How to sell bird/wildlife photography?

Photography is expensive, there’s no doubt about that. Nature photographers have it bad, though, especially if you’re buying long telephoto lenses for wildlife. The Sony or Sigma or Canon 200-400mm lens will set you back $11,000 – ouch. So it’s no wonder that many people want to make it in photography and start monetizing their work. But can you make money with your nature photography?

Making money from your photography isn’t easy, and it doesn’t get any easier as a nature photographer either. There’s less demand, and more people doing it. That means increased competition for a smaller slice of the pie. If you want to make money from your nature photos, then you must realize that it’s not easy by any means – but it’s also not impossible.

I’ve been working as a professional nature photographer for about 3 years now. What I’ve learned over my relatively short career so far is that you need to think outside the box to stay ahead of the competition. A bit of a cliché statement maybe, but one that you’ll have to embrace – especially if you want to be a full-time photographer.

But you’re probably reading this wondering how you can make a bit of extra cash from your photos on the side, rather than an entire life-altering career move. Well, that I can help you with! Let’s take a look at some of the main ways you can start to make money with your wildlife photography.

Personally, I have my photos printed and framed myself, but you can have this process automated by dedicated web hosts. Zenfolio, pixieset is a popular choice amongst photographers for a website, and they offer the ability to have orders automatically fulfilled by printing labs. This means you can sit back and relax, selling prints from your website.

It’s not just online though. You can sell prints in the real world too! Head to a market or trade show, set up a stall, and get selling. It’s great fun talking to customers about your work and selling your photos this way. Doing just a couple of shows a year can buy you a new camera or lens, so that’s something to think about.

What sells best? Well, I find the more traditional bird photography like; clean bokeh shots, cute animals, or dramatic scenes. You’re looking for something that someone will want to look at over and over again. After all, when was the last time you moved a framed picture in your house? They stay up for a long time.

Workshops

If you really know your way around your camera and can take a decent photograph, then this is something you could consider. Day workshops offer clients tuition in photography, let them know your secrets, and just help them to take a better photo and understand their equipment. It’s a popular move amongst photographers nowadays, and almost everyone trying to make a living out of nature photography is offering workshops.

The best thing about it is that you can set your own hours and choose when you work. You can fit sessions in on the weekend around your full-time job, and have a little extra money coming in on the side. All of this helps to take the sting out of the costs of the new photography kit.

There are different types of workshops you can offer. Some photographers partake in one-to-one guiding days, showing clients different locations for landscapes or wildlife sightings while imparting photographic knowledge. Others may rent out a blind they have built to view a particular animal (see image above), something that is often in high demand by those who don’t have the time to create such possibilities themselves.

Sell Stock Images

The stock photography industry is depleting day by day, unfortunately. It used to be the case that you could make a five-figure salary, or more, from stock photography alone. Maybe not just as a nature photographer, but you could definitely make big bucks in comparison to nowadays.

But with the rise of microstock, photographers are seeing their earnings decrease. On top of that, many stock websites are taking increased percentages as a commission, leaving photographers with little left of the few sales they may still make.

Despite that bleak picture, there are specialist nature photography stock agencies you can submit to. The likes of Nature Picture Library still sell well, at least in the UK, and photographers are able to make a decent income from them. However, they are very selective about who they work with – you need something unique in your portfolio to be accepted.

Glossary of legal terms for selling photos online

To make the legal stuff easier, we’ve highlighted some terms you’ll want to know when selling photos online.

Editorial use. Permission to use in blogs, newspapers, magazines, and other publications.

Commercial use. Permission to use in marketing and advertising to promote a product or service.

Retail use. Permission to use in the creation of a physical product to be sold. This includes prints, posters, and products that feature the photo (pillows, mugs, etc.). Sometimes talked about in the same context as commercial use, but it should be considered separately.

Exclusive. Exclusive use means that the one who purchases the license from you is the only one who can use the photo.

Non-exclusive. Non-exclusive photo licenses can be purchased and used by anyone and usually cost less than exclusive ones.

Public domain. Holds no restrictions or copyright claim and can be used for commercial, editorial, and personal purposes. Works created by US federal government agencies (such as NASA) generally fall into this category unless otherwise stated.

Creative Commons. Conditional usage of your work is allowed as long as it’s in compliance with the stated restrictions. Attribution to credit the creator is sometimes required. Visit Creative Commons to generate a badge for this license for free.

Royalty-free. Others can buy a license and use the photo for an unlimited duration and an unlimited number of times. This is the most common type of license purchased and on the cheaper end of the spectrum since these photos are usually non-exclusive.

Rights-managed. A one-time license can be purchased to use the photo with restrictions regarding distribution. Additional licenses must be purchased for additional use.

Right of publicity. The subjects in your photos are entitled to certain rights when it comes to their inclusion in your photography, especially when it comes to commercial use when you sell photos online. This is a separate concern from the copyright considerations above and you should seek a subject’s explicit permission first in order to be safe.

For more in-depth information about copyright laws and licensing in the US, check out this FAQ to understand the copyright laws that protect your work, or look at any major stock photo site to see how they define different types of licenses.

Selling to Publications

This is where there is definitely still money. Selling images to newspapers or magazines can be pretty lucrative indeed – the trick is making it a regular gig. Publications are often looking to buy not just one photo, but a sequence of photos that tell a story. That’s where your best chance to get published sits.

Working with a press agency to get your photos syndicated and in front of the right people is the best way to go about it. While you can contact publications yourself, you’re likely to be ignored and if your photos are used you may have to spend months chasing them for payment. Press agents take the stress out of it. There are plenty around the world, and they’ll take a commission (usually 40-50%) of the sale price for their services. I work with

Press agents take the stress out of it. There are plenty around the world, and they’ll take a commission (usually 40-50%) of the sale price for their services. If you think you have a good, fresh sequence of images then send some low-resolution copies over and you’ll soon find out if they are sellable or not.

Other Best places to sell photos online

To start, here are the 18 best places to sell or license images and photos online:

In Conclusion

Here are just some ways that you can make money as a nature photographer. It takes work and dedication, especially if you want to make it a full-time job. It’s definitely not the path everyone will be able to take. But, there’s no harm in trying to make a bit of extra money at first and seeing where it takes you. You just have to take that first step.