With the advent of online publications as well as advances in digital technology, never has an amateur photographer had greater opportunity to get his work published. You can become a published photographer by selling your images for use in a book, newspaper, magazine or other publication. You can even sell your photos for online use. Selling your photos is an activity that you can do on your own. The amount you can earn from being a published photographer varies by publication.
Step 1
Browse through magazines, newspapers and websites to which you are interested in selling your photographs. This allows you to get familiar with the types of photos the publication publishes. Take photos that you want to sell to the publications that interest you. For instance, if you want to sell photos to a travel magazine that focuses on Europe, then take photos of various places, things and people in Europe. Style your photos in a similar fashion to the ones being published in the publication you are targeting, such as extreme close-ups or sweeping landscapes. Focus on subject matter with which you are familiar to get the best results.
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Step 2
Write articles to accompany your photos, if you are comfortable doing so. Professional photographer Danny Steyn recommends this approach make your story and photo package more attractive to the publications intend to pursue.
Step 3
Contact publications that would be interested in buying your photographs. Use the query address for contacting the editorial and photo editors, such as on the Coastal Education Research Foundation website. Writer's Digest publishes an annual Photographer's Market guide, listing publications that buy photos and their contact details.
Step 4
Upload your photos to a micro stock site, such as iStockPhoto, if you can't get the photos published on your own. Micro stock agencies offer your photos for sale online to any business or person that wants to purchase them, which can include newspapers and magazines. Typically the pay rate is much lower with a micro stock agency as opposed to selling directly to a publication.
Tip
Take your photos with a camera that produces images of at least 300 dots-per-inch quality. For digital photos, the files must typically be saved in the JPG format, which is usually the default file type for the camera.
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