Sell Your Photography, Not Your Soul

As the story goes, Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads in return for fortune and fame. As a photographer, you might have taken pictures of the very same crossroads, however, we do not have to sell our souls to make a few bucks. In this article, I am going to share my top five resources to showcase your work, and possibly make a living doing what you enjoy.

Knowledge

The first and most crucial resource to any photographer is the Photographer’s Market Guide, which is published every year. This book is the holy grail of whom, what, where, and how to market your work without losing your shirt, or in Mr.Robert Johnson’s case, your soul. The best part about this book is the amount of research that is done so you don’t have to, which in turn provides piece of mind that the resources are legitimate.  From interviews with up and coming photographers to release forms, websites, galleries, contests, and more, you cannot afford not to have this on your bookshelf.

Organization

Keeping your work organized is next, and just as important, if not more important than the Market Guide. There are many resources to accomplish this, however, I am only going to touch on a few. Adobe Lightroom is my number one choice, as it is an excellent organization tool, and more. Lightroom allows tagging your photos, embedding  metadata, and works flawlessly with Adobe Photoshop for some of the heavier work. One of my favorite features is the vast amount of plug-ins, from simple color correction to exporting directly to your favorite social media or photo hosting site like Flickr or Facebook with the click of a button. I suggest downloading a trial version and playing with some of the features, as I have only touched on the possibilities. If your wallet has cobwebs, as most do in these tough economic times, I suggest downloading Picasa from Google. It is free, and allows you to organize and manipulate your photos similar to Lightroom, and also upload directly to Picaso to share your masterpieces with friends and family.

Socialize

I mentioned the ability for Lightroom to export to your favorite sites, so lets review a few of the  photographer based social sites. Two social sites that I use are Flickr and Deviant Art. both offer free and paid subscriptions as well as the opportunity to sell your work. I tend to lean more towards Deviant Art as they house some of the most creative driven photographers I have ever come across. I consider myself to be both a traditional and creative photographer, and Deviant Art delivers. Flickr is great if you are into the “group-based” site. Fuel Your Photography is a perfect example, as they have their own “pool” as it is called. The local photography club I belong to also has a pool where members can critique and comment on each others work. Flickr also offers the “social” aspect of finding like minded photographers, and joining other groups or “pools.” If I were to put Deviant Art and Flickr next to each other, neither would win. Deviant Art offers less social networking, however, it is very open to new ideas and caters to the “artist.” Flickr is more social and has an open “touchy-feely” aura for lack of better words. In the end, both are great for photographers to get their work in front of a large audience, and I highly suggest using both.

Selling

If you are not interested in the “social-circles,” and just want to get your work online and start making a few bucks, I suggest Zenfolio and Wordpress. If you are newbie to the world of e-commerce or online sales, then Zenfolio is the perfect choice. They handle all of the sales, tax, and shipping; all you have to worry about is your photography and site layout. Like everyone else they offer both paid and free membership plans, however, if you are serious about selling your work, do not bother with the free membership. The paid membership allows you to customize the page with your logo, and even offers the ability to point a domain name via a few simple changes to your host’ DNS records. Don’t let the jargon scare you off as Zenfolio provides detaled instructions on how to accomplish this with ease. The actual photo processing, framing, and shipping is done by MPIX, and as someone who has used their services, you cannot go wrong.  Lastly, the paid premium membership allows you to set custom pricing and profit via an extremely user friendly interface.

There are a few other services I would like to mention, and although I am not as familiar with them, they are used by some big name photographers. Photobiz.com, an online host similar to Zenfolio, sports a slick Flash or HTML-based viewer, and if you do not have the funds to sign up for a year, you can choose from numerous monthly plans starting as low as $15.00. For alternatives to MPIX, check out Miller Labs and WHCC for supreme quality printing services.

The other option, which I am about to embark on, is setting up and designing your own site using Wordpress. If you are looking to do very minimal upkeep, I would stick with Zenfolio, however, if you are willing to learn a few new tricks and would like total control over very aspect of your site, then Wordpress is the way to go. There is a bit of a learning curve, and you will need to put time aside to keep up with your site, but in the end it is all about sitting in the drivers seat. Many books and videos have been sold covering the robust features Wordpress has to offer, so if you are new to this technology, I suggest wordpress.tv, wordpress.org, and a wonderful ebook entitled “Digging Into WordPress” for a solid starting point.

Networking

Lastly, and just as important as the previous four resources, is networking. You may have THE photo that will go into the archives along side Ansel Adams or Julia Margaret Cameron , but if no one ever has the opportunity to view your work, you may just miss the open door. I covered a few sites to showcase your work, and they are good resources, however, you still need people to come to your site which brings us to creating a buzz. Create new accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, and any other social media network that you feel comfortable with that focus on your photography, and that is key; if they focus on anything else other than your passion, you are defeating the purpose and wasting precious time.

Whenever you post a new photo to your gallery, be it Zenfolio, Flickr, or whichever service you decide to use, make sure to tell the world! If you keep this up and put in the time, others will begin to pay attention and start communicating about their latest photo or technique. Eventually,  you will experience the “snowball effect,” and more photographers, along with those who appreciate photography, will adore you and worship the very ground you walk on! OK, I may be pushing it, but you get the point. Monetary benefits aside, if you don’t put yourself in front of as many people possible, you will inevitably have no visits to your site, no interest in your photography, which can ultimately lead to no incentive; The Creative Killer.

Robert Johnson had to sell his soul to secure his future, however, with the proper tools and an unconquerable passion, you have the power to create your own crossroads, and ultimately, your success.