Putting photos to use

[JayJay65]

Hey,

Wow, I have really been taking alot of photos, and improved alot.. My mother, my friends, teachers, everyone, has been telling me I should do something with my photos.. Today, I sent a letter to a magazine asking them if they would be intrested in my photos, when I hear from them, I'll tell you guys..

Anyway, I want to do something with my photos, sell, submit to magazines, and get them noticed.. I know it will be hard, but im willing to put my all into it.. Does anyone have any advice, or stories of how their photos have prospered (hope i used that right ) with their photos?

Thanks,
Jesse

 

[JayJay65]

http://www.123rf.com/submit/

Do you think this site can be trusted?

 

[Garbz]

I don't know why for the life of me one of my photos made it onto the wall papers of 3 laptop computers here in the engineering department.

I do photography mostly for personal properity though. So I print mine best photos 8x10 and put them in a little album and on my gallery www.garbz.com. But by all means there are plenty of photography competitions to join, magazines that like featuring photos, or if you get really bored, build a huge collection and feature them at a local gallery for a weekend.

 

[loopy]

There is a photography book out there that has a huge listing of companies (magazines, cards...) and their photo guidelines. Might by what your interested in, I've never submitted anything from that book tho.

There is always stock photo companies too.

 

[craig]

Really depends on your work and how you want to market it. If you have a bunch of random great shots then post them on fotopic or any of the many free sites available. It is a great way for a lot of people to see your work. If your photography is more specific then target magazines etc.

My approach would be to start at a local level. Papers and magazines are always a good idea. Also check out coffee houses etc. My work was bounced by an art director who later recommended me for an ad photographer position. I still have that position plus I worked my way up to photo editor on all special sections. You just never know how things will work out. I have also shown my personal work at numerous coffee shops and bars/restaraunts. That is where the fun is.

I would not recommend the site you posted. I think web stock is way too saturated. Folks have been known to make money off of it. Personally I have barely tried it, so I do not know.

Love & Bass

 

[JayJay65]

Yeah thats the same vibe I got from that site, I was like, this is cool and all.. but just seems a BIT too fishy..

Im just trying to start what I want to be my career, but with me, its always hard to START something.. Once I get going with anything I take off fast

Do you think my start to sending an email to a few magazines was a good idea?

 

[pantherlax]

Well it says in your profile your a high school student...so when its time to start sending applications to colleges you can send portfolios and such to them showing your talents and especially if you apply to a art school or major...so thats one way to use your skills. Which is also what i plan to do this fall...

 

[abraxas]

I've always felt that it is important to learn what you can about the subjects you photograph.

For example;

1) You take a picture of a bird and submit it for publication. You have no idea what the bird is though and must rely on someone else knowing what that bird is.

2) You take a picture of a bird, and you know what kind it is. An editor/ publisher may have an article/use for that specific kind of bird.

3) You take a picture of a bird, know what kind of bird it is and its behaviour or special adaptation. You write a short article. You now have a product which may be readily used by an editor.

4) You do the example in #3 for all the birds in your area and assemble the collection in a logical order. You have a product for a book publisher to consider.

Just something to think about.

 

[JayJay65]

Thats a really good idea.. Ill do that..

Also, I tried a magazine more.. and still nothing.. quite sad, im trying everything I can think of to get noticed a little bit (magazines) but nothings working.. Any ideas i'll take them!!

 

[Puscas]

I've always felt that it is important to learn what you can about the subjects you photograph.

For example;

1) You take a picture of a bird and submit it for publication. You have no idea what the bird is though and must rely on someone else knowing what that bird is.

2) You take a picture of a bird, and you know what kind it is. An editor/ publisher may have an article/use for that specific kind of bird.

3) You take a picture of a bird, know what kind of bird it is and its behaviour or special adaptation. You write a short article. You now have a product which may be readily used by an editor.

4) You do the example in #3 for all the birds in your area and assemble the collection in a logical order. You have a product for a book publisher to consider.

Just something to think about.

Good list Abraxas! But of course you have to know if your writing skills are as good as your photography skills: a bad article can ruin a great pic.




pascal

 

[JayJay65]

Abraxas.. I took your advice.. I posted 2 little fun facts (extremely intresting facts) about my lightning pictures on flickr.. heres the link

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8584435@N07/980286135/

 

[eravedesigns]

Abraxas.. I took your advice.. I posted 2 little fun facts (extremely intresting facts) about my lightning pictures on flickr.. heres the link

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8584435@N07/980286135/

those are great facts but they wouldnt help you sell the image. What you want is a description that tells more of the story than just the visual. Like maybe say in the description that this storm was close to many houses and was likely to be the cause of a local fire (if there was one) facts that add more than what the image tells you but are also relevant to the image.

 

[JayJay65]

I already made a (not professional, just a quicky) story about the lightning..

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=951687#post951687

 

[eravedesigns]

I already made a (not professional, just a quicky) story about the lightning..

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=951687#post951687

k i was talking about the flickr description

 

[abraxas]

Abraxas.. I took your advice.. I posted 2 little fun facts (extremely intresting facts) about my lightning pictures on flickr.. heres the link

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8584435@N07/980286135/

You're getting it- just keep at it. Another example could be a flower shot. What type of flower is it? What is its scientific name? etc...

Learn to organize your shots. If you get a handle on it, in ten years you could have something massively useful. Maybe something will come of it early on, maybe not. Try stuff, make mistakes and learn from them. Have some fun.