The expansion of the Internet and the corresponding growth
in Internet based commerce has created an unprecedented demand for digital
images. This in turn has created a great opportunity for photographers (and not
just professional photographers) to sell their photos online.
As with any new field, it's not always easy to know where to start. This
article will act as a guide in that respect.
There are three basic things you need to look at when considering at how to
sell photos online:
1.Where should I sell my photos?
2.What are the best sort of photos to take? and
3.How can I ensure that my photos prove popular to buyers.
Let's deal with each in turn.
1.In terms of where to go to sell your photos online, the basic rule here is to
find out where your prospective clients go to buy their current photos and make
yourself visible there. Your choices are (a) to sell your photos yourself using
software designed specifically for the task or by creating your own custom site
and html code to protect your images; (b) to sell your photos on eBay or other
auction sites or; (c) sell them to online stock photography sites where you get
paid a portion of the sale each time your photo is downloaded. Shutterstock.com,
PhotoStockPlus and iStockPhoto.com are popular examples of such sites (though
there are many, many more). The fact that a photo taken once can then be
downloaded by buyers over and over again, makes this a very popular avenue for
selling your photos online.
2. "Think commerce" is the mindset you need to have when considering
what sort of photos you should take. Most of the people that are buying photos
online are doing so because they want their websites to produce more sales. The
old adage of "a picture is worth a thousand words" is as true in the
digital age as it ever was in the past.
Bearing that in mind, there are certain categories on stock photo sites that
are very popular with buyers; those being: photos of electronics, photos of businessmen
and women, photos of money and other photos that may be beneficial to their
website or business. You can add to this well taken nature shots as a very
popular online seller.
You'll find that any photo, regardless of category - with an element of real
"uniqueness" could also prove to be a popular online seller,
particularly if it's a shot of someone in the public eye.
3.To ensure that your photos prove popular to prospective buyers you will need
to combine two of the elements that we've already spoken about. You'll need to
take photos in categories that we know to be popular with buyers, yet you'll
need to make your photo stand out from the crowd. To do this you need to
provide some sort of twist on an already established theme. Go to the stock
photography sites that I mentioned in the first section and do some research in
the popular categories: electronics, pictures of money pictures of businessmen
and women. Look at what is there and make a decision on how you can come up
with something a little different. If you have any Photoshop skills, then you
have a powerful tool to add an element of real uniqueness to your photos.
When answering the question of how to sell photos online, your best bet is to
first visit the marketplaces in question; auction sites such as eBay and online
stock photography sites and do some research. This will give you a feel for the
photos that are popular as well as start stimulating you with ideas on how you
can start to put your own unique spin on the photos that you take.
Article Source:
http://www.artsymmetry.com
