32 http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk
Technique MAKING MONEYPicfair
http://www.picfair.com
Picfair is a stock photography disruptor that
puts photographers of all levels in much
greater control over image pricing when
selling their images as either digital
downloads or prints. All you have to do to
get started is to sign up to the website,
upload your images, set your price and you
can then sell your images through your
personal store on Picfair as well as through
the Central Marketplace.
Setting up an account is incredibly easy,
and you can opt for the free account, pay
£69.90 for an annual subscription to Picfair
Plus or sign-up for a monthly subscription
for £7 per month. The free account is
limited to 50 images with basic functionality
that’s more than enough to get started, but
if you’d like more control over the look and
feel of your personal store, enjoy additional
functionality, unlimited uploads, zero
commission and much more, Picfair Plus is
for you. You could always get started with
the free account and upgrade once you’ve
got to grips with the platform.
With this website, the photographer sets
the price that they would like to receive for
each image sold regardless of the account
type they hold, while Picfair adds a 20%
commission to this price for free accounts.
So, an image where the photographer has
set the price to £20 will sell for £24, while
no commission is added to Picfair Plus
accounts so that image would sell for £20 or
another price set by the photographer.
Funds from sales will then be paid by BACS
(UK only) or to your PayPal account – it’s
really that simple.
Images can be purchased as digital
downloads with licenses for editorial and
personal uses, commercial uses and
advertising uses. Each of these is on a
sliding price scale with advertising usage
providing the highest revenue for the
photographer. Buyers can also purchase
prints, framed prints and canvas wraps with
fulfilment handled by Picfair so you can sit
back and relax.SmugMug
http://www.smugmug.com
If you’d like full control over image sales,
whether digital downloads or prints, framed
prints and other traditional print options,
SmugMug is a great option because it allows
you to incorporate these selling options into
your SmugMug website. SmugMug is a
website and hosting company whose
e-commerce solutions are aimed primarily at
professional photographers, which is
reflected in the price for the two plans
where this functionality is available.
To sell images as digital downloads with
either a personal or commercial license, or
to sell prints etc. you’ll need to sign-up for
the Portfolio or Pro accounts; Portfolio costs
$32 per month or $240 annually, while Pro
costs $50 per month or $432 annually,
which means you need to be selling a lot of
images to make the investment worthwhile.
However, this does include your website
and hosting, excluding your URL cost, so it
may not be a great deal more expensive
than the website service you already use or
are considering.
When it comes to selling downloads,
these are set up by you and the process is
quite simple with plenty of guides
available. Fees are attached to this service
but they are low and can be viewed in the
Help sections of the SmugMug website.
Selling prints is just as easy, with fulfilment
in the UK and EU provided by Loxley
Colour, with several other options
available in the US. You can even order test
prints to check the print quality of the
different labs.
The SmugMug option is the ultimate in
control because you host all sales within
your own website and set your prices while
SmugMug takes care of payment handling
and print fulfilment through its reputable
partner labs. You receive 85% of the
difference between your price and
SmugMug’s default print prices with the
15% retained by SmugMug paying for
credit card payment fees, customer service
and administration.5 Accurately keyword images
Think like a buyer and include
keywords that accurately describe
the image and are likely to be used
as search terms; an image might be
an ideal fit for a buyer, but it needs
the right keywords to be
discoverable. Avoid using irrelevant
keywords because this type of
spamming annoys buyers.
6 Always include location
information
Location information can have a
significant influence on whether an
image is purchased or not. Buyers
often need clarity on where a photo
was taken, especially for location-
specific creative briefs and editorial
features so providing this
information is an effortless way to
help your images sell.
7 Stand out from the crowd
Concentrate on developing a unique
style and mastering a specific genre,
rather than recreating the same
generic images as other
photographers. Photographers who
stand out from the crowd with a
more unique and identifiable style
are generally more successful in
the long run.
8 Follow upload requirements
Always follow the upload
requirements of the hosting site.
Any rules on what you can or cannot
upload are there for a reason and
ultimately to help you sell images
and increase your chances of
success. Attempting to bypass them
will result in rejected images,
disappointment and wasted time.
9 Sign up to email newsletters
Many photography blogs and image
hosting sites will send regular
emails to their photographer
community; make sure you
subscribe and absorb their advice.
They’ll usually cover topics such as
trends, what’s been popular on the
platform and general tips for
improving your images.
10 Take time to consider
pricing
At Picfair, as with many other online
hosting services, photographers are
free to set their prices for their
images. Prices vary, but we find that
there’s a sweet spot between
£10-£25 for an editorial/commercial
licence or to purchase a print
(excluding production and shipping).