Posted by Don George on January 10, 2008 at 11:23 AM
The majority of my photography income is obtained from print sales.
I sell at fine art shows, galleries, and the web. The majority of my gallery and art show sales are sold in Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana.
Each year for the past 5 years I have noticed an increase in scenic over wildlife sales. Has anyone out there who sells both wildlife and scenic images noticed this trend?
It's more than a trend for us Don. It's been that way since day one. I haven't tracked it (and my wife's the bookkeeper, so I hesitate to suggest it), but I'm guessing that it's about 10:1 now, and that's not changed much in the last 20 years. Our stock sales run about the same.
On a related note, for us the best sellers of all are a combination of the two, with the animal small but dramatically located and posed in a larger view of the landscape. Long lenses are for fun, but shorter zooms are for making money in my book. I always shoot wildlife portraits when I can, but I carry a second body with an 80-200 on it and a 24-120 in my pocket. I shoot with those while also using the big lenses. The ones shot with the short lenses almost always outsell both wildlife portraits and strait landscapes without the animals.
Posted by Don George on January 10, 2008 at 2:02 PM
Hank, I agree I always carry a second body with a zoom for the same reason. It does seem that the wildlife images that sell the best are those with backgrounds of their habitat. The market is saturated with tight wildlife images. Tom Mangelsen fiqured out years ago that wildlife in their habitat sells. I notice he's been getting into scenics also.
Gimme a bear in front of a large waterfall swatting at an eagle trying to steal it's fish, the sky complete with the eagle's mate circling overhead 'neath the arc of a rainbow with a V of geese in the URC! Im only half kidding. The combo of wildlife action, great scenery and open space for text drop-ins (or sense of depth in prints) is unbeatable.
I sell more landscapes than wildlife also. I hear that is the status for just about everyone.
A good combo shot is what I love to see as well. A bear inside a stream in front of a mountain range.
Don
Posted by Steve Foss on January 11, 2008 at 2:46 AM
I haven't been selling prints for all that long compared to some here, but I can tell you that the prints that have sold best are those landscape/environmental prints with a wildlife/bird element in the frame.
These days I'm simply looking for a stunning backdrop. I want a landscape that is beautiful in its own right, or at least a background that, if tighter than a wide-angle landscape, is beautiful all by itself. Find that backdrop, go there just before the light is perfect and hope for something to swim/fly/walk/run into the frame. A wide-angle setup on a tripod with a zoom/body over your shoulder is a great way to cover all the bases.
Man, I gotta get out and shoot. It's been two weeks clinging to the home office computer to get traction on a couple big projects. I'm going through major withdrawal.
Discussion
5 repliesI sell at fine art shows, galleries, and the web. The majority of my gallery and art show sales are sold in Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana.
Each year for the past 5 years I have noticed an increase in scenic over wildlife sales. Has anyone out there who sells both wildlife and scenic images noticed this trend?
On a related note, for us the best sellers of all are a combination of the two, with the animal small but dramatically located and posed in a larger view of the landscape. Long lenses are for fun, but shorter zooms are for making money in my book. I always shoot wildlife portraits when I can, but I carry a second body with an 80-200 on it and a 24-120 in my pocket. I shoot with those while also using the big lenses. The ones shot with the short lenses almost always outsell both wildlife portraits and strait landscapes without the animals.
Gimme a bear in front of a large waterfall swatting at an eagle trying to steal it's fish, the sky complete with the eagle's mate circling overhead 'neath the arc of a rainbow with a V of geese in the URC! Im only half kidding. The combo of wildlife action, great scenery and open space for text drop-ins (or sense of depth in prints) is unbeatable.
A good combo shot is what I love to see as well. A bear inside a stream in front of a mountain range.
Don
These days I'm simply looking for a stunning backdrop. I want a landscape that is beautiful in its own right, or at least a background that, if tighter than a wide-angle landscape, is beautiful all by itself. Find that backdrop, go there just before the light is perfect and hope for something to swim/fly/walk/run into the frame. A wide-angle setup on a tripod with a zoom/body over your shoulder is a great way to cover all the bases.
Man, I gotta get out and shoot. It's been two weeks clinging to the home office computer to get traction on a couple big projects. I'm going through major withdrawal.