Landscape Photography Agent?

I was wondering if anyone knows where I can find representation for my landscape photography?

There are essentially no stock agencies that are actively recruiting landscape

photographers. This doesn't mean that a more generalist agency won't accept your work,

but it does suggest something about the supply/demand relationship in the stock photo

market. You could be your own best agent for a variety of reasons, so long as you are

willing to do market research, learn to price and write up licenses, reach out to potential

clients who you identify through your research, etc. However, this takes a major

commitment of time and resources to carry out effectively, with no guarantee of success.

 

The "pie in the sky" ideal alternative that appeals to many photographers, is placing work

with stock agencies. Stock photo companies these days are really no longer "agencies" in

the sense that they do not, for the most part, actively promote specific photographers'

work. They do not care about you, nor do they care about your photographs beyond the

level of a cheaply obtained commodity that they might be able to sell. It has become a very

cynical and extremely competitive business, especially with regard to readily accessible

and cooperative subjects, like those favored by traditional landscape photography which

have become radically oversupplied in the marketplace.

 

As a newcomer, in order to have even marginal success with landscape photography going

through agencies, you will have to target your shooting to carefully identified demand in

the market. In other words, what can you supply to a reasonably sizable market sector that

hasn't already been done to death? Being able to knock off David Muench's portfolio isn't

good enough, and for most photographers, neither is simply shooting the pictures that

you find personally gratifying. You always have to consider the needs of the end users that

are yet to be adequately fulfilled.

Good answer Justin,

 

All I can say is you'll have to be relentless with your marketing!

 

Good Luck!

 

Ian

Justin really hit the nail on the head. The glory days of making money with your "stock"

images are over. If you really want to market your images YOU are going to do a lot of the

work. Fortunately you have a lot of tools to do that these days. Consider e-commerce, sell

directly off your website. Use direct mail to target potential clients. Modern Postcard has

great services for this, printing, mailing lists, etc.

You can also market using e-mails. Check out Fresh Lists for potential client mailing lists.

The only way people are going to buy your images is if they can see them. Promote,

promote, promote.