If Someone Pays You Money For It You’re A Professional, Right?
That title makes me sound sort of like a hooker, but I assure you that is NOT what I’m selling.
A few weeks ago I had a tiny brush with (internet) fame on Twitter when Alli Worthington asked if anyone wanted to share photo-heavy posts with her and I sent her a link to my How To Make Sorbet Out Of Juice recipe. The stars must have been aligned or something, because not only did she say she liked my photos, she invited me to join PichaGlobal, a stock photography site where you can sell photos to…uh…I have no idea. People who need photos of stuff, I guess.
APPARENTLY, people need photos of stuff like this:
Because I sold it! Someone paid me money for a picture I took! I’m official! I made a whole…40 cents. But if you happen to see if floating around the internet you can say “HEY I KNOW WHO TOOK THAT!”
New sellers frequently seek out tips to shortcut the procedure of getting started on classifieds. The marketplace is vast and can be confusing at times. It’s best to begin slowly, learn the terrain, read all the rules, and slowly grow your Shoppok business or hobby. The more you build your knowledge base, the better able you will be to sort through deals to find what you want to buy.
Ok, so I’m not going to make a zillion dollars off my pictures of leaves or sunsets on the beach or lily-pads or whatever other random shots I take in between photos of the kids. But nature holds still a lot better than they do and I love practicing with my camera and even though I have NO illusions of becoming an actual professional photographer it’s nice to be liked.
Right now, Picha is still in beta but I (think) they’re working on opening it up and you can definitely fill out the interest form. I hope so, because it would be a great way for bloggers to find photos to add to their just-words posts (to make them pin-able! be the next viral hit!) at really low cost (although you can set your prices at whatever you want) and for casual photographers like me to share their pictures and feel momentarily awesome.
(This post is not sponsored, just super braggy and show-offy on my part.)
Tags: fun, photography, picha, pictures, things I love
Yay, Suzanne! Your pictures are awesome so it’s no surprise to me.
p.s. love the blog design!
That is awesome!! Publishing and ad companies use Stock Photos ALLLLL the time – you should ask your contact at this one if she has any suggestions for where to pitch your photos – I know the online publisher where I work uses a couple different companies.
We also use istockphoto, and something called inmagine.
I checked out iStock, since that’s one I’ve heard of and it looks like their application process is a LOT more stringent than a DM on Twitter. Maybe when I get a little better I’ll try to sign up there too.
I buy stock photography for wrk all the time. Images with people sell well too. Most of the time a business needs art to create an advertising piece and dont want to pay a photographer, set location, actors, etc just for one photo (its pricey). I use istockphoto Getty images is another huge one. When taking photos thing concept: serene, angry, family, worry, teamwork, etc. Also negative space is important because you need a place to put words.
Yay! Photograhooker!
I’m a Picha Member as well! Even sold a few photographs. I’ll be sure to check out your photos. xox
Thanks Kathleen, I’m going to go look at yours right now!
You’re so show offy ;-) And good at taking pictures, so SELL AWAY! And I’m totally going to be all like, I knew her when… when I see your pictures online.
Awesome! I was wondering where I could buy a perfect leaf photo! ;) jk! Very cool though, i’ve always thought about selling some of my images as stock photos. I’ll have to check it out
You go you professional girl, you!
HEY It is a good picture. I love Picha.
Getting paid to do something you like (and are going to do anyways) is always a plus. Now if I could just get someone to pay me to cuss and eat popsicles I would be all set.
How cool is that?!! Yay!
Thats actually pretty awesome! When I worked at MBC I used to purchase allot of stock photos, so you never know you could save up your future retirement just from your photo’s ;-)
but in all honesty I love your pictures
How cool is that?! You totally deserve it. I’ve thought some of your food pictures were professional.
That’s fantastic! I think you can officially add “professional photographer” to your business cards.