What to do with my travel photos...?

[natalie_odonnell]

<p>I love traveling more than anything and I love photography as well...so naturally I would love to travel and take photos and get paid to do it. I currently work as a newborn baby photographer but am wondering if anyone has any idea about how I could combine travel and photography and make money doing it. I don't even know where to begin to look for such jobs.<br>

Also...I spent the majority of 2013 living in Barcelona, while I was there I traveled to other countries/cities quite often. I have so many great photos that I love from these travels, but they are just sitting on a hard drive. Not sure what to do with them, other then framing them for myself/friends/family. I would love to be able to have people see them but I have no idea where to start. I really want to do something with them. I just started looking into photo contests...good idea/bad idea? How can I get these photos published or sell them? Or do I even want to sell them?? I just know I need some extra money, and I figured maybe I could win a contest? Anyway, any insight would be greatly appreciated.</p>

[maury_cohen]

<p>Lisl Dennis has authored at least a couple of books on travel photography. lots of good info. And I like her eye.</p>

[J.W. Wall]

<p>You might et some ideas at: http://www.danheller.com</p>

[Spearhead]

<p>You could try a blog. You may be able to get sponsors.<br>

<br />These days, it's common to be expected to provide both the writing and the photography.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>You also need to be aware that this sort of work has been the dream of nearly everyone who has ever traveled with a camera?<br /> Whatever you do, don't quit your day job until your travel photography sales/income have become sufficient to be self-supporting.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

[bernardwest]

bookmarking.

[robert_k1]

<blockquote>

<p>... any idea about how I could combine travel and photography and make money doing it ...</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Agreed with JDM.</p>

<p>- For exposure with minimal effort/expense, (and possible sales), try popular sites such as flickr, etc.<br>

http://www.flickr.com/groups/travelphotographylocations/</p>

<p>- Read this first before quitting your day job.<br>

http://www.photo.net/travel/marketing-travel-photography/</p>

[robert_k1]

<blockquote>

<p>I just started looking into photo contests...good idea/bad idea?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Worth reading before diving in.<br>

http://www.photo.net/business-photography-forum/00Uu7v?start=0<br>

http://www.photo.net/casual-conversations-forum/00ZhuL?start=0<br /> http://www.photo.net/business-photography-forum/00ahTQ?start=0<br>

http://copyrightaction.com/forums/copyright-alerts/photo-competitions</p>

 

[arie_vandervelden1]

<p>My suggestion. Go to blurb.com or similar service. Pick the largest book that they have and make yourself a coffeetable book. That's what I do with my travel photos.</p>

<p>You can also make calendars and give them away as christmas gifts. Forget about making money - just keep it fun.</p>

[Ian Taylor]

<p>There are thousands of people trying to do the same thing. You have to be really good and have a different angle on the business if you want to make any money at it these days. It's a commodity. <br>

One possibility is to shoot extremely well produced, model-released travel portraits. Stock agencies still need these and not many people are doing it. These kinds of images fetch a decent price. </p>

[dcstep]

<p>I agree with Arie, start with making yourself a nice book. With Blurb you can offer it for sale on an order by order basis. At least your friends can enjoy your work and, if you're really good and your book is really compelling, then others will buy it.</p>

<p>The economics of selling books, calendars and even prints is really tough. The printers end up with most of the money in the beginning. By going the Blurb or SmugMug route, you can dip your toe, get some experience building a book and seeing the public's reaction to your work. With good reaction, then you can consider have books printed in bulk so that there's some margin left for you.</p>

[Robin Smith]

<p>Agree completely with Ian and JDM. This idea is probably what everyone with a camera would like to do. Unless you take an approach like Ian suggests, I would say it is a completely non-economically advantageous activity. You could post to Flickr - like the other 10 million people...Just do it for your own pleasure is my advice. Buying more equipment, by the way, will not help you much (if at all).</p>

[james_kirkikis]

<p>The number one rule to making a small fortune in travel photography:<br>

Start with a large fortune and work your way down! ;-)<br>

Seriously, as others have mentioned, start slowly, don't quit your day job. The benefit for you is that you have most of the equipment, so there is little initial investment needed. <br>

I have been a "travel Photographer" for about 10 years, and I still have a 9 to 5 job. The income I get is a good suppliment, but hardly enough to live. <br>

Also, while we all have dreams of going to exotic locations and photographing a major article in National Geographic, start in your area. You know all of the nooks and cranies of your region and where to be at the right time. You can be at major and small events with little effort. You are the expert photographer there. Shoot subjects around your home to keep your travel expenses down and build a portfolio. Also, if something breaking happens, whether a news event or a rainbow, you are ready at a moment's notice. Traveling photographers have to hope their trip coincides with great weather. As you progress, expand the radius of your coverage.<br>

As far as getting paid, some on the forum may disagree, but a good place to try a stock agency. Yes, the stock business is not what it used to be (what is?), but there is still money to be made. Again, you may not be able to live off of your stock proceeds initailly, but it is a good suppliment. There are the big guys, like Getty, Corbis and Alamy with millions upon millions of photos. You may feel like a small fish in a large ocean. There are also smaller agencies with more specialized subjects. I tend to avoid the microstock companies because I'm convinced "micro" refers to the amount they pay photographers. <br>

Pick up a copy of the Photographers Marketplace at your local book store or through Amazon. The book has names of publishersw, magazines, gallaries and agencies and what they speicalize.</p>

[dfperrault]

<p><em>What to do with your photos...</em></p>

<p> I use my travel photos for fundraising to support NGO's usually focused in the area where the photos where taken. I would discuss with them how they may use your photos to aid in their work. Here are some examples: sales on NGO website, fundraising auctions, gift to donors, gallery sales w/ profits to be donated to the NGO. Here is a link to my website www.dphoton.org. I can discuss in more detail via PM</p>

<p><em>Travel & Photography</em></p>

<p>I have some friends who alternate between a job at home and traveling every 3, 6 months or year or so. Some of their jobs have been seasonal (e.g. working in Antartica, National Forest Service), other have jobs in the IT field where is is easy to find work. Would your current photo business be flexible enough for you to work on a similar schedule so you would not have to be concerned about supporting yourself while on the road? It would also allow you to take a break from traveling. I have never been able to travel longer than a 9 month stretch w/o feeling I needed to rest.</p>