What do you do with your photos?

There are a lot of fine photographers here getting a lot of very good images.

What do you do with them if you don't sell them?

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Originally Posted by MB1

There are a lot of fine photographers here getting a lot of very good images.

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I don't know if I'm in that club, but really going out and shooting is the main part of it for me. Part of that is the 1-2% of images that I really like; the ones I'd bother to print and frame. Aside from that small group, I'll share some here occasionally or with friends that may have a connection (on the same trip, know the area, common interest), etc. Nothing specific.

Mostly just share them with friends and family online via Facebook or Zooomr; or, as AV said, with the people who were at the event.

I pretty much shoot for my own enjoyment at the moment though, so most stuff just stays on the computer.

I've started burning family photos to cd to give to my sons...especially the ones with the grandkids and if they want to get prints they can.
I've also thought that these hundreds/thousands of images on the computer aren't doing any body much good as I'm the only one that sees them unless I get one good enought to share here or other places so I've started cleaning out the junk and getting some prints of my better ones.

I have to admit that I'm in the same boat much of the time and shooting is the main priority but what good is that if I'm not able to share the shots? Reminds me of shooting tin cans with my .22.

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Originally Posted by MB1

What do you do with them if you don't sell them?...

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This is kinda vague. If you mean hard copies, well in the digital age, my gallery work doesn't get printed unless I make a sale. I do have a single set of my exhibition prints ready to frame and hang should I get a chance to show somewhere.

My commercial work (which are digital files uploaded to a publication via ftp) only get printed to go in my physical portfolio.

Other than that, it's all in storage, baby... :cool:

First let me say - that's a great question and peaks my interest since I need some ideas. Photography is for my personal enjoyment; however, I strive to get the best images I can mostly out of camera since I don't enjoy sitting at the computer. I post some here. Actually this is my favorite place to share my photos. Also, I share my good ones with friends - mostly from the computer. I have some printed to share, to give away - and sometimes do some birthday or other parties - but give those away also.

My images get stored on an external hard drive and I have a Smugmug account which desperately needs updated/upgraded. My problem is that I never started a good filing system and my photos are "filed" under various and assundry (confusing) titles - very generic.

Right now I don't have a lot of time, but one of my photography goals this year is to go through all my images and sort them out. I would like to begin a good (EASY) filing system that I can understand and not get lost in. I plan to continue filing them in the external hd and upload some of the better ones on Smugmug. I'm not a keeper, and throw most of what I don't like away. However, I've gone through some of my older photos and discovered some gems - so I must have thrown a few good ones away too!

Liz

Yep, I have been sorting photos dating back since 2005 and so far have filled a 320GB external Hard rive and am 3/4 of the way filling up a 500GB external hard drive. + what I have burned on DVD's...not to mention many I simply deleted...

I store most of what I have taken on a couple 500 gig hard drives. I mostly take photos for my pleasure and to share with friends and family. I have some aspirations of maybe selling photos someday, but so far I am happy with things the way they are.

There's an easy answer for me: I print out a small handful for my office, I've given a couple away to family and friends, but the rest are sitting on my hard drive, which is probably appropriate unless I get more skilled.

The more interesting question for me is what causes someone to make the leap from taking pictures to selling pictures. What was the transition for you? How does one determine that you have pictures that are valuable?

For me, I don't think I quite understand what's sellable. Some of the stuff I've seen for sale was atrocious, while I've seen other stuff (on this site and others) that I'm sure will never make the leap beyond the computer.

PC

I too have had the same question. This thread has been helpful for me.

One thing I did for my wife as a Christmas present was to make a Photostory slideshow using my pics (added music, captions, etc.) of the year's events. We had an eventful year- son's h.s. grad., his frosh year at university, etc. As we sit around on Christmas morning and watched using a borrowed LCD projector, we laughed, cried and relived a year's worth of memories.

I print only what I will exhibit or place in a portfolio for showing to various curators and galleries. I will also print when an image has been sold. Everything is filed in Chronological order with folders for each year, sub-folders with the months of that year. Keywords are given to each file that I keep for easy finding.
I will also print pics of the family and some personal stuff like that.

I am a lot like Brad...I pretty much shoot for my own enjoyment (and attempts at creativity) :) at the moment though, so most stuff just stays on the computer. I print the odd few for framing or to give to friends and family, and I send a lot to folks electronically :thumbsup: . A lot of my images are, shall I say, experiments in learning the ins and outs of the new camera (recent 5D and IS/L lenses) so they very seldom get printed except to see the effect or results.

I have also recently discovered birding, or what ever it is called elsewhere, as a hobby for us retired folk, after all, wildlife is one of my interests :thumbsup: . I have also discovered that a lot of birds that I have never heard of spend winter in our part of the southern Prairies (e.g., rough-legged hawk) so I have started to follow-up on reports of their presence and set out to document this electronically :D . There are a lot of things, e.g., panoramas, macros, etc., that I still want to try (in the summertime), but I just need to work it all into my schedule, after all, 6 to 8 hours of winter daylight in my part of the world does not give you a lot of good sunshine (even then the sunshine is not that great) to shoot in, particularly with Chinook clouds (PM me for explanation or Google) and winter snow storms and showers. (my whine...!!! :mad2: ) FWIW MHI...but, what the heck, I try to take advantage of warm winter days and get out when I can ( 14C today, but only 4C tomorrow so that's part of winter here where it can often go to -25 or -30 C and stay there for a while :mad2: :D )

Cheers,

WesternGuy

I store my photos on an external HD, plus I burn copies of everything to 2 DVD's. I keep one DVD at home, I take the other to work with me in a different town.

I print the ones I really like and make greeting cards out of them to sell at farmers markets and craft fairs. I will also matte some enlargements for sale, as well as frame a few for the markes and craft fairs as well. Family pics I will give copies to my sister to print for the family, or print them myself. I also self publish a calendar in the fall to give as Christmas gifts and I also sell a few.

I also like to share them here, and on my own website (which is in need of updating). I will also print a lot of 4x6 photos to add to an album to show the family at get togethers. I also make some enlargements for albums to show the family, as well as to frame to decorate the house.

The over all % of what I print is tiny compared to the # of photos I take.

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Originally Posted by PrevailingConditions

..The more interesting question for me is what causes someone to make the leap from taking pictures to selling pictures. What was the transition for you? How does one determine that you have pictures that are valuable?

For me, I don't think I quite understand what's sellable. Some of the stuff I've seen for sale was atrocious, while I've seen other stuff (on this site and others) that I'm sure will never make the leap beyond the computer.

PC

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My photography and the images I am attracted to have always had an element of that commercial or postcard look. Friends and family kept bugging me to sell them until I finally gave in and gave it a try.

Seems to be going well enough as a sideline and way different from my day job.

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Originally Posted by Asylum Steve

This is kinda vague. If you mean hard copies, well in the digital age, my gallery work doesn't get printed unless I make a sale. I do have a single set of my exhibition prints ready to frame and hang should I get a chance to show somewhere.

My commercial work (which are digital files uploaded to a publication via ftp) only get printed to go in my physical portfolio.

Other than that, it's all in storage, baby... :cool:

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Clearly you sell your photos (as do I) but I take a zillion more photos than I sell and I was wondering what folks that don't sell their images used them for.

Welll...

Pics of my kids and my family get emailed to our extended family, every now and then I print and frame something for them, or for us.

Pics of other peoples kids...they order the prints, I burn the files to a cd (moving to external hard drive storage, way to many cds) and then get deleted off my computer after 2 or 3 months. People generally don't come back and order more, but suppose thier house burns down, there is a high probabilty that I will be able to help them replace photos.

Everything else, dumped on the drive until I get around to it, which is usually not anytime soon.

I have a website and sell my football photos. I also create and sell slideshows from those pics to the football team too.

Other then that I don't sell anything else. My knowledge is limited and void in too many areas. :D

Great question and a few different ideas all of which lead the person back to the same basic question: what to do with your photos .!!

I think I can answer that question as I have 40 years doing what I do with photographs.

i sell them! I want money. so I can purchase better equipment and advance up the ladder of success as they say. I wanted to succeed. .not for the $$ .. yes that was my #1 aim. to make money so I could do this instead of construction work. In the late 60's and early 70's it was a different story to become a photographer that could support a family and as such this presented a huge challenge..

Create images that will generate $$. this is easy to do.. Creating a pleasing color corrected print a no brainer these days. anyone can do it..

Marketing is a whole complete different ball game that most don't dare venture into..

you have to sell your images !! Not yourself.. nope. wrong concept.

No one cares who you are, ! But they do care about awesome images !! You have to get peoples attention and you have a split second in which to do that.

I always carried a portfolio with me of my ten best images.. 25 tops.. Only the very best of images should be used.

The more people you meet the more people you talk to,, the bigger the chances are that you will "step into it" and be in the right place at the right time.. that is all it takes.

consistenly, constantly striving learning how to market. in your area and beyond..

Go to any good book store: Photographers Market Book it is published every year.

Learn how to submit: using delivery memos and such as is required by what that book says... Start... the process of getting your work in front of people that purchase .


Post cards,, note cards are a great way to make some pretty hefty money.. I live in an area where tourists visit by the thousands.. and as such my sales are strong.

but putting post cards, - notecards in many areas. as many as you can. .you will be surprised at what you can generate for bux.

Get that market book, get your portfolio built.

I had to learn how to do this all the hard way.. process color and correct it and get the results back to the customer in very little time and in the early seventies that was no easy task for most people. I was lucky..

I was obsessed I have moved around too much. (construction is limited in some areas) I have never worked in houses, just huge industrial projects.

I always found a way to make money at work, taking candid photos of people unaware, and then selling those.. cheap..

it is still true today more than ever.. the best advertising is by word of mouth !!! Get out there and meet people and talk, eat, dream photography !!!

I retired very young from the construction trade. Photography is what made it all possible. I am living so comfortably frm images I created 30 years ago that I don't have to ever touch a a\camera again and my childrens children will live off the proceeds of my images for generations to come.

30 years is a long time.. and to this day .. there are none. nothing that can even come close to the images I processed using snow to develop and print color images @ 50 below zero !!!

I got lucky and just happened to be in the right place.. .. at the right time.! Opportunity knocked, I opened that door and froze my ASA/ ISO off. big time.

so I hope these few ideas help some.. think !!

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Originally Posted by Majik_Imaje

.. there are none. nothing that can even come close to the images I processed using snow to develop and print color images @ 50 below zero !!!

I got lucky and just happened to be in the right place.. .. at the right time.! Opportunity knocked, I opened that door and froze my ASA/ ISO off. big time.

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I want to hear more about this !!

A photo is worth a thousand words.


http://majikimaje.com/rollover_1.jpg


and tons more in $$$

Interesting thread. Basically, anything that would look good as an 8 X 10, I'll save. This means, the majority of my photos get deleted. I keep my "keepers" on my hard drive on my laptop and my desktop and on a flash drive. I'll probably never acquire enough keepers to warrant an external hard drive.

As far as selling photos, all I sell are notecards at a local art gallery. I got the idea and specs from mjs1973. I plan on marketing these notecards to resorts this spring. I used to assemble and sell fishing tackle to resorts and I currently have 5 dozen resorts as customers for my credit card business, so I already have an in. This is why the only subject I shoot is wildlife. Many tourists come to northern MN for the wildife. I am currently working on another idea. I just mailed a couple notecards and a couple samples of another idea, to the main office of a 300 store chain. I'll let you all know how this all turns out. I'm hoping to eventually sell upwards of 5000 notecards annually.

With two 750gb hard drives installed and a 200gb external soon, I just store it all. I'm going to put what fits on the 200gb and then put it somewhere safe

As far as selling, I have an imagekind account which I put a few of the ones I think might be saleable on....but mostly I just share them for the enjoyment of others and for the satisfaction of comments on them