STG Studios

Can I sell my nature photography? and how/where?

I've been trying for the past several years to sell prints (framed and unframed) of my nature photos ( http://acluckhardt.deviantart.com/gallery/ ) but haven't had much success. I live in a small town and feel like I can't get my market. I really want to build my business around selling these prints and build up a substantial amount of sales. If you have a minute, please take a look at some of those samples and let me know if such a plan is even possible... where should I sell? Eventhough I don't have experience with portraits, should I plan to start taking local outdoor portraits? Thanks!

I went, and took a look at your photos over at devart. Three of them are really good. Old Barn, Gnarled Trees In Lake, and Winter Snow Scene, which is really outstanding. The rest are good as well, but just don't stand out like the three. Those three show definate artistic talent, which is something you either have, or don't, but still needs to be encouraged. Regardless of how you proceed otherwise, you definately need to work on creating a larger portfolio of work in order to have the best chance to generate decent sales. I would also suggest spending some time anylizing those three photos, and what makes them stand out, and how you achieved that, in order to be able to develop the talent you have into a style that feels best to you.

Like many other photographers, I too am still working on the best method to make a living by selling prints, licensing, and whatever. There are several avenues to selling online, which are relatively easy, and inexpesive to pursue, and from many discussions with others on this, I would suggest perhaps offering prints through a couple of the more popular, and basically free for you, sales communities available. You should set up a basic(which is free) CafePress store, as there is no downside to doing so.

I would also suggest joining Flickr, and then also offering prints through Zazzle, which is affiliated with them, allows you to set up a basic, though small store for free, and provides the ability to sell high quality, matted, and framed prints for a more profitable price. You should also take the time to create a blog, in one of the communities like LiveJournal, BlogSpot, or MySpace, so that you have a venue to promote yourself, and your stores. Then be willing to devote a lot of time for several months to build up a network of contacts, and develop some recognition.

It won't happen overnight, but if you want it badly enough you can build up some steady sales, and more importantly have a realistic chance of building recognition. I have been doing these things for a while, and while the money part isn't there, I am finally getting some notice, and will be having some of my work published in two separate publications later this year, which gives me something solid to show gallery owners in addition to a portfolio, which greatly improves the chance of getting a show.

If you are interested in looking at my stuff, you can start by looking at my Flickr photo pages, http://www.flickr.com/photos/unpolarized . My profile there has links to some of my other sites, blogs, and such, and offers some insight into some possible ways to expand your potential audience. If you like my work, and have more questions, feel free to email me, or catch me when I am on YIM. Addresses are in my profile here, and on most of my websites.

Tiffany's Photography & Videos - Second Life

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