Photo Sharing SItes

Which sites are good for sharing photos, to get more views (hoping to sell prints)?

I know of pixoto, flickr, and 500px. There's also 1x, but I read a horrible review about them.

None of the above for what you seem to want. There is no magic site that is going to get you image views that will lead to sales in the way that you would like. Getting print sales is going to be a matter of hard work selling yourself everywhere you possibly can. The main photo hosting sites are pretty much just that, places to post images.

Smugmug seems to be one of the more popular places that will then allow you to do the integrated print sales thing. Or there is Fine Art America, or whatever it might be in your country as another option for print sales. Whatever you chose you will have to work hard in all the social media channels, and in the real world to build up a clientele to sell to. None of these sites are going to push your images, unless you are already doing substantial business.

Alan

I'm not so sure if getting more views is related to selling of prints.
For getting more views, dumping on Instagram seems to be default method these days.
Some were selling via FB.

BigAl007 wrote in post #18546483
None of the above for what you seem to want. There is no magic site that is going to get you image views that will lead to sales in the way that you would like. Getting print sales is going to be a matter of hard work selling yourself everywhere you possibly can. The main photo hosting sites are pretty much just that, places to post images.

Smugmug seems to be one of the more popular places that will then allow you to do the integrated print sales thing. Or there is Fine Art America, or whatever it might be in your country as another option for print sales. Whatever you chose you will have to work hard in all the social media channels, and in the real world to build up a clientele to sell to. None of these sites are going to push your images, unless you are already doing substantial business.

Alan

By using them to help get sales: I meant via posting a link to a site which sells my prints, along with the image.

But since these aren't good options - what are the best ways for getting print sales?

IMO, one of the best ways to sell prints is not going to be by posting photos online. Instead, get them printed and framed and find local shops in your area that would be willing to display and offer them for sale. If you are looking to make online sales, another option you may consider is selling stock. I have been selling on Alamy for years and I've been relatively happy with it. There are other options for selling stock of course, you would just need to find what site would work best for you. That said, if you want to sell stock, it takes a large library of relevant images to make consistent sales.

jra wrote in post #18547184
IMO, one of the best ways to sell prints is not going to be by posting photos online. Instead, get them printed and framed and find local shops in your area that would be willing to display and offer them for sale. If you are looking to make online sales, another option you may consider is selling stock. I have been selling on Alamy for years and I've been relatively happy with it. There are other options for selling stock of course, you would just need to find what site would work best for you. That said, if you want to sell stock, it takes a large library of relevant images to make consistent sales.

That's extremely disappointing. I live in a small city, with a lot of ranchers and farmers for its population.

And my work is the type you'd put on a wall, not use in an ad (stock).

icor1031 wrote in post #18546618
By using them to help get sales: I meant via posting a link to a site sell my prints, along with the image.

But since these aren't good options - what are the best ways for getting print sales?

Fine Art America is a good site for this.

But selling prints via the internet? . Seriously? . That is, like, extremely difficult.

No matter how good your work, is, and how well it fits the tastes of your target demographic, don't expect much. . You may sell a print or three per year via the internet, but anything more than that is going to require a near-miracle.

I'm not trying to discourage you, but I want you to have realistic expectations, so that you don't waste hours of your time preparing images for presentation, uploading images to the site, setting prices, etc.

Another thing, whatever you do, do not get suckered into paying for a website, with hopes of print sales coming in to offset the cost. . There are so many sites these days that all try to get you to pay to have a site with them, and they all promote themselves as being "different". . They tell you that they are really tuned in to the way people buy art these days, and that their site will generate sales for you. . Many have this silly thing where potential print buyers can use software to see how your photo will look on their wall. . They actually want you to think that this is cutting edge marketing or something. . It's not - it's been done for years and years and years. . These companies are desperate because artists and photographers have realized that this doesn't work, and these sites are now fighting for their very survival and desperate to get you to pay them for their useless service.

EDIT:
Ha ha! . What timing! . Shortly after posting this, I got another email trying to push one of these useless services on me:

I listened to a podcast a couple of years ago by a photographer, forgotten his name, he said he got nothing from his website, he goes to the local art fairs and shows his stuff, it's a living for him, not an easy deal though, you have to apply (application fee), you need a display stand, you obviously have to have a bunch of prints available, initially I would think you won't know what will sell so guessing how much of everything to have, and you have to drive somewhere every week.

Another guy I bumped into said people are just reluctant to buy a print that they've only seen on the internet/computer screen, they like to see the actual print before buying something, so as someone else said, if you can get into a gallery, that would help

icor1031 wrote in post #18546388
Which sites are good for sharing photos, to get more views (hoping to sell prints)?

Agree with all the above posters. Where you host your images is irrelevant because no one will know they are there.

The number of people who go to a photo sharing site and just decide to buy a print can be counted on the fingers of one hand. People buy prints from artists they know about/have a connection to. You actually have to let people know you exist before they will buy any prints. That means that YOU have to find a way to let them know you exist.

1. Pay for adverts in a local/regional paper.
2. Better yet get them interested in publishing a photo essay - a selection of images with some text about why you shoot what you shoot.
3. Talk to local gallery owners.

The point is that you need to get you images/self in front of people who are actually looking to buy art.

Sticking a bunch of prints on the wall of a local coffee shop is also useless because the people who go there are looking to buy coffee, not art. It can work but only if you do the work to let potential customers know about it. A story in the paper about "local artists exhibition at coffee shop" that talks again about what/why you create the images (and that they are for sale). That way, when someone goes in their to buy coffee they are also primed to recognise your prints for sale. "Hey, I read about this guy. He likes the same stuff I do. I wonder how much these prints are".

Then you need to actually make the sale. There needs to be a fool proof way for that potential customer to quickly and easily buy a print.

^ ^ ^ Everything Dan said is spot-on. ^ ^ ^

It is unrealistic to think that you can just "let the internet do the work for you". . You have to put a lot of time, thought, effort, and money into marketing your prints. . If you don't, then you won't sell any.


.

Just want to add that.....no sites would help you to sell your photos or prints. Use these sites as tools to TELL PEOPLE, who are interested in your photos to begin with, to buy prints and digital files from you. First, you need to convince people that they want to buy your photos or prints (that's the hard part). Then, you tell them where to order them...That's where site hosting comes into play. Even then, you don't need a site or a web hosting package to sell them...unless you are selling them in volumes........ You can simply use these sites to display your works and to handle each print sale personally using PayPal as a payment method and you will be responsible for outsourcing the print jobs to a second party.....

Would this work? If you are a nobody photographer and people don't know you, most likely is not going to happen. Like any other online buy/sell transaction. You need to establish trust. You need to establish a reputation first. Your biggest hurdle is to find a market for your works.

icor1031 wrote in post #18547339
That's extremely disappointing. I live in a small city, with a lot of ranchers and farmers for its population.

And my work is the type you'd put on a wall, not use in an ad (stock).

Landscape art of ranches and farms might work for you.

AZGeorge wrote in post #18552475
Landscape art of ranches and farms might work for you.

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I think that's what he was already saying, wasn't it?


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Also agree with everything above.

That said, if you are looking for a site to host your photos that will give you the tools you require for online print sales, Zenfolio and Exposure Manager are worth looking at.