Customer Reviews

Sell & Re-Sell Your Photos: How to Sell Your Pictures to a World of Markets a Mailbox Away (Sell and Re-Sell Your Photos)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Sometimes it's hard to write a review because the author's style is so grating that even though he has a lot of useful information, you dislike the book and wonder if you can be fair. After thinking about this book for some time, I think I can be fair.

Engh's basic point is that a photographer who wants to make money with his photographs will sell from stock to markets that are not competitive. He then tells the aspiring stock photographer how to determine what those markets are, how to find the photo buyers in those markets and how to deal with those buyers to get your stock photographs sold. Although I'm not a stock photographer most of the steps he advises have a ring of truth to them and agree with what the stock photographers I know tell me.

But if you are interested in "landscapes, birds, scenics, insects, plants, wildflowers, major pro sports, silhouettes, experimental photography, artistic subjects, (such as the "art" photography in photography magazines), abstracts (such as those seen in photo-art magazines and salons), popular travel spots, monuments, landmarks, historic sites, [and] cute animals" Engh says forget about them. Well, maybe that's too strong. He says when you put those areas on the back burner, "you'll stop wasting time, film, postage, and materials." When I came to this advice, I almost put the book down, because it was clear that Engh wasn't talking to me. Most people take photographs because they are interested in some subject matter or approach and not just to make money.

I also was disturbed by how often in the book the author shilled for his company and web-site, where, he says, useful information is available. It may be, but it appears it's always for a price.

In summary, if all you want to do is make money with your camera, without joy or pleasure, this book may be for you.

I read an earlier edition of this book shortly after graduating from journalism school in 1983. I wanted to make money with my photographs and Rohn Engh's book answered every question I could imagine. I followed his advice and for years was a successful stock photographer. I was also a stay-at-home mom homeschooling three kids, so I only worked a few hours a week, yet still managed to plump the family income. Now I'm a portrait photographer and still do a little stock on the side. I advise anyone who is interested in selling their photos to read this book and save a lot of time in the process.

Engh has, apparently, made a good living in the field of "environmental portrature" -- people in their own natural surroundings. Unfortunately, when all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail; and it seems that Engh's advice is for his readers is that their only chance lies in adopting the exact same approach.

In Engh's view, there is only one type of photo sure to sell: one which shows, in front of an appropriate and uncluttered background, a person involved with a symbol of the subject matter in question. He even reduces it to a formula of "Photograph = Background + Person + Symbol + Involvement." Anything else, according to Engh, is merely a "pretty scene" with little or no commercial potential.

Now, that may or may not be the case. However, I can't help but notice a glaring discrepancy in Engh's book. Just after enumerating his "P = B + P + S + I" formula, he gives a case study of "John," who goes through the book's recommended program of determining one's areas of marketable photographic interest. At the top of "John"'s list is gardening, and Engh notes approvingly that there is a highly-profitable market in stock photos for gardening magazines and books. After reading this, I decided to research some of these gardening publications. What did I find? That the vast majority of photos in these publications were of flowers, plants, and scenics -- the very subjects that Engh advises his readers to avoid! Furthermore, no matter how many such publications I checked, I failed to find even a single photograph fitting Engh's "Background + Person + Symbol + Involvement" formula. Given this, I can't help but suspect that Engh's approach might be a little too dogmatic.

Finally, I would note that, although this edition of the book is barely three years old, it is already quite dated in terms of technology. Engh is (was?) dismissive of digital photography, asserting that photo buyers will only consider submissions shot on film. Hence, any coverage of digital is restricted to providing quick previews of film-based work, and much time is spent discussing concerns such as the filing, packaging, and labeling of transparencies. Judging from the most recent Photographer's Market, this film-only approach is no longer the standard with publications, and Engh may wish to further revise his work with digital photographers in mind. But perhaps not. Somehow, I would suspect that an approach as rigid as Engh's when it comes to subject matter may well extend to not being able to see any other methods of doing business, either.

Before I bought this book, I had perused dozens of reviews, most of which were favorable. I was left with the impression that - like the Photographer's Market - you can't go wrong with this book. For some photographers, I'm sure it *is* quite helpful; Engh's advice is pragmatic and straight forward. And if pragmatic photos are your goal, this book gets 5 stars and not 3. But many photographers are not shooting for pragmatism's sake; they're shooting because there's something emotional or personal which they wish to convey on a visual level. Pictures, rather than poetry or song lyrics if you'd like to look at it that way. Engh seems to disregard this idea all together, once he starts explaining his magic forumla for success....

Once you get to the crux of this formula - that you should be shooting some type of environmental portraiture (people in the context of a specific place) - it implies that if you are interested in photographing something else, you're basically wasting your time. This is frankly a little disturbing. His theory suggests that it is the market's need for a particular kind of photo that should motivate you, and not your own intuition. That is frankly dead wrong in the eyes of many successful photographers. It only works well if you see your photos as a retail product first, and a personal expression (dare I say "art?") second...and some do see it that way, which is fine.

Perhaps that is where Engh goes wrong: this book could be more aptly titled "How the Casual Photographer can Sell and Resell Their Snapshots." It is plainly not that useful for the person interested in fine art photography, "fine art" meaning anything which is not born of commercial origins. It's as though Engh thinks the act of photographing is what's most important to photographers - that if you're out there snapping away that's all that matters, so long as the pictures sell. For many photographers this is not what the medium is about. It's not a "make big money in a hurry" kind of business. It requires someone who is unwavering, methodical and patient...not someone with a few rolls of 35mm film, a camera and Engh's magic formula.

The best instructor I ever had made one crucial point to his students: to be a successful photographer, your images have to speak to people on a deeper level than the average snapshot. If you wish to make photos of this quality, the *only* way to do so is to shoot that subject matter which is not only familiar to you, but very close to your heart. If you shoot what is only moderately interesting to you, so too will your photos be moderately interesting...and perhaps not interesting at all. This is to mention nothing of the technical mastery you must posess, as well. Formulas do not a lasting photograph make....

The bottom line is, if landscapes or buildings or some other thing which is often photographed...if that is what moves you, *that* is what you should be exploring with the camera and lens. To do otherwise is to do yourself a disservice (unless you just want to sell a few snapshots, which is fine). Granted, it may take a few years before you can really break into the market with some truly unique and marketable imagery but that's to be expected. Great photographs don't come easy; it takes perserverance and dedication. So, if you can't make money off your work right away (as Engh suggests you should), then you find other means of income as you continue to work on your personal style and technical mastery of the medium. Ansel Adams wasn't taking his masterpieces after 6 months work. Galen Rowell (probably the most talented landscape photographer to come along since Adams) failed to sell his work many times before he finally succeeded.

Photography is like any other endeavor in life: if you really want to make your mark, you have to pay your dues. There's no way around it.

So the question really is (dear reader and fellow photographer): are you in it to make quick money, or are you in it to make your mark? If you want the quick money, Engh is your man and this book is your book (without question). If, on the other hand you want to achieve a more lofty goal with your work, this book won't help you much other than perhaps to give the proverbial wake-up call. The call which reminds you that no, it won't be easy...but which ignores the possibility that the struggle might bring much greater success than the forumulas in this book.

If you are beginning a business in photography as I am, this book is a necessity. From years of experience, the author gives all the information you need to start your photography business and send out your first photo submissions in four weekends. Some of this information includes determining markets specific to you and your interests, explaining how to take marketable pictures, and describing how to submit photographs to the markets specific to you. Also provided are details about photo pricing, copyrights for photos, types of rights given to photo buyers and taxes for a photo business. Being a chemical engineer, details and specific outlined procedures are important to me. That is what "Sell & Re-Sell Your Photos" provides. My dream is to quit engineering and be a full time photographer. "Sell & Re-Sell Your Photos" has put me on the right path to achieve this goal.

The first chapters of the book are somewhat helpful to those just starting out in photography -- specifically, a great deal of time is spent on differentiating between mere snapshots and marketable editorial material. However, this material isn't particularly helpful if you can already shoot and get marketable results. There are also helpful chapters on marketing your identity, and on the business side of things, including legal issues surrounding editorial shooting, which are the chapters I found to be most helpful.

I do have one major gripe about the book, however, that wiped away two of five stars for me:

With a sizable percentage 35mm pros either shooting digital already or in the process of making the move, this book shows its age by discounting digital as generally inadequate or unsellable. This may have been true in the mid-'90s when a serious professional-quality digital system was still $20,000 or more, but it is no longer true today and thus this book seems like another victim of the digital age, in which 5 years old is very old indeed.

Perhaps it is time for a new edition that discusses the digital workflow and digital sales a little more, instead of merely discouraging the use of digital -- especially now that many publishers and editors are looking for digital specifically.

Really, if you are a serious amatuer who has finally decided to sell your shots to wider markets, I think the Photographer's Market is a much more essential title to have on the shelf.

...I think the lesson that is easily overlooked by critics of Mr. Engh's book is that those that follow it's practice GET TO TAKE PICTURES FOR A LIVING!

If you love to take pictures, for God's sake, buy this book and do what you love!! Quit working in Target for the rest of your life in the hopes that someday when you retire you'll get to spend more time on photography. No, you won't be able to quit that Target job tomorrow. Mr. Engy doesn't promise that pipe dream. What he DOES do is point out things which I've found to be dead-on correct through experience....

1. Slow but steady wins the race. 2. The dilligent hand maketh wealth. 3. You don't get anything you don't work for. 4. Just because you like it, doens't mean anybody else will.

Another note to the purist that would say that the practitioner of this book's premises is a "Sell Out". If it's art that you want to make -- so much so that you would work a different job as the main monitery support for said art -- why can't you make your 'Art' photography when you finish your work for the day as a 'Stock' photographer?

The question is: Do you want to look back at the end of your life and say "I created a picture that rivaled Adams" or do you want to look back over a life in which you can say "I really had a great time with my family and friends. See, here's my wife in 'Ladies Home Journal'. Here's my brother at my gallary opening in New York in 'The New Yorker' (pictures by me). Here's that thing we did down in Cozumel and I didn't have to pay a dime. What a great time!"

If you'd like the latter. Quit messing around:

1. Buy the book. 2. Read the book. 3. Read it again. 4. Keep it on a shelf as a reference while you DO what it says. 5. Buy all the books in the bibliography that you can afford and are applicable.

As an artist and stay-at-home mom starting a new career in stock photography, this book is inspiring and full of valuable info. I couldn't put this book down! I checked it out of the library and now I am going to buy it because the info and resources are that good!

Author Rohn Engh has written an excellant book that serves as both an introduction to stock photography, and a practical primer for stock photographers wishing to increase their sales. His method of photo analysis (P= B+P+S+I) allows the stock photographer to simply analyze the marketability of a photo before the shutter is released.

Mr. Engh definitely re-invigorated our photo game plan with a book that was fun to read and hard to put down. One of the best we have ever read.

I recommend this book highly as a stock photographer. It is informative, persuasive and wonderful! As a lover of photography, I seem to enjoy it, because it tells you how to sell and resell your photos with a formula. I am only halfway through the book at the time of this writing, but I enjoy it already. The author also talks about pricing as well as how and when to contact publishers. He also talks about the '90s way to submit things if you so choose! I also recommend the 1999 Photographer's Market book to see what publications are looking for photos from you. Both books are worth it! Get them today!