While I've seen this topic covered at least on simmilar subjects, I'm not sure if my question is unique or not... so I'll ask it. For better or worse, most of my photography so far (about 3-4 years in) consists of local and regional images to NE PA.
While that may not sound thrilling in itself, and I get frustrated being limited in my travels, I've got a nice little following from people who appreciate it. Despite being considered "an old coal mining region" by some, I try to bring out the beauty of the area that is either hidden in plain view, or a bit off the beaten path. I get the, "I've been by there 1,000 times and never noticed that!" all the time.
Anyway, enough of that. My 2010 calendar, with very little publicity and last-minute design, did about 5X what it did last year. Somre artists are telling not to "cheapen" my work, but with the economy the way it is, and getting requests, I am contemplating doing things like note cards, stickies, mugs, posters, etc. in addition to fine art prints.
My problem comes in that I don't believe my web host, ifp3, will let me link w/ any provider of printing services. I've heard of zazzle.com, lulu, 48hourprint, vistaprint, etc., but am not sure if there is a place that photographers can partner with... whether it be uploading a certain number of select images and creating a storefront on their site, or exactly what it entails. You know, I'd pick say 20-30 photos and have people be able to buy them directly from the site--or whatever the set up may be.
While I still want to sell as many prints as possible obviously, I need to "feed my habit" and put food on my large table. So any additional money I can make would be a big help--and the audience is here from self-marketing on TV, social media, business cards, exhibits, and putting my work on display in various venues.
We're using LabPrints, but there are several others that work with our lab. We post portfolios to LabPrints and provide links on our site. Folks click on the link at our site and are taken directly to the portfolio at LabPrints. When folks order, the print order goes to our lab and we get an immediate deposit to our credit card account. We pay monthly for the printing along with our regular lab bill.
Don't know how well that fits your proposed model, but it works like a charm for us. Of course, we have a long history with the lab and trust them implicitly. Here is an example from a small event we shot, but we use the same service for portfolios from our studio. A couple of times we've used the service to assemble private portfolios in response to request for nature prints. Works great, and saves us the hassle of printing, packaging and mailing. Don't know why it wouldn't work for a standard portfolio, but I'm confused why your web host wouldn't allow links. That's downright weird to me.
Hi Hank, glad to finally get back to you. Your setup sounds ideal, but I'm sure it took you time to develop and implement the system in place. And that's a good example you have in your reply.
I will check out LabPrints as well. I guess I really need to sit down and figure out exactly what I want to offer and what functionality before even deciding which way to go--like have an actualy plan rather than just my random thoughts!
Thank you again, and I will explain the situation to my host service team and see exactly what can and can't be done.
It was really easy using LabPrints. I'm not pimping them, and in fact they are one of 5 such services that our lab (H&H Color Labs) works with. And that's the point. If you're going to be working with a lab, check out which services they're set up for. You're likely to have to buy software, but once in place the logistics are really easy.
The nice thing about this approach, each portfolio you post is unique, so you can price differently and set end-dates, if for example you decide to run a sale on a set of images. If you have a fast connection, it takes very little time to load new images or change images in a portfolio.
If you look again at the portfolio I linked, those prices are ridiculously low compared to our studio prices, but they are based around "event" pricing scenarios and services from our lab. We can post portfolios with pricing like that while not affecting our other portfolios and sales schemes.
It probably took my wife an hour to put together and post the portfolio. At the event, rather than collecting money and keeping records, then mailing or hand-delivering photos to individual clients a week later, she just passed out business cards with the portfolio address at the time of shooting. Everyone could have their photos taken at the event, and it was up to them to decide later whether to buy after the fact. This was an experimental way for us to deal with events. So far sales are comparable to doing it the "old" way, but with none of the hassles. I'm betting she does lots more events this way.
Discussion
3 repliesWhile that may not sound thrilling in itself, and I get frustrated being limited in my travels, I've got a nice little following from people who appreciate it. Despite being considered "an old coal mining region" by some, I try to bring out the beauty of the area that is either hidden in plain view, or a bit off the beaten path. I get the, "I've been by there 1,000 times and never noticed that!" all the time.
Anyway, enough of that. My 2010 calendar, with very little publicity and last-minute design, did about 5X what it did last year. Somre artists are telling not to "cheapen" my work, but with the economy the way it is, and getting requests, I am contemplating doing things like note cards, stickies, mugs, posters, etc. in addition to fine art prints.
My problem comes in that I don't believe my web host, ifp3, will let me link w/ any provider of printing services. I've heard of zazzle.com, lulu, 48hourprint, vistaprint, etc., but am not sure if there is a place that photographers can partner with... whether it be uploading a certain number of select images and creating a storefront on their site, or exactly what it entails. You know, I'd pick say 20-30 photos and have people be able to buy them directly from the site--or whatever the set up may be.
While I still want to sell as many prints as possible obviously, I need to "feed my habit" and put food on my large table. So any additional money I can make would be a big help--and the audience is here from self-marketing on TV, social media, business cards, exhibits, and putting my work on display in various venues.
All suggestions are welcomed.
Don't know how well that fits your proposed model, but it works like a charm for us. Of course, we have a long history with the lab and trust them implicitly. Here is an example from a small event we shot, but we use the same service for portfolios from our studio. A couple of times we've used the service to assemble private portfolios in response to request for nature prints. Works great, and saves us the hassle of printing, packaging and mailing. Don't know why it wouldn't work for a standard portfolio, but I'm confused why your web host wouldn't allow links. That's downright weird to me.
I will check out LabPrints as well. I guess I really need to sit down and figure out exactly what I want to offer and what functionality before even deciding which way to go--like have an actualy plan rather than just my random thoughts!
Thank you again, and I will explain the situation to my host service team and see exactly what can and can't be done.
Bill
The nice thing about this approach, each portfolio you post is unique, so you can price differently and set end-dates, if for example you decide to run a sale on a set of images. If you have a fast connection, it takes very little time to load new images or change images in a portfolio.
If you look again at the portfolio I linked, those prices are ridiculously low compared to our studio prices, but they are based around "event" pricing scenarios and services from our lab. We can post portfolios with pricing like that while not affecting our other portfolios and sales schemes.
It probably took my wife an hour to put together and post the portfolio. At the event, rather than collecting money and keeping records, then mailing or hand-delivering photos to individual clients a week later, she just passed out business cards with the portfolio address at the time of shooting. Everyone could have their photos taken at the event, and it was up to them to decide later whether to buy after the fact. This was an experimental way for us to deal with events. So far sales are comparable to doing it the "old" way, but with none of the hassles. I'm betting she does lots more events this way.