You should sell your photos! Have you ever heard this? I heard it last year for the first time. Had I known how much work it took, I still would have done it. I am driven by my thirst to get the next image that others will think is incredible enough that they want to spend their hard earned money to enjoy for years to come.
But don’t get me wrong, it is not the easiest thing to do. I encourage anyone who wants to sell their photos to do so. You just need to find the right audience. That is something that you want to consider for sure.
Most photographers will hear from friends that they do so such great work that they should sell them, but you really want to get a feel for how others think about your images. While your friends and family have nothing but the best intentions to give you the confidence, you really want an outside perspective or public opinion to really see where you are at. That starts with getting your work out there and being open to any feedback you’ll get.
Have confidence in your work and listen to opinions of what you should do different, but stay true to your vision.
Finding a pricing level is another tough part to think about. Are you going to sell to high end clients or do you want to sell more affordable prints?
Always remember that many people will tell you how great your photos are, but if you want to get into the world of selling them you just want to have a tough skin and remember that in the long run you’ll see the profits coming in.
Good luck and keep the positive thoughts going.
Sell your work on Fine Art America here: http://bit.ly/1bXPTDX
Geoff V.,This image of yours is inspiring~amazing and so is the narration! 🙂
I’ve used Society 6 I the past to handle sales and noticed they made the bulk of the profit. This eventually led to the removal of all my images and I now personally handle sales. Is Fine Art America in the same category that makes sales easy for your art but takes in much of the profit! Thank you.
Hi James Stamsek, that question crossed my mind when I read the F.A.A. link. I couldn’t find an example of how much profit is made for both artist/photographer and F.A.A…not sure if it is necessary for them to provide. But….being that F.A.A. is viewed as a popular platform/vehicle, providing exposure of/for artist/photographers works; the amount of traffic appears to be enormous versus word of mouth, renting a gallery and finding someone who can market and do the sales books too, not that it is not profitable. They outlined their provisions for with and without annual fee, which was good for me and is advertising a FREE 90 day trial too. Am deciding… 🙂
I really love my gallery from Vivyx Printing (www.vivyxprinting.com). They allow me to set my prices, and the only thing they make is their normal printing prices. (A 16×20 is around $10.00 depending on the paper I choose, I sell it for $65, I make the $55.00.)
Dan and the Gang – HUGE shout out to Lori, the printer – couldn’t be easier to work with. They do direct, blind shipping at flat rate prices, usually $3 or $6 per order.
I’ve never had a problem, and I get 20% off the things I order for myself after I met their pro photographer level program guidelines.
I highly suggest checking them out.
Now, I should get over there and seriously update my gallery!