Comments on: What is your best selling photo in terms of revenue? http://www.my-photo-blog.com/what-is-your-best-selling-photo-in-terms-of-revenue Photo blog featuring outdoor, travel and nature photos. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:11:01 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Ron http://www.my-photo-blog.com/what-is-your-best-selling-photo-in-terms-of-revenue/comment-page-1#comment-111670 Ron Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:58:32 +0000 http://www.my-photo-blog.com/?p=2773#comment-111670 Hi Thomas, I would begin by contacting local magazines, calendar companies and business and grow from there. That is how we began - by growing very slowly with local Alaska businesses. You might look for a copy of John Shaw's book on the Business of Nature Photography. It is a bit dated, but still some good information in there. Good luck, Ron Hi Thomas,

I would begin by contacting local magazines, calendar companies and business and grow from there. That is how we began – by growing very slowly with local Alaska businesses.

You might look for a copy of John Shaw’s book on the Business of Nature Photography. It is a bit dated, but still some good information in there.

Good luck,

Ron

]]> By: Thomas Pratt http://www.my-photo-blog.com/what-is-your-best-selling-photo-in-terms-of-revenue/comment-page-1#comment-111658 Thomas Pratt Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:55:45 +0000 http://www.my-photo-blog.com/?p=2773#comment-111658 Thanks for the insight! I'm a 74 year old beginner with some experience and a Nikon D200. I've been browsing but with no clear direction. If you were starting new again, how would you go about it. I really enjoy driving the countryside photographing old barns. I don't think photographing people is my thing. Any suggetions? Thanks for sharing your experience. Kind regards, Thomas Pratt Thanks for the insight! I’m a 74 year old beginner with some experience and a Nikon D200. I’ve been browsing but with no clear direction. If you were starting new again, how would you go about it. I really enjoy driving the countryside photographing old barns. I don’t think photographing people is my thing. Any suggetions?

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Kind regards,

Thomas Pratt

]]> By: Ron http://www.my-photo-blog.com/what-is-your-best-selling-photo-in-terms-of-revenue/comment-page-1#comment-95974 Ron Fri, 05 Jun 2009 05:55:18 +0000 http://www.my-photo-blog.com/?p=2773#comment-95974 That does make sense, thanks for the comment QT! That does make sense, thanks for the comment QT!

]]> By: QT Luong http://www.my-photo-blog.com/what-is-your-best-selling-photo-in-terms-of-revenue/comment-page-1#comment-95907 QT Luong Fri, 05 Jun 2009 03:12:07 +0000 http://www.my-photo-blog.com/?p=2773#comment-95907 > The outdoor recreation stuff does sell very well, but almost entirely for editorial use which keeps it out of the top performer list. Makes perfect sense to me. If you have a big advertising budget and you need an image with a person, you'll want more control (esthetic as well as legal) than stock affords. In other words, you'll have the image shot on assignment. > The outdoor recreation stuff does sell very well, but almost entirely for editorial use which keeps it out of the top performer list.

Makes perfect sense to me. If you have a big advertising budget and you need an image with a person, you’ll want more control (esthetic as well as legal) than stock affords. In other words, you’ll have the image shot on assignment.

]]> By: Ron http://www.my-photo-blog.com/what-is-your-best-selling-photo-in-terms-of-revenue/comment-page-1#comment-93949 Ron Thu, 28 May 2009 22:42:47 +0000 http://www.my-photo-blog.com/?p=2773#comment-93949 That is ironic Joe - I agree, go figure. That is ironic Joe – I agree, go figure.

]]> By: Joe M. http://www.my-photo-blog.com/what-is-your-best-selling-photo-in-terms-of-revenue/comment-page-1#comment-93907 Joe M. Thu, 28 May 2009 17:42:33 +0000 http://www.my-photo-blog.com/?p=2773#comment-93907 Interesting reading Ron. I agree with your comments about nice lighting beating the dramatic light when it comes to stock. Oddly, one of my recent licenses was for a skyline image with a cloudless predawn sky. However, in the final published image, they photoshopped in stormy low clouds. Go figure. Interesting reading Ron.

I agree with your comments about nice lighting beating the dramatic light when it comes to stock. Oddly, one of my recent licenses was for a skyline image with a cloudless predawn sky. However, in the final published image, they photoshopped in stormy low clouds. Go figure.

]]> By: Ron http://www.my-photo-blog.com/what-is-your-best-selling-photo-in-terms-of-revenue/comment-page-1#comment-93905 Ron Thu, 28 May 2009 17:18:46 +0000 http://www.my-photo-blog.com/?p=2773#comment-93905 Thanks Laurent Thanks Laurent

]]> By: Laurent http://www.my-photo-blog.com/what-is-your-best-selling-photo-in-terms-of-revenue/comment-page-1#comment-93901 Laurent Thu, 28 May 2009 16:48:12 +0000 http://www.my-photo-blog.com/?p=2773#comment-93901 Thanks for the info, Ron. It's nice to hear what is working for people. I'll raise a toast tonight for your continued success :) Thanks for the info, Ron. It’s nice to hear what is working for people. I’ll raise a toast tonight for your continued success :)

]]> By: Ron http://www.my-photo-blog.com/what-is-your-best-selling-photo-in-terms-of-revenue/comment-page-1#comment-93763 Ron Wed, 27 May 2009 21:47:56 +0000 http://www.my-photo-blog.com/?p=2773#comment-93763 Thanks guys, Thanks Carl. Not that I want to let market demand dictate my photography, but it is nice to be aware of what tends to sell. He Richard, it seemed to me that when the major agencies shared top performing photos, it wasn't uncommon to see a few landscapes - I didn't expect to see any. Maybe my memory isn't as accurate as I think - very possible. Hi Phil, Not surprised your best sellers are whales because you have some amazing whale images! I'm also a bit of a statistics junkie. Unfortunately my business software doesn't seem to allow for easy tracking of sales by subject. I would love to see my sales by keyword so that I could see which state, national park or other subject matter sells the best. If I'm trying to decide between visiting two wonderful national parks, no reason not to pick the best performer. The outdoor recreation stuff does sell very well, but almost entirely for editorial use which keeps it out of the top performer list. Thanks Thanks guys,

Thanks Carl. Not that I want to let market demand dictate my photography, but it is nice to be aware of what tends to sell.

He Richard, it seemed to me that when the major agencies shared top performing photos, it wasn’t uncommon to see a few landscapes – I didn’t expect to see any. Maybe my memory isn’t as accurate as I think – very possible.

Hi Phil,

Not surprised your best sellers are whales because you have some amazing whale images!

I’m also a bit of a statistics junkie. Unfortunately my business software doesn’t seem to allow for easy tracking of sales by subject. I would love to see my sales by keyword so that I could see which state, national park or other subject matter sells the best. If I’m trying to decide between visiting two wonderful national parks, no reason not to pick the best performer.

The outdoor recreation stuff does sell very well, but almost entirely for editorial use which keeps it out of the top performer list.

Thanks

]]> By: Phil http://www.my-photo-blog.com/what-is-your-best-selling-photo-in-terms-of-revenue/comment-page-1#comment-93753 Phil Wed, 27 May 2009 19:40:02 +0000 http://www.my-photo-blog.com/?p=2773#comment-93753 Ron, thanks for the kind words, and responding to my question so generously. My experience is similar to yours in some ways. I have a few images that account for a disproportionate amount of revenue, due to advertising sales among those images which are so much more lucrative than the more common editorial sales. Photo sales are in some ways no different than real estate sales: the distribution of amounts is highly skewed, with a small number of outliers at the high end accounting for few sales but much of the total dollar action. (That's the statistician in me getting a little carried away.) On the other hand, large animals are the sellers for me, as opposed to landscapes. My best revenue generator is a whale photo, as is my second best photo, and I can't recall any really big landscape sellers. One other thing: I also would have thought your excellent model-released person-enjoying-the-outdoors images would have been the big earners for you, so hearing that they do not dominate your top 5 is a surprise. Ron, thanks for the kind words, and responding to my question so generously. My experience is similar to yours in some ways. I have a few images that account for a disproportionate amount of revenue, due to advertising sales among those images which are so much more lucrative than the more common editorial sales. Photo sales are in some ways no different than real estate sales: the distribution of amounts is highly skewed, with a small number of outliers at the high end accounting for few sales but much of the total dollar action. (That’s the statistician in me getting a little carried away.) On the other hand, large animals are the sellers for me, as opposed to landscapes. My best revenue generator is a whale photo, as is my second best photo, and I can’t recall any really big landscape sellers. One other thing: I also would have thought your excellent model-released person-enjoying-the-outdoors images would have been the big earners for you, so hearing that they do not dominate your top 5 is a surprise.

]]> By: Richard Wong http://www.my-photo-blog.com/what-is-your-best-selling-photo-in-terms-of-revenue/comment-page-1#comment-93748 Richard Wong Wed, 27 May 2009 18:27:12 +0000 http://www.my-photo-blog.com/?p=2773#comment-93748 Interesting observations regarding the PDN survey. I read a lot of PDN issues when I was working in advertising but didn't catch the part about landscape images selling. It does make sense though about the fair weather stuff selling better since that is what people relate to. A dark and stormy image might be nice for bragging rights and to show to your photo buddies but as for having a lasting emotional impact on non-photogs I think the opposite would be true. Weird how that works. Interesting observations regarding the PDN survey. I read a lot of PDN issues when I was working in advertising but didn’t catch the part about landscape images selling. It does make sense though about the fair weather stuff selling better since that is what people relate to. A dark and stormy image might be nice for bragging rights and to show to your photo buddies but as for having a lasting emotional impact on non-photogs I think the opposite would be true. Weird how that works.

]]> By: Carl D http://www.my-photo-blog.com/what-is-your-best-selling-photo-in-terms-of-revenue/comment-page-1#comment-93701 Carl D Wed, 27 May 2009 04:42:15 +0000 http://www.my-photo-blog.com/?p=2773#comment-93701 Hey Ron, Interesting topic, thanks for posting about this. I thought this was a great point: <em>"The other thing that surprises me is that it seems like the best selling stock landscape photos all have nice light, but not the rare, dramatic light that draws all the ohs and awes on photography forums "</em>. I've often thought that, and the more I look around photo forums, with more and more amazing landscape photos around, it surprises me even more to see so many images sell well that don't adhere to that kind of light standard so many photographers seem to expect. Cheers Carl Hey Ron,

Interesting topic, thanks for posting about this. I thought this was a great point:

“The other thing that surprises me is that it seems like the best selling stock landscape photos all have nice light, but not the rare, dramatic light that draws all the ohs and awes on photography forums “.

I’ve often thought that, and the more I look around photo forums, with more and more amazing landscape photos around, it surprises me even more to see so many images sell well that don’t adhere to that kind of light standard so many photographers seem to expect.

Cheers

Carl

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