Children & Photography

It seems like my daughter went from zero to 2 years of age in 2 weeks. They grow so fast. Their character changes as do their features and expressions.

If you love photography this is a wonderful time to take as many memorable shots of your children as possible. Unlike other photographic subjects your kids change with time and once this moment passes it can never be regained.

Also it is a wondeful opportunity to hone your photographic skills on a not so easy subject.

When they are calm (yeah, righ!!) it is a chance to use wide aperture settings and capture beautiful shallow depth of field shots.

When they are running around then fast shutter speeds are "in".

Kids are awesome when they do not know when they are being photographed. Zoom lenses and narrow aperture settings allow you to capture those candid shots that will in time become more precious than any amount of money.

Finally don't forget Auto setting! You are no less a photographer by setting your camera to Auto. In fact with children it is often the only way to get "that" shot.

Enjoy your time with your children and take the opportunity to not only practice your photography but also fill that treasure trove of memorable moments.

Selling your images for profit (for newbie photographers)

If you are anything like me (hopefully not!) then as a newbie photoghrapher you are spending heaps of time on the Internet exploring all the wondeful ways to go about selling your images (if not for money then certainly for the ego boost).

However, i have come to the disturbing realization that I am spending more time exploring how and where to sell my images than i am actually taking the photos in the first place!!

The reason I am writing about this crazy dilemma is that the Internet has opened up the most wonderful environment by which we can learn every minute of every day.

But eventually selling your images can only happen if you have images for sale.

So, for what it is worth, may I suggest that all us budding, newbie photographers spend most of our time taking as many shots as possible until we have a regular stream of orders for images coming in. Taking saleable images means knowing your camera inside out and practice, practice, and practice.

Eventually when we have a significantly large portfolio then we ought to spend significant time on the very important goal of actually selling our images.

Technology nowadays allows lots of people to take relatively good images with their digital cameras. But like any craft, practice does make perfect. If we think our photos look good now then imagine how good they would look if we took 500 shots a day under all sorts of lighting conditions.

The more shots we take the greater the chance of taking that "one" great one that will sell. When we have enough to sell then lets do just that. In the meantime we continue to take the 500 or more shots a day.

More photos means more "great" images. More "great" images translates to money in the bank. Yes, we need to market our "great" shots, but we have to have "great" shots to market.

Want to make money from your digital images?

As photographers we each believe we know and understand art and creativity. We desperately want to be individual and to create beautiful images.

Surely then if we go to the time, effort, and trouble to apply ourselves to this task then these awesome images (and we know they are awesome because so many people tell us so) our images ought to literally "fly off the shelves" and translate into instant sales.

Unfortunately not!

The images we create are for ourselves. We create what we think is beautiful and creative. But it may not be what the buying audience wants at this point in time - certainly not in volume!

So when we are taking our photos we have to ask ourselves the reason for creating the images we do. Is it for our own pleasure? Is it because we want the buying public to recognize beauty and pay a premium to own it. Or is it to make a steady income?

If it is to make money then there we need to face up to some harsh realities.

First of all, nowadays, with the advent of digital technology and the poficiency of its use, many people create beautiful images. In fact the web is littered with gorgeous, creative images. With so many around the biggest challenge would be choosing which one to purchase.

So what does that mean to me as a photographer? What that means is that if you find exactly the right buyer at the right time who is looking just for just the sort of images you produce you'll probably make a "one off" sale one in a while.

However if you want to make real and regular money, your "one off" (unless a buyer is prepared to pay thousands of dollars for an image - which is still not a lot if you only sell only one or two images a year) won't cut it. You need to sell volume.

Selling volume is a whole new ballpark. Because now the focus shifts away from you (what you want to create) and to the buyer (what he is looking for).

Sales is always about giving the buyer what he wants. A professional salesperson with only one product will sell that product differently to different buyers based on what benefits each individual buyer is seeking from the salesperson's product.

The same reasoning applies to digital images. Putting up for sale what YOU think is saleable because YOU like it will not make you money. Putting up for sale what you know the BUYER is looking for will make you money.

So the trick is to get back to the basics of selling - research your customer. Spend time on the Internet (Flickr, Microsites, Stock Agencies, Twitter, MySpace, etc) and learn as much as you can about what sort of images buyers are looking for. Get in touch with financially successful photographers and find out what they are selling, to whom, and how.

So other than some homework what is the downside? Well, the downside  is that if you want to make money, and not focus on creating your interpretation of art, you need to shoot what the buyer wants you to shoot (his or her interpreattion of art).

Sales is about the buyer and not the seller. The seller needs to identify the buyers needs and direct his efforts at fulfilling those needs. This translates into sales which translate into dollars.

Creativity

All my life I was jealous of creative people. Creative people were those who wrote or played beautiful music, painted, sculpted, penned books or poetry, made movies.

It never occurred to me that photography was just as creative, just as much an art. Anyone could take a photo, right? Just point and click and bingo, a picture. So how in heaven's name could that be creative?

Well, the answer to that question is obvious if you take the time to look at the photographs being published by photographers, both professional and amateur. Visit Fotopedia and see how people see the world thrrough the lens of a camera. The images are breathtaking, awesome, beautiful, inspiring.

Photography most definitely is an art. Perhaps we all have an element of creativity in us, we simply have to look for it.

Selling your photos

Fact: there are many, many, many photographers out there in the real and cyber world trying to sell (and I use the term lightly) literally millions of images!

The reality is that unless buyers are looking for a specific image at a specific time and you've taken just such an image and it is actually possible for them to find it then you might, if you're lucky make a sale.

Of course you might strike gold and sell gigabytes of images simply by being in the right place at the right time with the right images. Or not!

So, do we as photographers give up? Of course not! The dilemma we must deal with is exactly the same one as that faced by car/soap/technology/etc manufacturers who all face a vast array of competitors, all selling ostensibly similar products, on a daily basis.

At this point the purists out there will argue that the points I make below fall into the category of Marketing rather than pure Sales. Well, there is some truth to that. For those who struggle with the difference between sales and marketing, the first is typically one to one (or one to a few), whilst the latter is one to many.

Regardless of semantics, if you want someone to buy your images you are going to have to sell them. In other words, what is in it for the buyer to part with his or her hard earned money to purchase your image?

So lets start at the top - the image.

Your image/photo could be exactly or close to what the buyer wants. Whether he knows it or not he wants to know about the benefits of purchasing that specific image (its beauty, its ability to help him sell product/impress his wife or boss/etc).

You could argue that he has seen the image somewhere (a microsite, your website, Flickr) and simply decided to buy it. But is the sale of one image enough? How do you get him to buy another, and another, and yet one more?

It pays off to research your audience. What are buyers looking for? And remember that, fortunately for us, what a buyer seeks changes over time. Once you know this go out and photograph appropriate images and post them in relevant locations. Say something about the image (how difficult it was to take, how long you had to wait to take it, how rare such images are to find, how may more similar inages you possess, their very competitive price, etc). Selling the image means not selling the image: rather ir means selling the short and long term benefits to the buyer of purchasing that specific image.

But I want to photograph what I want to photograph? This is good too. But art for art's sake might not make you as much money as art for the buyer's sake. If the buyer doesn't matter, or if the money doesn't matter then you're probably in the wrong blog:-)

A lot has been written about where best to display your images so I do not want to go over old ground. All I can add is that if you want to sell your photos/images read about this topic as much as you can. You can never learn too much.

Then there is you, the photographer. On you website, microsite, even at your fleamarket stall, tell the audience about your experience, your ability to shoot the images that interest them, your willingness to go our on a limb professionally, financially to capture just the right moment in time, just the right facial expression, just the right color or lighting. Start a blog. Get involve in other people's blogs. Write in appropriate forums. Connect with successful photographers you have read out. You may well be suprised how many will respond to your emails and willing they are to dispense some words of wisdom (don't harass them though:-)).

Slowly, over time, you will differentiate yourself and you may just find yourself earning more money for your images.

Go out and actually SELL your images! Sell yourself! Most importantly, focus on the benefits to the buyer because what you think is of no consequence, only the buyer's opinion matters.

Introduction to my thoughts about selling

Whether we like or acknowledge it we are selling every moment of every day of our lives.


We learn as children that in order to "get" something we need to do something special. We cannot just ask. Asking usually elicites a NO answer. So we learn to frame our request in a manner that makes it easier and quicker to get a YES answer.


Every day we are exposed to strangers, family members, work colleagues, bosses, etc. Every day we will ask some or all of them for "something". In order to achieve this with a minimum of fuss and a maximum chance of success, we SELL. We frame our words, our actions, our arguments to benefit our chances of obtaing what it is we want.


MY passions are photography, travel, and fish farming. I want to earn money from my photos. I need to be able to have enough money to travel. I have to sell the fish that I farm.


Currently I am the Country Head for the Middle East's most successful provider of eRecruitment solutions. This is my "paid" sales job.


This blog, i hope, will touch on the many, varied, and exciting aspects of the sales process. Hopefully one or some of these tips will help one or some of you to achieve a goal easier and quicker.


I seek your input and your questions. Thoughts and ideas are generated through discussion and discussion ultimately ought to lead to action.


edward