Shawn;
You're certainly not alone, though you probably ARE nuts. Selling photos is
not an easy
NUT to crack. I know a woman who's been trying to sell work to calendars,
magazines,
stock, etc, etc for a5 or 10 years. Believe me, she's got some GREAT shots.
Some polar
bear work that's at least the equal of Wolfe and Mangleson, for example. But
she's had
very limited success. Factoring in time, she's FAR in the whole moneywise for
her
efforts. She's been trying to crack the Sierra Club calendar NUT for longer
than that.
They say they look for 'new' talent. Bull. Every year it's the same old
Rowell, Wolfe,
Clifton ad nauseum. OK OK, their stuff IS great, but give others (like my friend
Barbara) a chance if their work is on par and hers is.
Anyway, point being there are 'names' out there rookies have to draw editors
attention
away from and it ain't easy.
Suggestion to learn more: get a copy of this years "Photographers' Market" at
any large
bookstore. Perhaps send in a submission to one that looks promising and see
what
happens ...
I've been selling my prints of my slides for about 5 years. Factoring in time,
I'm
probably $$thousands in the hole. A friend is retired and sells his prints
full-time at
Art & Wine shows here in Cal. He figures over the past 6 years he's made about
$6/hour.
Hope this dose of reality as I've seen it doesn't discourage you or anyone.
Your
mileage may vary and I'm right now building a darkroom in my new house so I can
continue
my (NUTTY?) dream of making money from photography.
george
Shawn Wright wrote:
> As I begin to shoot more and notice the increasing cost of film, developing,
> etc,
> I can't help also notice that many professional photos I see are of
> questionable
> quality. (the recent cover on American Photo of Princess Diana is a good
> example - anyone could have taken this shot, and I for one would not be proud
> of it - it's not even in focus!)
>
> Now before the pros on the list roast me over the BBQ, I don't mean to
> belittle
> the work involved in becoming a full time professional, or a struggling
> artist. It's
> just that I think some of my shots, not a lot maybe, but some, could sell, if
> I
> knew how to do it. If I could generate just a bit of income to allow me to
> explore
> a bit, I'd be happy.
>
> As it stands, my last two weeks of shooting (10 rolls) set me back close to
> $200, even more if I'd had them printed at the local pro shop. With a 2nd baby
> on the way, I need to either cut back, or make it pay somehow.
>
> Surely I'm not the only one who's thought of this, or tried this, or is
> already
> doing this? Thoughts, anyone? (and if I'm nuts, tell me so, I can take it...)
>
> Thx.
>
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