crated!

[Takkun]

Exactly! It doesn't cost anything but a little of my time. If I sell something, great; if not, that's fine too. It does not take away from the fun of sharing images with others.

Having said that, the types of photos that are preferred or well-liked in online markets such as crated tend to be aesthetically different than the types of images that are typically posted on RFF.

I agree. But it definitely helps to have personal connections to send in the direction of your site, rather than just throwing images up and hoping people will find them.

I'm sure like a lot of here on RFF, I shoot for my own enjoyment. I also show in a contemporary art gallery, which is really exciting to show some of those less commercially viable but meaningful pieces. And honesty, none of the work I've shown in galleries is really the sort of thing I'd hang on my own wall. From the feedback I've gotten from visitors and friends, I've noticed that's the case for a lot of people, too--who really wants to hang photos of dark street corners or strangers in their living room? But a number of people still like my style, and would like to buy my work, just not a custom-printed, semi-abstract gallery series.

I agree that editing is key, to try and avoid dozens of the same generic photos or stock like images. What I like most about this site is that it's got a social-media bent to it, without being a 'community.' How many visitors on Flickr/smugmug/deviantART/500px are non-photographers in the market for buying?

 

[Highway 61]

And honesty, none of the work I've shown in galleries is really the sort of thing I'd hang on my own wall.

??????????

Until now, I had been thinking that honesty towards oneself and others was one of the keys for making something interesting...

Call me a primitive, but I never exhibited in galleries nor published in books and papers anything else than what I am hanging on my own walls from time to time (with adding some turnover, which hanging on some personal work conveniently allows to).

 

[back alley]

we could start a site and call it amateur hour...😉

 

[kxl]

So just share then instead of trying to make a buck....

What's wrong with making an honest buck? I'm not forcing anyone to buy or comment or even look at my images. My perspective: if someone visits, great; if someone includes it in a collection, even better; if someone buys, then that's just awesome.

Product, Place, Price, Promotion do apply, but only to the extent of my willingness to spend time on this, as well as my expectations from this.

 

[VTHokiEE]

we could start a site and call it amateur hour...😉

Count me in!

 

[Bille]

Have a look at the front page of crated to see what "works"...

 

[csxcnj]

Joe, some very fine photos. A few that , considering you're offering them at give away prices, will be hanging on one of my walls. "Poetry Shop" ( I hope I titled it correctly) cracked me up and I'm a sucker for pepper photos in particular.

And that guy who left a comment, how dare he insult my taste in photos!

What is the printing process on CRATED when a photo is ordered?

 

[farlymac]

Oh, one more thing, Joe. Make sure your "Download This Image" is shut off on Flickr. And check to see if Permissions (for downloading or copying images) is activated on your Website (turn it off). Don't want to be giving away what you're trying to sell.

PF

 

[FrankS]

Joe, did Crated send you email notification that a comment was left?

 

[back alley]

Joe, did Crated send you email notification that a comment was left?

yep...


.

 

[FrankS]

I sent crated an email asking about inappropriate comments. Haven't heard back.

 

[Takkun]

??????????

Until now, I had been thinking that honesty towards oneself and others was one of the keys for making something interesting...

Call me a primitive, but I never exhibited in galleries nor published in books and papers anything else than what I am hanging on my own walls from time to time (with adding some turnover, which hanging on some personal work conveniently allows to).

Haha, I realize that was completely unclear and probably made me out as some sort of a marketeer instead of an artist. What I meant by it is that the work I like to make and show isn't necessarily the sort of thing I have hanging on my walls. At home, I've got a lot of screen-printed posters and pen drawings by friends, and my own architectural images, or interesting urban landscapes. The work I show tends to be more portrait and street photography, or with an underlying concept--being shown more for the artistic merit than for the purpose of being sold. I've also made a few short-run books of essays and series, where they work better as a collection than hung in a living room.
On the other hand, I have plenty of photos that look great blown up and are interesting to look at, and perhaps more amenable to the general public hanging on their wall. Like someone else said, a portrait of someone might be a compelling visual image, but not something a stranger might buy for decoration.
For example:


I've shown both of these in the past year in curated shows, but something more like this might be more marketable as a print.


I'm sure there are others here in the same situation, where you have a few different styles and subjects and different outlets for each.

 

[kxl]

Got this email from crated... pretty cool, for whatever it's worth. 😎
______
Nice work!

We really like your art and you've been promoted as a featured gallery on Crated!

Your work will now appear in search results and will be cycled within our 'Discover art' page.
_______

 

[Pherdinand]

... something more like this might be more marketable as a print.

seriously?? 🙂

 

[Pherdinand]

Got this email from crated... pretty cool, for whatever it's worth. 😎
______
Nice work!

We really like your art and you've been promoted as a featured gallery on Crated!

Your work will now appear in search results and will be cycled within our 'Discover art' page.
_______

Some of those shots are very good like bw alaskan and other landscapes, but dude,... that low contrast Bicycles shot...! 🙂 won't be my favorite wall decoration 😉

[just tellin' what i'd buy and what not, in a frame]

 

[Highway 61]

If someone had any clue about how to find back from the Classifieds archives the ad for a nicely framed wet print of that Kansas City railroad bridge seen from downunder and shot with a Rolleiflex during "the golden hour" by someone talented and having told in the ad, as a nice background story, that he had shot this during a few minutes break taken off his office duty, everybody here could have an idea of the rare case in which a photo taken by an unknown amateur could sell very quickly.

 

[FrankS]

Congrats, kxl!

I heard back from Crated about bad comments:
We are currently looking into adding either a flagging system or allowing users to delete comments posted on their work. If you're referring to the comment I believe you are we have since deleted the comment. While we work on a feature like this in the meantime if you bring comments to our attention we can look into deleting them for you.

 

[KevinVH]

http://crated.com/facesofecuador

I've had my account before it was open to the public, got promoted to a featured gallery too, but after a few months on the site I have yet to receive an order. I did get a few comments and favorites though.

 

[Paddy C]

There is an insane amount of content being produced today. Everyone is a "maker." And lots of people are trying to make money from what they make.

But if you think people are just going to somehow, magically, find your work and then buy it, you are dreaming.

This is a job and you have to approach it like one if you are serious. You need to produce stand-out work, you need to market and network like crazy,and you need to be patient.

Irene Suchocki is a great example of how this gets done. Web site here:

http://is-theblog.blogspot.in

Google for interviews. Through her site and etsy she makes enough money to have turned it into a full-time career.

Her work is professional, consistent, edited (this is super important – you can't just throw everything up and see what sticks), it has broad appeal and she's done all of what I mentioned above.

 

[KM-25]

I've had my account before it was open to the public, got promoted to a featured gallery too, but after a few months on the site I have yet to receive an order. I did get a few comments and favorites though.

And this is it in a nutshell really...no one is going to make a dime on this site because it is not properly curated or reviewed.

In order for a collective like this to work, *ALL* the artwork has to be top notch...it is competing with decent to good work that amateur camera owners have spewed out onto the internet for years now that is free....Freetography folks...."I Heart Sharing photos because I get nice comments" equals free!

By the way, this...?....would not even be put on a wall if free....

http://crated.com/art/2808/leica-m6-by-facesofecuador

http://crated.com/art/97108/on-arrival-at-kahului-by-leonin

http://crated.com/art/2448/cappucino-muffin-by-backalleyimages

There is an insane amount of content being produced today. Everyone is a "maker." And lots of people are trying to make money from what they make.

But if you think people are just going to somehow, magically, find your work and then buy it, you are dreaming.

This is a job and you have to approach it like one if you are serious. You need to produce stand-out work, you need to market and network like crazy,and you need to be patient.

Irene Suchocki is a great example of how this gets done. Web site here:

http://is-theblog.blogspot.in

Google for interviews. Through her site and etsy she makes enough money to have turned it into a full-time career.

Her work is professional, consistent, edited (this is super important – you can't just throw everything up and see what sticks), it has broad appeal and she's done all of what I mentioned above.

Yep, that is reality. I am starting to really pull in nice monthly figures off of my black and white work and I don't even have a public website instead preferring to keep it out of the eyes of amateur camera owners and just deal with interior decorators, high end hotel and resort chains and galleries directly. I expect to be able to stop doing commercial work in about 5 years. But what you, I or other folks say on here simply does not matter to some...they refuse to accept reality.

I gotta log out...the amount that people tend to BS each other with on this topic or any topic of earning money in photography just gets me too wound up...