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Shutterbug Life community helps enthusiast photographers create great pictures. Using our photography podcast, blog and photo tours, we provide shutterbugs tips and discussions on improving photography.

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100 - How to sell your images online

Lynford Morton March 18, 2017

Sitting on the floor in a room full of pictures, I let out a heavy sigh and began the tedious job of sorting the image packages into envelopes.

My Dad and I had just picked up the prints from a high school prom shoot we completed, and now we had to prepare them for our clients. There was no simple way of doing this. Fill each envelope, cross reference it against the names, and make sure they had paid. Then Dad would deliver the photos to the parents.

I wish we had today's solutions back then. Today, I've completed much more complex jobs without ever touching a print or wading through envelopes.

How? The technical part of selling your photography has never been easier than it is these days. You have a range of solutions to help you promote, sell, and collect for your images. None of them require any technical knowledge or ability.

 

Listen to the podcast

 

Types of photography services

 

  • Selling fine art prints
  • Selling prints & packages from commissioned work 
  • Selling image files for stock/editorial
  • Selling photos from events
  • Teaching what you know

 

Options for selling photography online:

 

All in one service (Photo website + printing, distributing & e-commerce)

 

Pros

  • Easy to manage
  • Usually created just for photographers
  • Benefits of SEO
  • Cleaner presentation to clients

 

Cons

  • Flexibility
  • Could be a little more expensive 

 

Examples

  • PhotoShelter
  • SmugMug Pro
  • Format
  • Zenfolio
  • PhotoDeck
  • BigFolio
  • N-Vu
  • FotoMerchant
  • ExposureManager
  • Ifp3
  • MorePhotos
 

Use your website. Pair with e-commerce printing service

 

Pros

  • Keep your existing website
  • Create streamlined service
  • Good subdomain option

 

Cons

  • Another management portal
  • May not keep brand consistency
  • Lose SEO value

 

Examples

  • FotoMoto (WP ecommerce widget)
  • DigiLabs (Partnered with Wix)
  • Instaproofs (Set up with Stripe)
 

Professional printer service 

 

Pros

  • Maintain the "old school" touch and feel
  • Oversee quality control
  • Customize your presentation

 

Cons

  • Time intensive - Hard to automate & scale
  • Turnaround times might be slower 
  • Expectation management 

 

Examples

  • Mpix
  • BayPhoto
  • Shutterfly
 

Marketplace

 

Pros

  • You just create. Let others do the selling & fulfillment
  • Ultimate passive income

 

Cons

  • You compete with everyone else with no differentiation opportunity
  • Your work is commoditized
  • Hard to stand out
  • You have to promote them (everyone else), not just you

 

Examples

  • Art dot com
  • CafePress
  • 500px
 

Non-photography e-commerce options

 

Pros

  • Usually an easy, automated solution. Cut and past code into your site.
  • Designed to facilitate the sale efficiently

 

Cons

  • Not designed specifically for photographers 
  • Might require some workaround for fulfillment 

 

Examples

  • Shopify
  • Stripe
  • Paypal
  • Wave apps
 

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Photo Tours

 

Recent Posts

Podcast episodes 

Featured
Mar 26, 2017
101 - Creating a marketing system to help you show, share, or sell your photos
Mar 26, 2017
Mar 26, 2017
Mar 18, 2017
100 - How to sell your images online
Mar 18, 2017
Mar 18, 2017
Mar 14, 2017
099 - Take the shot. Don't take the shot. Today.
Mar 14, 2017
Mar 14, 2017

Blog posts

Featured
Mar 28, 2017
Planning your photo blog - an editorial calendar tutorial
Mar 28, 2017
Mar 28, 2017
Mar 23, 2017
Who are your 5 photography heroes? Here are mine
Mar 23, 2017
Mar 23, 2017
Mar 9, 2017
What's next for us?
Mar 9, 2017
Mar 9, 2017

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© 2010 - 2017. Lynford Morton

Shutterbug Life

Create great photos. Build an audience. Make an impact.

Shutterbug Life community helps enthusiast photographers create great pictures. Using our photography podcast, blog and photo tours, we provide shutterbugs tips and discussions on improving photography.

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