Submitting Calendars to Retailers??

[BigFuzzy]

Be nice Ryan

To be fair to Chris.. his idea, (which I will not divulge unless he wants to himself) is not something I've seen/heard of before. Neither would I buy it even though I LOVE the subject he has in mind.

Having said that, and as I noted in my PM to him, it's possibly too niche and I still believe that unless you're really pumping out volume, calendars just don't seem worth the effort/cost to me.
But then again, I've never tried it, so what do I know?

I will reiterate my warnings to you Chris as I have in the past... slooow down.

You're talking "national" level of interest in a calendar of yours when I (and others I believe) feel you should really really really be solidifying your portfolio/experience as your #1 priority.
Unless there's a ton of photos you've been taking that I/we are not seeing, it seems like you spend too much time thinking big instead of shooting and refining your talents. Just my friendly advice.

[Biomech]

With things like this, sometimes you have to give the first batch away. Then if they sell, the client will put in a proper order.

..........

[brianxlt]

Selling calendars is a great idea, people still buy them and hang them on their walls.

As stated though unless you can mass produce them for penny's on the dollar you won't make a profit. With all the digital cameras out there and all the easy to use basic software programs out there for making calendars you would need a really original idea/subject and format. Or possibly sell the images to a calendar company. My mother has been printing her own calendars for years with family pics taken on her P&S camera with a $12 program. Seems now a days to make any $$ with photography you have to be a wedding, portrait photographer or freelance shooter. I have seen swap meet / bazaar booths set up with framed, un-framed and post card photos for sale with reasonable prices. They seem to do ok with selling local landscapes and architecture to the average shopper looking to put something on their walls. Some even advertise they do weddings and other such events. I have even seen some calendars again with the local landscapes and architecture.

[Aboiement]

Originally Posted by Photoboothguy

I was going to say that a lot of women would be offended if their husband, boyfriend, or place of business had up a calendar full of sexy women in sexy poses.

But looking through your photo stream, "sexy" isn't a term that comes to mind, so you'll probably be safe.

Candi Dahlia 01 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Amber Fortune 11 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Khimaira 05 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
H. Love 05 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Actually, you may have a niche here. The websites "Awkward Family Photos" and "Photoshop Disasters" are pretty famous...maybe an "Awkward Model" website?

I just shot a booger out my nose! Hahaha