What You Can Sell

For those people, who have no idea about photography, a photo is just a photo, but for people who are familiar with photography and arts in general, there are separate distinct groups of photos. The most obvious distinction of photos is based on their content, but for the purposes of selling photos, this distinction is not as important as what the photo can be used for.

The two major uses of photos are for the Web and in print. Web photos tend to be low resolution and lower quality is acceptable for them, while print photos generally are high resolution and low quality is unacceptable. As a beginner photographer, you will most likely target the Web market first because the entry barrier there is not as high as with the printing market. Additionally, if your camera is not a high-end one, your skills in photo processing will hardly be able to compensate for this, so in this case, print photos are not an option for you because of technical reasons. This shouldn’t discourage you because the Web market is vast and there is a lot of space for beginners.

The main buyers on the Web market are Web designers, who make sites for their clients. For many Web designers it is much easier and cheaper to buy ready-made photos than to take the pictures themselves. A solo Web designer can make 10 or even more middle-sized sites a month, which means that he or she will need at least 200-300 photos and illustrations. This does not mean that you will be able to sell 200-300 photos a month to each Web designer you contact, but even if you manage to sell him or her 10-20 photos a month, or more realistically a batch of several hundred photos for him or her to use in the next year, then you can make a lot of money.

Similar to other arts, photography also has genres. Not surprisingly, photos of people, nature and cities sell best. Another category, which is especially popular with designers, is objects of different kinds. You can shoot a light bulb, a pen, some pills, or whatever object you choose, and this may be enough. Add some unobtrusive background to it and you get a cool photo for a Web site. But be careful with copyrights because not all manufacturers will be happy if you shoot their products and make money from this. Try shooting generic products, which have no visible branding.

Similar copyright issues apply to people. If you want to shoot people and you want to be on the safe side, ask them to sign a model contract, which clarifies all the issues in regard to copyrights and sales. Very often you won’t have to hire professional models and you can shoot your friends and relatives instead. Your models don’t have to be extremely beautiful because pictures of ordinary people also sell well. Shooting friends and relatives has one more advantage – they work cheaply or free.

Nature and urban photos are always in demand, but avoid photos which look as if they were taken by tourists because they simply look too unprofessional to be sold. Abstractions are also popular, so if you are creative with PhotoShop or another image processing program you can wake up the Picasso in you.

Where You Can Sell

The type of photos you have is one of the major factors in choosing your sales channels. Basically, the options to sell your photos are the following:

1. Stock photo sites. Stock photo sites are the most popular sales channel. Stock photos are photos you have already taken, i.e. you have in stock. You open an account with a stock photo site, upload your images and every time somebody downloads your photo, you earn a commission. Different sites have different policies, but it’s not unusual to earn $40 per photo each time it is downloaded.

If your photos are popular, it is not impossible to reach dozens of downloads per week. One of the prerequisites for success is to submit sought after photos and to use the right keywords in the descriptions of your photos. The best stock photo site I have found is Shutterpoint. They provide photographers an e-commerce store-front for selling photos, handle advertising and promotion, handle all purchase transactions, provide customer service, and securely deliver images to buyers. All of these features are provided for a very reasonable fee, and in addition, other members often provide valuable feedback on your photos. This is a great way to begin your career as a professional photographer.

2. Stock agencies. Stock agencies are similar to stock photo sites, but in addition to listing your photos, they consult buyers and handle all the legal and logistical matters. Stock agencies usually deal with professional photographers mainly but there are stock agencies, which are beginner-friendly. As with stock photo sites, you usually have to decide (if you have the choice of course) whether you want to sell exclusive rights or only per use rights.

3. Sell directly to newspapers and magazines. Although this is hardly the easiest way to sell your photographs, it is worth trying. Newspapers and magazines are a very tough market to get into but can be a very high paying one. For a start, you can try your local or community media.

4. eBay and similar auctions. Auction sites, such as eBay, are one more sales outlet you can try. Yes you really can earn decent income from selling photos on eBay. This is a good alternative if you sell other products in addition to photos, but even if photos are the only thing you sell, eBay and the other auction sites can do a lot for you. Make sure to avoid small and dark photos. Listings should be created which are descriptive and include realistic prices. Check the Completed Listings option when searching to see examples of photos which have sold.

5. Freelance sites. Unlike the other options listed up to here, freelance sites are generally a place for work for hire projects. This means that usually a buyer comes and asks you to make some photos especially for him or her, but very often there are buyers who offer to purchase your already made (or stock) photos as well.

6. Your own website. Even if the other options work great for you, having your own website is a valuable sales channel. You can offer everything you like – i.e. low resolution mockups for free, paid downloads, etc. The downside is that you need to market your site, otherwise you will hardly get much traffic and, respectively, sales. Search engine optimization is a must and if you are really serious about selling your photos via your website, you can even consider starting an affiliate program.

7. Free samples. These days advertisements are something one can hardly sell without. Instead of launching an expensive campaign, you can give photos away for free but keep your logo on them. This is a kind of advertisement and it will bring you new customers.

Taking good digital pictures is obviously an aspect of getting good conversions. You don’t have to use all the most expensive equipment or know the trade secrets of taking great digital photos. Buyers of stock photography need pictures of almost anything, and that’s what you can give them pictures of anything and everything. The colors in your digital photos have to be neat, balanced and not too dull. You cannot have any signatures, logos or marks on the pictures to define there ownership. Your photos have to be in focus and not have any noise. Lastly it should not look like you were a tourist and you had a more creative outlook.

To help your photos sell you need to photograph things that are useful to buyers. You really have to think like a buyer, because the people who are buying stock photography are marketers, advertisers, website makers, magazines, and graphic designers (to name a few). You need to attract your buyers with keywords or proper picture categorizing. Learning to pick the popular, low competitive keywords will improve your sales dramatically. And will bring a large amount of traffic to your freelance work.

Here are the things you need (or) need to do to get started

-Have an Internet Connection

-Buy a Digital Camera

-Learn about proper keywords, conversion, uploading, stock photography companies (read an Ebook)

-Sign up with Stock photo companies

-Take hundreds of digital photos

-Upload you pictures, make conversions/sales and make a profit

-Repeat what you are doing correctly in order to start make double, triple and yeah you got it

If selling your digital photography to stock photo sites something that interest you, learn more about how to get started at my site Freelance Digital Photography Careers and Job Choices

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Many video and photo sites are immediately accessible by just keying the right words. Once there, the teenagers are required to sign up and log in to the members areas. From there, these teens can now navigate and maneuver on the site and do whatever they want. Of course, exploring the site and using the tools are within the site’s terms and policies.

What attracts the teenagers to use video and picture sites is the ease in sharing their memorable pictures and videos with the capability of enhancing, distorting and manipulating these videos and pictures. Through the tools, the resulting effects will make these pictures and videos funnier, more interactive and more captivating. The texts could also be changed and backgrounds can be added. What a way of blasting your memories across the globe! Some sites would allow the users to use multiple pages until they will run out of ideas and creativity. These video and photo sites will definitely be photo albums or lockers in the web. What’s more, most sites are free to use, if others ask for a fee, they are so cheap.

Video and phot0 sharing through the internet is the best answer to the hassles of sending photos and video clips to friends and relatives anywhere in the planet. Previously, one has to pay postal service providers at high costs just to let others see these pictures. The distance involved and the length of delivery time would sometimes erode excitement. Usually, when the package arrives at their destinations, its worth had already been overataken by current developments. Through the internet, sharing becomes so cheap and easy, and you can do so daily or more times a day. Send your photos, and in a few minutes, you will receive photos from your friends. Another good point is that when videos and photos are placed on line, they can stay there as long as the account remains active. Since they use the space provided by the site, it will definitely free the space of the computers where these pictures are originally uploaded.

Video and photo sites are also giving another benefit. Placing videos and photos online will give the teens the opportunity to be noticed. The way the pictures are presented might earn an invitation to a paid online job. This is not only giving satisfaction to the teenagers of the site by having their photos and videos being shared, but will accomplish a budding photographer’s dream of getting noticed and earn a few bucks.

The teens want to register in an online video and photo sharing sites and can earn more benefits than one can imagine. It did not only allow the teenagers to know more about their friends, they will also be able to improve their computer skills, photography skills and learn tips on improving their skills better. With over 240 sites that can be tapped online, the teenagers can have a wide range of choices before they will make their picks.

Photo filters are NOT going to change a bad photo to a good one, BUT . . . they may change a good photo into a great one. In other words; filters are like the frosting on the cake, if the cake itself tastes bad, it doesn’t matter how sweet the frosting is. For the sake of this photo article we are going to assume you know how to make a good cake (take a good photo), and now you are ready to go to the next level.

Star Filters – these are available in 4 point, 6 point, or 8 point variety. These photo filters add glamour to nature or highly reflective surfaces (like someone playing a trumpet).

Polarizer’s - this type of photo filter is often thought of for enhancing clouds in the sky, but they also give you more control with reflections on water or glass. They also help with extreme photo lighting situations like snow or sand.

Close-Up Filter Set – not everybody can afford an extra $300 to $400 for a macro lens, this set of photo filters is well worth the investment. This gives you the edge to be able to take advantage of, and photograph the unexpected; whether it is a butterfly on a flower or dew on the morning grass.

Split Field Filter – A Split Field Filter allows you to go beyond the limits of traditional depth of field in photography. Half of the lens is basically a close up filter, half is regular glass. Now you can take an extreme close up photo of a flower at the edge of a vast canyon and still have BOTH sections of your photo look crystal clear.

Split Color Filter – This filter comes in several combinations. Similar to the split field filter, part of the filter is just regular glass, BUT the other half is colored. If half the filter is deep orange for example, you can take a photo of any mountain range and make it look like it was taken at sunset.

Spot Filter – The idea behind a spot filter is that a small portion of your photo will appear sharp (usually a spot in the middle) and the rest of the photo looks soft and dreamy. Often used in Wedding pictures or individual portraits.

Soft Focus Filter – As the name implies this photo filter gives the entire image a soft focus or dreamy effect. Use this VERY sparingly or people will think you can’t focus. Besides photo filters there are some other small items that you should tuck into your camera bag to help you improve photographic opportunities. The cost of these photo gadgets are relatively small but can give you big time (professional looking) results.

Double Sided Poster Board – For many years I carried a 10 inch x 12 inch poster board that was black on one side and white on the other. This can be used to make a small subject stand out from the back ground. A small tree frog on grass is much harder to see than one against a black background. This can also be used for controlling light like a small photo reflector.

Spray Bottle – having a small spray bottle of water means now you can take a “flowers with morning dew” photo, even if it’s the middle of the afternoon. You can also make an athlete sweat whenever you want them to; or you can wet down wild hair that is blowing in the wind for a better outdoor portrait.

The last fairly cheap item for big results is a Tripod or a Monopod. Tripods don’t have to be built so a man can sit on it to be of good quality. And if you are worried about space as you are taking your wonderful photo trek into the wilderness consider a monopod. It offers stability as well as making a good walking stick.

All of these items are considered photo add-ons. None of them are required to make a great photo, but when the opportunity arises it’s good to know you have the right tools at your disposal. Of course there are hundred of other photo gadgets and gizmos that you can get, but I advise sticking with the basics. Far more important than anything you can add to the outside, is the vision you have on the inside. Learn the elements of design. Practice leading lines, balance, repetition, framing and the rule of thirds . . . these are the ingredients of a great photo. All the rest is just frosting on the cake.

The point was if your battery died, you still had a way to get a good picture. If you were using 100 speed film you could set your shutter speed to whatever the flash sync speed was (usually 1/60th or 1/125th of a second), set your f-stop to f-16, and bracket every shot. Besides the obvious dependency on batteries, there are other differences between film and digital cameras.

If you have ever shopped for a digital camera you have no doubt heard the phrase: “35mm equivalent”. This means that the optics are not exactly the same in a digital camera. Since the 35mm SLR camera has been the standard for so long, that’s what newer cameras are compared to. The difference between the two is a ratio of 1:1.4. Simply put, a 35-200 zoom on a digital camera would be like having a 49-280 zoom lens on a traditional 35mm camera.

The main reason the optics are different is because the sensor (the device that actually reads the light) is also a different size. Film cameras use film (sensitive to light) that is placed directly behind the lens. When the correct exposure is calculated, that image is literately burned into the film. Digital cameras use a sensor; that also sits behind the lens. This sensor is made up of millions of individual points that each represents 1 pixel. Once the sensor has gathered the information for each pixel it transfers that data to a digital media card (which can be used repeatedly.)

The sensor is the physical device that gathers information about the quality of light coming into the camera. The process of “how” the sensor goes about gathering information is referred to as “metering”. The human eye can distinguish a range of about 16 different f-stops; camera meters only have a range of about 5 f-stops. This is why camera meters are calibrated for a “mid range” exposure of 18% gray, because 90% of the time that is as close as they can get to the human eye. It’s not the camera’s fault that it can not see as well as you do, it’s simply a fact of life.

There are basically only three types of metering systems.

A) Spot Metering

B) Center-Weighted Metering

C) Matrix Metering

Spot metering as the name indicates only reads a small spot or portion of the overall image (usually 1% to 3%). This type of metering is useful in any situation where the lighting is extreme. Backlit subjects, macro shots, or even pictures of the moon can benefit from this type of metering. This type of metering is usually found on the more costly upper end cameras.

Center-Weighted metering averages the overall scene with an emphasis on the center area of the frame. Usually this type of meter bases its reading with 75% of the light hitting center frame and 25% for everything else. It assumes that the subject is dead center, most of the time. It is worth noting that most center weighted systems have a greater sensitivity in the bottom half of the frame; to avoid an overly contrasting sky from throwing off the readings. This type of system

is the most common used in both digital and traditional cameras today.

Matrix Metering splits your image up into anywhere from 3 to 16 metering zones and evaluates the different zones to come up with one over all reading. In this process of evaluation it takes into account factors like: subject size, position, distance, point of focus, over all lighting, color and more. This system uses a microchip which has been exposed to thousands of different picture-taking situations. Currently this is the most complex and the most accurate metering system to date. This system is usually found on the higher end Digital SLR’s.

I used the word “digital” several times, but these are the same types of metering systems used in traditional film cameras as well. The only other way of reading light has to do with “reflected light” verses “surface light”. Most meters in the camera are reading reflected light (light reflected off the main subject that goes back toward the camera.) Every so often you might see someone with a hand held light meter that will go right up to the subject and read the light that falls on the surface of that subject. Some photographers still debate which way is more accurate. In my opinion; “Spot Metering” does basically the same thing.

All photographers have their favorites; Canon, Nikon, Kodak. Some choose digital, some choose film. The thing to remember is what we actually need to get a great photo. Things like composition, leading lines, framing, and the rule of thirds are much more important to our success as great photographers than the physical tools we use. On the other hand, knowing what your camera can or can not do, let’s you know if you have the right tool for the job.

Creating free online photo stories that illustrate what is unique and good about you is a much better idea. You could post photos of yourself winning an award or playing in your favorite sport. You might also consider posting photo stories that feature you doing a service project for a local charity. Anything that makes you look like a responsible person that is looking to achieve great things in life will make you more desirable to potential college admissions officials. This makes a great compliment to your college application and the photo stories you post should reflect and support the information you give there. If you volunteered at the local animal shelter to gain experience for a future career in veterinary medicine, post a photo story of you working closely with the animals, for instance.

And you don’t have to wait and see whether the college admission reps are going to Google you or not, just include a link to the photo sharing site right in your college application letter. This will show great initiative on your part and let the college know that you are creative and comfortable with a computer as well as sending whatever message and image you have created with your free online photo sharing stories. Image is everything and while it won’t compensate for lousy grades or low SAT scores, it may just give you the edge you need to outshine the competition and make it into your college of choice.

You may not get a chance to meet with the college admissions board in person until after they have made their decision so the only chance you have to make a good impression is with your application and online photo story. Adding compelling pictures and stories to your site will help the board feel as though they know you and like you. You become a real person to them instead of just another paper application they have to choose from. It is much harder to say “no” to a real person than to a piece of paper.

You only have one chance to make a first impression and your free online photo sharing stories can make whatever impression you want to make. Let yours tell people that you are intelligent, honorable, active and a real go-getter. You never know what opportunities may lie ahead until you give it a chance. In today’s world it takes every possible advantage to succeed and your online photo stories are just one more way to create an advantage.

Fitting in one more activity into your busy life may seem impossible, but free photo editing software makes creating your photo stories quick and easy. There are so many options in free photo editing programs for stories that allow you to simply click, click and go. Drag and drop in your photos, click the mouse here to reduce redeye and there to cover a pimple. Crop the photo to remove the garbage can in the background and resize it so everyone can see the cute little faces better. Click again and add your story in the text box. Click to choose your background and theme and choose the font you want. In just a few minutes you have created a priceless treasure to share with family and friends everywhere.
You can create photo stories for every occasion or none at all.

Maybe you catch a priceless shot of the kids helping each other with homework or the cat eating the cereal that got left on the table. Within minutes your great aunt on the other side of the country could be getting a chuckle from the scene in a creative and quick photo story you created with free photo editing software. Stories help your photos create meaningful memories that will last forever for you and the people you care about. Why not send create photo stories instead of plain old emails when it is so quick and easy to do?

Microwaves gave us meals in seconds instead of hours. Email gave us communication at the speed of light and photo editing gives you stories in just a few minutes instead of hours spent creating a scrapbook. Not only is it quicker and free, but you can share your photo stories with as many people as you would like to, no matter how remote or distant the relation. You can even use free photo editing software to create Christmas photo stories instead of sending Christmas cards or newsletters. People can view them whenever they like and never have to decide whether to throw them out or stuff them in a box somewhere.

In short, free photo editing for your stories helps you keep up with your high-speed lifestyle while still keeping your friends, family, acquaintances or even complete strangers up to date on the latest news in your life. There is no reason not to get started right away to create these lifelong memories.

Online photo sharing stories are the stories that are written to explain the scene in a photo that is posted. These two elements-the picture and the story-work together to capture the moment. Your online photo sharing stories take your most precious moments in life and allow you to preserve them forever. Sharing these stories online also allows you to make them available to the world or to just a select group of people that you decide to share with.

When you share your special moments with others it increases the joy and happiness created by those moments exponentially. Life is full of peaks and valleys and when a person is in a low spot they can be lifted up by taking a moment to get outside of their own issues and experience a joyful moment through someone else’s eyes. This offers a reminder that there is good in the world and may give hope to someone who has almost given up. It may even remind them of their own special moments in life and give them the strength to look forward onto brighter days. Sharing joy with others is a great service to the world because they can never be too much goodness going around. People are constantly bombarded with news stories of what is wrong in the world and they need reminders of what is right to help create a healthy balance.

Sharing your photos and stories through online photo sharing stories is so much more powerful than sharing them in a scrapbook. You can reach so many more people and give so much more joy. In addition to that you get the security of knowing that your stories and photos are safe from harm. Online they can be backed up in several places to ensure that your memories are never destroyed. House fires, floods and other disasters will not be able to destroy your precious memories when they created in online photo sharing stories. That gives you peace of mind and allows your stories to continue to inspire for many years to come.

Life’s special moments are more special when they are shared with others. Creating online photo sharing stories helps you capture these special moments and preserve them for future generations. Imagine your great-great grandchildren being able to look back and really get a sense of where they came from. Your online photo sharing stories can create a legacy that will extend well into the future and provide joy and understanding for the rest of the ages.

Special moments are captured forever when you create online photo sharing stories and share them with the world. Making the world a happier and more positive place is a great bonus that will bring you even more joy and happiness from sharing your online photo stories.

Fortunately people today have a choice. Free online photo storage stories create a type of insurance for your most important memories. When you store your photographs on the internet, you are ensuring that they will always be there when you need them. No matter what happens to the pictures and photo albums in your home, you can rest assured that all of your photos are safe and secure online and can be retrieved, viewed and even reprinted at any time you need them. This can be quite comforting, especially when you are passionate about photography and preserving family memories.

Life is full of ups and downs. There are good times and bad times. Our photographs preserve the best moments of our lives and allow us to call on these happy moments when we are down and need a boost. Keeping these valuable treasures safe with online photo storage means your stories will always be there when you need to remember what is good in life. The memories we store in our minds can sometimes be clouded when our emotions become confused, but the free online photo storage allows you to see your stories as clearly as when they happened. Keeping focused on the happy times allows you to have a more positive outlook which leads to more happy times.

Even if nothing devastating ever happens to your photos you can count yourself lucky and the free online photo storage stories you have will still come in handy. Sometimes even with the greatest of care, one photo falls out of or becomes torn in your photo album. With free online photo storage stories, you can quickly locate the picture and have it reprinted and sent to you. Another occasion might be when an extended family member comes for a visit and sees a great picture in your album that they would like a copy of. No need to worry over whether you have a double print buried in a box somewhere in the house; you can just order a copy and have it sent straight to their home.

Your photography is an expression of who you are, where you’ve been and where you are going. It is a part of you. The loss you would experience if anything happened to these photos is incalculable. Free online photo storage stories are the best free insurance policy you could have to ensure that your photos last for the rest of your life and beyond.