Do you sell your photos...?

[TooManyShots]

Someone from another message board wants to buy a bigger copy of one of my red tail hawk shots. He wanted to be big enough to be used for his desktop wall paper. How much should I charge him? Or how much you were able to sell yours as well? I try to approach the sales side of photography as business. Not so much of a hobby. After all, I am shooting these shots with a $9000 camera gears. Better off not to sell them if you guys telling me he should pay $100 for it. I don't think he wants pay that much.

Here is the shot he wants:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3475/3402076449_820a5a7bc0_o.jpg

[Palladium]

Well - by posting it that large without a watemark you just made a donation to the pool of unprotected images that will be used without your consent and payment.

IMHO - never post something online without a watermark.

[sam walker]

No All are for personal enjoyment or sending to birding pals on the web. I do pick one shot from the year and print 25 4x6 prints for insert into the Christmas card mailing. A few 8x10s have been given out as gifts.
Sam

[SirStuey]

To be honest, ask him if/how much he'd be willing to pay. Since he's on another message board, maybe you could try a trade of goods or services if he's not willing to pay as much as you'd hope for?

Then again, if you do sell/trade the photo, there's the chance that it will make its way to a friend's computer, and then a cousin, and then a spouse, and before you know it, it has found its way to a "best desktop background" downloadable collection on Joe Shmoe's website.

You could also decline and tell him that he could just use the above photo size as-is and centered. If he's not happy with that, then just give him an astronomically high quote for the higher resolution version.

That is a phenomenal photo, by the way. I can definitely see why someone would want to use it as a desktop. The urge to right click and "set as background" is strong with this one.

I've never tried selling my photos and when I'm told that I should, I shrug it off. I definitely wouldn't send high res images to anyone I wasn't close with.

[artyman]

For a background desktop what is the max resolution you need 1280x960 or whatever they are using sending an image at that resolution and low quality which is all that's required for a desktop monitor, isn't likely to enable them to produce decent prints of any size. As regrads price a couple of dollars I would have thought.

[canonloader]

I think I have seen Wallpapers go for $10 on average. Most are just free.

[TooManyShots]

I think I have seen Wallpapers go for $10 on average. Most are just free.


Hahaha....I told him $10 and will downsize the original to whatever size he wants. Well, haven't gotten a reply from him yet. What? "You think it is cheap to get shots like that....." Well, if he thinks that is too much. Maybe he could get shots like that with this p+s....:)

[andrewhuxman]

It seems to be a bargaining dual when selling images that people want. I have sold Aviation photos to Civilian Performers and Military Squadrons, they ask me how much do you want? and I say how much do you want to spend and how much your budget allows. It goes back and forth a bit till someone names a number and the one who does loses or wins all depends how you look at it. .....lol I keep it fun and friendly I usually will sell an image for around $35.00 to $75.00 per image some people want rights to the images with a written release to use as they see fit then the price goes up a bit but not much I have never charged over $125.00, There are so many people out there taking pics if you charge to much they will find someone else cheaper. This is just what I do, I am sure people sell for more and less I found this to work for me and the people I deal with, some might say thats to cheap and some might say thats to expensive.

[Tom Reichner]

There are so many people out there taking pics if you charge to much they will find someone else cheaper.
This is very, very true. All you need to do is get turned down a couple dozen times and you stop trying to charge $100 or more for an image. What good is a high price if nobody ever pays it?

[canonloader]

Images are so ephemeral. They keep someones interest for a few seconds at most then they turn the page. It's why television got such a hold on people back in the 50's. People don't want to pay for that. For good or bad, you can Google Free Wallpapers and get enough hits to kep you looking in to next year.

[Blue Deuce]

Well - by posting it that large without a watemark you just made a donation to the pool of unprotected images that will be used without your consent and payment.

IMHO - never post something online without a watermark.

Never seen a watermark I can't eliminate with out a trace.

[TooManyShots]

Never seen a watermark I can't eliminate with out a trace. I do agree if someone is determined to steal your shots, they can erase the watermark.

Here is an update. This dude thought that $10 was too much.. Hahahaha.....I told him that I was using a $9000 camera equipment to get that shot. What a punk he is.... He is going to enlarge that shot to see how far he could go. Poor bastard.

[yonni]

Big enough to use as wallpaper? I post 800x533 pics at pbase and that appears to be a fine size for that purpose. A supervisor at work saw a cheetah pic that I had posted and as I was walking by her work station one day I saw that pic as her desktop background. I was flattered, but felt a little ripped off too. The latter feeling soon disappeared as I realized that if you post to share you can't have complete control over who uses them for what purpose.

[pixelphotographer]

genuine fractals does a nice size of upsizing stolen images from the net.

That said I wouldnt pay 10 dollars for a desktop image either. No offense to you I completly undderstand I have one lens that cost 9000 dollars not counting my tripod, flash, camera, bags, camo, wimberly head and more. So I understand where you are coming from. But people have gotten to the point there are plenty of free incredible images out there for backgrounds or wall papers that are LEGALLY free. So why in the world would I pay 10 dollars for an image.
Just saying.