When You're Ready to Sell Your Work

When you're ready to sell your work, there are many different avenues you can choose.

Fine Art Sales Online

The cheapest and easiest avenue to try is the Internet. Art.com is one example. Free accounts are allowed to upload up to 16 pictures, and make them available for printing directly from the site. You only get 10% of the revenues, but it can add up if you make enough sales. This site is great because the prints are high quality and they look at pictures for artistic merit rather than technical quality.

Stock Photography

Of course, there are also more commercialized avenues, such as Fotolia and Shutterstock. These are great if your pictures are of pristine technical quality and have great commercial potential. There are also other stock photography sites, some of which use a more complex fee arrangement, but many of those are harder to get your foot in the door and have less reliable results.

Galleries

I've been looking into some local galleries, and if you really think you're good enough, you should too. They will want to see a portfolio of your work, but don't put something together like "my best pictures" or anything like that. They'll like to see a more cohesive portfolio, something with a theme, that would make a good photo book or exhibit. Try something along the lines of "Country Landscapes" or "Black and White Abstracts" or something like that. These will, of course, require an investment (something I can't afford right now and that's why I haven't tried it yet). You'll have to make some prints and matte them, and maybe even frame them. That is, of course, if they accept you. Once I give this a shot, I'll let you know how it went and give you some more tips.

Your Input

Have you tried any of these avenues? Do you have any other good websites or other outlets to share, or any stories? Leave a comment here or in the Flickr group!