Selling photos online... official MoneySavingExpert.com discussion

darich

johngrif wrote: »

in all honesty i dont like the term Royalty free because it basically means rights not managed.

That's my whole point - i feel that if an image is good enough to sell then the photographer is entitled to a realistic fee and to retain control of the rights to that image rather sell everything except the copyright for a few pence as some sites do.

For that reason, I normally discourage people who are serious about selling to avoid RF and go for RM

Coz

Would I be able to sell images taken with a 6mp digital SLR?

I have taken some good ones in Australia with a 4mp digital compact, too. I know what you're all thinking, but they are really good quality and some are very similar to images that are already on Photgraphers Direct. Would I be able to sell those?

If you sell images by email to Photographers Direct, what's to stop the buyer from selling them?

Coz

darich wrote: »

Also don't print images as glossy photos but as large posters. It's difficult to explain but if you saw them next to photos you'd immediately see the difference. I prefer to pay the small amount extra to photobox who've always been excellent.

I think i've used snapfish too but couldn't be sure.

If you need anything else then feel free to ask either here or via pm.

David

Hi, do images look better enlarged as posters, rather than prints? I was just wondering, as I was going to get some posters done of photos that I've taken, but they were taken with a 4mp camera, so I don't know what they would look like as huge posters.

chrisbur

Coz wrote: »

If you sell images by email to Photographers Direct, what's to stop the buyer from selling them?

Your pictures are not sold to Photographers Direct, they will only put you in touch with a buyer if that buyer is interested in buying rights to your picture. If you make a sale to that buyer then you supply them with the picture.
There are some risks involved in selling pictures, sometimes you will not be paid, and there is a small chance that a buyer will use your picture to sell to another buyer. Generally though these are fairly unlikely events and the only way to be sure that they do not happen is not to sell any pictures.

briona

Coz wrote: »

Would I be able to sell images taken with a 6mp digital SLR?

I have taken some good ones in Australia with a 4mp digital compact, too. I know what you're all thinking, but they are really good quality and some are very similar to images that are already on Photgraphers Direct. Would I be able to sell those?

If you sell images by email to Photographers Direct, what's to stop the buyer from selling them?

Hi Coz

I'm registered with Photographers Direct (not that I've sold anything yet! LOL!) and they have fairly strict rules about what can and can't be uploaded. Images taken on a 6MP camera are just about ok but anything taken on a 4MP camera would need upsizing too much to reach the minimum pixel dimensions required resulting in loss of quality.

The stuff below is taken from PD's FAQs and is © Photographers Direct.

I shoot digital. What size should my original files be?
Original digital files should be AT LEAST 6 megapixels to be worthwhile. Dimensions must be AT LEAST 3000 pixels on the longest side. The bigger, the better. Anything less than 6 megapixels would be too small for print usage. All digital images should be taken at the highest quality level possible – RAW format is better than JPEG format.

My images are more than 6 megabytes but the dimensions are less than 3000 pixels on the longest side. Why can't these be used?
The pixel dimensions are really the most important factor as they define how large an image can be printed. We require that images need to be usable at full page for a magazine cover at 300 dpi (300mm by 210mm or 12 by 8 inches). 3000 by 2000 pixels is our minimum (this gives 250 by 160mm or 10 by 7 inches at 300 dpi – barely acceptable for a full page).

Hope that helps.

Briona

Coz

chrisbur wrote: »

Your pictures are not sold to Photographers Direct, they will only put you in touch with a buyer if that buyer is interested in buying rights to your picture. If you make a sale to that buyer then you supply them with the picture.
There are some risks involved in selling pictures, sometimes you will not be paid, and there is a small chance that a buyer will use your picture to sell to another buyer. Generally though these are fairly unlikely events and the only way to be sure that they do not happen is not to sell any pictures.

Yeah, I know they're not sold to Photographers Direct, I meant to say if you sell them to a buyer through Photographers Direct, what's to stop the buyer from selling the to someone else? Could they do that, even if you own the copyright?

chrisbur

Coz wrote: »

Yeah, I know they're not sold to Photographers Direct, I meant to say if you sell them to a buyer through Photographers Direct, what's to stop the buyer from selling the to someone else? Could they do that, even if you own the copyright?

The use of the picture would depend on the rights that you sold to the buyer. If for example you sold the picture to be used once in a magazine up to quarter page size then that is all it could be used for. Providing that you did not give them permission to sell the picture to someone else then they could not legaly do that. The vast majority of picture buyers are honest and will only use pictures in the way that they have licenced them.

Beware of competitions and organisations that invite you to send in pictures. Often they have terms and conditions that mean by sending in a picture you agree to them having the right to sell that picture to someone else.

kat81

Has anyone got any advice on buying a new camera, i mainly use my camera for concert photography. I currently have a Nikon Coolpix S4 and have been complimented on the photographs i have taken, but would like to try and take it to the next stage, any advice would be gratefully received

ThinkingOfLinking

I am on Photobox but cannot find how to price and sell my prints; can someone please point me in the right direction?

darich

chrisbur wrote: »

Beware of competitions and organisations that invite you to send in pictures. Often they have terms and conditions that mean by sending in a picture you agree to them having the right to sell that picture to someone else.

Haven't seen that condition before but that's not to say it doesn't exist. I have seen conditions that stipulate any image submitted can be used by the company for promotional purposes in any and all markets and in all types of media eg brochures, websites, magazines etc.

Any competition that has "I can sell your image if you enter" is really dodgy I'd suggest.
I wouldn't enter a competition if that was the case.