Selling photographs?

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SlowStig

Original Poster:

839 posts

170 months

Friday 12th February 2016
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Can anyone advise on decent websites to sell photographs though? What are the rough costs involved? I am nowhere near a professional, however I wouldn't mind trying to sell some of my shots to see if there is any demand for them or not.
Do any of you sell your photographs in café's or local shops? How did you go about approaching the business' and pricing up how much each photo is worth?

I would appreciate any input so then I can look into it and see if its worthwhile or not.

StevieBee

12,795 posts

254 months

Friday 12th February 2016
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Online sales; Most of the stock libraries will accept your photos (if good enough) as part of their stock but you are competing in hugely crowded space and the money you get is often very little - unless you have a set of very unique shots. I think it's Fotolia that only pay once you've reached $100 of commission which can take a while to reach.

A more direct and profitable way is to approach local framing shops. They often want stuff to frame to put in their windows.

GetCarter

29,358 posts

278 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
I sell through Zenfolio and Photobox.

Both are fine and earn me decent money.

I sell loads though local outlets. They just need to make money, so if they do, you do.

Simpo Two

85,151 posts

264 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
The first thing to do is go into each place, ask for the boss and find out if (a) they're interested (b) what kind of photos would they stock (c) money and apportionment thereof.

Then you can supply them with the stuff they're most likely to (a) stock (b) sell. Local landscapes are probably a good subject.

If you break even you'll be doing well.

Zerotonine

1,171 posts

173 months

Wednesday 17th February 2016
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I am on a site called Eye Em, I currently have 24 photos up for sale and 6 with Getty Images through Eye Em. I only put them up for a test, and haven't made any money as yet. But I wasn't expecting to sell any, just looking at an easy way into photo sales for future reference.

RobDickinson

31,343 posts

253 months

Wednesday 17th February 2016
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Everytime i look at stock photography I start to feel sick. very limited footprint in that market. Which is a damned tough one that doesnt reward the time and effort on the whole.

singlecoil

33,317 posts

245 months

Thursday 18th February 2016
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People are reluctant to pay for anything they either could do for themselves or think they could do for themselves.

If you really want to sell photographs then you need to take pictures of things that matter to your customers, such as themselves, their weddings, other events (especially sports), children and pets.

SlowStig

Original Poster:

839 posts

170 months

Friday 19th February 2016
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I have wondered if it might be a small fish, large ocean situation with selling photographs, but I just thought it might be worth looking into as a bit of a side-project and a hobby rather than a full time job-replacement. I found after going into IT, not to do what you enjoy as a job because it takes the enjoyment out of the hobby!

I will give some of those sites a go myself, I presume they all charge to host your pictures or do they allow a set amount before they start to charge for hosting?

RobDickinson

31,343 posts

253 months

Friday 19th February 2016
quotequote all
Most stock sites you can upload as many shots as you want. So long as they meet the quality required

Simpo Two

85,151 posts

264 months

Friday 19th February 2016
quotequote all
SlowStig said:
I will give some of those sites a go myself, I presume they all charge to host your pictures or do they allow a set amount before they start to charge for hosting?
I thought you wanted to target local cafes and shops. Just hurling your photos into cyberspace, where there are millions of photographers and billions of photographs, is unlikely to achieve anything IMHO.

RobDickinson

31,343 posts

253 months

Friday 19th February 2016
quotequote all
^ That

Theres two ways to sell local interest pics to local people, and globally.

Its really hard to stand out globally, capture something cool that connects to people in the area and you can turn that into coin

Simpo Two

85,151 posts

264 months

Friday 19th February 2016
quotequote all
I'll set the OP a target. Get your schnozz into those shops now, and see if you can make £100 net profit by the end of the year. If you do, I'll be impressed smile

GetCarter

29,358 posts

278 months

Saturday 20th February 2016
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SlowStig said:
I have wondered if it might be a small fish, large ocean situation with selling photographs, but I just thought it might be worth looking into as a bit of a side-project and a hobby rather than a full time job-replacement. I found after going into IT, not to do what you enjoy as a job because it takes the enjoyment out of the hobby!

I will give some of those sites a go myself, I presume they all charge to host your pictures or do they allow a set amount before they start to charge for hosting?
I'm jumping back in here.

As people say, there is bugger all money in it, but as a hobby, no problem to try. Photobox don't charge to host, so you can sell there without any fees whatsoever, and any money you make will be yours (and the tax mans).

As for stock - well I've avoided for years, but recently put a couple of dozen on Rex Features and they are earning some surprisingly decent money. (The Dodgy Daily Mail using 21 of them at Christmas helped!).

As for what people want, I completely agree... weddings, funerals, mug shots etc. But I would also add that they want what they can't do, due to weather. I've been lucky to live in places where people holiday, and when it's wet, dark, dank, miserable (a lot, especially in summer), no matter what camera they have, they want a sunny reminder - and that's where I jump in with prints and DVDs of the places they have seen and I have captured in proper light.

So you can make a bit of money, but it's right place, right time, right subject, right light, right quality, right price. Right?

ETA - If that Dickinson bloke were here I'd just give up mind, as they would only buy his. (I'm working with the Scottish Parliament to stop any further immigration from NZ).


Edited by GetCarter on Saturday 20th February 14:41

Simpo Two

85,151 posts

264 months

Saturday 20th February 2016
quotequote all
GetCarter said:
ETA - If that Dickinson bloke were here I'd just give up mind, as they would only buy his. (I'm working with the Scottish Parliament to stop any further immigration from NZ).
Or hand over copyright biggrin

For a fair comparison though you should swap locations for a year; NZ has definite advantages.

GetCarter

29,358 posts

278 months

Saturday 20th February 2016
quotequote all
Simpo Two said:
GetCarter said:
ETA - If that Dickinson bloke were here I'd just give up mind, as they would only buy his. (I'm working with the Scottish Parliament to stop any further immigration from NZ).
Or hand over copyright biggrin

For a fair comparison though you should swap locations for a year; NZ has definite advantages.
We could swap for a year, but he's not allowed a camera. wink

RobDickinson

31,343 posts

253 months

Saturday 20th February 2016
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It's ok, I have a British passport, no inclination to use it. Though do want to visit Scotland soon..

GetCarter

29,358 posts

278 months

Saturday 20th February 2016
quotequote all
RobDickinson said:
It's ok, I have a British passport, no inclination to use it. Though do want to visit Scotland soon..
Just remember, we don't allow them fancy DSLRs in the Highlands. wink



Edited by GetCarter on Saturday 20th February 18:46

RobDickinson

31,343 posts

253 months

Saturday 20th February 2016
quotequote all
I'll take my Sony then 😁