HOW TO SELL PHOTOGRAPHY ONLINEA BASIC GUIDE FROM EQUIPMENT TO SUCCESSFUL SALES

CONTENTSIntroduction to Sell Photography Online.......................................3

Equipment Necessary for Professional Images..........................3

Software Programs for Editing.............................................................3

Traditional vs. Microstock......................................................................4

Agent vs. Selling on Your Own..............................................................4

Licensed, Royalty Free, Managing Your Rights...........................5

Exclusive vs. Non Exclusive....................................................................6

Test Samples- What will Sell..................................................................6

Marketing Strategies for Success........................................................7

Bringing Your Photography Together.............................................7

INTRODUCTION TO SELL PHOTOGRAPHY ONLINE

Anyone can try to sell photography online thanks to the beauty of the Internet. If you have photographs that you believe would sell,it’s time to learn how you can sell them successfully. It takes proper equipment, an understanding of copyrights and the law, testing samples and the right marketing. This eBook focuses on eight sections, all designed to teach you tosell photography online and to make the right choices for creating a successful setup to ensure your photography sells, including website information, using an agent or going through the process by yourself.

To sell anything, including photographs, successfully, you need a product someone will want and a good marketing strategy. The Occupational Outlook Handbook from the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the job outlook for professional photographers will grow 13 percent between 2010 and 2020. This outlook is about average. There were 139,500 jobs available for professional photographers in 2010. The handbook, however, doesn’t include independent photographers in its estimates. Anyone with creativity, a good eye and technical understanding of photography can become a success.

EQUIPMENT NECESSARY FOR PROFESSIONAL IMAGES

You need a digital camera and a tripodfor this business. The biggest names of the numerous digital cameras on the market are Nikon and Canon. Once you choose a proper body for your digital SLR camera, invest in different lenses, a flash and filters to enhance your photographs.

You also need a powerful computer for running the photo editing software that hogs memory and computer storage. Memory cards are one option; however, you will need an external hard drive for your computer strictly for storage and to create a backup for all your images.

SOFTWARE PROGRAMS FOR EDITING

Photoshop by Adobe, the most well known software program among professionals, allows you to manipulate a photograph to any degree you wish. It’s possible to create layers to improve the coloring, contrast and brightness. Photoshop can turn a color photo into black and white or vice versa. You wouldn’t want to display imperfect photographs on your website or sellers’ page. A photo software program that allows editing ensures that you display only the best.

Photoshop is only one of the software programs available. Arcsoft, another photo editor, is a good program for home users who send photographs to friends and family. It can get you started with basic edits, like removing a spot on the photo. Serif Photo Plus, Xara Photo and Graphic Designer, ACDSee Photo Editor, Photo Explosion and Photo Impression are other software programs available to professionals who sell photography online. Check out some or all of them and compare the features with the cost. You want a program that can ensure your prints are perfect before you upload them online for purchase.

TRADITIONAL VS. MICROSTOCK

Traditional stock photography is licensed for specific uses. Owners of stock photographytypically copyright their creative works. Traditional stock is often sold in full sizes, whereas microstock is sold in smaller sized images.

The Internet made microstock photography possible, and thousands of photographers took note. Their best avenue became microstock photography sites. Microstock companies are defined by three parameters: The source of the image is exclusively on the Internet. A wide range of photographers, often hobbyists and amateurs, supply Microstock. Microstock photographers sell photos at low rates, starting from as low as 20 cents, which may include a royalty-free license. Also, an agent usually runs microstock photography, and a newcomer needs to be accepted before they sell photography online.

AGENT VS. SELLING ON YOUR OWN

An agent has access to tools and resources that you might not. When you sell microstock photography online, your customer purchases the right to download the image. Microstock agencies act as middlemen to help promote their clients’ work. Their marketing arm is often larger than yours. Any agent can advertise and market your work, whether it’s exclusively online or not. Agents typically get a commission or feethat ranges from 30 to 65 percent of your sales.

If you wish to sell photography on your own instead, you need a website, a marketing plan and a way to secure your images soyour work isn’t downloaded by unauthorized people. You also need to understand copyrights, trademarks and the law to ensure proper safety of your photography. When you sell photography online by yourself, your budget may be limited for marketing, equipment and software. But you’re not charged an agency commission or affiliate fee.

Another method of selling photos online is through online selling platforms such as PayLoadz. Such platforms facilitate the process of selling photos by providing the payment gateway for accepting payments and ensuring that photos are stored and delivered

securely. The fee charged by these platforms is nominal because they charge a transaction fee only, not commission as agents do.

LICENSED, ROYALTY FREE, MANAGING YOUR RIGHTS

Selling your photos online requires you to learn something about the law and various terms you might come across. But, it’s best to speak with a lawyerto manage your rights when you sell photography online. That way, you can understand your rights and have any questions answered about breach of licensing or copyrights. If you go through an agency, your rights are governed by the policies laid down by the particular agency.

Copyright—A copyright registers your work with the government to protect it.

Trademark—A trademark is the name you operate under.You also register this with the government.

Licensing—Licensing concerns the rights you allow another party to have.

Commercial Rights—This refers to a photo that’s designed to create incomefor use by a commercial entity. The photo is often usedin a brochure or magazine advertisement.

Noncommercial Rights—This refers to a photo that’s not designed for a commercial group, individual or other entity.It’s for personal enjoyment. A landscape photo for sale to be hung in a home might have noncommercial rights.

First Rights—This means that one person has the rights to the work before anyone else can purchase the license. The person with first rights can also decline the work, freeing it to be sold to another interested party.

Serial Rights—This applies to magazines in which one magazine holds the rights to the photo.The photo cannot be sold elsewhere.

One-Time-Use Rights—This occurs when you allow a customer to purchase the right to buy your image for use one time.

Royalty Free—This occurs when you sell photography without gaining any royalties for the rights you hold.

EXCLUSIVE VS. NONEXCLUSIVE

When you sell photography independently, decide whether you want tooffer exclusive or nonexclusive rights for use. When you sell a photo and its exclusive rights, you cannot sell that image again: You have sold all rights to it.You would typically charge more for your photo if you also sell exclusive rights. When you own the photo and its exclusive rights, you typically wouldn’t allow purchasers to reprint or resell prints of the image unless they pay more for exclusive rights. You might allow one download of the print before you lock it again. If someone wants multiple copies of that print, he would need to pay each time.

Nonexclusive rights are just the opposite. You have the right to sell your photographyover and over again to many interested buyerswhen you sell under nonexclusive rights. People who purchase the image would not ownit. People typically pay less for a photo with nonexclusive rights. While the one-time pay is lower, you can make up for that by reselling the image. You hold the legal rights to sell the image how and when you wish with nonexclusive rights.

TEST SAMPLES—WHAT WILL SELL

Before you begin to sell photography online, produce some test samples, and take them around to different places. Merchandise

marts, local fairs and local craft festivals are good places to test your photography. You’re trying to determine what sells.

During the test phase, learn what price you can fetch for your photographs. Use that information to price your art online. Test markets also tell you which subjects, such as landscape, wildlife, portraits or graphic art, will sell. The subjects that sell well can change based on trends; however, testing the current market before you sell photography can give you an idea of what is likely to sell.

MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

Sites such as Deviant Art, ShutterFly and iStockphotos sell photography online. Some specialize in microstock and promote your images to companies and corporations. You might be charged a fee for those types of websites. Free- or agent-based websitesdo the marketing for you; however, you can market, too, by setting up a blog that directs readers to wherever your photos are. You can also drive traffic to your photos via Twitter, Facebook and other social media.

If you sell photography as an independent site, you should also useTwitter, Facebook, social media and blogs for marketing purposes. Consider using Google and Yahoo! Advertisements as additional means to promote your photography. If you post your photos in Google Images, Yahoo! Images or independently from your main website, make certain they have a trademark or copyright to prevent free downloading. The more places you advertise, the better your chances to sell photography online.

BRINGING YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY TOGETHER

You have learned the basics about the equipment you will need to edit your photography for sale, as well as how to sell photography online. You now know the difference between microstock sites

and selling traditional photography. The information in this eBook provided you with some insight into agency websites, your licensing rights and the law regarding selling photography. This eBook recommended testing your photography before launching your business online to determine what pieces will sell. Finally, you learned about some marketing tips and methods about selling photography online.

Bringing what you have learned together puts you in a position to sell photography successfully online. Once you have completed the legworkfor creating images to sell, have determined whichavenue you want to sell through and how you will sell photography, get busy attracting visitors who can view and purchase your work through third-party websites or through your own independent e-commerce website.

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