Photo Library Question

[sue2you]

Where is a good place to start to try to sell photos. There seem to be hundreds of photo libraries around, but I'm not sure what I should be looking for and if there are any recommended sites - preferrably where you can try without having to pay some sort of fee?

I'm especially concerned about not signing away all rights to my photos - I still want them to be mine!

[max101]

What you are probably looking for are Stock photography sites, these are collections of photos which are sold for use in everything from books to advertising. You are right - there are many stock photography sites out there, with varying requirements for photographer registration. Some specialize in certain subject areas (eg food), while others are more general. I have had experience of a few and one thing you have to be careful of are the terms and conditions, for example some require exclusive rights to your photos, while others have charges if your photos don't sell.

A good list of the sites (not all of which will accept new photographers) is
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_photography

As for recommendations, I have had a few bad experiences with a couple of sites, but I recently uploaded some to http://www.totallyphotos.com . It's too early to say how good they are but they look ok - and at least they let you have full control of your photos which for me is the most important thing.

Good luck!

[PhotosGuy]

Get a copy of this: 2005 Photographers Market (http://www.google.com/url?sa=l&q=http://www.amazon.com/o/redirect%3Ftag%3Damd-google-20%26path%3Dtg/detail/-/158297277X/ref%3Dpd_sl_aw_alx-jeb-9-1_book_5994021_15&ai=BSqwYZdvZQpPoAsH2igHVrPT_COOnvAffj_DEAZu-1_kC8KIEEAIYAigDMAFIkzlQ65X4uf7_____AZgBsk3IAQE&num=2)

[sue2you]

Thanks for the help - I uploaded a photo to totallyphotos.com and have to wait for approval.
If you don't mind me asking max101 - have you sold anything there (I know you say it's very early still)?

[max101]

Sorry for not answering sooner - I've actually been uploading a few images myself. It seems like a good time to upload - they are after all types of images and approval is fast - one photo was approved in about 10 minutes!

Anyway I have actually made one sale - it was only low resolution, but it's a start. Here's a link:
http://www.totallyphotos.com/image_details.php?photograph_id=2
Hope you like it - and good luck with yours!

[sue2you]

Max, I wanted to say thanks for the recommendation, I just made my first sale on Totallyphotos :-)
The first time I've ever made money from my photography and it's a great feeling!

The team at totallyphotos are great, they have been very encouraging as I admit I had a lot of problems with my uploads at first :-O

Sue.

[max101]

Well done Sue! I'm glad you like the site. I haven't uploaded much there recently as I've been busy moving house. I'll be back into it soon (as long as I can find where my camera has got to :-)

Here's to plenty more sales in the future.

[Levon]

I just had a look on this site.

I wonder, I see they sell high resolution images royalty-free for $25...I can only imagine how much the photographer will receive from that.

I can't help thinking though: do you think this is a good developement, and is it worth it for you to sell your images for so little money? I am sure, Sue, that it feels great to have sold your first photograph, and congratulations at that, but don't you think working for companies like this stock agency devalues our work, to the point where photographs are worth less and less money? Remember, not only have you just sold an image for next to nothing that someone else is making a lot of money with, but if ever you do turn pro you would be directly effected by this...

[sue2you]

The photographer gets 50% of the sale, so I know that $12.50 for a photo doesn't sound like much, but at the moment I'm happy with it.
I did look at other sites and on some of them you only get 20 cents! I'm not nearly good or serious enough for the "big sites", but this seemed like a good intermediate place.

The argument about selling an image for $25 and someone using it to make a lot of money doesn't really make sense to me. It's like selling a computer program - the person who buys it may use it to make a million dollars, or may make nothing at all. It depends on their creative use of what they buy. They are not making money directly from your photos (the terms and conditions prevent that), they are making money from using your photo as a tool to sell something else - and that's really how business works.

Sure, if I ever become pro I will probably do things differently, but as someone just starting out I think this is a good way to begin.

Sue.

[Levon]

The photographer gets 50% of the sale, so I know that $12.50 for a photo doesn't sound like much, but at the moment I'm happy with it.
I did look at other sites and on some of them you only get 20 cents! I'm not nearly good or serious enough for the "big sites", but this seemed like a good intermediate place.

The argument about selling an image for $25 and someone using it to make a lot of money doesn't really make sense to me. It's like selling a computer program - the person who buys it may use it to make a million dollars, or may make nothing at all. It depends on their creative use of what they buy. They are not making money directly from your photos (the terms and conditions prevent that), they are making money from using your photo as a tool to sell something else - and that's really how business works.

Sure, if I ever become pro I will probably do things differently, but as someone just starting out I think this is a good way to begin.

Sue.

Yeah, but that's an error a lot of people starting out make. Just because you're not established (yet), does not mean that your work is not worth anything.

These guys are laughing all their way to the bank, because us photographers continually undermine the value of our images.

Imagine, a travel agency is getting ready to make a brochure. This brochure will be delivered to 50 000 homes. Let's say a 500 of these people decide to buy a trip, on which the insurance makes $100 profit each. That's 50 000 dollars profit!
If this travel agency would approach you directly and say: "you know what, mrs Sue, I like your work. Can I use your photo to help me make $50.000 and in return I will take you and your husband to MacDonald's this evening?"

Don't you think we owe it to our craft to have ourselves taken seriously? The worst is that they (the stock agencies, all the clients) know very well how much money our images make them. And they know even better how easily we let ourselves get screwed.

Do you know that more money is being made on photography today than ever, but the percentage of that money that goes to the photographers is less than ever? Why do you think that is? Is it because the quality of our work is less than it used to be? Or is it that we are so happy and proud of a good photo that we are content to practically give it away? Is it because we love what we do and therefore easily exploited? If ever you heard how these agents and clients talk behind our backs...really you'd be surprised. They say that we are imbeciles for being so eager to sell our services for next to nothing, and the worst thing is they're absolutely right.

You say, and I quote "Sure, if I ever become pro I will probably do things differently, but as someone just starting out I think this is a good way to begin."
Well, if you would ever want to turn pro, maybe you should think about how letting yourself be exploited effects the professional market. The time has come that we as a community must stand strong together in order to stop the current trend of the devaluation of our work. There is absolutely no reason at all that someone starting out should feel his or her work is worth less than 5% of it's real value.

Please, don't misunderstand me. This may be a rant, but I definitely do not mean to personally attack you, even though it might seem that way. This is a call for awareness.

Please don't let my criticism discourage you, rather let it encourage you and others to stand strong as a community and take pride in what we do!

Sincerely,

Levon