Do people buy photographs?

cole

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Yes people buy photographs . I have been making 100% my living selling my photographs since the 80's.
I have no art degree , all I have learned about fine art photography has been on the streets. It has been a great ride.

It is All about the image.

Cole
 

mark

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DanielOB said:
Also people do not buy a color photograph unles it is cheap and is able to cover the hole on their wall. Color photograph just cannot be work of art for many technical reasons that are also reflected back on aesthetics too.

Good luck
Click to expand...

Now that is funny has hell. I think the funniest part is you believe this, Daniel.
 

scootermm

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maybe daniel is conducting a sociological experiment, studying the reaction to asinine, completely nonsensical statements on photographic message boards.

If it is an experiment. Well played, sir.
 

Glenn M

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At least Daniel's provided a touch of levity.

Now mind you, we all have different tastes in what is and what isn't art, and what is/what isn't sellable. For instance, if Picasso had to rely on my personal opinion on whether his creations are "art" was sellable, he'd made a living selling shoes or goldfish.....
 

DanielOB

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I think guys you are confusing dig. imaging for photography
 

JBrunner

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DanielOB said:
I think guys you are confusing dig. imaging for photography
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And exactly how are either related to art, except as possible mediums to create art? Seems you are confusing the medium with art.

Silly postulations like this are why we wind up labeled as idiots.

From the digiside- "Its all the same, I do what you do"
and from the other "It can't be art if it's digital".

Both are full of shit.
 
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DanielOB

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I think it is very close the day when charging the machine with a dollar and geting a 250 ml coke is art too. How all is going this is not a joke at all. However no matter how you call all of that activities, Odd Nerdrum and companions anyway do not fit into the art circle anymore. The new term is already coined just to distinguish sometimes.

Daqniel OB
www.Leica-R.com
 

Doubrovsky

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JBrunner said:
Seems you are confusing the medium with art.
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Absolutely correct. And talking about selling photography we forget that photography is a medium / technique, not the business itself. You should ask yourself: What business I want to be in. There is no business called Photography (my previous post in this thread is quite a generalisation). Businesses are: advertising, fashion, news/media, home decoration, art and so on. Then you ask yourself if your photography skill can bring you some dough in one particular business. And the answer will be very different for different businesses. The strategy of entering the business and achieving success will be different.

Photography is not art, it is an art technique. Photography is not business, it is a technique used in a number of businesses.

So much confusion in this forum.
 

Bobby Ironsights

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Really? Well, if you get a spare moment, feel free to upload an image to the gallery, for our collective edification. Or do you have a website?
 

Gary Holliday

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Milkplus-mesto; If you are hoping to make some money from the prints you've recently made I would agree with JBrunner that your current style has a stock photography feel about it. You need to think about what type of market you want to appeal to.

You are not going to make any instant money just yet. Maybe in a few years you will develop your own style of photography which will give you a potential career in the art market, but you'll still need a day job until it pays its way.

Or go the professional photographer route, social photography (wedding portraits), press/ sports photography etc. Decide what interests you and fill a portfolio for potential employers.

I have a portraiture business which is getting there, but I'd like to market my personal work and live a life of leisure.
 

middy

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milkplus-mesto said:
So, do people buy photographs?
Click to expand...
Sure.
And what sort of quality are my pictures at? Would people ever buy my pictures?
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Right now, not really. No offense intended, they wouldn't buy my stuff either.

If you want to produce art, the most valuable investment in time and money that you can make to further your photography career is in studying art. Buy books of famous photographers and painters and really look at them. Take some classes or at least read some books on composition and interpretation. Go to the library and immerse yourself in it. Most importantly, go to museums and galleries and view the pieces in person, paintings especially, but looking at a well done print is a real eye-opener as well.

Learning why this:



is more than just a simple snapshot takes some effort. At least it does for me, I'm still not quite sure...
 

mark

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Please explain more. You seem to be making a solid stand on something but I am not sure what it is. Are you still on the "only BW photography is art" argument?
 

rcoda

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I have been told that I am one of the three people in Phoenix who buy photography! I can't believe a city this large doesn't have a better market for fine art photography.

I'm having a show with an opening this Friday. I partnered with my daughter's [private] school to try and bring some people with deep pockets in. (There is one parent I know of that has 3 BOXES full of Bernice Abbotts!) The school gets 25%. If it works, everybody wins... the school, the gallery, me.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Wish me luck.
 

Charles Webb

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Once upon a time............. everyone you knew did not own a camera. Picture making was kind of hobby that only affluent folks could afford. Few if anyone thought of it as an art form and seldom gave a thought about hanging one of their images on someones wall. The images that did hang were mostly framed portaits of their loved ones made by the local Professional in his or her studio. This idea of amatuer folks and layman making pictures caused George Eastman to hire some of the best known picture makers to help him design and start a business creating items to make picture making easier. Not for the love of photography did Eastman start to build his business but simply a way for him to fill a void with his products with little or no competetion to make money. His products were well received and provided what a certain group of people that could afford his offerings a great hobby. People with money began purchasing a few pictures they liked from a few camera persons but seldom thought of the pictures as an art form.

This trend lasted for many years and finally evolved into what we have today. Everybody now owns some kind of picture making device. Everyone who ownes one believes in his heart he is following directly in Adams and Westons foot steps. An that his work is second to none. We have a few of those folks here on APUG but fortunitly that there are far more members here that know better.

That idea that any one can be an artist with a camera has in my minds eye severly hurt the legitimate persons that "have paid" their dues by learning composition, the techinique for making top quality photographs, learned to make "masterPrints", manage their business, and satisfy the community they live in with the best product they can deliver. To simply own a high dollar box with more high priced glass and a roll of film does not make an artist. With so many folks involved with creating wall art, shooting their friends wedding, making Platinum prints, etc. still does not qualify or make them true professional photographers or artists.

All of what I have said here taken into consideration I believe that the times have changed enough that ordinary folks today, other than the affluent will begin and continue to buy photographs of high quality when presented to them. A degree from a college does make one an artist. It is what he does with his/her tools only that can make one an artist.

My opinion.........................
C Webb
 

Andrey

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I wouldn't go there. I would not sell my work or try to sell it.

There's way too many people who want to do that.

Also the tools are completely different. If you're shooting for yourself, you'll be content with minimal gear. If you want to go pro, there's a huge image that equipment is needed, which sucks you in...

Basically, your folks are right in a sense that it's hard to sell them.

Photography is a hobby. It's about spending money, not making money.
 

nickandre

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no.

photography is a REALLY FUN HOBBY but not much money to be made, unless you're really good. That means in other people's opinions, not yours. You're photographs have to be something unusual, something beyond normal life. They have to have meaning, be thought provoking, or just be plain amazing to look at. People have to say "wow!" the first time they look at your pictures. Then you can make money.

Personally I'm working towards that point :-D

This is excluding wedding photographers, which is listed somewhere as one of the 10 most overpaid jobs.
 

bill schwab

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There's millions of dollars being spent on photographs this week between the Park Avenue Armory and the auction houses in New York. Someone should tell those crazy people that no one buys photography any more!

 

scootermm

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billschwab said:
There's millions of dollars being spent on photographs this week between the Park Avenue Armory and the auction houses in New York. Someone should tell those crazy people that no one buys photography any more!

Click to expand...

yeah and what about all that talk about the earth being round. craziness.
 

arigram

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I just sold my first one!
Probably my first and last.
Oh, well, atleast I'll feast tonight on my earnings.
 

Paul Goutiere

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We live in a place particularly suited to photographers it seems but most of them do their work away from home it seems.

For the sheer pleasure of it we have purchased 2 B&W photographs, so far this year, from local photographers. In the past 15 or so years many more.
Altogether we've amassed quite a few, perhaps too many when you consider the tiny home we have.

I personally have sold four photographs (one just recently) of local subjects.

Selling my "art" photography will not make anyone a living I'm afraid, but there certainly is a satisfaction when someone likes your work enough to buy it.
 
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