Introduction & critique request

[picarusslim]

Hello.

Whilst stuck on a three hour traffic packed bus trip today I stumbled across this site. Very amusing.

I love photography. Started two years ago when I bought a camera for stop motion animation but got bored and ventured into a nearby derelict building instead, i’ve loved taking photos & processing them ever since.

Anywho. It’d be grand if someone could provide some feedback. I’m doing project 365 at the moment which, due to busy work life and muchos commuting, is throwing a few slack efforts in but other than that i’m pleased with the results for my level.

Here’s a link to one of my albums on google+.

Am I a fauxtog?

Any advice appreciated.  Thanks.

https://plus.google.com/photos/111320353313439269434/albums/5799670324163534305

[Worst Case Scenario]

No you are not!  Sorry for the short reply but my dinner is on the table!

[JCFindley]

Caveat,  I am in traffic and on a droid so can’t see large versions and see how crisp they are.

I actually enjoyed your images enough to go through every one of them. Sure some are stronger than others but they are genuinely good and a lot are marketable in the art world.

 

 

[picarusslim]

I got slightly nervous when I saw a reply! Thanks for that, what you eating?

Sometimes I look at my portfolio and think i’m kidding myself. I’ve done a few odd jobs and i’m shooting a band’s press pack and album cover next month, I get worried though. I’m okay when i plan my shots but working as a photographer requires on the spot knowledge under whatever conditions arise on the day whereas I usually make notes of locations and come back to a street scene etc when i find the conditions right for me.

I’ve started a website where the idea is to include other enthusiasts who can sell their work on printed, etc, all the profit goes to them. I sell a few of my own too. I have an ultimate plan but it’s not necessarily centred around me becoming a photographer. I’d rather teach youngsters in ‘disadvantaged’ areas and pass on my passion for the hobby as well as give people a chance to show their work, which i advertise and promote. It’s early days yet though and i’m still not sure if i’m being big headed or not!

[picarusslim]

Thanks JCfindlay. I think I lean more over to the art side of photography more than anything else. Look forward to your response.

[JCFindley]

Alrighty, looked at them on a regular computer and still like em.

What I see is genuine unique. You have a great range of subjects and while I don’t know portraits from a hole in the ground even your people shots have a nice artsy feel and many could sell to random strangers. Same thing with a lot of your other images.

Keep in mind, just because something is good and is marketable it still takes effort to be found and actually sell but your work has good potential.

JC

[Garrahmarie]

I think your work is absolutely beautiful!

[picarusslim]

Thanks jcfindley an Garrahmarie. Very much appreciated. I’d be keen to see your own work.

[JCFindley]

Mine is easy enough to find.  Www.jcfindley.com

[Garrahmarie]

Wow, I don’t even come close to comparing to either of you two. JCFindley, your work is amazing! I am in the process of learning (been photographing for less than a year now..). Oh well, here it is haha.

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Garrah-Marie-Photography/293003620812920

[picarusslim]

Jcfindley – you have a seriously huge portfolio!  Some great shots in there.  I’d love to make my living like you do.  I best get some advertising done.

[picarusslim]

Into Manhattan is excellent!

[JCFindley]

Thanks Pic

Keep in mind, marketing is not necessarily advertising. Much marketing can be done for free with social media or relatively cheaply with business cards and hanging work in local venues to get your name out there.

Personally, I market very little but tend to shoot things that are not overly shot. Into Manhattan is a good example of art that is hard to sell. It is not that it isn’t a decent shot, but that bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge next to it are shot by every photographer that has ever been to NYC. That means there are a LOT of similar images for sale out there that are just as good. I can literally buy a 36 inch “canvas” wrap of the Brooklyn Bridge at Walmart for $28.77. Mine sell for ~$400.  That makes it hard to sell. This image does extremely well with views and people find it pretty easily on the net, people like it BUT so far it has sold on a handful of greeting cards and made very little money. http://jc-findley.artistwebsites.com/featured/obligatory-jc-findley.html

As I said on the other thread, bees on flowers are pretty and sure they sell, but any individual artist’s chance of selling their version is relatively slim. What has worked well for me is finding undeserved markets, be they places or subjects, and shoot them. By doing that I was able to build up a sales record and some name recognition and then was able to sell in more saturated arenas as well. Here are a few bridges that are NOT world famous but people that are in the area know them well. All but the last one make me good money, and the last one will it is just pretty new to the portfolio.  http://jc-findley.artistwebsites.com/featured/chesapeake-splendor-jc-findley.html , http://jc-findley.artistwebsites.com/featured/chesapeake-city-jc-findley.html , http://jc-findley.artistwebsites.com/featured/the-triboro-bridge-jc-findley.html , http://jc-findley.artistwebsites.com/featured/marine-parkway-bridge-jc-findley.html

Those are just bridge examples but it can apply to any subject. The key for me here is if I visit NYC,San Fran or Paris I will NOT be shooting the Empire State Building, Golden Gate Bridge or the Eiffel Tower respectively. For me it is all about finding interesting subjects that I do not see 900 other togs shooting when I get there.

Regarding making a living doing it: I am not yet making a “comfortable” living but I am working on it. When I started my goal was to make enough money to buy some gear and keep my wife off my back about spending money. I got laid off of my day job and decided I would put in 40 hours shooting and editing while I looked for a job. Putting in that kind of time allowed me to increase my portfolio rather prolifically and I started getting enough sales where I started to believe I could make a living doing this. I probably put in 60 to 80 hours a week now with the goal of adding two marketable prints a day on average. Yesterday, that meant waking up at 0330, driving to Jersey City and making my way to a deserted railroad line then hiking the line looking for shots. By 0800 I had already driven 20 miles, hiked another five, and was on my way back for hours of edit. Will any of them sell? Maybe, but at the very least it is an adventure. http://jc-findley.artistwebsites.com/featured/below-the-skyway-jc-findley.html .

[picarusslim]

Thanks for that JC, some valuable information there, appreciated.

I  found that paid advertising was less effective than using social networks so you’re right there! I use google+, twitter and more recently a facebook page (fnar). Which generate a decent amount of hits if i work at it. I sell very few though. My site needs resorting with some images taking out and possibly a new skin, which might be part of the problem.  I should work more on tagging and naming them too. I’ve a fair following of about 5,000 people across them all but I need to be more active in interacting with them.

People seem to like my images a lot (i know you’re not suggesting otherwise!) and I go well out of my way to find new stuff to shoot, namely street, macro and portraits, which I feel I’ve picked up a good eye for. I try to avoid the clichés or find niche stuff that people local to the shot would buy. So far i’ve not physically displayed my work though.

A few other photographers are featured on my site, I promote them and try and get them sales (of which they’d keep all the profit, minus production costs). It seemed quite a good way to generate traffic as well as get other people’s work out there.

Do you mind if I ask what you do supplier-wise?  I use zenfolio, they have several printers who’ll produce framed prints, canvas wraps and other more novel stuff, the price varies per supplier, as does the quality. The base prices are high though. If I sell a 10″*8″ print with no mount for £16 I only make about £4.60, is this usual or am i best to source prints myself?

Oh, this is my site btw.

http://www.ghz-photography.com

Thanks for the advice thus far, it’s very much appreciated.

[JCFindley]

I use a print on demand service for my sales. (PoD)

Zen is a PoD of sorts but I won’t use them. The reason being is you get no walk in traffic. What I mean by that is many of the PoD sites will draw customers to the site for you and you will get sales from people that you do not bring to the site. Think of these as a shopping mall where you rent space. People will come to the mall looking for a gift and even though they weren’t there to go to your store they find it there and buy from you. Zen is like a stand alone store you rent. They will do all the services of other PoDs but YOU have to bring people to your store to buy as no one just wanders about Zen shopping.

I do not limit myself to a single PoD but I am very particular about which ones I will use.  Some, you cannot set your price and are limited to the royalty THEY decide to give the artist. Art.com is this way and the percentage you earn is not much. I think Cafe Press is also this way but not sure. Other PoDs allow the artist to choose BUT use a percentage based markup. This sounds fine, but if you set a markup to make your 8x10s ~30 bucks then your large prints are thousands of dollars. IF you set your large prints at market prices then your 8x10s are 7 bucks and you make a dollar. Some are a mix, like society6. You can set a dollar amount for each size print there but on canvases you have to accept 10% royalty which means you will make 15 bucks on a 36 inch canvas.

So, I will only use PoDs that allow me to set a price for each size I offer. That way I can set he price for each and every size I offer individually. I am on three but the only one that makes me any money is Fine Art America. (Where you also get your own artist website URL where you can send your clients to see only your work.) The JCFindley.com simply redirects my customers to that site.

I also do live shows but it has been a while.

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