Last week I introduced you to Daniel, a fellow photographer taking the helm at Snap & Sell Photo Club in the year ahead. If you missed it, check out our interview here.

This week I asked Daniel to talk a bit about selling your photos online as fine art.

Fine art is different from stock photography, but there are also some interesting similarities.

Read on to learn more!

And say tuned, because this is just the beginning of our exploration of selling photos online as fine art in addition to through stock agencies.

Selling Fine Art Photos

By Daniel Nahabedian, Full-Time Photographer

Stock photography is a good source of passive income, but one thing past experiences have taught me is to not put all your eggs in one basket.

So how about freshening up your skills, expanding your horizons, and delving into fine art photography?

It’s a good way to spruce up your portfolio and try something new in your photographic journey.

And, as with stock photography, you can do it all online, if you wish.

Subject to different interpretations, fine art can be difficult to define. I myself think of it as a way for artists to express their own vision and perception of the world.

Unlike stock photography, where the focus is on what the client needs, fine art is more about the photographer’s personal creative vision of a subject.

When buying art prints, clients aren’t just purchasing ink on paper, they’re buying an experience and a “piece” of the artist.

Let me show you a few examples:

This is my largest print sold in the past years. I stumbled upon this calm location with a mystic atmosphere in Spain. There were hundreds of little stacked stones all over the place. I decided to focus on one and capture it in black and white.

A Canadian couple later contacted me and purchased the largest size available after having walked the same path. The image revived the shared experience they had, and they loved my interpretation of the scene.

One buyer loved the warmth and exotic mood of the scene, while another client was drawn in by the spiritual aspect of it with the juxtaposition of the young monk and Buddha statue in the reflection.

Here are four reasons why Fine Art Photography is worth trying:

• Online sales: Just like stock photography, you can do it from the comfort of your home. There are many websites such as FineArtAmerica (which we’ll tell you more about in the coming months) that allow you to upload your photos and handle the printing and shipping directly to your clients.
• Higher Pricing: Stock photography is all about multiple small sales that add up, but Fine Art photography works best the other way around. You will have fewer sales, at a higher price tag. In fine art, it’s better to have one image sell for $100 than 100 images for $1. People want to buy valuable art.
• Different Products: When we think of “Fine Art,” we imagine beautifully framed wall prints. However, you can increase your sales by adding different product options, such as jigsaw puzzles, mugs, phone cases or even blankets and tote bags. If it can be printed on an item, it can be sold. And when you use one of the specialty fine art websites, doing this is as easy as selecting the option and adding a price.
• Creativity Boost: Fine Art photography helps you grow not only as a photographer, but as an artist. The more you capture your own vision of the world, the more you expand your creativity and develop your own signature and style.

In the end, you become more than just an anonymous photographer behind the image.

I’m excited to be talking more about Fine art photography along with stock photography in the coming year, and hopefully this will inspire you to get out and allow your style and creativity to grow.