Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

I can echo this part about people who will buy a photo if they have a connection to it; if it is of them, their friends, house, car, mother, etc. something that has meaning personally to them in their life.

VeroPhoto Loc: free forum

that is what I figure, 50% the Photo, the paper, the frame, the lightroom. the distribution is another story.

i like the light.

(Download)

VeroPhoto Loc: free forum

great advice everyone and I am finding it to be true. I hang my best in my home. I don't try to outguess th market, I just shoot for my own pleasure, if the sell, a bonus!

VeroPhoto Loc: free forum

everyone likes a vineyard, haha

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

.....Yes, I learned this - about 40 years ago ...... the absolute correct attitude

VeroPhoto Loc: free forum

on page 3 , but frankly, I don't give a damn. I shoot for myself, they call that fine art photography. LOL

ecurb Loc: Metro Chicago Area

Print sales as primary income are a great way to go broke. I have been doing photography since the mid nineteen sixties. The only way I have made decent money was shooting pictures, freelance commissioned or shooting for a studio. The money I have made selling prints was chump change, not worth the time and effort.

motionbymarvin

I've been taking photos for money since the '60s, investigative photography for insurance companies. All had people in them. The last few years since the phones have become do sophisticated no one wants prints. Just sell my time and give them the flash drive or put on line to view and do what they want. Always needed a real job to live on but made enough money to
buy photography equipment.
At 76 years old I still enjoy making a beautiful photo and sharing on Facebook.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Yes, the is "image selling 101" ...
.

Ralanco19

‘‘Build it ... and they will come.” Only works in an Iowa corn field. You also need a Shoeless Joe Jackson on your side, too. Face it. The younger generation don’t buy photos. Try Photo Journalism and present to News Stations and “still barely alive” Daily News Rags, or Event Photography and present to Patrons and Attendees. Maybe someone will buy an image or two. Real Estate Photographers scrape out a living once they build a stable of productive (i.e. actually those that have multiple Seller-Clients) Agents to serve. Also, there is a market that has developed over recent years for EBay and Amazon Sellers looking for a good photographer for Product Sales for more professional looking images for their Web based offerings and Websites. Frankly, Street Fairs is a thankless, tough route for Photographers, “Fine Art” or not. Good luck.

jimtutwiler50 Loc: Los Angeles

Try stock photography. I just sold a landscape on Adobe Stock for 99 cents.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Comparing photography to other arts and mediums, in terms of cash value, is fruitless. If your photography is indeed artful, it is art therefore, photograhy can be an art form in an of itself. Assuming you are no a well-know famous photographer whose NAME has intrinsic value, you can nonetheless market, sell, and profit your work and charge reasonable and profitable rates. If you keep at it and build a reputation, that's added value!

So...I am a professional photographer- my full-time day job is commercial and industrial photography and general and corporate portraiture. That's how I earn my living- I don't write books, give classes, provide tutorials for pay- I present the occasional seminar for my professional association- those are freebies!

I do, in fact, sell prints for decorative usage but that is done through marketing- not necessarily by displaying at art shows. I display some landscape, nature, sciences, and another subject in my showroom along with the commerce and portrait samples- this stimulates some interest from regular clients. I also advertise to and approach interior decorators, office decorators and consultants, medical, legal, and accounting professionals and offer prints, series of prints, or thematic print displays for their offices. Every now and again I receive a commission to provide a series of images with a theme relating to their businesses or to create a different kind of atmosphere.

There is nothing wrong with art shows, etc., however, my experience is that oftentimes visitors are not prepared to spend an awful lot of money. Some of the shows take on a kind of craft-show or flea-market atmosphere where folks are looking for a bargain and a lot of excellent work goes unappreciated and under-sold or not sold at all.

Presentation, picture framing, and a variety of unique display methods are important as well. I always tell my potential clients that I am not attempting to imitate paintings but we do show canvas prints for traditional decor and glass and metal prints for a more modern look.

My advice is simple- don't listen to all the "sour grapes". Professional photography is not dead it's just that to demand any kind of decent money you have to do stuff that folks can't do themselves or why shod the pay you? No business can be successful without a solid marketing plan and a business plan that takes into consideration all your costs and expenses and provides for a decent margin of profit. A strong work ethic is also a requirement- it ain't easy but with fine work and steadfast effort it can be made to work.

jimtutwiler50 Loc: Los Angeles

Public relations firms and cosmetic surgeons were good at keeping me busy.

nikonbrain Loc: Crystal River Florida

So many of you have such a negative feeling about photographs it must show in your presentation .I live here in Florida and my photography friends are all pretty much selling their work but only a few not so much you must target your audience . Rich sunsets in HDR style sell the bigger the better we have sold some 10 feet long . The biggest my boss sold at the time was a landscape composite made up of local scenes from the area combined into one composition 40 feet long 5 feet tall and on canvas it was commissioned by a local car dealership and put up 8 feet in the air on a curved wall like wallpaper ...we sold many 36 inches by 120 inches big homes with big walls ...He still creates and sells composites locally you have to CREATE and believe in your work .. My biggest seller is a local artist in 4 galleries all his work sells from ospreys to alligators sunrises and sunsets it his eye for composition that sells at his booth in a outdoor show there is a line of people all weekend looking and buying . we print 4 x 6 cards 12 x16 canvases 18 x24 and 24 x36 of each image so there is no reason not to buy because of price ..very few paper prints in frames .. all gallery wrap canvases by printed and stretched by me . He even sells books made at Walgreens of his best images when they run sales . He does it because he loves talking about taking the image to people .. He has never owned a what most would call a pro camera . He has only used Nikon super zooms , he can stand next to a person with a $3000.00 camera and a 500 mm f4 take an image of an eagle and osprey and get the shot and the pro misses it but he gets it because of reach his latest camera is a Nikon p950 .. and continues to amaze me with wonderful shots that sell ... he loves taking images today he and his wife are on Cedar Key making images He just got in a gallery there and has sold 4 canvases there in 3 weeks so he is taking images of local scenes to print ..I am here at home printing a dozen canvases (3) 24 x 32 (6) 18 x 24 and (1) 12 x 36 and various 12 x16 of birds river landscapes of the area all images I have printed before .. so I dodn't see all this negativity ... and we are battling covid 19 here ...

Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

Dear Fellow Hogger: With the COVID Pandemic evolving it will be difficult to sell photographs. As a hobbyist, I’m not much into selling anyway. So, I contacted the administration of the hospital I work at. It seems there is a respite and relaxation room for Helping Healers Heal at the hospital. It was re-designed to look like someone’s living room. However, I noticed that the walls were stark. I had made the offer to display framed copies of my work.

If you are having difficulty selling, try this avenue. I think it would be far beneficial to donate framed and matted photos as thanks to the First Responders. If you have a website, post the photos and photos of the dedication ceremony. Your work will not be a source of income now but it will be a mark of a selfless act on your part and a future source of income!!

Happy Shooting!