Can you share your success story ?

CelsoDiniz

Hi,

I'd like to ask if any or many of you could share your success story on selling Prints over the web. I've been working with some Stock sites and people never bought prints, only downloads. I was also checking eBay and there are almost zero bids on prints available to sell.

I know SmugMug empowers us with some great features to sell Prints, but it would be great to hear some real life testimonials on how much the yearly earnings can be for a successful photographer selling his prints on SmugMug or the web in general.

Note I'm not talking about shooting events and selling the prints here, I'm really talking about one selling his work, showing and marketing his own portfolio and such.

Thank you guys,
Regards,
Celso.

Khaos

I think the most successul print sellers are those that are commissioned or those that "commision themselves" by taking event photography, letting everyone there know of their site.

I know there are some that do sell prints without commision, but it's probably the hardest thing to do.

I also think that on line sales are hard. Yes, the photos look great on line, but they can't even compare to seeing the actual print. When I had some of my shots printed and showed them to family and friends who had already seen them on line and liked them, the reaction was amazing. They loved the prints and stated they looked so much better then what they saw on line.

So I think until you can build yourself up or possibly find a niche for a certain customer, there's no real easy answer.

I myself will begin going to local businesses and seeing if I can begin hanging a print or two and give them a few business cards for anyone who asks about the photograph.

Khaos

Also, ebay is about the last place I would think of looking to buy photography.

GraphyFotoz

Well........
I sell by word of mouth for now.
I have a portfolio of some of my best shots to show perspective buyers.
In 25yrs of photography I have sold about 20 works.

8x10 in a gold metal frame....matted I get $50
Now and then AC Moore has a sale on nice wooden frames that bumps the price another $25 ($75)

I have gotten a scolding from a few of my clients cuz I don't advertise or try harder to sell my works.

There are SOOO many people out there better than me.....why push it?
I know WRONG attatude......trust me I have heard it already!:D

Chase

I do all event/sports work and have made maybe a couple thousand through smugmug directly or indirectly in almost a year.

Karenl39

Chase wrote:

I do all event/sports work and have made maybe a couple thousand through smugmug directly or indirectly in almost a year.

How do you do that? Do you take the photos of the kids and pass out your card to let people know they're for sale? I'd be interested in hearing your story because I take a ton of photos at my son's games. However, I don't tell anybody but the kids and the photos are mainly of my son, but I could change that for next season. I know the team already has a photographer but his stuff isn't online.

Karen

Karenlynch.smugmug.com

digital faerie

I'm going to make up a special portfolio for some of the interior designers in the area.....having large prints as a design showcase is really taking off around here, and I figured with so many homes in the area well above a million dollars that there's a decent market for such a thing.

It might be something you should try out. The cool thing about it is that you could simply provide the print, and they would take care of the framing since the frame should go along with the interior design scheme.

Just an idea.

We also have a huge home builders convention here every year that showcases everything from gadgets to interior design. Getting a booth with a couple of larger than normal prints as well as some 8x10s could very well drum up some business as well.

Sorry that I haven't actually done these things yet, so I can't say whether or not it's a successful idea yet, but I think it's definitely worth trying out.

Mike Lane

digital faerie wrote:

I'm going to make up a special portfolio for some of the interior designers in the area.....having large prints as a design showcase is really taking off around here, and I figured with so many homes in the area well above a million dollars that there's a decent market for such a thing.

It might be something you should try out. The cool thing about it is that you could simply provide the print, and they would take care of the framing since the frame should go along with the interior design scheme.

Just an idea.

We also have a huge home builders convention here every year that showcases everything from gadgets to interior design. Getting a booth with a couple of larger than normal prints as well as some 8x10s could very well drum up some business as well.

Sorry that I haven't actually done these things yet, so I can't say whether or not it's a successful idea yet, but I think it's definitely worth trying out.

I hear doing the lighting and composition of interior shots can get quite complex. Let us know how it goes!

digital faerie

Mike Lane wrote:

I hear doing the lighting and composition of interior shots can get quite complex. Let us know how it goes!

I wouldn't be doing interior shots......I was thinking along the lines of flowers, landscapes, mountain-scapes, etc. since it's getting to be pretty popular in some of the design work I've seen around here (I work part-time with an appraiser). Prints for the designer to USE.

Chase

Karenl39 wrote:

How do you do that? Do you take the photos of the kids and pass out your card to let people know they're for sale? I'd be interested in hearing your story because I take a ton of photos at my son's games. However, I don't tell anybody but the kids and the photos are mainly of my son, but I could change that for next season. I know the team already has a photographer but his stuff isn't online.

Karen

Karenlynch.smugmug.com

I pass out my card...have become well known for it around school. School has hired me to provide images for school publications, and allowing me to sell photos at sports banquets. My sales have grown exponentially. Slow at first, but they are really taking off now.....