Im sure this discussion has been started before but I think I may have missed it cause I cant find anything about it.
I know there are a few sites out there where we can upload out photos and people can order prints/enlargements directly off there and we dont have to handle anything.
One of my complaints that ive found I have about these sites is that most dont have a set standard size print... ie 8x10, 11x14, 16x20 and so on.
The sites Ive found are...
www.zazzle.com ~Not to sure what to think about this one - Ive uploaded to this site before but didnt get much of a response to it. Free to use and set your own royalty rate.
www.printpop.com ~I just started to use this site, and really love the stet up of their site (easy to use.) The owner of the company called me to say welcome aboard. I think this is a really small company. Set 15% Royalty rate.
www.deviantart.com ~My brother in law referred me to this site. Im not sure what to think of this one, it seems easy but I think its more geared towards artists and not so much photography.
So what Im wondering what sites do yall use? And how have they worked for you? And have yall used any of the 3 Ive listed. Any suggestions on a site that has 'normal' print sizes.
Im not looking for stock photography, Im just looking for somewhere that only sells the prints.
Hi Caren! I haven't sold or even tried to sell any of my prints yet but I would love to hear how you like those sites and if it is paying off for you! I have been thinking about trying to sell some of my photos but just haven't done anything about it yet!
@positronicmommy I like all the products you can get with Zazzle they have a huge variety. And Printpop has a good selection too.
So far I havent sold anything yet, but I havent marked my self that much either.
I too am curious how the selling prints is going for everyone else.
I'm looking to do this too right now. Deviant Art has been going for years and has a huge community, it's one of the old stalwarts of the internets, and it's on my list to checkout. Hadn't heard of the other two though, but will give them a look.
So far I've only discovered (other than already knowing about DA) this guy's post talking about some higher-than-stock sites, none of which I've gotten around to looking into yet, but do intend to.
I'll keep this updated with my own progress too :)
This is a huge, huge topic, but I can give you some pretty succinct answers. I think. Cause I've been accused of being a windbag, or rather a textbag, so we'll see how it goes.
First of all, I wrote a tutorial a long, long time ago on the top sites for photographers wanting a photography website. http://blog.jasonbarnettephotography.com/2010/07/4-popular-sites-plus-3-more-for-photographers-wanting-a-photography-website/
First of all, there are two that I highly, highly recommend: Zenfolio and Photoshelter. I personally use Photoshelter, so if you would like to see how my site is laid out and works, you can visit it at http://www.jasonbarnettephotography.com
I have used SmugMug, DeviantArt, Zenfolio, and Photoshelter. Although I am sticking with Photoshelter now, I personally prefer Zenfolio. At this point, it would simply take too much time move everything to a new company so I am sticking with what I have.
To address your issue with print sizes, Photoshelter and Zenfolio have several dozen prints sizes ranging from a 1:1, 2:3, 4:5, 5:7, and panoramic print ratios. That is standard for any site. If you want to do something really strange like a 14.679"x18.974" print, you won't find anyplace on the internet that will let you print like that.
Typically, you will need to pick a print ratio and crop your photo accordingly. Printers use certain size paper, and anything that is an "odd" size just can't be printed. Unless you put a white border around the photo. Then it would work.
I'd recommend DeviantArt. I haven't sold anything on there, but I've been on there for almost a year now. There's loads of photography on there. It's not geared toward any one art form... it has pretty much everything. I know people that have bought/sold on there and they've all been pleased. Be forewarned though, they pre-set the prices unless you have a premium account.
DeviantArt is great for browsing, and I've used they're free portfolio thingy, but I've never sold anything on there and I've been there for years. It has a very large community and 'small' unknown members often get overlooked, I've found.
I sell most of my stuff on my facebook page! I do have photos for sale on RedBubble but haven't sold anything yet. I am thinking about starting an Etsy page too.
@chevymom
How did you go about starting to sell through Facebook? I have a page but I've had no requests or anything like that (perhaps because the majority of likes are my friends).
@positronicmommy Read the bottom also to see what ive found out. I hope this helps you find what your looking for also!
@eyebrows Thanks so much for the link, it helped a bunch.
@brumbe Thanks for the Zazzle input your the 2nd person I know that uses them, Have you sold anything on it? Hope this discussion gives you a lil more insight on some of these sites. Read the bottom for what ive found so far.
@jasonbarnette I was hoping you would respond. I remember you talking about it some time ago with some one else (or so I think you did.) Thanks so much for your input. I will check those 2 paid sites out as soon as I can scrounge up some cash to use them. Thanks so much for the links it really helped a lot. Same with all your input!!! It made it easier for me to understand the ratio thing.
@soxfansara Thanks so much. I was worried that the main page of Deviantart would scare people away lol. I am trying out the site now but am rather confused about it, so I emailed them. Hope they have quick customer service. One part about it though that kind of confuses me is its like a community too, so people can fav my photo or add it to their 'collections' I find that rather odd but I guess thats how it works.
@chevymom@mizikei I too am not sure how the facebook selling works. Im looking for a place that will print them and I wont ever have to do any of that not even shipping. Is that how the facebook works too?
@andifree Thanks I will definetly check it out when I get a little money to try it. I really like the set up and how professional it looks.
So this is what ive found out since starting this discussion.
Devianart - Free upload, royalty is 20%, they offer a good variety sizes even options for the normal sizes I was looking for (4x6, 8x10, 11x14). While they offer these sizes and I selected them to add to my 'store' I went to check out my store and went through the process of adding one of my prints to my cart to see how easy it was. Then it happened, it only offered me one size. Not the other sizes that it offered me to have during the upload process. I wrote them regarding this and im still waiting for a response. The uploading process is really easy to use. Another great thing was they offer a water mark on your picture your trying to sell, its their personal watermark and it will not show up on the print your customer orders!!! There is an option for you to add that, and that removes the other option for people to download your image. (I made sure I did this.) The uploads were almost approved instantly - No need to wait. They even have a blog section on there and your own profile page for people to see. What I was a bit unsure about was how it was more geared as a community then a site to sell my work. As I was uploading I had people commenting on a few of my random photos and others were adding some of my photos to their favorites. The site is kind of hard to work around and a bit messy, so it may make people turn the other way.
PrintPop- Well its still a really quiet site. I uploaded on friday, and there have not been any uploads since mine. I love the cleanliness of the site and it has a professional feel to it. They are very quick to approve the upload, but they do warn it may take 1-3 days for approval. Mine took minutes. Their royalty rate is 15% and their sizes are present to your images dimensions.
Zazzle - I started to attempt to use this site again. Its another clean site, it seems to have more traffic than the Printpop one. It does let you pick the dimensions of you images and has a lot of great items to pick from (even iPad covers!) What I dont like about it was that each different image size I wanted to sell I would have to set them up individually. So my store looks like this... Marine Boots 8x10, Marine Boots 11x14, Marine Boots 16x20. Which it seems like it takes forever just to put 3 sizes of a imagine in my store. In which the image that is 3 different sizes are not all listed on the same page, and each time I had to refill out the form. The photo approval process is pretty quick also. It also lets you design your own profile page. Also, they offer a similar watermark feature where when someone is viewing your photo closely (besides thumbnail) it will pop up, this will not appear on prints. People can also comment on your work here too!
Until I can get some money I will have to stick with the free sites. But I sure cant wait to check out Photoshelter & Zenfolio but sites look amazing and simple to use.
So heres what ive made so far, I thought it would be easier for some people to visually see it to understand it better. In no way am I trying to promote. Im testing each one of these that way I know what site works best for me. There are a bunch of random/not so good shots in there, im just playing around with how the uploading/shopping/user friendly process it is.
@mizikei@shortperson2002 I set up a separate page just for my pictures I'm trying to sell. They don't print them or anything though. I use Miller's Lab to print out my photos. People also book photo sessions through my facebook page.
@eyebrows Hope you finally get in. I checked mine after never hearing back and found out that out of the 3 images submitted I only had to re-upload one. But I never went back and did it. I think if you do iStock you cant sell your work any other way for a year (I think).
I don't think they do restrict you from selling elsewhere, but I'll definitely be checking that out before I upload anything I'm planning to use elsewhere. A task for tomorrow, methinks!
@shortperson2002 also, no, there's no limit on only selling your images through them, unless you choose to become "exclusive" :)
Anyway since becoming approved, I stuck 7 images on there, none of which themselves seem to have been moderated yet, as I can't find them on the front end. Pfft.
Setup my own dA account now too. Had any interest with yours or are you finding it too huge/social a community for any interest to catch on? http://eyebrows360.deviantart.com/gallery/
Write a Reply
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
So far I havent sold anything yet, but I havent marked my self that much either.
I too am curious how the selling prints is going for everyone else.
So far I've only discovered (other than already knowing about DA) this guy's post talking about some higher-than-stock sites, none of which I've gotten around to looking into yet, but do intend to.
I'll keep this updated with my own progress too :)
First of all, I wrote a tutorial a long, long time ago on the top sites for photographers wanting a photography website. http://blog.jasonbarnettephotography.com/2010/07/4-popular-sites-plus-3-more-for-photographers-wanting-a-photography-website/
First of all, there are two that I highly, highly recommend: Zenfolio and Photoshelter. I personally use Photoshelter, so if you would like to see how my site is laid out and works, you can visit it at http://www.jasonbarnettephotography.com
I have used SmugMug, DeviantArt, Zenfolio, and Photoshelter. Although I am sticking with Photoshelter now, I personally prefer Zenfolio. At this point, it would simply take too much time move everything to a new company so I am sticking with what I have.
To address your issue with print sizes, Photoshelter and Zenfolio have several dozen prints sizes ranging from a 1:1, 2:3, 4:5, 5:7, and panoramic print ratios. That is standard for any site. If you want to do something really strange like a 14.679"x18.974" print, you won't find anyplace on the internet that will let you print like that.
Typically, you will need to pick a print ratio and crop your photo accordingly. Printers use certain size paper, and anything that is an "odd" size just can't be printed. Unless you put a white border around the photo. Then it would work.
How did you go about starting to sell through Facebook? I have a page but I've had no requests or anything like that (perhaps because the majority of likes are my friends).
@eyebrows Thanks so much for the link, it helped a bunch.
@brumbe Thanks for the Zazzle input your the 2nd person I know that uses them, Have you sold anything on it? Hope this discussion gives you a lil more insight on some of these sites. Read the bottom for what ive found so far.
@jasonbarnette I was hoping you would respond. I remember you talking about it some time ago with some one else (or so I think you did.) Thanks so much for your input. I will check those 2 paid sites out as soon as I can scrounge up some cash to use them. Thanks so much for the links it really helped a lot. Same with all your input!!! It made it easier for me to understand the ratio thing.
@soxfansara Thanks so much. I was worried that the main page of Deviantart would scare people away lol. I am trying out the site now but am rather confused about it, so I emailed them. Hope they have quick customer service. One part about it though that kind of confuses me is its like a community too, so people can fav my photo or add it to their 'collections' I find that rather odd but I guess thats how it works.
@chevymom @mizikei I too am not sure how the facebook selling works. Im looking for a place that will print them and I wont ever have to do any of that not even shipping. Is that how the facebook works too?
@andifree Thanks I will definetly check it out when I get a little money to try it. I really like the set up and how professional it looks.
So this is what ive found out since starting this discussion.
Devianart - Free upload, royalty is 20%, they offer a good variety sizes even options for the normal sizes I was looking for (4x6, 8x10, 11x14). While they offer these sizes and I selected them to add to my 'store' I went to check out my store and went through the process of adding one of my prints to my cart to see how easy it was. Then it happened, it only offered me one size. Not the other sizes that it offered me to have during the upload process. I wrote them regarding this and im still waiting for a response. The uploading process is really easy to use. Another great thing was they offer a water mark on your picture your trying to sell, its their personal watermark and it will not show up on the print your customer orders!!! There is an option for you to add that, and that removes the other option for people to download your image. (I made sure I did this.) The uploads were almost approved instantly - No need to wait. They even have a blog section on there and your own profile page for people to see. What I was a bit unsure about was how it was more geared as a community then a site to sell my work. As I was uploading I had people commenting on a few of my random photos and others were adding some of my photos to their favorites. The site is kind of hard to work around and a bit messy, so it may make people turn the other way.
PrintPop- Well its still a really quiet site. I uploaded on friday, and there have not been any uploads since mine. I love the cleanliness of the site and it has a professional feel to it. They are very quick to approve the upload, but they do warn it may take 1-3 days for approval. Mine took minutes. Their royalty rate is 15% and their sizes are present to your images dimensions.
Zazzle - I started to attempt to use this site again. Its another clean site, it seems to have more traffic than the Printpop one. It does let you pick the dimensions of you images and has a lot of great items to pick from (even iPad covers!) What I dont like about it was that each different image size I wanted to sell I would have to set them up individually. So my store looks like this... Marine Boots 8x10, Marine Boots 11x14, Marine Boots 16x20. Which it seems like it takes forever just to put 3 sizes of a imagine in my store. In which the image that is 3 different sizes are not all listed on the same page, and each time I had to refill out the form. The photo approval process is pretty quick also. It also lets you design your own profile page. Also, they offer a similar watermark feature where when someone is viewing your photo closely (besides thumbnail) it will pop up, this will not appear on prints. People can also comment on your work here too!
Until I can get some money I will have to stick with the free sites. But I sure cant wait to check out Photoshelter & Zenfolio but sites look amazing and simple to use.
So heres what ive made so far, I thought it would be easier for some people to visually see it to understand it better. In no way am I trying to promote. Im testing each one of these that way I know what site works best for me. There are a bunch of random/not so good shots in there, im just playing around with how the uploading/shopping/user friendly process it is.
Devianart - http://careneri.deviantart.com/ (Almost done with it)
Printpop - http://www.printpop.com/CarenEri
Zazzle - http://www.zazzle.com/careneri (Still working on it)
AGAIN THANKS EVERYONE SO MUCH FOR THE RESPONSES!!!
http://www.facebook.com/KarmaPhotography.us
To set up a page you just go here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage
Good luck, they are tough to get through!
Anyway since becoming approved, I stuck 7 images on there, none of which themselves seem to have been moderated yet, as I can't find them on the front end. Pfft.
http://eyebrows360.deviantart.com/gallery/