In my last post, “The Business of Photography” I promised I would write about making money with your photographs. I have given this topic a lot of thought and as with all my posts I don’t want to mislead or intentionally give bad information. Therefore, as I write this post I have decided only to share information based on my own experiences and share my opinion which in most cases come from my experience.

I want to first define in my view what making money (income) means to me. When I use the term making money, I define it as money I put into my pocket (bank account) after all my expenses have been covered from creating a group of photographs. In my post titled, “A Look at Your Photography Investment” I shared with readers my overhead from two photo shoots and the sales totals from each of those shoots. As I illustrated in two examples I define Thailand as a photo shoot where I made money and Croatia as a shoot where I lost money. I don’t believe one can call their photography business profitable until they bring more money in than they put out. I make this statement because I often read blogs and/or advertisements making claims or promising photographers they can make make money selling their pictures through …….. If only these claims were as easy as they make it sound.

Stock Photography Agencies

I will start with the most talked about and the most obvious venue for selling pictures, Stock Photography. Let me first say, microstock is not the answer for making money if you define making money the same as I do. Yes, you can recover a few bucks from what you spend creating your pictures and yes there are probably a few and I mean a very few who are making some money via microstock. Selling photography through stock agencies is tough but it can be done and it can be profitable. How? First, forget about the venues that pay you 30 cents to a dollar per sale. You’re traveling down a path of major frustration and disappointment if you believe a profitable business can be developed under this business model. If you want to sell pictures via stock agencies you will need to build a substantial library of consistently good photographs that are in demand, put in a lot of field (or studio) and office hours, understand your market, and be involved with the right agencies or with the right people.

Selling a lot of pictures doesn’t necessarily mean a lot of money. In most cases it is the opposite. If I can sell one picture and make $30. it is 99 picture sales fewer than those that give me 30 cents per image. You have probably figured out where I’m going with this example. Alamy is a general stock agency that accepts anyone, providing their photos meet a certain criteria which is no different than what a microstock agency requires. Alamy represents millions of pictures which again is no different than any microstock agency. But, in my opinion, Alamy is a whole lot easier to generate revenue than selling through the many microstock agencies in existence. The same amount of effort is involved in getting your pictures into the marketplace through either venue but the difference is how your images fall into a search and the shelf life they have within that agency. Providing you have incorporated a good and accurate keywording strategy, you have a reasonably good chance of a photo researcher finding your pictures on Alamy. Regardless of which stock photography model to go after you need thousands of pictures on the respective site to generate enough revenue to create a situation that allows you to bank money after expenses are paid.

What does it take to sell pictures as stock? It takes a photographer who understands the market in which they are creating pictures for and an outlet in which caters to that market. It isn’t necessarily pretty pictures, it isn’t repetitive imagery, it isn’t the photographer’s name that sells pictures. It is simply having the right picture at the right time at the right agency. This is easier said than done, but this is why you need to know the market in which you create for and also having those images with the right agency. If your photos are consistently being used by text book companies than place your photos with stock agencies that market to these businesses. The same goes for sports, lifestyle, agriculture, nature, etc… Develop a style that sets your photos apart from the others. Think outside the box when you create and give the photo buyer a reason to consider your photos. They have to stand apart from the hundreds if not thousands that come up under a search. The photographers who succeed in this industry will be those that have the ability to change and adapt with the industry and those who participate as both a student of the marketplace and those that do business in a professional manner.

Money can still be made in stock photography but a well thought out business stradegy and an understanding of the industry and how it works will multiply your success. I will be conducting a stock photography workshop in New York in October giving participants a rare opportunity to visit Corbis Images and discussions and personal critiques by a Corbis photo editor. We will cover many areas of the stock industry and will be on the streets of New York creating images that sell. This workshop will be posted soon. Let me know of your interest.

Calendars

Calendars is a market where I got my start and one that is still very much alive and doing well. This is a form of stock photography but it is one where you can sell directly and get hands on experience working with the client. I very much recommend photographers consider this market if you have a reasonable size library of images. Calendars cover a wide variety of subjects from cats, dogs, wildlife, national parks, landscapes, various countries, rainbows, doorways, outhouses, cars, airplanes, you name it and there just might be a calendar being produced of that subject. Where do you find the companies that produce calendars? The best place is a visit to the local mall or bookstore come October through the end of the year. Most malls have temporary calendar stores and if this doesn’t exist than try the major bookstores. Look over calendars that contain the subjects you think you can contribute too. Take down the company name and mailing address, in most cases the back of the calendar. Send a letter asking that your name be added to their contributor guidelines when requests are being sent for submissions. Each calendar company works differently and have submission windows at different times of the year. Some companies work several years out from the publishing date. This market is not the market for you if you need quick income. Most of these companies pay the year of the calendar publishing date which means it could be a couple of years before you get paid. That being said, once you get started and become a frequent seller you’ll see payments every year consistently.

Street Fairs, Galleries, Art Market

The art market is very popular and one not to be taken lightly. Like any business endeavor you’ll need a little patience and a body of good work. The art market

may take a little experimentation depending on the region in which you sell. Summer street fairs, art galleries, coffee shops, etc… are all part of the art market in which I am suggesting. Before venturing into this market I suggest you visit a few street fairs, art fairs, galleries, etc… and see what other photographers are displaying and ask these artists what work of theirs is selling. Study the local art market before investing your time and money and honestly evaluate your work and determine if you think your work can sell through these channels. I have found local frame shops, (where they sell pre-framed posters and lithographic prints), to be one of the best ways to see what people in an area are buying. You may find, many art buyers are really frame buyers because they are willing to pay a couple hundred dollars for a frame but want to spend less than $25 on the work that goes into the middle of that frame. If you find this to be the case than maybe you need to frame your work and mark up accordingly. As with any business, you’re going to invest a lot of energy and capitol to get your business moving.

Specialities

Little league baseball player takes his wind up on the pitchers mound.

This is probably the most serious of business ventures for a photographer. If you have a special interest and are good at this special interest then this may be an area for you. I am talking about photographing high school seniors, sports, corporate portraits, real-estate, etc… In other words an area you have experience and are pretty good at. I shoot a lot of architecture and work with some high end clients and projects, but it all started years ago shooting for reality companies of homes going on the market and other small jobs. This is an area you need to take serious because you’ll have a lot invested and most importantly your reputation. If you go in this direction you might start with family and friends to get your feet wet. It would be silly and not very helpful for me to guide you in getting started in this short post because these type business decisions need to be well planned and thought out. If you are serious about offering your talents for hire in a particular area of photography to a paying client, research and ask lots of questions before you invest too much money getting your business moving. Keep in mind, don’t promise what you can’t deliver, you’ll have a difficult time restoring your reputation and this you can’t put a price tag on.

In Conclusion

I realize these business proposals are brief. There is a whole lot more involved than I explain. This post was designed to get you thinking and not as a guideline to your business success. Regardless of what area you want to focus on, they all require a serious commitment. To truly make money in photography it is going to require a lot of hard work, a lot of time, some capitol up front, and persistence. You will be rejected more than you are accepted but those who can brush off the rejections will succeed.

New 2010 – 2011 Workshop Page is now On-Line – Stock Photography Workshop, October 27-31

If this post was of interest you may be interested in our New York City Stock Photography Workshop with a personal critique from one of the stock photography’s leading photo editors from Corbis Images. Click on the above link.

© William Manning: all material on this blog is the copyright of William Manning. No reproduction on this material is allowed without written permission from the author/photographer.

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