# Selling Your Photography



## RossCampbell (Nov 5, 2012)

Hi Everyone.


Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but there's a few things I would like to know:


First of all i want to know if anyone has any experience with selling your photos printed on canvas. Is this a good way of selling your photography? Is there a market for them? 


Can you make good money from this? And is there people making a living from selling on Stock sites?


I've created a website for myself, and decided to make my pictures available for purchase. Check it out an let me know what you think. 


Ross Campbell Photography | Photos To Think About | A Wordless Story


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## Light Guru (Nov 5, 2012)

Well the issue is really how are you going to get people to your website to buy them.

Putting up a website does not mean that people will magically start visiting it and buying from it. 

As for selling on stock sites thats a whole different ball game, and from what I hear it is supper hard.


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## RossCampbell (Nov 5, 2012)

Light Guru said:


> Putting up a website does not mean that people will magically start visiting it and buying from it.



I am aware that people won't magically start visiting my site.
I tried to add some of my photo's to shutterstock, two were not accepted because of too much noise, and those pictures were taking on ISO 400 with my Canon EOS 550D. 
I think their standards are very high.


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## tirediron (Nov 5, 2012)

*Moving to the Business District.*


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## tirediron (Nov 5, 2012)

RossCampbell said:


> ...I think their standards are very high.


They are, not unreasonably so, but they are high.  Selling images from a website is probably the single least-productive way to attemtp to make money from photography.  I have had a web presence for the last seven years and I can count the number of images I've sold on the fingers of one hand and still have enough unused fingers to make change for a nickle.  

Now that's not to say that you can't make money in this fashion, but your images have to be of the very highest quality, and without meaning to sound too harsh, I don't believe yours are quite there yet.  You have some good scenes, but there are many technical issues ranging from tilted horizons to poor exposure, high noise, etc..  

I would suggest reading up on the technical side of things, and posting images here for critique.  Peer feedback and review is an excellent way to improve your work.


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## pixmedic (Nov 5, 2012)

demand for a product will depend on a  lot of things..
location, the product you are selling, the QUALITY of the product you are selling, and the clientele you are marketing to.


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## mishele (Nov 5, 2012)

Ahhh, if you are looking to get into the Fine Art world, be prepared for a long road. =) If you want more info. on that route, just yell.


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## Light Guru (Nov 5, 2012)

mishele said:


> Ahhh, if you are looking to get into the Fine Art world, be prepared for a long road. =) If you want more info. on that route, just yell.



If its Fine Art photography that you are trying to sell then stay away from the micro stock sites like shutter stock, why would people buy a art print from you when they can buy the your same image on a microstock site for cheeper and get it cheaply printed.  Basically i feel that putting your fine are images on a microstock site cheapens them.

if you want to sell fine are photography then check out the book Marketing Fine Art Photography

And remember it is VARY VARY VARY hard to make a living at selling fine art photography.


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## RossCampbell (Nov 5, 2012)

Thank's everyone for the reply's . Another question, which are the best stock photo sites around. (High acceptance rate ect)


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## mishele (Nov 5, 2012)

This info. is a little dated but still a good read....
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...elling-stock-photography-image-libraries.html


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## RossCampbell (Nov 5, 2012)

tirediron said:


> RossCampbell said:
> 
> 
> > ...I think their standards are very high.
> ...



Thank you for your reply. I know that they only accept very good photos. I have got alot of learning to do. Maybe in the future my photo's would be good enough to sell on stock sites.


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## orljustin (Nov 5, 2012)

RossCampbell said:


> Thank's everyone for the reply's . Another question, which are the best stock photo sites around. (High acceptance rate ect)



"replies".  "photos".  Do not add an apostrophe to everything you pluralize.

"Best" is in the eye of the beholder.  If the extent of your efforts is submitting 2 images to Shutterstock, this isn't really your thing.


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## KmH (Nov 5, 2012)

Here is a stock photography blog you may find useful - Yuri Arcurs | Home of the world's top selling microstock photographer

Do you know the differences between RF (Royalty-Free) and RM (Rights-Managed) use licensing of stock images?

How about the differences between microstock agencies and regular stock agencies.


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## orljustin (Nov 5, 2012)

KmH said:


> How about the differences between microstock agencies and regular stock agencies.



So, what is the difference?


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## Big Mike (Nov 5, 2012)

> First of all i want to know if anyone has any experience with selling your photos printed on canvas. Is this a good way of selling your photography? Is there a market for them?


I've sold a handful of large canvas prints.  They are a nice product because they can be 'gallery wrapped' and will look nice if they are hung without a frame.  Although, they can be nicely framed as well.  Either way, they make a nice 'art piece'.

I don't know if anyone's mentioned it above, but another way to sell your photos is in-person.  Set up a booth at art/craft shows...or any type of event that caters to the type of people who buy the type of art you want to sell.  Taking that to a higher level, get your photos into a gallery or in public display somewhere (restaurants or cafes).


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## MLeeK (Nov 5, 2012)

It can be a great way to sell your photography and make money, but you have to get it seen by the people who are in the market for it. Making a website is great, but it doesn't get you SEEN. People have to stumble upon your site and WANT to buy what you are offering. The chances aren't extremely high that it's going to happen. It can, and it does-once in a great while. 
SO... you have to come up with a marketing plan to get your images sold. A gallery showing is a good way to sell, getting pieces into anyplace you can sell them... and probably a million other things. It's going to take some promotion on your part to get things sold. 

Stock. I am not sure you can make a living selling stock anymore. Years ago, yes. You can make some money selling stock, but... You have to have a LOT of images up there for purchase and you have to have something that is new and different for the things that everyone is looking for. I'd absolutely submit for stock, but as things stand I think the chances of you making a living on your combined efforts so far here are not good. Chump change and pocket money? Maybe.


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## KmH (Nov 5, 2012)

orljustin said:


> KmH said:
> 
> 
> > How about the differences between microstock agencies and regular stock agencies.
> ...


"Money for nothin, and your chicks for free."

Standards, potential earnings, competition, audience.


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## Ballistics (Nov 5, 2012)

orljustin said:


> RossCampbell said:
> 
> 
> > Thank's everyone for the reply's . Another question, which are the best stock photo sites around. (High acceptance rate ect)
> ...



Double Post


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## Bitter Jeweler (Nov 5, 2012)

A pot and kettle show!


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## Ballistics (Nov 5, 2012)

Bitter Jeweler said:


> A pot and kettle show!



Yeah? How many posts out of my 2k+ do I just randomly put down someone asking a simple question? Go ahead, I'll wait.
I'd love you to compare my last 100 posts to his and show me where there's a similarity at all.


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## RossCampbell (Nov 5, 2012)

orljustin said:


> RossCampbell said:
> 
> 
> > Thank's everyone for the reply's . Another question, which are the best stock photo sites around. (High acceptance rate ect)
> ...


I didn't say I submitted 2 photos into shutterstock. You have to submit 10 for them to review before you can start actually using the site. 8 out of the 10 got accepted...


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## orljustin (Nov 6, 2012)

KmH said:


> orljustin said:
> 
> 
> > KmH said:
> ...



Nope, nope, ok, not audience, but buying type.


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## RossCampbell (Nov 7, 2012)

orljustin said:


> RossCampbell said:
> 
> 
> > Thank's everyone for the reply's . Another question, which are the best stock photo sites around. (High acceptance rate ect)
> ...


Didn't realize that this forum supplied free English lessons as well. I see your observations didn't go any further than checking my grammar. Next time feel free to offer useful advice.


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## texkam (Nov 7, 2012)

> Check it out an let me know what you think.


To be brutally honest, your work is not very good. Subject matter and composition aside, I see underexposed and OOF images, but good luck on your quest.


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## andywag (Nov 8, 2012)

RossCampbell said:


> Hi Everyone.
> 
> 
> Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but there's a few things I would like to know:
> ...



Yes, it is certainly possible to sell prints on canvas, unlikely you will make a living from that alone or from any print sales alone.
Yes, there are people who make good money from stock. They run it as a business and to make "good" money they have many hundreds (if not thousands) of shots on various sites. They are of in demand subjects and are high quality, properly keyworded etc etc.

If you are trying to sell either as prints or stock then you have to ensure that the quality is very high and that the subject matter is what people want.
You should NOT be posting out of focus shots (especially macro shots) or shots with dust marks slap bang in the middle of the shot. You also need to research thoroughly and ensure that you put up for sale only your best shots of subjects which people are likely to buy.

You will rarely (actually probably never) sell a shot of a wheelbarrow wheel or a badly lit, soft and noisy water splash.

Research your intended markets properly, produce quality work and it is certainly possible to make money on stock and print sales.


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## manaheim (Nov 20, 2012)

Whatever you do, keep in mind a few things:

- Your hard costs... materials, printing costs, shipping(!), gas money as you drive around to get stuff, etc.
- Your soft costs... your time.  How much do you usually make an hour?  Should what you're doing now cost more or less?
- The value of your art

There are a lot of people who sell their art at below even their _materials_ costs, let alone the soft costs and the value of their art.  Not a good plan.  Some folks will say "but I'm just starting up!"  NO. NO NO NO NO.  

I understand the desire to have someone buy a print and know that it is hanging up somewhere.  That's pretty cool, no question.  However, you can't be giving away your money, and this is exactly what you do if you don't price your art properly.  What's more is there is something called "perceived value", where the value is influenced by factors other than the actual value of the item, and one of the factors that influences perceived value is... price.  If you price too low, people will think it's crap.  If you price it higher people will think it has value.  It's hard to get it "just right", but it's important to understand the mechanic.

Also keep in mind that there are dudes who sell these giant three-part canvas pictures in malls and on street corners... they're like stupidly cheap.  Like I think it was like $100 for three panels or something crazy like that.  Keep in mind you live in a world where your competition mass-markets this stuff and sells it for way less than you probably should be.  Don't try to compete with these guys, at least not on price... but again be aware of them.  Understand them.  Differentiate yourself from them.


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## spacefuzz (Nov 20, 2012)

If you have charisma and selling skills you can do very well at art fairs, even with mediocre work.


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## OriginalPerspective (Nov 22, 2012)

I've been selling my original photographs, as well as graphic designs, on two websites for years (see links in my signature).  RedBubble canvas photography prints are the highest quality I've ever seen (as long as you upload quality hires files to the site).  In terms of making money and a presence for yourself, I recommend Zazzle (again, see link in my signature).  I've made decent money selling my prints plastered on hundreds of different products (everything from iPhone cases to t-shirts).  What's really cool is that people from a dozen different countries have purchased my artistic products on Zazzle, which has greatly increased my worldwide presence as an artist.  There is lots of work involved, tho.  I have relentlessly promoted these two online storefronts for years utilizing what seems like an ever-evolving list of SEO tactics and strategies... but it has paid off.  I wish you the best of luck!


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