How many submit their work?

Just wondering because I've been trying to give myself some aims and I was thinking well why not aim a bit higher if possible.

Over the years I always shot on slide with half a view to sending them off in a batch to a library. In fact I never took enough shots and not enough of them were of a high enough standard anyway, badly framed, not sharp enough, exposure not quite right etc... I guess over 20 years I've only got about 20 or 30 shots I really like and I'd reduce it further if I had to submit them. I've got a lot of them scanned now and with the wonders of a digital darkroom I've rescued a few as well but again if I had to submit them, I'm not sure the original scan is good enough.

But we move on now and digital is here. So my first thought was do I have good enough equipment and software to produce professional quality images (leaving aside my ability to take a good enough shot just for the moment ). Reading through the requirements of fotolibra, it seems I'm not far away but I'd have to upsize my photos to be considerd for all categories and as I only have CS2 that means a software investment but I could make that anytime, provided the images are there. Looking through it though, the answer is generally yes my workflow seems about right, my equipment is just good enough, so not too far away. Of course if the bar gets raised, which it will at some point, then I'm off the mark again, expensive this photography business.

So what about actually producing the work. Hah! tThere the difficulties really start. I guess if I set myself some themes, actually pressed the button a bit more, in 12 months I might have enough shots to actually submit somewhere but looking around I see the bar is pretty high, there are some excellent photographers out there (and on here), so I wonder how many would sell, if any. I'm not going to put my house on it anyway

So what are your own thoughts, anyone been through the same thought process and achieved the giddy heights of making some money from their hobby?

Incidentally, I'm quite fickle. Two weeks ago I was going to sell al my gear and buy myself a bridge camera

If you're really that fickle, then it's not for you perhaps, but if you can produce consistently the right images that will sell then fotoLibra is worth a go.

Don't blame your tools though! "only" having CS2 is not a bar to producing work of the highest standard. You do not need more software. Learn how to use CS2 properly and you will have no problems.

If you want to succeed, get out there and shoot some digital!

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Best regards, John

You misunderstood me: I wasn't blaming CS2 merely reflecting the fact it's not listed in their acceptable software for upscaling which lists Genuine Fractals and CS3 upwards. Whether CS2 is omitted because CS3 has better upscaling features or whether it's because it's an older version so now off their radar, I don't know?

You're right though, consistency is key and the key to consistency is practise.

I read that too, but I have successfully sold images upsized with Photoshop 7, so I wouldn't worry too much.

To upsize in CS2 use "Bicubic Smoother" resampling and you'll be fine.

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Best regards, John

I've never submitted work to a photo library, but from reading about this side of the industry the rule of thumb that's often quoted is that regular contributors to libraries earn approximately one pound per image per year. And this is based on contributors with a decent, well keyworded back catalogue.

And libraries usually advise you to add new images regularly, so keep on shooting!

I'd also be interested to hear the experiences of anyone that's had a go at submitting a good quantity of images to any of the libraries, in regards to percentage of submissions accepted, frequency of return etc.

Jonathan

The thing is with stock libraries is that there are so many contributors of high calibre shots, the competition is huge. You may have taken what you think is an outstanding image but you can bet anything that that shot has been done already by an established photographer on that or any of the other many libraries out there.

My advice to you is to set up a decent website, put your images on there with a facility to pay online. Then advertise your site, really advertise it. Then sell them from yr site.

I have been to craft fairs, shopping centres, christmas events, etc and sold my work and made a nice respectable amount from each of them. I have a good website, or should I say - had a good website until a server went down and lost everything, I am now in theprocess of building another one - so yes I have sold from my website and again I do well from that.

Your own websites show your work and your work only, it's a great way to start and finish.

Also with some libraries they won't allow photographs that are taken in the J-peg format. They prefer RAW, just so you are aware of that.


Paul