Part 0800.0005

[rachelk]

Does anyone have any experience or advice they could offer about selling photos online? My daughter is a very talented photographer, and would like to offer her photos online to websites/organisations. I don't know where to start, or if this is even worthwhile pursuing, so any advice would be muchly appreciated!

[squiffs]

Does anyone have any experience or advice they could offer about selling photos online? My daughter is a very talented photographer, and would like to offer her photos online to websites/organisations. I don't know where to start, or if this is even worthwhile pursuing, so any advice would be muchly appreciated!

 

 

Yeah - they need to be really original shots, decent, comprehensive keyword tags so that they're easily found, use stockphoto, istock photo or photobox pro galleries - I think the latter even lets you set your on RRP on snaps

[chickenNutter]

A friend of mine uses a site called Zenfolio. She is a photographer so she uploads a shoot and then her clients can peruse them and order them at different sizes etc. In addition she has a 'shop' side to it with general arty photos she has taken which anyone can view/buy. Not sure how this works or what it costs though.

[docsquid]

It depends if your daughter is a professional photographer or a talented amateur who wants to raise a bit of extra cash. If she is a professional, then she will be getting commissions to do work (such as weddings, portraits, fashion, product photography). Web sites can then be very useful as a method for people to review their pictures and order them online. It means she can out-source the printing and dispatch side of things to another company, and clients can order additional images as presents etc.

 

On the other hand, there is the "I've taken a really good picture and think it might sell" type of photography. For this you'd need to use a stock photo web site, such as iStock photo. The problem is that there are an enormous number of talented photographers out there, many good amateurs take images of professional standard but don't want payment for their pictures, and consequently it is a very difficult market to break into. People who do buy photographs generally do so from people they know, and whose work they monitor, or they commission somebody to do their photography for them.

 

It really depends what type of photography she does as to what the market might be. I have sold one or two pictures in the past, but you don't get much money for them, unless you are incredibly lucky and one of your pictures really takes off. However, most of those pictures that have really taken off have been taken by professionals who are already earning money in other ways.

 

I would say if you want to get exposure to your pictures and so get people interested in buying them, it is worth

 

a) Doing a course on marketing your digital photography

b) Set up a web site with an online portfolio linked to a company that can produce prints such as redbubble or 500px or whiteroom.

c) Enter your photographs for awards, competitions, or for newspapers/TV to show them for free - you won't get paid, but you can approach clients saying "I have had pictures in X newspaper, or on the BBC". In general, target the big competitions.

d) If she is serious about being a professional photographer, do a course, either online or at college, and be prepared to learn about and move into areas of photography that aren't necessarily the ones you like. For example, I love doing wildlife and landscape photography - that's great, but I couldn't earn a living doing that. I'd have to do portraits, weddings, product photography, reportage or teach photography.

 

Hope this helps.