Photos That Sell: The Art of Successful Freelance Photography (Paperback)

by Lee Frost (Author) "The vast majority of photographers get their first taste of freelancing by sending in pictures to a market on the off chance that a use..." (more)
Key Phrases: using windowlight, saleable pictures, stock catalogues, Fujichrome Velvia Filters, Film Fujichrome, Fujichrome Sensia (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Hundreds of success tips for the freelance photographer!

Photos That Sell is actually two books in one. It not only shows photographers—and those aspiring to be—how to snap great commercial photos, but also offers hundreds of success tips for selling them in the marketplace.

Readers will get an overview of all the markets available for selling photographs—whether on spec, through photo libraries, on commission, even over the Internet—and dozens of surefire approaches for making sales. They will learn about the hottest subjects in commercial photography and how to shoot the perfect photos for them. Finally, dozens of exclusive "how-to" spreads demonstrate the set-ups used to create some of the vivid artistic and technical effects that are part of producing Photos That Sell.

About the Author
Lee Frost is a successful writer, accomplished freelancer, and professional photographer. He is the author of The A-Z of Creative Photography and The Complete Guide to Night and Low-Light Photography.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Amphoto Books (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0817455124
• ISBN-13: 978-0817455125
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #335,707 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The straight scoop, January 12, 2002

By	Nicholas M. Sullivan (Hermitage, Tn United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As other reviewers before this one have already stated, this is the bible for free lance photography. It tells you what to shoot and how to market your work. It also becomes apparent as one reads this book that there is a lot of extra work, and a lot of expense, involved in this business. It's maybe 25% taking pictures with the other 75% taken up with preparation, sales and marketing, bookkeeping, etc.It involves taking thousands of pictures and keeping them on file with a picture library. There are pointers from professionals on what sells and how they work. Several, believe it or not, manage to do it while holding down a full time job elsewhere.As for expense, many shots you will have to taken with a medium format system if you hope to find a market; lots and lots of film; computer programs; labels, etc.If you're planning a career in this business, read this book first. Lee Frost will tell you exactly what you are up against.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent advice, could use an update, July 12, 2006

By	Joseph Boone (Irvine, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Lee Frost is an extremely able photographer who also happens to be quite a practical businessman. In Photos That Sell, he shares a good deal of what he has learned about taking and marketing photos successfully. He begins by walking you through the main markets that are likely to be open to your work and then moves on to what types of shots you can best hope to sell. Helping to iilustrate all of this is a collection of hundreds of Mr. Frost's photos. The variety and quality of these photographs is worth the price of the book all by themselves. It's fairly impressive how deftly he shifts between portraiture, landscape, and still life photography.

If this book has a shortcoming, it is that it could stand revising to bring it current. In the digital age, things have a way of changing quickly and this book is now 5 years old. While the book does cover digital technology, it was written in a time when digital cameras were far less capable than they currently are and many markets have opened up to them as they have improved.

Overall, I would certainly recommend the book. If the author brings out a new edition to cover the ever-increasing role of digital photography then purchasing it will be a must for budding freelancers.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The BEST book on Stock Photography, May 27, 2005

By	Terry Smith "http://terrysmith.net -- http:/... (Little Rock, AR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've read a lot of books on the stock photography industry and this book is by far the best. When I first got it a year ago I paid too much attention to the extraordinary photography and not enough to Lee's text. Recently, I went back and very carefully, slowly (one or two pages a day) studied Lee's advice. I've sold images myself to clients around the world and can tell you this book is what you need if you're interested in selling images. It's accurate, complete, and packed with tips that few others would be willing to share. I have and will continue to look back to this book for ideas in producing my own work. The author provides great advice across the range of stock subject matter as well as the various markets.

The are two things that really make this book shine though. The first is the numerous photographs accompanied by sales info: number of sales, where it sold, and the total sales to date in U.S. dollars. Not all the images in the book have this information (most have the standard equipment and exposure stats), but some do. Next, there are several two-page interviews with other stock photographers. They share their backgrounds, markets, and tips.

Buy this book. It's worth it!