phase (although I still do produce plenty of crappy snapshots, on purpose though). I've noticed that with some of the photographers I idolized when I first started out, nowadays their photographs don't seem so spectacular and sometimes I feel I could have shot them better. I've noticed that when I post photos for C&C I normally don't get large amounts of feedback, a situation I interpret as people thinking a combination of "There's nothing horrible about this photograph that I can point out" and "Ew! Snake [or bug]! Where's the back button??".



 *To gain some recognition for my hard work: *It doesn't feel like hard work when you're having fun though.  As a hobbyist photographer, I only shoot what I want to shoot, and while there often is a lot of frustration involved with uncooperative animals, at the end of the day it's all for fun. So I don't necessarily want to be recognized for my "hard work", I just want to be recognized. Because the creepy crawlies I like to shoot don't always have the best reputation in the eyes of the public, I like to produce visually-pleasing shots that will portray these creatures in an interesting and positive light. I guess it's not really recognition for me, per se, but for the animals. But still, I guess it would be nice to be the name behind those kinds of photographs... I've had photos published in a few books/magazines for free, but that's it.



*Other:  *My main reason for ordering prints of my photographs last night is because I'm entering a photography contest this summer and planning on selling the prints there if I can, because frankly, entering the contest was expensive and I want to recoup a fraction of the cost. If money wasn't an issue I'd take the photos home and hang them on my own wall, since they're some of my favorites and I've never made any prints of my photographs before. But with the entry fees, prints, and frames, it's costing me about $150 to enter the contest, so I hope I can sell a couple prints. Not many people like reptiles/amphibians/invertebrates, so I'm not expecting to win any of the awards with them, but if I can sell two 8x12 framed prints for $50 each I'll be happy. Is $50 too much to ask for a framed print of that size? I really have absolutely no idea how much photographers (professional or amateur) charge for prints.


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## IByte (Mar 29, 2012)

A small donation or payment is appropiate as your gear needs grow.


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## JeremyDueckPhoto (Mar 29, 2012)

SCraig said:


> Yep, and I couldn't care less.  I've said this before and I'll say it again: If you are in a position where amateurs are taking your business away then you are either doing it wrong or charging too much.



Thats a huge generalization and an overall incorrect answer. Didn't I mention before that most photographers do not understand economics 

Like others have said, there are good points to both sides. There are a LOT of "amateur" photographers that should charge (or charge more) for their work and I encourage them to do so.


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## zamanakhan (Apr 4, 2012)

I try to sell so I can justify the need for more gear...


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## TheFantasticG (Apr 4, 2012)

I don't try to sell. Don't care. I enjoy the process.


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## banderson (Apr 4, 2012)

Honestly- I'd like to one day turn my hobby into a profession. Not so much to make money from it, but my dream is to be able to quit my day job and just do what I love. I know some people say that doing this ruins the hobby for them, but I don't think Ill end up this way. I just enjoy the process, and if one day I can afford to live (Semi-comfortably) doing what I love then I'm all for that.


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## rexbobcat (Apr 4, 2012)

JeremyDueckPhoto said:


> SCraig said:
> 
> 
> > Yep, and I couldn't care less.  I've said this before and I'll say it again: If you are in a position where amateurs are taking your business away then you are either doing it wrong or charging too much.
> ...



What you just described is not an amateur, so it does not apply to the situation that Craig was talking about.

He's saying that if unskilled photographers are stealing your business, then the margin of skill is not great enough to warrant the higher prices that you charge, or you are charging extravagantly for the market in the first place. 

It's the general public who does not understand economics, as in, they do not understand the value of certain services.

You're basically insulting the art and business of photography if you believe that amateurs have enough skill to be marketable.
I think what you are referring to are those whose skill is above that of amateurs, and they undermine that skill by charging to little or not at all.


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## Alex_B (Apr 4, 2012)

I do support the pro in the famlily occasionally as a second, or even first shooter at events. So that pro charges for my work  that option was not in the poll I am afraid


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## Fotoracle (Apr 5, 2012)

Never sold any photos either, but when I see very similar photos, especially of flowers, sold at incredible prices, makes me wonder...
you can see my tulips cube and btw I'd love to receive some feedback. Flowers cube 
Maybe one day...


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## vipgraphx (Apr 5, 2012)

Coming from my carrier as a graphic designer and now screen and thermal printer I have gotten use to charging for my work. I went to college and had a huge loan to pay off. I started free lancing as a 3D animator and video editor out of college. I did this for about 3 years. I got a job with a company who does 3d animations for slot machines and I started full time there and they moved to Las Vegas and I stayed in Tucson. Times where hard and I had huge loan to pay off so I got some more funding from the bank and started Pixel Dust Graphics. I was doing video processing and graphic design work. As I was doing this for a few years times changed and so did I. I had to bring in another avenue for income so I started web design and logos. Times changed again and with companies like godaddy and other various web based companies who charge dirt cheap for websites it made it hard to compete and charge what I was worth. People did not see value in a person who could actually code and build flash websites. They got cheap templets and that was that. In the meantime I was doing some graphic work for local screen printers and saw that there was money to be made. Since times changed again I had adapt and with the money I had made from my business I reinvested in a big screen press and two heat press machines along with a plotter to cut vinyl. This became a money maker and so Pixel Dust Graphics turned into VIP Graphics and Printing. It went very well for the first three years and there is more and more competition now where I live and once again online. So I thought about photography as I had been doing it as a hobby for some time. My printing and graphics business could use another avenue of revenue again. It is somewhat of a roller coaster ride and it comes and goes as the seasons do. I am pretty steady this year so far so good however some people see my work and want to purchase a print then I will sell it. The software I use cost money, the cameras I use cost money and so on. I will give pictures as gifts to family and I don't charge for family portraits (sometimes they give me anyway) but, This is my profession I see photography as somewhat a cousin to graphic design work, its art and since I was a little boy I always wanted to make money off of some form of art. So yeah I charge and I have nothing to be ashamed off. I do not force people to buy prints, if they approach me I will sell it. If they want it for free they can have a small res file that can not be blow up and I do not worry about that, But to give someone a high res file no way...not without some form of payment. I charge $40 an hour for graphic design work so I take that into consideration when I price a print.


As far as going something good for poeple. I have been coaching youth soccer for 12 years for free. I have invested money in equipment and coaching education. I have a NSCAA advanced Regional Diploma along with NSFFC youth module I and II. Other coaches in the area and state and country who are apart of big clubs charge anywhere from $30-$180 per player. I had two teams until last season. We play all year around and I do this out of the kindness of my heart, the love for the game and so that children can play when they can not afford other clubs. This is my fellow ship..and my contribution to society.

I know it was a looooong post but I do not want to be judged with out all the info upfront about me.

Cheers.


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## LRYoung (Apr 5, 2012)

vipgraphx said:


> . If they want it for free they can have a small res file that can not be blow up and I do not worry about that, But to give someone a high res file no way...not without some form of payment. I charge $40 an hour for graphic design work so I take that into consideration when I price a print.



Thanks - it was a long post - but very interesting


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## JeremyDueckPhoto (Apr 5, 2012)

rexbobcat said:


> What you just described is not an amateur, so it does not apply to the situation that Craig was talking about.
> 
> He's saying that if unskilled photographers are stealing your business, then the margin of skill is not great enough to warrant the higher prices that you charge, or you are charging extravagantly for the market in the first place.
> 
> ...




Yes you have some good points but the basic issue has more to do with all levels of amateurs vs pros. There may be thousands of different levels of "amateur". The photographers who say its the "pros fault" for charging too much are avoiding some of the facts. 

The entry level beginner can affect the value of the market by simply charging nothing. If you know 10 people that do photos for free, and 1 that charges $200 a session, the $200 session is now overpriced, however their photos are usually better. The full-time professional has more overhead and may only break even at $200 a session. So its not often overpriced, its done at a level that maintains.


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## TwoTwoLeft (Apr 5, 2012)

I don't have much disposable income for my other hobbies these days. Very few of my hobbies have the ability to fund themselves. I don't intend or want to make a living out of it as my primary source of income. But it would be nice to see a little return on my investment other than just the enjoyment I get from photography.

Most places I shoot I rarely see other photographers. Especially for aviation I can gain access to places most cant get to. So if I'm the only one shooting at a location I fail to see how I'm taking food from the mouths of "professionals" who aren't there.


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## imagemaker46 (Apr 5, 2012)

SCraig said:


> LuckySe7en said:
> 
> 
> > I don't understand why some of you would give away your prints.  The way I see it is very simple: I put time and effort into my work so at the very least if you want a print, you can purchase a print for what it costs me to print it.  I'm not going to buy the print for you.
> ...



I agree 100%.  I was shooting swimming last week and one of the officials asked if I could shoot a couple of her son, I shot them asked for an e-mail address and sent her some images, I didn't ask for anything in return, what I got was a note back saying "thank you"  Sometimes that's all you need to hear.  It meant more to the official that I could give her some photos, the time spent was only a few minutes, but it gave her and her son something that they will always cherish, that carried more weight for me than a few dollars.


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## JeremyDueckPhoto (Apr 5, 2012)

TwoTwoLeft said:


> I don't have much disposable income for my other hobbies these days. Very few of my hobbies have the ability to fund themselves. I don't intend or want to make a living out of it as my primary source of income. But it would be nice to see a little return on my investment other than just the enjoyment I get from photography.
> 
> Most places I shoot I rarely see other photographers. Especially for aviation I can gain access to places most cant get to. So if I'm the only one shooting at a location I fail to see how I'm taking food from the mouths of "professionals" who aren't there.



I haven't heard any pros complain about stuff like this...


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## Aetherbound (Apr 5, 2012)

This thread would be so much better if we could vote on poll options to add.


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## Aetherbound (Apr 5, 2012)

Not to drive anymore traffic to the OPs (obvious) attempt at a site sell but I have never seen so many magenta people gathered in one place before. This must be a foreign country where magenta is the predominant skin tint??

That being the case, I'd like to sell my photos to get the magenta surgically balanced in my skin. So 'Other' I suppose


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## jackharper (Apr 18, 2012)

its really about being validated


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## DiskoJoe (Apr 18, 2012)

LRYoung said:


> First off, I wasn't sure which board this should go on - please move it if this is the wrong one...
> 
> I've only been on this board for a few days, and already I have seen several posts along the lines of "I want to start selling my photos, how do I start?". Reading though the posts, some people are clearly trying to become professionals, but others are not looking to make that leap, just sell some photos. That got me to wondering why sell photos if you are not trying to go professional - its a subject i'm pretty curious about.
> 
> Are you in that group? Are you an amateur looking to sell photos, but not go pro? If so - can you explain why?



If you can sell work you are a professional or at least deserving of the semipro title.


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## rexbobcat (Apr 18, 2012)

jackharper said:


> its really about being validated



This.


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## sm4him (Apr 18, 2012)

I have no desire to become a "pro," and I have sold some of my photos. But the "why" is more complicated than a simple poll can really cover.

Validation: I think there's a lot to this. We ALL like to feel that what we're producing IS worthwhile. When someone wants to BUY one of my photos, it tells me that--at least for that particular photo--perhaps I have stepped beyond the amateur status, beyond the place where friends and family ooh and aah, but REAL photographers know the truth about your mediocrity.  Of course, it's also possible that they are buying my photo because they are complete idiots whose taste is all in their mouth. 
But fortunately, I can choose to believe the former option.

Money: Photography is really not a good hobby choice for a poor single woman with two boys in college.  And so selling my photography, even just once in a while, can't hurt.  Like many others, I'm not looking to turn a profit (at what I charge, I'm about 3,562 photos away from that possibility, and then only if I don't buy so much as a new battery before I hit that mark!).  What I *am* looking to do is help soften the financial blow of the next lens purchase, the next flash, the next tripod, etc.

Time: My time is worth something.  Therefore, if I have a photo that I just happened to take and someone likes it and wants to buy it, that's one thing. But if someone wants a particular sort of photo from me (I had one person who wanted me to do a photo of a particular waterfall; another who saw a photo I'd done with some crayons and wanted something "like that" but with some adjustments), then I'm going to charge them a little something extra for my time. 

 I've only ever done ONE photoshoot, for my niece and her new baby (and other parts of her family)--I did NOT charge her for my time OR for the disc of photos (no prints), because I'd also made it clear that I am NOT a pro, she would not get pro results and if she wanted REAL photos, she should get a pro.  I edited about a dozen of the photos for her, then told her that if there were others she wanted edited, I'd do it for a small charge, to compensate me for the time it would take.
Also, she took me to dinner--free food is just about as good as money, to me! 

Ultimately, I'd like to sell enough of my photos to pay for the NEXT camera and lens. But I am a LONG way from that happening, for two reasons: 
1) I'm not good enough, yet.
2) I don't try very hard to sell them. Mostly I've sold them when people see them at work or on FB and OFFER me money for them, but I've really not made any effort to sell them in a local shop or online. Yet.  Seems like a lot of effort for what would likely not be much return. Perhaps when my photos reach a more consistently good quality...


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## LRYoung (Apr 19, 2012)

sm4him said:


> I have no desire to become a "pro," and I have sold some of my photos. But the "why" is more complicated than a simple poll can really cover.



That's a really great insight. thanks for taking the time


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## CMfromIL (Apr 19, 2012)

I don't charge for my images, never have and have no future plans to.  I have had some parents _ask_ if I charge, which I found quite flattering.

I also don't feel as though I'm 'taking money' out of a pro's pocket either.  There just are not many (none) that swing by to take photo's of Jr. High Volleyball/Basketball/Cheer Leading.

I do it more for personal satisfaction, and to help pass the time.  And I feel appreciated.  I might not be the 'best' photographer in Jr High Sports history, but to the parents that either don't have equipment, the time or acumen to take pictures I do a pretty good job.

And with the helpful comments and tips I find myself getting better, and I like that as well.


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## Redeyejedi (Apr 19, 2012)

imo, the difference between a pro and an amateur/ hobbyist is that a pro makes most of his income off of photography. it says nothing of actual photographic talent. i have seen folks with relatively little experience (no film only digital) and are capable of making fantastic compositions. and i have seen "pros" whose work i feel absolutely nothing for. that said, photography, for the most part, is an art form and the value placed on a particular work differs from person to person, culture to culture and time to time.
i can give away a framed print at no cost to someone, a gift, and still place a tremendous value on the work performed. merely conveying that politely is a great way to raise the awareness of the naive public who think you just point and shoot dslr and wind up with nice pictures cause it was shot with a nice rig. letting them actually understand that there may have been planning to be at the right spot at the right time, with the right gear etc...none of which is free and requires time, and skillset. if people think a magnificent capture was just 1/250 of a second from conception to print they are greatly mistaken i think this is were a lot of the public placing less value on quality photography stems from.


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