Photography....The Possibilities

I love retirement. It’s exactly what I hoped for and more. And having the option to say yes to the offer of an overseas assignment when they come my way is a real plus. It’s a great way to continue to see the world, meet incredible people and absorb other cultures so different from my own.

I planned well ahead for the day I would turn 65 and face mandatory departure from my job with the State Department. I learned to make jewelry so that one day I might find an outlet to sell them so I could keep making necklaces, which I really enjoy. 

I also love photography and have thousands of beautiful photographs from around the world. I have many of them posted on another blog dedicated to just photos. The address for that blog is www.debidemetrion.blogspot.com.  When I was traveling, my friends would say “Share your shots!” So I set up that blog as a place post them and also serve as a memory book of where I’ve been and what I have seen.

For over 2 years I've been trying to figure out a way to market my shots. I looked at lots of websites where photographers sell ‘stock’ photos. Stock photos are images that are uploaded to an online agency and sold with a commission to the photographer. The commission can be anywhere from .50 to $150.00 or more per photo sold. And just who are the customers? Normally they are magazine publishers or advertisers. Maybe they need a picture of a mountain scene for their ad for hiking boots. Or a cute puppy for an ad for dog food. As a rule, the profits aren’t huge but it’s a start. And who needs huge profits to start anyway?

I found a website called Fine Art America. It came highly recommended to me by another photographer. You upload your photos and they sell them in lots of different formats.  You can have a photograph put on canvas, a tote bag, greeting cards or a framed print. A really fun idea is to have a photo put on a mobile phone case. They have lots of iPhone and Galaxy mobile phone models to choose from.  I currently have 77 photos for sale on my shop and most of them would look great on a phone case. 

With Christmas just a couple of months away, I thought I would self-promote my photograph website as a suggestion for a very cool Christmas gift. Maybe you went to Venice and never got that terrific shot of the canal and gondolas. Or you love elephants and would love a photo of the head of a beautiful elephant with a chunk out of his ear! Or maybe you would love to see a field of olive trees in Florence, Italy on your wall. Or a beautiful Texas sunflower on a tote bag.

The link to my Fine Art America shop is below. I hope you’ll take a minute to visit it and browse the photos. When the page opens, you will see my photos. Click on any photo and it will open to a page where you will see all the items you can have the photo put on.  

Thanks…and please let me know what you think!   My Fine Art America site