How Many Of You (us) Are On Faa For Fun?

I have 852 images, 187,612 visitors, 3,975 comments and 9 sales on FAA in 2014. Is it fun? Yes. Is it lucrative? No. But sales require a lot of work and I believe that over time, as I become known, they will increase.

Otherwise, it is just for fun...

I am on the forum part for fun

Oh and what fun you must have, JC! LOL

I just work here but I love the members. I was a member before I took on this job and have to remember sometimes what I do... I don't always remember until I see my blue colour coz I like to have fun too....

fun and play. i've been kicked from the zazzle forum in the past for saying one bad thing so i avoid them. they are far to kiss up there. and the elite forum is even worse. back in the day i was kicked from cafepress forum because i mentioned the Z word. but its now filled with boring things. the forum on photosig died off with the site. maybe a post a day. bubble's forum is really slow and i never liked it. so i'm here now. i'll spend the time in the place i make money in.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Abbie you make me chuckle lol!!
It can be frustrating on here, but l do like to mingle and have fun,
thats what lifes about too me.
Keep you chin up Roy, best of luck!!

I'm here to justify all the fun I'm having.

Well I'm not here to make a living, although I sell a few of my images and gifts (but only 1 image on here) I only do it as a hobby so I suppose I'm doing it for fun :)
I would hate to do it as a living, I would never stop worrying about where my next slice of dry bread is coming from

A sale would be nice, still have zero "real" sales, but mostly I like to look at "all the pretty stuff" people are making as I continue to build my portfolio. I will say, while mostly beautiful, I'm starting to tire of all the flower and leaf images that are incessantly uploaded at unprecedented levels.

If it weren't fun, I wouldn't be here at all!

No sales here, but it is fun, and it is nice to see all the other art. John, I agree about all the flower and leaf pictures, Ive actually taken any I had down because those subjects because I'm tired of seeing them! Ive been toying with paying to post more work, but I am not sure if it would be worth it or not.

I'm having fun, I'm learning from other artists, and I'm glad I have a job. I better get ready and go to it, now.

1560 images and counting.

Always enjoy that unexpected "New Order!" email....
Certainly not here to get rich but I do enjoy the exposure...and grateful for the opportunity.

Cheers everyone!

~Michel Soucy
Visit me on my Facebook fan page

111 images and 2 sales. I started at FAA as a portfolio repository and then decided why not give it a real shot. Sometimes I love the forum and sometimes it makes me grouchy. ;-)

I come here for the business and stay for the party.

1031 images one sale. I am with FAA to make money until I do, it is totally for fun, I am sure I will even enjoy it more ones my images sell :)
Can't have folks thinking artist work for a living....

I just joined about 6 weeks ago... I was already taking the photos and sharing on Facebook... got sick of people saying I should sell my work... so I figured what the heck...

147 images and 25,288 views so far... still waiting for my first sale here... but it gives me a reason to shoot more often... and I can "justify" my camera expenses some :)

how do you get 25k views in 6 weeks? I've been here 11 mos. and only have 5.5k and I'm still waiting for my first sale too.. (I don't count friends and co-worker sales as real)

I am on FAA for the couple of thousand in income from sales I make every year. I am on the discussions mostly to relieve the boredom of working from home. I always say if it ceases to be fun stop doing it. And I am still here.

twitter - still trying to figure out how to turn those views into sales :)

I do sell works that I print locally... but have not sold any here

I'm on for fun...the forum is the best darn entertainment on the net! I also follow 2 artists for my main inspiration.
I warehouse my work here, rather than clog up my real website.
I make a few sales...all bonus and welcomed for treats.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Fun and profit! I sell a bit here and there. More than enough to pay for FAA and Smugmug, as well as a few software upgrades every year. Not enough for new camera equipment.

Getting ready to start my third year here next month, so I guess I'm here for the fun of it. Thank goodness I don't rely on this place for income.

I joined to sell and didn't care about the social aspect at all, but after being here a while I've come to enjoy the fellowship and appreciate the support and generosity of folks who are willing to share their expertise. My photography and editing skills have improved because I've taken the time to read the threads. Aside from that, I have the pleasure of being among many kind and talented people.

I am on here to make a few extra dollars to help fund my photography habit. I've been here since August 5th - I have 7,881 views and one sale. I've been working hard to build my inventory here. Not putting my eggs all in one basket I sell on another site (where on average I've sold about 4 prints a month this year, but it took me about a year to get there) and am starting to build up a third which I'm sure will take another year to get anywhere. I'm pretty much learning that you have to keep pushing through and never get discouraged about not selling. And more importantly, believe wholeheartedly that you will eventually sell if you keep working at it. At minimum my $30 upgrade cost has been easily covered from my other sales.

But this is a lot of fun for me as I love the photography aspect and to some degree I'm enjoying learning about the marketing and business side of things.

I have been on FAA for 10 months, have almost 63,000 views with 412 images and no real sales, just 3 cards so I guess I am here for fun as well - would be nice to make some sales and I know it will come in time but I do not rely on this for my living - I sell prints at a local indoor market, work part time and have a husband who makes real good money and always has -as for the forum, it's a place to learn, but it is mostly fun!

Fortunately for me - and thanks to an Intergalactic agreement between Seoul - Korea BOT and FAA, I have received 1,000 visitor hits from them for the last 3 consecutive weeks. It seems that all other humans on this planet have in fact dissolved and vanished into oblivion. I imagine NASA will soon let us know more soon on this development...

These BOT visits from Seoul - Korea - exceed all total REAL visitors since January 2013 and in just 3 short weeks. At this rate, I should be hitting 1 million views by Christmas.....

Extrapolating these numbers further - using advanced mathematical formulas - I figure that I should have a sale from Seoul Korea by 2020 or perhaps even 2030. Of course, I will be long dead and buried by then, but why delve into such a minor setback with such positive news?.

PS: I think I must be doing this for fun. Where else can I get this kind of entertainment for $30 a year?

:)

To be honest I'd have to say it's a hobby because even with my microstock sales I've probably just about broken even on photo gear over time. I sell a print here ever now and then. The money doesn't add up to anything significant but it's been extremely motivating. Microstock isn't really about an image being beautiful, just technically correct and useful, and over time it burns you out.

It's great to get positive comments here, but it would be even better if comments weren't visible to buyers; then other photographers could feel free to leave criticisms and not just complements. I'm open to anything, even "this is boring", or "I don't get it", it's all just part of the fun. I totally realize that a lot of what I do is not going to appeal to everyone and that's fine.

well it's is my main sale fulfillment site so.... Actually I used to come here for fun but since censorship and thought police run the place now it's just business. I totally get why the freedom to say whatever is gone from this site though.

My photos are what pay for me being on FAA with two accounts - the other - well - someday maybe a decorator designer with big bucks will come along -

I am new. I consider this work. And that is what I want to do.

That does not mean it is an either/or. I have plenty of fun.

I have one sale from Oct 17. I think it was a hair salon out in CA.

I have made enough at $30 to pay for the next 7 years of membership
(it would be more, but the tax man is waiting). Or half the cost of my
Intel Quadcore PC was covered. Not good, but it is early.

I came here for the work first.

Dave

The reason I'm here is because I ate a banana.

A banana? I hear you say with considerable disbelief. What's that have to do with having fun?

And how does it connect with this thread?

Thankyou for asking. Well one day I was sitting in my backyard waiting for the right bird to come into view, preferably grabbing hold of the right branch on the right tree, so that I could take some pictures of it. I realised this was a long shot, thus the zoom lens (in case it landed in the neighbor's yard instead). Whilst waiting I was exploring the white balance and EV settings on my Nikon, aiming it at a bowl of various fruit and making mental notes about colour shifts. Suddenly my quarry appeared (a Southern Honey Eater), unfortunately over the neighbor's fence and in an awkward spot. And in one of the worst trees. This is it had branches, twigs and leaves sticking out at all angles, thus the bird was about as obscure as it was possible to be while still being able to be identified, but I clicked away hoping for the best.

Hoping and managing are different things.

Its mate arrived, made a song, the bird responded, thence together they flew away to different pastures. It was getting quite warm. I picked up the banana and peeled it as I reviewed my frames, which as expected were not so good owing to the obstructions by foliage, sticks and their shadows.

The banana was nice though. Upon its delicious consumption I absently dropped the skin next to my chair, and was looking at earlier photos taken that day.

Including the bowl of fruit.

I lifted myself out of the chair and went inside to retrieve an icy beverage, and when I returned I noticed that the way the peel landed it looked like a golden falcon. Interesting, and then I had an idea which may have made up for the disappointment - using the malleable peel as a sculptural still-life object. I took a few photos of it in alternate positions and it struck me that this may not be the most original idea. I googled 'banana, banana sculpture, banana peel still-life" etc and kept getting images relating to FAA. I'd known about it for years, but it had never really occurred to me to join, but then why not? If people are selling pictures of bananas who am I to argue? In fact let me in on some of that banana action!

So I guess you could say I'm here for the fun :)

Joined to sell, share & showcase both my art & photography, Roy...and only that! Happily, in the process, I developed some wonderful friendships with talented, like-minded souls from all over the world...something not possible without FAA. Other sites pale in comparison.
After being a member for a few months, I began to take advantage of all the different tools available on FAA [why not!?], even though I'm not the indoor-sit-at-the-computer-all-day type. Yes, I do the social thing, host contests, participate in groups, support other artists, create a blog & so on.
Reading and posting/participating in the discussion forum was my last resort, although I realize, for some, it's their first! I just didn't have the time or energy to spare after tackling everything else on my 'to-do' list.
Now, I scan the topics to see if there is any 'news' or updates I need to know about...or manage a thread of my own when needed. If I do take a moment to read certain posts, I gravitate toward the more entertaining, educational, introspective threads, like this one, and avoid the grumpy, arrogant & complaining ones. I get enough of the latter via the 'real world'.
So, in answer to your question, I came for the sales & promotional end of things, but found I enjoyed all the [extra] perks, too.

I'd be having a lot more fun if I could figure out how to get more sales. ;-)

Of course I am here for the fun!! Its just a big party all the time!!! We have all kinds of fun games. Artists who keep us laughing when we really want to scream!!! Great support when we feel like giving up! I couldn't think of a better crowd to "party" with than those on FAA!! So there you have it yup I am here for the fun! ;)

Let me add...some people really need to lighten up!! Just saying

My premium membership just lapsed. Looks like Im doing it for fun also. Wheeeee

A few weeks ago I generated a Discussion about the "Realities of making an income on FAA and internet sales". I followed my instincts that very few people were earning a solid income via sales. That "hunch" was validated for through the feedbacks I received. Few people earn substantial income here. The huge amount of time spent vs. income received is a large gap and this ratio really yields only pennies/hours spent.

At the same time I find FAA to be an international forum for artists and photographers to meet each other, appreciate each other's work and share valuable information. All (or most) of the artists and photographers are very generous with their sharing and information. I find that to be a great tribute to "Who They Are" as people.

If it's not fun then why do it?
I'm here 'cos it's fun to make a sale once in a while (only15 this year, so far)


- Richard Reeve
reevephotos.com

Me , I am on this earth for fun.

So , it should be here for this page too.

Just a few days ago I opened my account here and hope that it will bring a cash rewards.

My images are different than most, or at least i think so. Some are good, some bad and some awful. However, I have found that when a person likes an image no mater how bad, they will invest in it.

When, I make an image I make it for me. My goal is not to make it to sell. When someone wants it they will buy it.

When you have time please take a look at what I do and let me know what you think. Here is another page. www.fotografvondenstrassen.de It is half in German and Half in English. Just click around and something will pop up.

Well there are always two sides to every daisy (touch of self-promo here) XD

I upload my pics and hang out here because it is fun and I enjoy it. Comparing to the time it takes me to "finish" (I quote it because digital images are never quite finished, they are reborn like the Phoenix as we go on in life) one of my works, uploading and displaying it here takes only a moment. And I enjoy rearranging my galleries to make them harmonic and nice to be visited, although I believe very few people go through them. Hell, I love the look of my new artists website even if that is probably one of the loneliest digital deserts in the whole internet XD

Hey, and some times somebody you don't know buys something and makes your day, although it does not fill the plate.What I earn here I count it in endorphins. Wish I could count it in dollars too, but so far I am satisfied XD

The promotional side, on the other hand, is for giving it the slightest chance to work minimally. And promoting is not fun at all, it is work. That is probably because I am pretty bad at promoting, I am still ignorant of the ins and outs of it, have no idea if what I do is even half right, so it all ends up in an awkward experience XD

But yes, I do enjoy regularly trying to sell my work here even though I am not doing it on a regular basis, so fun it is.

Ah, Edit: One thing I really value from this experience is that, in order to diversify my offer, I have tried to do new things and have surprisingly found pleasure creating works I would probably never have tried to produce. The challenge of trying to sell has made me push myself in directions I didn't knew I could evolve. I do not care whether these new creations are good or bad, they are expressions of myself I didn't know were in me, and that is really rewarding too. Cool.

Ross,
you are overlooking a key statistic in your theory.....less than 1% of the faa artists frequent the threrads....so putting your question out to that less than 1% is not going to give you any indicaton of anything valuable. I'd venture a guess that those making money are spending their days driving traffic and producing art...hardly any time to even notice there is a forum on faa.
p.s. I had fun this week, Roy!

I'm barely ever here, only when I have time for 'fun' and a little business, the rest of the time ^^ What Marlene said :=)