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So, you’ve found and purchased the camera that is just perfect for you. (If you haven’t, check out The Gadgetell guide to finding a camera)  You’ve been been playing with it, experimenting with it, and taking a ton of shots. Now what?  Well, there are quite a few options if you want your work seen or even sold.

There are lots of places on the ‘net that allow you to post your photography work.  Of course, there is the well known flickr, which seems to be used by everybody and their brother to post everything from little Johnny’s 4th birthday party to girls showing off their ass-ets, to some photos that really do have photographic merit.  But, if you are looking to have your work seen and critiqued by other photographers, you may want to look into some other sites as well.

Sites to get seen

JPG Magazine

One fast growing site that offers a fantastic community of photographers is JPG Magazine.  This site allows users to upload a certain number of photos per day, although they do stress that they only wish to see your best work. 

They also don’t allow for any shots that have been overly “edited.”  If Photoshop can claim more credit for your shot than you can, they don’t want it on their site.  This site is very easy to navigate and uploading photos is rather self-explanatory.  You can either choose to join for free, or subscribe to JPG and get their magazine which is published six times a year. 

This site holds theme contests for photos where the users get to vote on which photo they feel should make it into the magazine.  You can favorite photos, add contacts, and leave comments and props on other people’s shots.  This is a good site to gain some feedback on your work as well as see others’ work and get some fresh ideas.

Photonet

This is another great site that offers up a community of photographers and a chance to have your work seen and critiqued.  At Photonet, you can either register for free or pay to subscribe for a pretty reasonable yearly fee ($25). 

If you are a “free” member, you are able to upload up to five images a day, and request one critique a day from the forum.  Subscribers have unlimited uploads and may request up to four critiques a day.  The site also offers 33 forums, chat boards, articles and much more.  You have a portfolio that you can separate into folders like “children,” “architecture,” “fine art,” and so on. 

Other perks for subscribers include getting a photo.net email address (your-name @photo.net), a Personal ImagePRO web site (your-name.photography.com), unlimited posting in their classified ads, and special offers just for subscribers.  This site has some amazing photographers, and you will get real critiques on your work.  This isn’t where you want to post shots of Aunty Sally’s party where everyone is out of focus.  Put up your best stuff.

Portfolio categories are able to be looked at as “slideshows”, with thumbnails on the bottom as the slideshow scrolls.

Sites to Sell

OK, so you’ve posted your work on some photography sites.  You’ve gotten some feedback from some sources a little more objective than your mom.  You think you may really have what it takes when it comes to photography, even if you are just doing it as a hobby.  So, where to go from here?

There are many sites online that sell photos.  These are called stock photo sites.  Some are easier to get your work on to than others.  But the main thing is, keep trying, and don’t get discouraged if you don’t have your work accepted the first time around.  You can sell your regular shots that you’ve taken that you feel are really good, and might have commercial appeal.  No matter how crisp and clear and well framed your photo is of your kids opening Christmas presents while your hubby sits there eating cookies in the shot, that may not be just what the mass markets are looking for. 

What sells on stock sites?

Most stock sites will have a section that will tell you if they are looking for something special.  But in general, they are looking for photos that have that commercial appeal.  Photos than can be used on greeting cards, calendars, or for businesses who are doing presentations or developing websites and are looking for a certain shot.  They come to stock photo sites. 

Preview some stock sites.  Get a feel for what other photographers whose work is on the site are selling.  Do this before you try to submit your work because in most cases, you can only submit a certain number of images when you are first trying to get accepted onto their site.  And if your work is not accepted, you usually have to wait a specific amount of time (anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months) to be able to re-submit. 

In general, clean images sell—nothing with too much going on.  Shots of children and teens are big, but they have to have a certain “feel” to the shot.  But keep in mind, you must have a model release form for absolutely anyone in your photos.  This includes yourself, your children, or the guy down the street.  You are also not allowed to use licensed insignias in your photos, or have trademarked items or buildings or famous people unless the shot is being submitted as a “News” photo.  (As in a shot of McCain or Obama giving a speech).

List your work on more than one stock site.  They know you are going to do that and as long as you don’t mark it as exclusive to their site that is just fine.  So where to?

Shutterpoint

This is a good starting place to list your work because you don’t need to have your work accepted to list it on the site.  Your work is also rated by other members on a scale of 1-7.  If you received too many low ratings, or “skips,” where members didn’t even bother rating your photo, Shutterpoint will email you about that photo and suggest you remove it. 

They watermark your photos (you can either use their generic mark or use your own), and potential buyers are not able to lift images because of both that and the fact that Shutterpoint only shows a smaller version of your photo.  So there is not much chance of your work being stolen.  You upload your images, tag them with keywords, and set the price.  The site walks you through the process.

In the following images, you can see the watermark and layout of what a shot looks like on their screen, as well as an image of the rating/comment page.

Shutterstock

Shutterstock calls itself the “largest subscription-based stock photo agency in the world.”  This is a site where you do need to have your photos accepted.  They definitely serve a more commercial client.  The way this site works is that the buyers pay a monthly fee and can download up to 750 images every 30 days. 

This, of course, means the people being willing to pay that higher monthly fee do, in fact, use the site that much and will be doing all that downloading, so you have a good chance of having your work seen and used.  The seller (you!) on the site earns a set amount each time the photo is downloaded.  Because of the way Shutterstock works with allowing buyers such high numbers of downloads per month, the payout per photo used is much lower compared to other sites, although this is somewhat combated by the fact it might be downloaded MANY more times than on others sites just due to sheer download volume by buyers.

PhotoShelter

PhotoShelter is another site where you need to have your work accepted to be able to sell.  A paid account on the site gets you a custom website, e-commerce capabilities, bulletproof image archiving and more.  Again, you upload photos and list your keywords.

However, this site isn’t really a true “stock” site.  You work directly with the client, and can control the pricing of your work.  You can choose to sell directly from your PhotoShelter webpage, or they will handle the transaction for you for a 10% fee.
(edited for clarifications.  Thank you Andrew from PhotoShelter for further explanation of what your site offers!)

Final Words of Advice

So from just posting your shots to selling them for a profit, these are just a few suggestions to get you started.  Keep in mind what’s important is finding your own personal style, and going with that.  Shoot what speaks to your soul, and it will come through the lens.