well... I'm in an interesting life stage in many ways. And without trying to reveal too much personal info, I'll just say that I am at least "considering" pursuing landscape photography on a professional level. I know this is no small feat. And the possibilities of how this might work (or not ) seem endless. It would likely be some sort of combination for a while and not my singular profession/career.
At any rate, this is a bit of a dream of mine, and since I'm currently at a crossroads of sorts, I'd be remiss to not consider it as an option.
I can certainly "live poor" for a while pursuing my artistic dreams. If they don't pan out and I need to head back to the "real world" for a more secure situation, I'm not too concerned about being able to make that happen.
I'm full of questions, but most of them revolve around the nuts-and-bolts of how to make money with landscape photography, short of opening my own gallery. Those of you who are doing this, do you just try to secure gallery showings and visit as many art shows as possible? And then pursue online sales? Anything in the realm of stock photography? Any thoughts or recommendations anyone has are more than welcome.
I really appreciate the feedback and knowledge (pointing me to any other resources is also welcome).
I haven't participated in this forum for a while but I don't recall if there are any members here earning a living from landscape photography. I turned full-time pro photographer nearly two years ago, but my fine art landscape work is more a labor of love than anything. However, I do have a very long term plan for my landscsape work being a primary contributor to my business model.
And the first step in this long term plan is to have a substantial portfolio of very high quality, dramatic nature and landscape images. Unfortunately as a hobbyist for the first few years, some of my best captured moments were done with inferior equipment and/or capture techniques. So now that I've upgraded both my equipment and my technique, I will continue this "labor of love" capturing beautiful nature images inbetween commercial and editorial shoots.
And actually I have been able to apply my passion and technique for landscape photography into a lucrative enterprise photographing golf courses. With a few agjustments they are nearly the same:
I'm curious too.. My plan has been to keep living in the real world, and build up my portfolio and pursue local gallery shows and print sales (mostly through friends/word of mouth). I think this is a good way to start up, since you'll build your name (unless you already have I guess). I can't call my self a real pro, but since having seriously started 'hobby' landscape/wildlife photography 2 years ago, and print sales starting a few months ago, I've paid back my first camera body (20D)!
Personally, I would say it would be better to stay in the real world if it would otherwise mean sacrificing your creativity and interests for ways to make money off your photos (being forced into stock if you don't want to etc). You don't want to stress yourself over the photography such that it is no longer enjoyable.
I hope some others can offer much better and more qualified advice! (Marc Adamus? I know Mark Metternich gave some advice a while back about marketing your work - try PMing him and he's great at responding.)
Floris has said exactly what I was going to say. And this is an interesting topic that should stay in the Landscape forum, because it concerns being a Landscape Photographer on a professional basis.
There are many of us who are in your boat with you, and are some where in that process. Some like Mark Metternich have jumped into with both feet, and it looks like he will be very successful. Myself, I have a 5 year plan I am working on.
Do you have a website that you can sell your photo's from? Once a person has photo's worthy of selling, this would be one of the first steps to take.
This is an interesting topic, that I know many of us will be interested in watching.
Interesting topic. I too have thought about doing photography on a more pro-level. But it still wouldn't necessarily be a full-on thing for me. I had the plan of doing people photography to get my name out while referring back to a website which would have my landscape/nature shots available for purchase. While also going to shows etc to show the landscape work. My goal was only to make enough to completely offset the cost of the trips. IE, free vacations/equipment. If I ever gained enough ambition I think a site featuring many photographers would be the ideal solution to take advantage of economies of scale.
some good thoughts so far... with lots of questions...
glad i'm not the only one asking some of these questions. i agree with floris as well. i think "aggressive networking" is the best way to go, trying to land showings as much as possible.
as far as online sales... i'm not sure how effective that is for landscape photography. are people actually getting online sales that are new customers (ie, haven't seen a live showing, etc)? my thought is that actual prints sell... online images don't as much, until you get to a really high level of quality/popularity.
what about local art shows (mostly in summers). are people doing that? what can you look to make with those and how many can you book?
jim, if you don't mind me asking, what's your 5 year plan?
yes, i have a website, but i sell sports photos to parents through it (many end up wandering though the site and commenting to me about some landscape shots, but the site is not set up for landscape photography). i also do weddings, but very low volume. the site at this point is a sort of "catch-all", but i've purchased www.danfocus.com and intend to make that for more of my high-end stuff, especially featuring landscape work.
let's keep up this conversation, i'd love to hear from some people with experience...
yldan wrote:
as far as online sales... i'm not sure how effective that is for landscape photography. are people actually getting online sales that are new customers (ie, haven't seen a live showing, etc)? my thought is that actual prints sell... online images don't as much, until you get to a really high level of quality/popularity.
-Dan
I agree.. I think it's important to have a website, to refer people to. What I've found is that people I know will buy a print, picking on from the website, then they'll spread the word to their friends that the prints are actually really nice.. and then hopefully start to get a couple more people. Though most of my sales have been my wildlife photos so far, same principle though I think.
Drew Sinclair wrote:
Did u pm mark about his marketing tips? If not I can upload the article later when I'm off work?
i will contact mark about this thread, but i also feel like he's on a slightly "different path" than some of us who are asking here (or perhaps at a much different stage on the same path). with financial backing and a storefront in a higher-end shopping district, it seems like there is a place to regularly showcase work that will generate steady income. for those of us where a storefront gallery just isn't going to happen in the near future... how does the money still come in?
but yes, please upload that article... it seems like it would help a lot of people who are asking about this...
Plus he talks about Ken Duncan. I went to one of his stores in the Hunter Region of NSW, Australia. Impressive photography. I still covet a panoramic camera.
I am a (part time pro) sports shooter and whilst I'm doing OK with that, I would really like to do more landscapes. Last time I was out on the golf course, one of the players asked if I had any shots of the course and that got me thinking.
Chris - I love your golf course shots. I am looking to shoot our local courses during the next few months with a view to producing a series of fine art prints. I was intending to be out at sunrise / sunset to get those nice shadows over the contours of the course. The two courses I am shooting have a combined membership of over 3000 so I'm hoping that sales will be good. I am going to do a deal with the club pro and sell the shots through his shop. I have a 1DMkII but might get the 5D (or 5D MkII) for this landscape work.
For a topic that a few people seemed very keen on, it seems to have died a natural death
I for one would like to know how successful people have been selling from the web.
Ditto for Stock and whether its microstock or not.
Do people go to markets to sell.
I appreciate it is not "one size fits all", however there must be an approach that is more likely to succeed without opening a gallery
Thank you Pierre. I have found that the basic formula for attractive landscape photography is mostly true for great golf course photography, with a couple minor adjustments. My favorite shots have sunlight directly on the green, with more "atmosphere" in the rest of the shot. And also it is helpful if you're passionate about golf. I am, and I can usually "see" the image by envisioning a great golf shot on any particular hole.
Here's another one of my most recent photos demonstrating the impact of light across the green. I waited at this spot for a couple hours hoping that the sun might break right across the green, and fortunately it did:
PierreB wrote:
Chris - I love your golf course shots. I am looking to shoot our local courses during the next few months with a view to producing a series of fine art prints. I was intending to be out at sunrise / sunset to get those nice shadows over the contours of the course. The two courses I am shooting have a combined membership of over 3000 so I'm hoping that sales will be good. I am going to do a deal with the club pro and sell the shots through his shop. I have a 1DMkII but might get the 5D (or 5D MkII) for this landscape work.
) seem endless. It would likely be some sort of combination for a while and not my singular profession/career.
