Strange this thread came up when it did. I got home from work about an hour ago, checked my mail, and found that a surfer bought ever shot I had of him. I had 20 in all. He bought only 4x6 shots but after smugmug took their share I still ended up with a profit of $47.80. Not bad considering I ended up getting paid for enjoying a day at the beach doing something I love.
I sell alot more shots than I ever dreamed I could.
How I started:
I was sitting around one day thinking how I could make a few bucks with my photography. Nature shots are my all time favorite, but its hard to get them out there for people to see. Then it hit me.......KIDS! Everyone loves to have pictures of their kids. Sure almost everyone has a digital of some kind, and already has thousands of pics of their kids. So I was kinda back to square one. Then I thought kids, and sports. Not many average parents has the equipment to get decent sport shots. So I had some cards printed up, and headed to the ball field one day. I asked one of the coaches if it was OK to shoot their game, no worries.
Within an hour I had over a dozen parents come up to me asking who I was, if I sold my pics, and if I could get some of their son. Before that game was over I had a coach from another field ask me if there was anyway I could shoot his game that next morning. That's pretty much the way I got started.
I've never approached anyone trying to make a sell. I just show up, and let them come to me. Seems if you show up anywhere with a long lens people get interested. I've honestly had several people ask if I was with ESPN.
I could triple my sells if I ever take the time to learn about soccer. Its really big around here, but to get good shots you need to know the game well. So for the time being, I'll stick with baseball, and surfing.
I don't ever see myself being able to make a living with photography, but its nice to be able to offset the cost of my gear.
|