Selling Photography On Line

I work with a Pentax 6X7 and have posted some of my work on my website http://www.stateofmaya.com

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Has anyone had any positive experience selling their images on line? I'd like to hear any comments or suggestions on this and on improving my site. Thanks!

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David Oliveras

http://www.stateofmaya.com

doliveras@stateofmaya.com

You might take a look at what <a

href="http://blackandwhitephotos.com">James F. Danis</a> has done.

James Danis' work is nice and his web site is very well organized, but

how's he doing with it? Is he selling any significant volume?

From James Danis:

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Brian,

Thanks for your compliments. I have been selling my work as

fine art for the past 18 years as my primary source of income. I am

very fortunate to have made some discoveries marketing wise that have

served me well. But they have been won by experiment, extreme

expense and by following my own instincts. Each photographer's or

artist's work is a cumulative unique output and as such, has a unique

market. The sales approach should have a style similar to one's

personal style in photography or art. It is awsome to see how my

customers resemble me in so many ways. For me, success has been an

adventure into self realization.

David Jenkins and I had a chat about James Danis. I had posted just

the first paragraph of James' email to me, and forwarded its entirety

to David. We had a conversation, and then I realized that everybody

else was missing out. So here it is, with Dave's permision:

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DJ:

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In other words, I paid the price to find what works, and I'm not

going to give it away!

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BCM:

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I think James is right that the exact figures aren't that important.

What we need to do is just look at his web site and see how it's put

together. "If you find a good idea, steal it." His web site accepts

credit cards. According to Mason Resnick at B&W World, that software

costs $50 or so. No big investment there. He says that your site

has to stand out. So advertise it like a maniac. I sent an email to

David Oliveras, and he says he makes his living from his art

proceeds. So David is already in galleries and such, and he's

looking for another outlet.

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Honestly, what did we expect? I was hoping he'd pop over and state

the obvious: Yes, the web works. Yes, advertise like crazy. Yes,

lay it out well. Put the prices next to the photos. Accept all

methods of monitary payment. Don't accept pigs and chickens as

payment.

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Like a cashier at the local supermarked told me, "Capitalize like

crazy." His business had failed.

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So let us observe the obvious, and imitate all the good habits! :)

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DJ:

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You're right, of course, but I'm still suspicious of selling on the

net. What I really wanted to know is if he is selling enough on the

net to make it worthwhile to put forth the effort, maintain the site,

etc.

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BCM:

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From a car manufacturer: "Your mileage will vary."

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If you don't put forth the effort, then you will never know. Many

people have really liked my Dad's artwork, but he would never exhibit

or sell any of it. He would do one or two paintings for people, but

he would never allow himself to be successful.

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Analyze the costs: Based on the prices a local provider charges,

it's $50 a month for a commercial web page, and a bunch of

megabytes. So that's $50 a month, $300 a year. Not bad rent. Then

there's your costs of setting up the web page. How much will it cost

you to have your photos scanned in? Can you get it done or do it for

no money? Setting up a web page is just a bunch of typing if you

bother to learn HTML, and the books for that aren't expensive. For

payment, just say that you accept cash, checks, and money orders.

That's a good start.

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So: $50 a month, free listing on every search engine there is, you're

on the net. All the profits go to you, instead of 50% to a gallery.

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(Based on my weak understanding of US self-employment taxes, a

gallery nets you 25% profits, because first 50% goes to the gallery,

and of that profit the IRS takes 50% of it. So the web gets you 50%

overall.)

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Web maintenance: Its just some typing, and that's it. A web editor

is great for the fancy stuff. You can get 95% of the way there with

just a little effort.

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Remember: It's not what your time costs, it's how you invest it.

So: TV or learning HTML and setting up a web page. There you go.

Like anything else that's worthwhile it does take an effort. I

basically designed my site very simply and did it myself. It's

certainly not perfect because I'm not a programmer, however, I have

seen worse and it's an evolving process. I pay about $29 a month to

the company that's "web hosting." I guess I spent $30.00 on a book

re: creating web sites using Office 97 which is a program I knew and

already had and finally I guess I spent about $70 scanning some

photos. I plan to add more to it soon.

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If nothing else my artwork has reached an audience that it never had

before in such far away places as Luxemborg, Australia, Italy,

Malaysia, and the Vatican. A free web counter provides me with some

stats as to how well my marketing efforts are working.

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Does this take time away from taking pictures? Not really. That

always comes first. Now, however, when I surf the web I'm doing it

with a goal in mind: that is trying to reach more potential buyers.

Basically I'm still shopping around for a secure credit card

transaction package, but that will come.

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Ultimately with the web growing som much everyday, I'm sure it will

pay off in the long run.

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David Oliveras

http://www.stateofmaya.com

For a brief look at Professional Portfolios, the Agfa film web sight

has an ongoing display of work

WWW.agfaphoto.com/gallery/pf-index.html some very interesting

work on display and a monthly competition.