As we all know , some amazing images can be captured in this industry. Can anyone recommend a site that they have used to sell images. Is there even a market for industry, landscape or weather images? Google doesn’t do much justice because there aren’t many reviews. Thanks for the feedback.
I’ve just started using smug mug and like it. The set up was easy and I like it so far. You can check it out at www.newenglandwatermanphoto.smugmug.com I’m still working on some of my pricing and adding photos, and it makes it very easy to do that.
[QUOTE=ATB2N2;117753]As we all know , some amazing images can be captured in this industry. Can anyone recommend a site that they have used to sell images. Is there even a market for industry, landscape or weather images? Google doesn’t do much justice because there aren’t many reviews. Thanks for the feedback.[/QUOTE]
You might want to talk to cmakin, he is some what of a professional photographer, and has been doing it for years. He might be able to give you some pointers.
[QUOTE=ATB2N2;117753]As we all know , some amazing images can be captured in this industry. Can anyone recommend a site that they have used to sell images. Is there even a market for industry, landscape or weather images? Google doesn’t do much justice because there aren’t many reviews. Thanks for the feedback.[/QUOTE]
Wooden Boat Forum ???
[QUOTE=ChiefRob;117788]You might want to talk to cmakin, he is some what of a professional photographer, and has been doing it for years. He might be able to give you some pointers.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the promo. I do sell photos, but I stick to the motorsports kind. I see that someone mentioned Smug Mug, and that is where I keep and sell mine. I don’t know how maritime photos would sell. I do okay for internet sales, but am certainly not ready to give up my day job. I do quite a bit of promotion and travel to some significant shows and that also bolsters my sales, as well as being on the staff of a couple of magazines and also getting pictures published in other periodicals.
I can say this. Just because your friends tell you that you take a good picture, they are not necessarily good judges of work. With the boom in digital camera sales, including point and shoot, cell phone (I hear that there is one coming out that takes 40 mp pics) and Digital SLRs, more and more people are out there calling themselves photographers and really just ripping people off. We have a name for them, “fauxtographers”. Google that and see what shows up. Pretty funny. In fact, I don’t sell myself as a photographer. I don’t do “shoots” (unless race cars are involved), portraits or weddings. I really don’t consider myself a photographer. That said, I am pretty handy shooting racing action shots.
Try Smug Mug if you are really serious. Also try Flickr. They offer a terabyte of storage for free, and much more for a pro account which is US$35/year. A Pro Account at Smug Mug will set you back about $150/year. What is nice about Smug Mug is that they are connected with a couple of different services that will print the photos and send them. Just some thoughts. Send me a message or email if you are interested in more.
My website is www.manvelmotorsports.com.
Just to put it out there… we are always interested in some good photos. We don’t technically have a photo database (maybe we should) so we don’t really have anything to do with them. However, we do do ship photos of the day, facebook, etc. Typically look for some sort of interesting back story about whatever the photo/ship is.
Generally speaking, email anything you think would work well on the site to tips@gcaptain.com.
Selling images for more than a few bucks is not easy to do in this day and age, but if you have talent, and the right equipment, you may be able to turn it into something more than just a professional hobby.
- Shoot in RAW format - always
- Use good software to process your images
- Watch for over or under exposed areas. Blown out parts of your image, or blackness, significantly reduces the value of your photo
- Use the whole frame. Severely cropped images are not worth much
- The images should be sharp and in focus
- Color images are more desirable than black and white
If you follow all those guidelines and have spectacular images like Lou Vest aka Oneeighteen… Getty Images might be interested.
Having been on both ends of the photo pipeline (shooter and editor), I would add to Rob’s excellent suggestions:
- Vary your shots when you have the opportunity: vertical and horizontal, left-facing and right-facing. You want to give the graphic designer/layout artist options, and horizontal photos rarely make magazine covers.
- A really good, fast wide-angle lens (say, 17-24mm) is a better friend than a so-so telephoto.
- To Rob’s No. 2 above: Adobe Lightroom is a great tool that will allow you to make the sort of corrections we used to be able to make in the darkroom without (too much) temptation to “Photoshop” your images. It’ also is helpful for fast, batch processing and keyword tagging. Don’t forget to tag your photos … as they pile-up, that will be important.
- Learn to write descriptive cutlines and use file info if you hope to sell some photos on the editorial side.
- Port authorities, boat companies, professional magazines and industry associations also all are potential customers.
Just my $.02.
Regarding Item 2 above, a fast lens is essential for low light situations, but not necessary for day to day shooting. I do agree about a wider angle zoom lens and yes, the 17-24mm is a good range. I have one that is a 2.8 (yeah, a fast lens) and it is my “go to” lens for non action (on track racing) photos. I haven’t gone out to shoot any maritime photos in a bit; and what few I do have are from my work “point and shoot” that I use when doing the odd cargo survey, shooting the waterfront surroundings. I really need to take a day and go get some ship shots around here. Rob is correct. Lou Vest has a real knack for shooting and also has the opportunities that most don’t have. His thread on Flickr is always interesting. He has a real eye for photography, something that I don’t feel that I have. . .
Personally I think a 70-200 f2.8 on my crop sensored camera gives me the range especially when I’m in the wheelhouse 80+ ft in the air.
[QUOTE=ATB2N2;117878]Personally I think a 70-200 f2.8 on my crop sensored camera gives me the range especially when I’m in the wheelhouse 80+ ft in the air.[/QUOTE]
I have the same lens and it is my “go to” lens for shooting racing. I used to shoot with it on a DX (Nikon) cropped sensor camera and did well with it. I now have a full frame camera and appreciate the slightly wider exposure. I still like the wider angle zoom for general photos, those rare times that I take them. Sometimes range isn’t everything. Also, don’t purchase any cameras solely on megapixels. These are all tidbits that I have gleaned thought the few years of shooting. There are some others, but I found getting comfortable enough with the camera to making the settings (aperture, shutter and ISO) manually to be quite freeing. I am interested in seeing what you are shooting.
All good points by the above posts . I have been using Zenfolio , similar to Smug Mug. I currently sell photos to the A.M.O. union newsletter and website . I have also sold to the local newspaper when i know i have a shot that they could not get. It is very hard to make a lot of money , but we have a point of view that few can get. Keep trying , buy some used gear at first if you can not afford new. Learn how to use Lightroom and watermark your photos !!!
[QUOTE=biminijim;117915]All good points by the above posts . I have been using Zenfolio , similar to Smug Mug. I currently sell photos to the A.M.O. union newsletter and website . I have also sold to the local newspaper when i know i have a shot that they could not get. It is very hard to make a lot of money , but we have a point of view that few can get. Keep trying , buy some used gear at first if you can not afford new. Learn how to use Lightroom and watermark your photos !!![/QUOTE]
A couple of good points. It IS VERY hard to make decent money, especially from the “hobbyist” angle (i.e. as opposed to seriously studying photography, apprenticing under a commercial photographer, etc.). I do a bit better than some because I am geared toward a specific audience. Watermarking is certainly helpful, especially when photos end up on Google or other sites. It isn’t necessary from a legal standpoint, since it is, in essence, copyrighted once the shutter closes on your camera. I am fairly diligent in chasing my pictures down. Sometimes they are purchases, scanned and then put out on the internet. I had one of mine converted into a meme and posted on FB and got into a bit of a row with the publisher. Ultimately, he DID take it down when threatened. The two best things, outside of formal training are practice with the camera and practice with the software. Oh, and ALWAYS save a copy of the unaltered original. You will understand why after a few years.