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Author Topic: Travel photography Sales  (Read 27856 times)

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« Reply #50 on: October 27, 2014, 23:31 »
0
Perry - Your comment reminded me of seeing The Alamo - it's even more surrounded by urban sprawl than when I first saw it about 25 years ago - but my favorite was the Great Wall of China - thanks for sharing!
« Last Edit: October 28, 2014, 00:08 by wordplanet »


Hobostocker

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« Reply #51 on: October 28, 2014, 00:43 »
+1
yep, local photographers who can ask people to sign a model release too :)

good luck making illiterate street food sellers sign a model release in a backward third world country ... even more funny if they're hilltribes ... for the record i had decent sales with images of people in asian markets, but they're all editorial for obvious reasons.


« Reply #52 on: October 28, 2014, 02:35 »
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Everyone takes vacations and shoots pictures and thinks their images are beautiful.  It's unlikely that trying to sell them as stock will be worth the effort, as people already in the area, and professional photographers have likely already spent lots of time and money creating salable works from the area.

i've to agree with him

BUT this dosn't mean that you should stop travelling with your camera and shoot pictures...just maybe you won't get in few hours of visit the best result you can get from one spot...but coming back to the main point,for sure this will be totally UN-economic

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #53 on: October 28, 2014, 07:06 »
+2
Everyone takes vacations and shoots pictures and thinks their images are beautiful.  It's unlikely that trying to sell them as stock will be worth the effort, as people already in the area, and professional photographers have likely already spent lots of time and money creating salable works from the area.

i've to agree with him

BUT this dosn't mean that you should stop travelling with your camera and shoot pictures...just maybe you won't get in few hours of visit the best result you can get from one spot...but coming back to the main point,for sure this will be totally UN-economic

A couple of years ago, not necessarily so: I did an experiment by making a trip to an already reasonably-covered city I'd never been to before and to date have well over covered all my costs; but nowadays probably yes.
There are plenty of places which haven't been done to death, but they don't seem to sell well. You'd need to hope they'd suddenly be the 'next best thing'.
« Last Edit: October 28, 2014, 21:40 by ShadySue »

Lightrecorder

« Reply #54 on: October 28, 2014, 09:03 »
0
Made enough money from some US city shots, been done to death, for some reason they like my versions.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #55 on: October 28, 2014, 10:31 »
+1
The main disadvantage about being in a place for a short time is that you have to take the weather conditions and light as you find them. That's where the local usually has the advantage.

Uncle Pete

« Reply #56 on: October 28, 2014, 11:11 »
+1
Yes I suggest you cover everything interesting in Glasgow (for example) next time you are near there.  ;)

What I really mean is, why travel, when every one of us, is already someplace? We don't have to travel to take historic or interesting photos of some destination. We are at a destination, every day.

Better yet, the popular places and sites have been covered and shot to death. If you find something different, there's a good chance of having a ready image and making a sale. Maybe less demand, but there's certainly less competition.

I hope Barry doesn't get mad a me for sharing one of our "Secrets of Microstock" finding fringe areas and under subscribed subjects. Those who scoff at us, will continue to find their images buried under a couple of tons of similar shots.


Everyone takes vacations and shoots pictures and thinks their images are beautiful.  It's unlikely that trying to sell them as stock will be worth the effort, as people already in the area, and professional photographers have likely already spent lots of time and money creating salable works from the area.

i've to agree with him

BUT this dosn't mean that you should stop travelling with your camera and shoot pictures...just maybe you won't get in few hours of visit the best result you can get from one spot...but coming back to the main point,for sure this will be totally UN-economic

A couple of years, not necessarily so: I did an experiment in an already reasonably-covered city I'd never been to before and to date have well over covered all my costs; but nowadays probably yes.
There are plenty of places which haven't been done to death, but they don't seem to sell well. You'd need to hope they'd suddenly be the 'next best thing'.

« Reply #57 on: October 28, 2014, 11:32 »
+2
Better yet, the popular places and sites have been covered and shot to death. If you find something different, there's a good chance of having a ready image and making a sale. Maybe less demand, but there's certainly less competition.
Yep, take average images of low demand subjects and you have a good chance of getting a sale.  Hopefully your sale covers your time, gas, gear etc...  The formula is simple, take great shots of high demand topics.  You aren't going to make any money shooting things that might get you a sale one day.

Uncle Pete

« Reply #58 on: October 28, 2014, 11:39 »
+3
AFTO of course.  ::)

Pay $5000 to fly to Paris, rent a room and a car, and spend a week shooting things that have been covered for 10 years back to film scans. And then expect to make up those expenses 25c at a time... right. You're right.

I can stop my car, where I live, with the equipment I already own, on the way somewhere I was already going to, and make a shot that will cover the minimal expense, in one sale.

Which one earns more money?


Better yet, the popular places and sites have been covered and shot to death. If you find something different, there's a good chance of having a ready image and making a sale. Maybe less demand, but there's certainly less competition.
Yep, take average images of low demand subjects and you have a good chance of getting a sale.  Hopefully your sale covers your time, gas, gear etc...  The formula is simple, take great shots of high demand topics.  You aren't going to make any money shooting things that might get you a sale one day.

« Reply #59 on: October 28, 2014, 11:45 »
-3
AFTO of course.  ::)

Pay $5000 to fly to Paris, rent a room and a car, and spend a week shooting things that have been covered for 10 years back to film scans. And then expect to make up those expenses 25c at a time... right. You're right.

I can stop my car, where I live, with the equipment I already own, on the way somewhere I was already passing, and make a shot that will cover the minimal expense, in one sale.

Which one earns more money?


Better yet, the popular places and sites have been covered and shot to death. If you find something different, there's a good chance of having a ready image and making a sale. Maybe less demand, but there's certainly less competition.
Yep, take average images of low demand subjects and you have a good chance of getting a sale.  Hopefully your sale covers your time, gas, gear etc...  The formula is simple, take great shots of high demand topics.  You aren't going to make any money shooting things that might get you a sale one day.
Paris will earn you more money but not if you fly first class and stay in 5 star hotels.  You can easily go to Paris for two weeks on half what you are estimating for a flight. 
Stopping on the way somewhere to take a snapshot is not how you make money with travel photography.  Planning, using the right gear, waiting for the shot, etc.. are what's needed.  You are right, with your approach all you can expect is making 25c but that's not what you should be aiming for.

Hobostocker

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« Reply #60 on: October 28, 2014, 18:01 »
+1
i don't have the feeling the ones making good sales with Paris or NYC or London are just photographers based on Paris/NYC/London ... actually they're the ones angry about losing sales from random tourists and snappers coming on holidays.

claiming that all you need is to live there and have lots of time is only true in part, just look at how people shoot weddings, it can be done in so many different ways, some pro wedding guys are absolutely amazing just give them a church and and a bride and the sky is the limit, there are no boring subjects just boring photographers !


Hobostocker

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« Reply #61 on: October 28, 2014, 18:06 »
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Paris will earn you more money but not if you fly first class and stay in 5 star hotels. 

hahaha and if you're on a tight budget i heard of guys doing couchsurfing or sleeping in a tent or in a van.

Ed

« Reply #62 on: October 28, 2014, 18:52 »
0
Paris will earn you more money but not if you fly first class and stay in 5 star hotels. 


hahaha and if you're on a tight budget i heard of guys doing couchsurfing or sleeping in a tent or in a van.


A timely blog post from a terrific photographer

http://www.nomadicdestiny.com/blog/2014/10/28/nomad-questions-answered

Hobostocker

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« Reply #63 on: October 28, 2014, 19:48 »
0
A timely blog post from a terrific photographer

http://www.nomadicdestiny.com/blog/2014/10/28/nomad-questions-answered


i think he's overspending, 200$/week for food and 200$/week for gas ??

as for finding a nomad girl he's spot on but i'm friend with a girl who's now cycling asia/oceania/americas since three years with her boyfriend, they sleep in a tent usually but sometimes they're invited in a local's home in small villages, so far so good, too bad they're not pro photographers as i'm sure they could make saleable images, you can't get any cheaper than that regarding production costs ...

« Reply #64 on: October 28, 2014, 21:30 »
+1
Cutting costs is only one part of the equation.  In order to make money you have to work hard.  You won't be successful if you look at travel photography as something you do on the way to doing something else.  That's a terrible approach and if you're going to do that you might as well stay at home.

« Reply #65 on: October 28, 2014, 21:56 »
0
Cutting costs is only one part of the equation.  In order to make money you have to work hard.  You won't be successful if you look at travel photography as something you do on the way to doing something else.  That's a terrible approach and if you're going to do that you might as well stay at home.

Taking a trip to do travel photography is a terrible business approach. You'll never recover your expenses.

« Reply #66 on: October 28, 2014, 22:02 »
+1
Cutting costs is only one part of the equation.  In order to make money you have to work hard.  You won't be successful if you look at travel photography as something you do on the way to doing something else.  That's a terrible approach and if you're going to do that you might as well stay at home.

Taking a trip to do travel photography is a terrible business approach. You'll never recover your expenses.
That's not true but you have to work hard and be smart about it, like anything else in this business.


PaulieWalnuts

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« Reply #67 on: October 29, 2014, 04:27 »
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Cutting costs is only one part of the equation.  In order to make money you have to work hard.  You won't be successful if you look at travel photography as something you do on the way to doing something else.  That's a terrible approach and if you're going to do that you might as well stay at home.

Taking a trip to do travel photography is a terrible business approach. You'll never recover your expenses.

Never?

« Reply #68 on: October 29, 2014, 05:02 »
0
travel photography is self-maintanaable ONLY if you have a good sales network....if you sell only in microstock no...

if someone is doing travel photography and living from it selling ONLY on microstock is really welcome to share his/her experience and numbers ;D....until then i stay on my idea

PaulieWalnuts

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« Reply #69 on: October 29, 2014, 05:32 »
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travel photography is self-maintanaable ONLY if you have a good sales network....if you sell only in microstock no...

if someone is doing travel photography and living from it selling ONLY on microstock is really welcome to share his/her experience and numbers ;D....until then i stay on my idea

So what subject is self maintainable to make a living from microstock?

« Reply #70 on: October 29, 2014, 06:44 »
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I live in Europe. I have 2-3 travel holidays/year in Europe countries and i earn more money from images that the cost of holidays. So, it is possible to earn more than the cost.
But, i don't stay at 5 stars hotels, i don't eat every lunch at restaurant and i don't fly at first class. I am not a VIP, i am just a tourist :)

Uncle Pete

« Reply #71 on: October 29, 2014, 10:41 »
+1
Not a dedicated trip for the purpose of photography. And maybe seldom would have been a better choice by Yada?  :)  How many sales on Micro and how long to make up 1-2,000 in expenses. (people already have the equipment, I'm just counting the trip expenses for a week for example.)

Then there's this:

Paris France Stock Photos
(42,482 results)

Gary Indiana Stock Photos
(21 results)

No I don't think one will beat the other and make someone wealthy but considering if Someone lives in Gary, they have a great place to shoot on weekends.

Milwaukee Wisconsin Stock Photos
(781 results)

Phoenix Arizona Stock Photos
(2,873 results)

Portland Oregon Stock Photos
(5,148 results)

I'm simply saying that people are missing out, if they think they must take a trip or vacation, spend money, or be someplace else, to shoot travel.

Or you could spend money and go to:

Timbuktu Stock Photos
(195 results)

Orkney Islands Stock Photos
(788 results)

Easter Island Stock Photos
(1,608 results)

The question is, does the future return justify the expense?

Cutting costs is only one part of the equation.  In order to make money you have to work hard.  You won't be successful if you look at travel photography as something you do on the way to doing something else.  That's a terrible approach and if you're going to do that you might as well stay at home.

Taking a trip to do travel photography is a terrible business approach. You'll never recover your expenses.

Never?

« Reply #72 on: October 29, 2014, 10:56 »
+3
I'm simply saying that people are missing out, if they think they must take a trip or vacation, spend money, or be someplace else, to shoot travel.
You will have a very difficult time making any money shooting travel on a vacation.  I think it has to be your primary focus, if like you said you just shoot things on the way to do something else, like a few shots while you're walking to the Eiffel Tower you probably will not make much at all.  You need to plan and spend your time focused on shooting not on being a tourist.  For me if I was going to shoot in Paris I most likely wouldn't visit any museums or do any of the touristy things, I would be getting up before dawn and shooting late into the night, the focus needs to be on shooting not sightseeing. 
You compare Gary Indiana to Paris France and on iStock you can see that the best selling Gary Indiana travel photograph has 8 downloads while the best selling Paris image has over 1700 downloads.  I think it's clear which location has better earnings potential, the image of Paris could have paid for your entire trip while the image of Gary could pay for a tank of gas.

Lightrecorder

« Reply #73 on: October 29, 2014, 11:12 »
0
Once I took a business trip to a big city, didnt pay off
Once I took a holiday trip to another country, that did pay off.

Cant say anything about really. Depends on a lot of factors and definitely a bit of luck and good search placement.

« Reply #74 on: October 29, 2014, 11:23 »
0
So what subject is self maintainable to make a living from microstock?

from my limited experience i can assume that the only subject that is self maintanable are business/people/office/workers pictures...and i think i'm not that wrong


 

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