Mark Eden asked:


If you’ve been taking photos for a while now and are thinking of turning professional, trying to turn your hobby into a part time business, or just want to make a little extra cash to pay for the new lens you’ve been drooling over, there are many options for sales outlets. This article takes a look at just some of the possibilities.

Stock Photography Agencies

Stock agencies are libraries of images where someone who needs to use an image for a purpose such as a newspaper or magazine article can purchase a license to use the image. These days almost all stock agencies have online collections, where people can search the library, pay and download the image immediately.

The advantage of stock agencies is that they market your images for you. This can be a big plus in the online world, as you are able to show your photos through an established website without having to build one. Associating yourself with a reputable agency will also add to your credibility as a professional.

The downside of selling stock photography is that it is a numbers game. You will need a large collection of images to be able to earn an income. You will also pay commission to the agency for each image sold. This can range from 20% to 50%. Agencies also expect regular submissions to keep their libraries current. So you need to think of an agency as a business partner.

Your own website

Having your own website has the advantage over a stock agency website of being all about you. A website devoted to your own images rather than sharing with competing photographers has huge potential for gaining exposure and sales because of the size of the web. The downside of having your own website is that you need to put a lot of work into designing a website that shows off your work and can bring customers. This can be expensive and time consuming, and is better thought of as a long term strategy.

Offline

With the internet boom it is easy to forget old fashioned methods. Art fairs or markets are a great way to show your work to potential buyers. You also have the huge advantage of meeting customers face to face and being able to talk about your photos and answer questions. You also have the chance to sell yourself and gain peoples trust, which is half the battle of selling anything.

The downside of exhibiting your work this way is that it can be expensive to display. The costs of framing your prints, setting up a display and paying stall fees all add up. You also need to keep in mind that your potential customer base is much smaller than the global reach of the internet

So which method is best? The truth is there is no right or wrong answer to this as different methods will work for different photographers depending on where you live, the type of photography you do and the number of images you have. The best option would be to combine all of the above and get your work out there to as wide an audience as possible.

Aidan James asked:


So you’ve got an eye for a good photo and can use a computer? Why not sell your photos on stock photography sites? There is plenty of opportunity for keen photographers to make a little extra cash and there is also opportunity to make lots of it!

Stock photographs are photos that might be of use to someone somewhere for something. Which makes the playing field rather large! Think of it this way, a photo of a man walking quickly along a crowded city pavement carrying a briefcase while talking into a cell phone might be of use to a magazine doing an article on cell phones or an advertiser of stress busting weekends away, or a newspaper doing a piece on business growth in the city.

The potential income ranges from small to large. Amateur photographers with small volumes of images can make enough money to help develop their skills and maybe buy some new equipment which is itself a good reason to try the online stock photography phenomenon. Experienced photographers who produce hundreds of images on a monthly basis can make a significant part of their living from stock photography.

Stock photography sites like iStockphoto for one example, allow you to sign up free of charge and start uploading your image files. They accept good quality jpegs and vector images as well as videos and each file will attract a value based on its quality and size. You are then credited with a royalty for downloads of your files.

The payment to you for an individual file might be just cents but consider that this for every time an image is downloaded and it starts to add up. A very popular image might fetch you $50 in a month just for that one image. If you have an eye for good images and can see what is in demand you can make lots! By the way sites like iStockphoto actually help you learn to spot the trends in demand for photos and you can upload hundreds of images.

Copyright is obviously important so there are some rules fairly common to all stock sites such as providing model releases where people are the subject of the photo or are at least recognizable in it. The stock sites have similar requirements on this but typically will want to see the persons signed consent form giving you permission to use their image in your photos and a copy of their ID. A witness signature may also be required.

You should avoid using any recognizable brand or logo type images and even well known buildings can be subject to this too. Any image that might be considered a brand or subject to copyright and trademark protection is to be avoided unless you have the paperwork giving you permission for its use.

Make sure you comply with the site guidelines for filesize and type and of course rotate and crop your images appropriately to make them most appealing and eye-catching. Remember they have to catch the eye of the potential buyer who is browsing through screens of all the images available.

Related to that need to be eye-catching, you will also need to carefully consider the kind of keywords someone might use when searching for images like the ones you are selling. These keywords can be input on the site you upload to but its often easier and better to include them in the metadata of the images themselves as this will save you heaps of time when it come to uploading your work. Photoshop and other graphics packages use the IPTC standard for embedding your keywords into your jpeg files.

So now you know a little more about the potential of stock photography whats stopping you? Good Luck!

Terry Roberts asked:


Digital photography is an extremely popular hobby today and certainly a wonder of modern technology. Unlike years ago, today it only takes the push of a button and a minute or two later you have your prints. The days of having to purchase film, take the entire roll in for developing, and pay before seeing the results is long gone. With a digital camera, memory card, batteries, accessories and practice, you are prepared to capture beautiful images and moments. Many people with an entrepreneurial spirit and a love of photography have learned the art of capturing eye-catching scenery, subjects or unforgettable moments and discovered ways to turn digital photography into a money making business.

You do not have to be a professional photographer to make money but you must be able to produce excellent quality pictures that are clear and that people will pay for. Whether someone chooses to do this full time or part time, they will be prepared to capture a money-making photo by having the camera close by at all times. The flexibility and quality of digital photographs and the internet has given people many opportunities to make money with their services and pictures. One creative way to make money with digital photography is finding places where people would pay to have memorable pictures taken, such as tourist attractions, parades, concerts, and competitions. Take your business cards along to these hot markets, take pictures and then post them on a file sharing service or website that allows people to browse and buy your pictures. Selling your digital pictures online as stock photos offers digital photographers another excellent way to earn money. There are stock photography agencies or companies on the internet where you can use their database to upload your pictures and then they pay you when somebody buys any of your pictures. Most have certain terms, such as quality of pictures, content, resolution and pixels of the digital photographs. Usually if your work is made up of lower resolution pictures, many digital photo stock agencies pay less for it. There is a demand by graphic designers, magazines, website publishers and others that require backdrops and photographs of people, weather, birds, animals and nature, which are always in great demand.

Contact local real estate agents, car dealerships, insurance companies, hair salons and other agencies and businesses in your area that often require freelance photographers to take pictures of houses, vehicles, hair styles, property for refinancing or sale and insurance pictures, just to name a few. Make money by selling your services to capture special occasion moments such as graduations, birthdays, weddings, family reunions, new babies and other important events. There are many ways to make money with digital photography but it takes skill, credibility and dedication. To take exceptional, awesome photographs requires an individual to always keep learning and perfecting their abilities. The ways to make money using your digital camera are almost endless and it just takes a creative mind and lots of imagination to find your niche. Come up with a business and marketing plan and soon your digital photography hobby will produce a steady income.