How to sell photos

[TriggerLoft]

I am definitely not a professional photographer, more of a casual shooter. But I would like to make some money off photography. Is there any way to do so?

 

[KmH]

Yes. All it takes is money for advertising, and a good grounding in marketing, promotion, salesmanship and other business skills.
Marketing by using the Internet and social media takes a lot of time and effort, for very little return.
Google has determined the vast majority of all Internet advertising/marketing is ineffective.

 

[pixmedic]

only way to make money with photography is to sell photos.
too many methods to cover in a post though.
a lot will depend on whether you are looking to make it your primary source of income, or just fiddling money.

 

[KmH]

Old, since it's from 2013, but this is what you have to compete with per minute on the Internet:
Revealed, what happens in just ONE minute on the internet: 216,000 photos posted, 278,000 Tweets and 1.8m Facebook likes

For more pertinent info regarding selling photographs:
Marketing Fine Art Photography

 

[dennybeall]

There used to be a lot more ways to make a few dollars with photography but so many of those doors have been shut by the cellphone cameras. You could take photos for organizations of their award ceremonies or house photos for real estate and a lot of other small gigs but those are pretty much gone.
If you find someone that's having a party and doesn't want to worry about taking photos themselves AND you're not too proud to work for 20 or 30 bucks an hour, you can find an occasional gig. If you expect a reasonable return on your vast skill and experience and ten thousand dollars worth of equipment then it's tough!!!

 

[tirediron]

In addition to advertising, business license fees, and assorted other costs, there's equipment; since almost everyone has at the very least a decent cell-phone camera in their pocket, the thing that makes a difference now, more than ever, is gear. The ability to shoot images in low light, at long ranges, etc... all of these things require a fairly significant investment in equipment.

"Making a bit of money" as a photographer is no easier or different than "making a bit of money" as a mechanic, carpenter, or bridge-builder, with the exception of the fact that photography [unfortunately] does not require any form of professional certification or accreditation. Having a camera no more makes you a professional photographer than having a framing hammer makes you a carpenter.

 

[TriggerLoft]

is shutterstock or getty images a good approach?

 

[tirediron]

If you're an exceptional photographer, sure, but again, the preponderance of cameras and "photographers" means that the stock world is almost as over-saturated (or perhaps more so) than the wedding game. In addition, with royalty free images being the norm, the photographers take is often pennies, or less per image use, once his or her images are actually accepted.

 

[Designer]

is shutterstock or getty images a good approach?

Take a moment to search the forums on that topic. There have been some threads on that.

 

[PersistentNomad]

You could take photos for organizations of their award ceremonies or house photos for real estate and a lot of other small gigs but those are pretty much gone.

I totally disagree. Having worked in non-profits for several years, there were very few events I went to that didn't have a dedicated (hired) photographer attached to it. Also, in my area, half the creative jobs being listed on craigslist are for real estate photographers and they are not talking about people with cellphones; they provide a list of the gear they expect you to have.

 

[KmH]

is shutterstock or getty images a good approach?

Contributor Success Guide | Shutterstock

Stock Photography: Training Manual - iStock

There are 2 types of use licensing : Royalty-Free (RF) and Rights-Managed (RM).
An RM license is a one-time use license that also restricts usage of a photo in a number of ways - exclusive or non-exclusive use, time length of use, geographical area of use, media types used, number of reproductions, and more. RM licensing pays the photographer the most, because it is a one-time use license.

An RF license grants the user the right to use a photograph with few restrictions and is based on a one-time payment to the agency licensing the photograph. The user can therefore use the image in several projects without having to purchase any additional licenses. RF licenses can not be given on an exclusive basis.
Here is Shutterstock's license agreement:
Shutterstock Terms of Service & License Agreements
Here is iStock's info:
Licenses for Stock Photos - Photo License FAQs | iStock

Another online source of stock photo business information:
http://arcurs.com/

 

[astroNikon]

... half the creative jobs being listed on craigslist are for real estate photographers

I had to go check. All the listings here in craigslist are from photographers looking for real estate jobs, not real estate people looking for photographers (not one on craigslist for my area). Your area must be more lucrative for photographers.

Bummer. I used to do some real estate stuff around here.

 

[smoke665]

I sold a landscape for $15 last week. Does that make me a professional now??

 

[dennybeall]

You could take photos for organizations of their award ceremonies or house photos for real estate and a lot of other small gigs but those are pretty much gone.

I totally disagree. Having worked in non-profits for several years, there were very few events I went to that didn't have a dedicated (hired) photographer attached to it. Also, in my area, half the creative jobs being listed on craigslist are for real estate photographers and they are not talking about people with cellphones; they provide a list of the gear they expect you to have.

It's good that in your area there is still work. I'd ask you how is it right now as the major changes have occurred in the last couple of years.
I have seen some of those ads, but the ones I've checked into were basically trying to sell a special piece of equipment and/or a special software system that you and/or them would use for the jobs that you went out and found.
There is still some work, just not as much as there was. I did a large birthday Sat nite and only will provide jpg and mp4 files on a thumbdrive.

 

[astroNikon]

You could take photos for organizations of their award ceremonies or house photos for real estate and a lot of other small gigs but those are pretty much gone.

I totally disagree. Having worked in non-profits for several years, there were very few events I went to that didn't have a dedicated (hired) photographer attached to it. Also, in my area, half the creative jobs being listed on craigslist are for real estate photographers and they are not talking about people with cellphones; they provide a list of the gear they expect you to have.

It's good that in your area there is still work. I'd ask you how is it right now as the major changes have occurred in the last couple of years.
I have seen some of those ads, but the ones I've checked into were basically trying to sell a special piece of equipment and/or a special software system that you and/or them would use for the jobs that you went out and found.
There is still some work, just not as much as there was. I did a large birthday Sat nite and only will provide jpg and mp4 files on a thumbdrive.

I ignored those. Here's a thread about that here on TPF ==> Real Estate Photographer