The Write Way to Travel

Issue #89
Edited by Lori Appling in Washington D.C.
November 17, 2005

Today:

• The Ultimate Holiday Photo Guide: 83 Quick Tips for Taking the Best Holiday Photographs Ever
• Sell Your Holiday Articles and Photos for Cash
• The Billionaire Way: Imagine a Life Where Wealth and Opportunity Are in Abundance
• The Truth about Online Photo Stock Agencies: What They Pay and How to Break in
• This Week's Featured Travel Publication: GreatestEscapes.com
• More Opportunities and Resources for Writers

Dear Reader,

The December issue of PHOTOgraphic magazine (http://www.photographic.com) is now online, and if you look closely, you might recognize the photographer's name on the cover.  It's our very own B. Howard.  And he took those photographs on our last trip to Paris.

Paris attendees might recognize the location.  B. Howard got this shot during the night walk we took along the Seine.  Notice, too, that it has people in it.  Of all the shots B. Howard submitted to the editor, the editor chose the shot with people in it for the cover. 

Sound familiar?  It should.  B. Howard's been preaching this idea to us for months.  The best pictures - or rather, those that sell the best - are those with people in them.  Period.

Which reminds me to put some fire under you: Go on, dust off your camera and get out there.  This time of year brings so many photo opportunities - fall foliage, snow-covered fields, kids playing in the yard, Christmas lights, etc.  And with all that comes the chance to sell them.

You might check out our new holiday photo guide for ideas here: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/holiday. 

This collection of easy to follow tips and techniques was compiled by our staff and edited by Rich Wagner, co-author of Turn Your Pictures into Cash.  Inside, you'll find everything from simple composition techniques to notes on Photoshop and film.  There are even a few tips on camera settings that'll ensure you get the best shots every time.

And then try your hand at selling your pictures to online stock agencies (more about this in a minute).  Photography workshop attendee Cindy Jutras did.  She writes...

"Hi Lori - I just wanted to give you a quick update. I have now had my first photos published as a photo journalist.  I called a local monthly paper volunteering to submit some photos for publication with no charge to them - just to get those first photo credits.  Not only did they publish one of the first few I sent them, and offered to pay me, but also asked me to take pictures at a local event.  I did and sent them along with paragraphs as captions.  They used 4 of the 5 I submitted and all the written material.  They devoted an entire 11 X 14 page to it. Since then I covered another event (one I was going to anyway!) and they will appear in the next issue.  And I was inspired by Terry Allen's success with an online stock agency.  In spite of some technical difficulties getting them uploaded, I have 7 accepted and a bunch more in the queue.  Thanks!" - Cindy

A few weeks ago I told you that my friend Terry has had some success with a few online stock agencies.  I also said that I'd get him to tell how you can do the same.  You'll find his advice below.

But first, let me offer up a bit of inspiration this week by filling you in on what a few of your fellow readers have been up to...

Mary Ann Hamilton attended our Paris photography workshop last spring.  She wrote in earlier this month to say that she will have three photos from our Paris trip in the Annual Holiday Members show at the Arts Center of St. Petersburg. 

Peter Gossens just got his first travel writing byline in International Living. He writes, "I am so excited!!!!  I just faxed off an IL Writer's Agreement since IL will publish my Villefranche Postcard next week.  Thank you very much for all you taught, for your support, and for whatever you did behind the scenes to help this happen." 

Orla Larson's byline was just spotted in International Living too.  The article, Opera by Moonlight, was one she worked on in class at our New York Travel Writer Workshop last June.  That just goes to show you that sometimes a delay in response from the editor doesn't necessarily mean they don't like your article.  In this case, it meant that they just didn't have space for it until October.

Garry Harper might have the same luck.  He just finished our written course on travel writing and sent the article he wrote as part of it to several different magazines with no luck so far.  However, it's not all bad news he writes with: "I took (and now finished) the travel writing course.  I tried to send a few offers to magazines, no one returned.  I got the idea to do a newspaper article so I did, and success. My first article was published about a grand opening of a restaurant."

And Katherine McIntyre wrote us this note...

"I took your course as a refresher, because I thought my writing was old style.

"I reworked the lead according to your instruction, on an old piece that had been refused by a couple of publications. I submitted it to the Globe and Mail Canada's national newspaper and it was published within two weeks.  I have not had one in this paper for a couple of years.  Same week, had four fall foliage pictures in The Traveler and two reworked pieces accepted by an ezine magazine. Then I prepared an award application for a lodge, (no pay) but they deserved recognition and the lodge won the award. (They have given me free stay for me and my family). Yesterday I reread your chapter on the passive voice, to try to eliminate my old style writing.  Thanks for the help." -- Katherine McIntyre

If you have good news to share, send me a quick note at lori@thetravelwriterslife.com.  I'd love to feature you in an upcoming issue.

Sincerely,

Lori

Lori ApplingDirector, AWAI's Travel Division

P.S.  Know a friend or two who'd enjoy the freedom and independence of a writer's life? They, too, can sign up to receive this free e-letter weekly at: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/eletter

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The Truth about Online Stock Agencies: What They Pay and How to Break in By freelance photographer, Terry Allen in Washington D.C.

A certain clown didn't build his empire by selling a billion dollar burger.  Instead, he sold billions of cheap burgers.  That's essentially the idea Rich and B. Howard touted at a recent photography workshop: by selling and reselling your photos, you might not earn $1,000 a pop, but over time you can easily exceed that number.

B. Howard sells many of his photographs through a stock photo agency.  A stock agency acts as a broker that shops your images (and thousands of others) around to clients in search of photos for advertisements, website design, books, magazines, etc.  Once a client buys a photograph, you get a commission on the sale. 

The upside to this arrangement is that the stock agency does all the marketing for you.  Some agencies sell the same photo multiple times.  Some images will sell even hundreds of times for many years.  And all you have to do is kick back and collect the royalty checks.

The problem, however, for those of us who are new to the photography-for-profit game is that these agencies often require a heavy commitment.  Some want as many as 200 pictures to start - that's 200 high-quality, perfectly exposed, properly focused and composed images.  Not only that, but they also want you to sign a guarantee that you'll continue to submit 100 more each month. 

That's a lot of photographs - quite a challenge for budding amateurs with full-time jobs in other fields.  I mean, I took over 200 pictures during the workshop in D.C, and of those I'd say only 5 or so are stock-agency quality.  Even B. Howard said that he took over 400 pictures in Paris last May and only came away with 90 he liked (and of which only 29 were accepted by his agency).

But I have done some research, and I found a list of stock agencies whose acceptance rules are much more flexible -- agencies that only require you submit between one and 10 photos to get started. 

All you have to do is create an account and upload your best photos along with a list of searchable keywords that describe each one.  There's no commitment, no quota, and no exclusive contract.  You can upload your pictures at your leisure, and you can upload them to multiple sites at the same time.

Now granted, we're not talking millions of dollars in revenue here (I've only just now made my first dollar) but it's a photo credit just the same.  And since they don't buy exclusive rights to the picture, I can always sell it on my own for more cash. 

Not only that, but some of these sites also provide very brief, yet honest (often brutally honest) descriptions of why they've rejected a certain photo - and you can expect that they will reject many of the ones you send.  Sometimes they even give you a link to a tutorial that will help you correct the problem in the future.  I've learned a lot already.

Here is a list of the agencies I have found.  I'm including my referral links if you want to give it a shot...

• Bigstockphoto.com currently has over 160,000 photos, which they sell for $1.40 - $2.50, depending on the number purchased.  A photographer will earn $0.50 per download, and $2 for a large, poster-sized print.  They claim they only require a JPG with a minimum width of 600 pixels, but 2500 pixels wide and higher is really what they prefer (that's an 8 x 10 inch picture, by the way), no bigger than 5MB.  If you don't know how large your photos are, you can right click on the thumbnails in your computer and you'll find the size under "properties."  Be sure to read the rest of their guidelines, too, before you submit.  Just click on the "for photographers" link on the left sidebar here: http://www.bigstockphoto.com/?refid=DPhijCM5JT
• Shutterstock.com has over 434,000 photos online and boasts over 17,000 photographers.  Rather than selling photos individually, they sell a subscription that allows 25 downloads a day (up to 750/month) that costs $139/month or up to $1359/year. Photographers earn $0.20 per download.  This price structure may scare away casual photo shoppers, but subscribers are encouraged to download many photos and are more likely to download a photo on a whim.  They require JPGs that have a minimum of 2.5 megapixels.  Be very careful here: if you upload below-standard images, they'll lock your account for three months: http://submit.shutterstock.com/?ref=53662
• Dreamstime.com has 172,000 pictures that they sell in a tiered pricing structure.  To simplify, the more times an image sells, the more it costs, and the more the photographer gets paid.  Prices start at $1 with a photographer's payout of $0.50, and top out at $5 with a payout of $2.50 after 500 copies have been sold.  They require JPGs that are at least 3 megapixels: http://www.dreamstime.com/resp63615
• Canstockphoto.com has 92,000 images that sell from $1 - $4.  The photographer gets 50%.  They require JPG images greater than 3 megapixels, but less than 8 megabytes.  They also have an application process that requires their approval of 3 photos before you can get started: http://www.canstockphoto.com?r=12060
• 123royaltyfree.com is a subscription-based agency similar to Shutterstock.  However, their payout is a complicated calculation that distributes the profits among all the photographers.  Be sure to read their requirements first: http://www.123royaltyfree.com
• Istockphoto.com has 506,000 photos that sell for $1 - $3 depending on resolution, and pay photographers roughly 20%.  They must approve 3 sample images.  They accept JPG images at least 1200 x 1600 pixels. http://www.istockphoto.com

[For more information about selling your photographs visit: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/tw4]

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The Write Way to Travel is a FREE weekly newsletter from the American Writers & Artists Institute, available to AWAI students and friends.

© 2004 American Writers & Artists Institute

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