How to go about selling bird pictures?

[gsgary]

One of my friends at our club Flickr: d1ngy_skipper's Photostream

 

[KmH]

“If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” - Robert Capa.
Your photos have to be lots better than the average bird photos out there.

Then you need to market your work so people know you have images they can buy.

 

[tirediron]

One of my friends at our club Flickr: d1ngy_skipper's Photostream

Those are EXCELLENT images Gary, and sadly, I'll bet that not many of them would sell either. Why? Because the market is so saturated with wildlife images, that there's no more room, unless you are truly exceptional. Good wildlife photography, especially birds is probably the most expensive genres in photography, other than perhaps high-end fashion. The one serious bird photographer I know has more money invested in one body and two lenses than I have in my whole kit.

 

[gsgary]

One of my friends at our club Flickr: d1ngy_skipper's Photostream

Those are EXCELLENT images Gary, and sadly, I'll bet that not many of them would sell either. Why? Because the market is so saturated with wildlife images, that there's no more room, unless you are truly exceptional. Good wildlife photography, especially birds is probably the most expensive genres in photography, other than perhaps high-end fashion. The one serious bird photographer I know has more money invested in one body and two lenses than I have in my whole kit.

He does sell quite a few but I wouldn't think enough to pay for his new 600F4 lens

 

[Starskream666]

I know I meant show me the ones of yours that are salable and the one you've shown is also the one i thought. But only that

lol If that was the only one in those 409 you picked as salable then how in the world do you think you can sell something like the ones you posted?

Why did you take that so personal but expected me to not take what you said personal haha no need to attack the images. A lot of yours looked grainy and a lot of them had birds blurry so i couldn't see their details etc. I just like to do and see different things, like the pictures i took, in my head the idea and how i made them turn out with the colours etc worked in my head. Obviously not to others taste here and I appreciate that people don't think they will sell, and on further looking i dont think they would sell to the traditional buyer either.
If you want more traditional then I took these a while ago... Unfortunately the only birds I have around here are seagulls and this 1 Heron, and the Robins.

 

[Didereaux]

I know I meant show me the ones of yours that are salable and the one you've shown is also the one i thought. But only that

lol If that was the only one in those 409 you picked as salable then how in the world do you think you can sell something like the ones you posted?

Why did you take that so personal but expected me to not take what you said personal haha no need to attack the images. A lot of yours looked grainy and a lot of them had birds blurry so i couldn't see their details etc. I just like to do and see different things, like the pictures i took, in my head the idea and how i made them turn out with the colours etc worked in my head. Obviously not to others taste here and I appreciate that people don't think they will sell, and on further looking i dont think they would sell to the traditional buyer either.
If you want more traditional then I took these a while ago... Unfortunately the only birds I have around here are seagulls and this 1 Heron, and the Robins.

You have been given a lot of very good advice, and honest critique from everyone...you choose to ignore it.

 

[The_Traveler]

OP,

You may not want to hear this, and I have no dog in this fight because I don't shoot birds, but nothing I've seen that you've displayed is of quality, interest or singularity that would make me think it is salable.

These are example shots, done by a friend of mine, he has hundreds; you may not like the highly edited style but he doesn't expect to sell these - there is just too much really top quality work out there.

Stephen Talabac - Central Maryland Photographers' Guild
Stephen Talabac - Central Maryland Photographers' Guild
Stephen Talabac - Central Maryland Photographers' Guild
Stephen Talabac - Central Maryland Photographers' Guild
Stephen Talabac - Central Maryland Photographers' Guild

 

[Overread41]

PEOPLE Behave and lets leave slinging mud at the door shall we.

There is NO rule that anyone must accept what is told to them on the site. Each person is left to their own choice as to who they do and don't listen to. If someone isn't listening to you chances are you're saying it wrong. Try saying it again a different way or walk on - no need to get offended.

 

[tirediron]

Okay folks, let's tone it down. WAY down! A number of us have repeated more-or-less the same advice to the OP; there's no need to keep beating that particular horse. Any further comments of a rude, or insulting nature will earn the poster a Christmas vacation from TPF.

 

[Overread41]

Making money is hard, very hard.
I won't beat on that horse, its old and rather over-repeated.




My advice is to read the critique link in my signature and then head down into the wildlife gallery. Post up a couple of shots or just one into a thread and go through the critique process. You've got a good start, but you've got a ways to go yet before you're ready.
It's always hard to judge that at times; we see a huge increase in our own skill early on. Quick gains and quick easy achievements in easy to see steps. Things slow down some once your at the intermediate levels and the differences get more subtle (and we all get a degree of increased confidence too which messes things up sometimes with learning more).

It's all perfectly normal and natural, but you've got to fight through it. You've got to keep getting feedback and you've got to set your sights high. You've got to look at hte works of a respected wildlife photographer (or portrait or studio or landscape etc...) and say to yourself that if they got there YOU can too. You just need some more practice - some more ideas and some help along the way.




Explaining the problems behind your shots of fine; in fact its a GOOD thing from a learning perspective. Because each time you do it you're listing out problems. Stage two is to start to address those problems - especially when you see yourself repeating them over and over. Sometimes you won't be able to avoid repeating them over and over- it might be the wrong situation or it might be that the answer is harder to find (or harder to put into practice even if it sounds really simple).

 

[Starskream666]

Cheers
I've been on this site 3 years and been posting photos since i joined so I am used to getting criticism. I just felt SOME were talking to me asif I posted images that hurt their eyes while theres were professional quality which they weren't. Some of them were great examples.

I consider myself a portrait photogger anyway so not sure if ill invest in a telephoto lens just now but ill continue to try hard

 

[robbins.photo]

Ok, well a lot of folks answered already but I'll give it a go, step by step

Step One - take picture of bird
Step Two - sell picture of bird
Step Three - repeat

Lol.

As other's have mentioned, it's not an easy market by any means. But I will wish you luck.

 

[bulldurham34]

I sell most of my birding shots in notecard sets. Cheesy perhaps but there's a decent income and the cost output is negligible. I have several sets that have sold steadily for the last three years but to a tourist market, not a gallery. It took some legwork to get them in the shops, but once established, it's some pennies to drop in the piggy for a new lens now and again. The few large item shots I've sold, went to local homes, friends, mostly.

Try to keep in the back of your mind that digital photography has made "everyone" a "professional," good, bad or indifferent. There are a ton of folks just like you who are trying to beat the same market. Even the really, really good birders have problems selling their work. Good luck.

 

[Trever1t]

What, you have a camera and think you can just take and sell pictures? Good luck to you! Your images aren't worthy of sale. Even if you were one of the better wildlife photographers it's not easy to sell and you are years away from that.

My advice, enjoy your hobby!

 

[astroNikon]

All great advice.

I think the major thing is getting your photos in the stores where they can possibly be bought. But you have to be better than someone else's.

Your last 3 photos are worlds better than your first 3. In your first 3 all I see are branches. In your last 3 the birds are the subjects, thought the first has a bad background (some manufacturing building).

So when taking pictures of birds you have to isolate the subject. make sure the background is really OOF or more pleasing, and getting some nice great action is great too.

I'm not a real birder but I've been going to the local nature reserve and getting about 10-30 feet away from hummingbirds and woodpeckers, using a 300mm/4 or 80-200/2.8 lens to do just that !! Then optimize your shutter speed for the look that you want (slightly blurry wings or not, etc), making sure the lighting is good (time of day, cloudy, etc) and them improve, improve, improve.

The most important factor as stated above is to not let your ego get in the way. The "improve, improve, improve" part is being critical of your own work. Look at your work from the perspective of someone else.
Just compare your first 3 photos to your last 3.

my 0.02 cents ...