Sell & Re-Sell Your Photos: Learn How to Sell Your Photographs Worldwide

322 Pages·2016·4.88 MB·English

by  Rohn Engh

PHOTOGRAPHY/BUSINESS
SELL & RE-SELL YOUR
6 t h

PH T S
Edition
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LEARN HOW TO SELL YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS
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W O R L D W I D E
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S E L L Y O U R P H O T O S A G A I N A N D A G A I N ! R 6 t h E d i t i o n
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This completely revised and expanded 6th edition
R E
features up-to-date advice, brand new photos and
Live anywhere. Pick your hours. Be your own
charts and tables to help you achieve your goals. L L
boss. Earn more money. See your pictures in print.
D L
Discover the freedom of a profitable photo business
by learning the secrets behind making and selling LEARN HOW TO: W
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editorial stock photography. (cid:129) Create enduring (cid:129) Digitally store your I
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images—the ones archive D
For more than three decades, industry classic Sell photo buyers (cid:129) Protect yourself E U
& Re-Sell Your Photos has been giving new and always need
and your photos R
veteran photographers the tools to sell their pictures
(cid:129) Price your photos with basic
consistently to markets they enjoy. Rohn Engh’s master like a professional copyright laws and
P
text, with updates from independent photographer regulations
(cid:129) Find your niche
H
Mikael Karlsson, outlines the time-tested formula
and corner that (cid:129) Includes a detailed
for successfully marketing your work to publishers market fi ve-week action O
world-wide. plan to get you
(cid:129) Take and market T
organized and
your work with
selling O
modern technology
Master the stock S
(cid:129) Confi dently submit
photography market: to agencies and
publishers
Take pictures today that you can sell
for many tomorrows to come! ENGH &
US $24.99
KARLSSON
S5856 (CAN $30.99)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4403-4435-0
ISBN-10: 1-4403-4435-3
52499
www.artistsnetwork.com
N
A
E
IDEAS. INSTRUCTION.
C
UP INSPIRATION.
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ROHN ENGH & MIKAEL KARLSSON
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SELL & RE-SELL YOUR
PH T S
LEARN HOW TO SELL YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS
W O R L D W I D E
6 t h E d i t i o n
ROHN ENGH & MIKAEL KARLSSON
CINCINNATI, OHIO
www.artistsnetwork.com
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2 SELL & RE-SELL YOUR PHOTOS
Contents
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 9
Chapter 1
THE WIDE WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES .................................... 13
The Buyers are Waiting • Trends in the Marketplace • Fifty Thousand
Photographs a Day • A Wide-Open Door • Find the Market, Then Create •
You, the Photo Illustrator • The “Theme” Markets • Magazines • Books • A
Hedge Against a Downturn in the Economy • Good Pictures-Wrong Buyers
Chapter 2
WHAT PHOTOS SELL AND RE-SELL ...................................... 27
The Difference Between a Good Photo and a Good Marketable Photo •
Enduring Images • Good Marketable Photos • The Rohn Engh and Mikael
Karlsson Principle for Producing a Marketable Photo Every Time • The
Principle • Become a Monopoly • Photos That You Can Read Into—Using
the Principle • You Are an Important Resource to Photo Buyers • A Gallery of
Stock Photos
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 3
Chapter 3
FINDING YOUR CORNER OF THE STOCK
PHOTOGRAPHY MARKET ........................................................46
First, Find Yourself • Photographically…Who Am I? • Your PS/A
(Photographic Strength/Areas) • The Majors and the Minors • How to
Use Reference Guides, Directories and the Internet • Using Your Local
Interlibrary Loan Service • Using the Internet • Chart Your Course . . . Build a
Personalized Market List • The Total Net Worth of a Customer • Long-Term
Value
Chapter 4
GETTING STARTED ..................................................................66
The Five-Weekend Action Plan
Chapter 5
PRODUCING A MARKETABLE PHOTO .....................................71
Some Basic Questions Answered • What ISO Should I Use? • Scanning:
Should I Do It Myself? • Digital Previews and Submissions • Q and A
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4 SELL & RE-SELL YOUR PHOTOS
Chapter 6
TAKING AND MAKING EDITORIAL STOCK PHOTOS ............... 79
Do You Take or Make Them? • Danger Ahead: Trite Pictures • How to
Manage Models • Should You Pay Your Models? • Other Model Sources •
When Is a Model Release Necessary? • Dealing with Offi cials
Chapter 7
THE FINE ART OF DEALING WITH PHOTO BUYERS ............... 93
Getting to Know Them • The Reliability Factor • The Photo Buyer
Connection • Should You Visit a Photo Buyer? • Should You Write? •
Should You Telephone? • Should You E-mail? • Get on the Available-
Photographers List • Selling the Same Photo to Multiple Buyers • Scanning
and Photocopying Your Photographs • The Central Art File • The Permanent
File System • The Pirates • The Legal Side
Chapter 8
PRICING YOUR PHOTOS ....................................................... 111
Master Your Marketing System First • Sell and Re-Sell • The Price Range •
Base Camp: Inside-Editorial Use • Which Range for You? • Using the Pricing
System: What to Charge • Payment for Other Uses • Within the Price Range,
Should You Charge the High End or the Low End? • Unique Pictures—What
Are They? • Second Use of Your Pictures • State Your Fee • Pricing the Service
Photo • Royalty Free • The Lowest Fee Possible: Nothing
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 5
Chapter 9
MANAGING YOUR MAIL AND INTERNET
MARKETING OPERATION ......................................................128
How Do I Get My Pictures From Here to There? • Delivery: As Close As
Your Mailbox and Computer • Our Postal Service—a Bargain for the Stock
Photographer • Preparing Your Stock Photos for the Market • Packaging:
The Key to Looking Like a Pro • Writing the Cover Letter • Deadlines: A
Necessary Evil • Unsolicited Submissions • The Magic Query Letter • Should
You Deal with Markets Outside of the United States? • Which are the Heavy
Purchasing Months? • How Long Do Photo Buyers Hold Your Photos? •
Sales Tax—Do You Need to Charge It? • When Can You Expect Payment?
• How Safe Are Your Pictures in the Hands of a Photo Buyer? • How Much
Recompense Should You Expect? • A Twenty-Six-Point Checklist to Success
Chapter 10
IF YOU DON’T SELL YOURSELF, WHO WILL? ........................158
Promoting Your Photography • Talent Can Take You Just So Far • Look Like
a Pro Even If You Don’t Feel Like One . . . Yet • Your Personal Trademark or
Logo • Build a Mailing List • Credit Lines and Tearsheets—Part of the Sale •
Show Yourself Off • Reassess Your Promotional Effectiveness • Some Final
Self-Promotion Suggestions
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6 SELL & RE-SELL YOUR PHOTOS
Chapter 11
ASSIGNMENTS ..................................................................... 179
An Extra Dimension for the Photo Illustrator • Negotiating Your Fee
• Expenses • Extra Mileage From Assignments • Industry-Sponsored
Assignments • The Stringer • Self-Assignments–Where Do You Start? •
Making the Contact • A Sampling of Hot Sellers
Chapter 12
STOCK PHOTO AGENCIES AND DECOR PHOTOGRAPHY ..... 200
Outlets for Track A • Everything New Under the Sun • Prepare to Share Your
Profi t • Agencies: A Plus with Limitations • How to Contact a Stock Photo
Agency • The Timely Stock Agencies • Stock Agency Catalogs • Possible
Problems in Dealing with Stock Agencies • Do You Need a Personal Rep? •
Using a Stock Agency • Start Your Own Mini-Agency • Décor Photography:
Another Outlet for Your Standards
Chapter 13
KEEPING RECORDS: KNOWING WHERE EVERYTHING IS .... 224
The Lazy Person’s Way to Extra Sales—Knowing What’s Selling • File It!
How to Avoid Excessive Record Keeping • Knowing How to Put Your Finger
on It: Cataloging Your Black and Whites and Transparencies • The Basics •
The Systems • Counting the Beans • Protecting Your Files • Everything Has
Its Place • Digital Storage
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 7
Chapter 14
WORKING SMART ................................................................. 232
The Success Habit: Following Through • Setting Goals • Getting Organized •
Time Your Goals • Is It Easy? A Survival Secret • Think Small • You Manage
the Business—Not the Other Way Around • A Self-Evaluation Guide • How
to Measure Your Sales Strengths • Pictures Just Aren’t Selling? • A Potpourri
of Additional Aids in Working Smart • Tweak Captions to Attract More
Photo Buyers
Chapter 15
RIGHTS AND REGULATIONS ................................................ 246
Copyright • Copyright Infringement • Group Registration • How to Contact
the Copyright Offi ce • Interpreting the Law • Be Wary of Dates • Laying
Claim to Your Picture • Some Drawbacks of the Copyright Law • A Remedy
• Q and A Forum on Copyright • Work for Hire • Electronic Rights • Which
Usage Rights Do You Sell? • Read the Fine Print • Forms to Protect Your
Rights • Legal Help • You Will Rarely Need a Model Release for Editorial
Use • Model Releases—When Must You Get Them? • Oral Releases • Can
We Save Them Both? The Right of Privacy and Our First Amendment Rights
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8 SELL & RE-SELL YOUR PHOTOS
Chapter 16
YOUR STOCK PHOTO BUSINESS: A MINI TAX SHELTER ...... 274
The Great Rebate • The Tax Return • Carrybacks • Your Stock Photography
Business Deductions
Chapter 17
STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE DIGITAL AGE ....................... 288
Which Computer to Buy? • Cataloging and Retrieving Your Pictures •
CD-ROMs • Establish Your Own CD-ROM Service • The Three Fs: Fone,
Fax and FedEx • Internet: The Electronic Post Offi ce • Online Delivery
• Printers to the Rescue • Captions • Word Processing • Spreadsheets
• Graphics • Picture Enhancement • Storage • Where to From Here? •
Interview with Carole Albertson, Photographer and Owner of LostLands.Net
Web Hosting Company
BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................... 313
INDEX ..................................................................................... 315
ABOUT THE AUTHOR ................................................................. 319
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INTRODUCTION 9
Introduction
Exciting Opportunities at
Your Doorstep
Will a Rolls-Royce be sitting in your driveway if you follow the principles set
forth in this book? Maybe not. But then again, maybe two of them will. Or
maybe a moped will. In other words, you’ll reach whatever goals you set for
yourself. Success or failure in publishing your pictures is not determined by
the wave of some mysterious wand out in the marketplace. If you have the
know-how, you determine how far and how fast you go. This book will give
you that know-how.
In more than forty years of selling photographs, I’ve refi ned a marketing
system that works today better than ever, endorsed by scores of stock
photographers who have learned the system in my seminars and through my
market newsletters.
The components of the system are simple—but the process isn’t easy. It
takes effort, energy and perhaps some unlearning of initial misconceptions.
That’s all that’s required, and there are compensations.
LIVE ANYWHERE. No need to live in the canyons of Manhattan or
downtown Chicago to be close to the markets. They’re as close as your
computer or your mailbox. You can work entirely electronically, entirely at
home, and still score in the wide world of markets open to you.
PICK YOUR HOURS. You can arrange your own schedule and enjoy the
fl exibility of being independent. You can work at your stock photography
full-time or part-time.
BE YOUR OWN BOSS. Photo buyers don’t care whether you’re an
amateur or a professional, a homemaker or a parachutist. They’re concerned
about the quality of your picture and whether it meets their current needs.
TAKE PAID VACATIONS. You can pay for your trips through
assignments you initiate or by judicious picture-taking and picture-placing, all
described in my system.
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