No Sale Since 2013

It all comes down to connecting with a buyer. Time really isn't a consistent measure for sales potential. That is, there is no base rate of sale per year, it's about getting a buyer to your page and getting them to stay until checkout. I think you have some great work but you need more if it. 77 images is not alot by comparison. Concentrate on building that portfolio without sacrificing quality and maybe have a Look at who you are marketing to in your social network. Do you do much real world marketing?

Contests and groups on FAA are nice for exposure within the site, but what about contests and groups outside of FAA? Do you target your market specifically? For instance, have you considered approaching tourism boards or sports teams in the cities where you've photographed landmarks? Do you display your work in a brick-and-mortar gallery there as well? Beyond posting photos on social media, with whom do you engage in a meaningful way? Or do you just post and run? What steps have you taken to really sell your art?

Your work is fabulous... keep uploading... keep them coming! Think about what someone wants to buy. It may not be the same equation as what is a spectacular shot. Actually I am surprised with the subjects that people have purchased from me. Sometimes I think it is about iconic places and then someone purchases my "jars of sphagetti sauce" photo... Who knows... give it time and keep uploading!

You have very few images, folks here talk about photographers needing 1000 images up
to sell regularly. You can not sell from an empty wagon.

You have over the last two years amassed next to no views. We all hear how views dont matter, but
no views matters.

You are offering 40% off. That is a statement that you can not give your art away. Take that down, especially
since it does not work.

Photographs are the number one seller across the internet as far as images go (porn not included), but
there are large numbers of folks with cameras. I think you are one of the better photographers, but you
are hardly alone.

I wish you were selling more. Good luck,

Dave

At the risk of sounding blunt: your work is technically sound but a lot of it is also kind of generic. With that I mean it doesn't really stand out from the thousands of other images of the same subject that can be found here.

As photography is becoming more commonplace it becomes harder to impress buyers, especially if they can pretty much get the same shots with their camera phones and through FAA - as well as many other companies - they can just print and hang their own work.

The northern harrier photo, that labrador sleeping, tundra swans and red barn buck - all great work that should sell. Add more work of this standard and sales will come. Standards are constantly being raised at FAA and what sold in the past may no longer sell today because another photographer has produced a commercially more viable photo. It's been happening to me too and the only option I have is to work harder to produce better photos. C'est la vie, but also kind of fun.

You might want to read up on this discussion thread

http://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=2201441

at first glance your image quality looks good, but i don't see really anything that i would want to use as art on a wall. many things look like you got them on vacation and have that midday point it at anything look. steep sales won't encourage sales. and you have an avatar that looks like your advertising a wedding business. i couldn't find you on twitter so i can't check that. some of the images have very few keywords. some of your images are cropped way too tight


at first glance, because the porch is cut off, the tree is the main subject. many of your images are not actually in focus. like this one - i don't think would even print. it looks like a digital zoom and up close there are outlines and orange peel like noise.

you only have 77 things here, which is a tiny amount. you should set your page to galleries so people don't have to wade through.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

The truth is no one really knows what may sell. There are a few images I have sold that, truthfully, makes me shake my head. That's why I try to judge my own work from a technical standpoint more than an aesthetic stand point. Is is properly exposed? How is it framed? Most importantly, is it sharp and in focus?

I would make your default view Galleries instead of Images. To me it looks better and offers more variety.

4,500 views is not a lot for two years here. I've seen folks here that long with way less, but they have typically dumped their shots here, sat back and waited for sales. You say you have sent shots out on social media. One thing i am learning is that sometimes it's how you send the shots out. If folks think you are only trying to sell them something, they may not click on. If you can make them feel like they are looking at a story, then they may click over and may ultimately decide to buy.

You can also write up some blogs. I like to blog about my photographs and explain to folks how I got them and why they may be rare now. The blogs typically do not get a lot of hits, but I then social media them out to engage my viewers. I run some contests, too. On every contest page, there will be a link to your profile. It's another small way to get your name out there. I also do press releases. Some pressers are for FAA only, but every now and then I write up an actual release and send them out to local media. I believe the last time I did that was for a Meet and Greet at a gallery in my hometown and the local TV and newspaper did some blurbs about the show.

The best way to sale is to have salable images. At first glance, I liked this one a lot even if there were no people walking the platform; I thought it told a good story.



But when I did the green box on the taxi, I'm not sure it's going to print. It looks block as if you upped the ISO a bit much. Now you may be able to process it out and then size down to 3072 pixels wide and salvage it. People think you have to have the largest size out of your camera on here and while I do try that, I actually prefer to have something that is technically better even if somewhat smaller.

When I look at this one



it bothers me that the road is cut off on the lead to the bridge. If i were looking for a shot of this bridge to buy, I would take one look at that and keep moving.

On this one, you may have had an interesting shot by getting closer to the rock.



It all seems kinda haphazard with the rock a small part of the frame and prety much centered. Also, the horizon is leaning .5 to 1.0% to the right. I just caught the name you gave to the piece and can see it now, but again, you need to be closer.

i think the noise removal algorithm is set too high in the camera, that taxi one, it's kind of soft, i'd probably not let it print if i were voting.

anyway, selling is hard because finding an image is actually very easy. and unless the work stands out, looks different, is well done, matches the drapes, etc, it won't usually sell.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

None of what you are doing amounts to building a brand or creating a unique artist vision.

Don't get too discouraged Abram. You have absolutely breathtaking captures.

Just keep building on what you have already. A larger portfolio should help. The marketing you do today may not bear fruit right away, it takes time, effort and patience.

Dave Gordon
http://dgportfolio.net

1- there's a lot of competition;

2- the market is saturated. There are millions of photographers using their smartphone cameras and uploading the images to PODs. There are a lot of "painters" applying Photoshop filters to images and calling them "paintings";

4- all keywords are taken... Now you have to use "long tail keywords" if you want to be found organically;

3- Google, Facebook are tweaking their search engines to show paid ads... If you want to found... PAY FOR IT! :)

i've never had to pay for it. to be found you have to be everywhere. social sites, blogs, etc. you want the link everywhere. you want your work to be traded by different people. google wants content, give them a story or an answer etc. the ads you get - are filtered by people like me that block ads. i never knew that facebook had ads at all.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Well i'm new and viewing these comments are going to help me.. Thanks for letting me review everyone's thoughts and suggestions...

Your work is wonderful.

This one is adorable.

Digital photography is becoming saturated and easier for the person not caring to learn about photography. More people by the thousands are selling pictures that dont have a clue about the profession. I dont feel the art has anything to do with being able to sell anymore. Its finding a way to market yourself and learn many others things like SEO.

I like some of your shots and I took a look at your Facebook page but almost all your posts are from FAA to me they look like ads and it likely turned people off. you needed to engage people to comment on your works, write something along with your photos. People like to hear what behind the shot, how you feel about it. you need to build a relationship with them to make them keep coming back.

In my experience sales are always slow unless you have either a niche market or a good following. I'm always thinking that I would rather have 10 collectors than a hundred buyers, but getting those collectors is way more difficult than finding buyers. I've not sold anything yet on FAA, but then I know there's a huge competition, but patience they say is a virtue. I really do struggle with the descriptions, and I know my meta tags don't always reflect as well as I would like them too. What I'm learning is that you need to put some time into those elements as well, and probably as much time as creating the piece in the first place if you dry up when it comes to writing the description at the time of upload.

Just my experiences but I'm certainly on the very steep learning curve!

Lots of answers are already given above. Some who join FAA will never sell anything. Others, now and then. Some seem to sell a lot. Study what they have designed or created, not to copy but to develop your own style and then LET THE WORLD KNOW! Otherwise just enjoy belonging to this artistic community.