A Sale A Year In The Making

good work! and it paid off :o)

Great story, glad it worked out well for you

Great story, but unfortunately I'm going to be the partypooper - the realist.

Opposite to Mellissa's "...it paid off" I have to ask: did it?

Seven months of time and gas and possibly other expenses such as snacks. And a two-hour drive to get the pics meant a two-hour drive to get back.

If you did it because you enjoy the chase and creating pics disregarding the expense - or if in the process you captured other pics that paid the ongoing expenses - the project was a success.

But if you did it to make a profit, you didn't.

"
If you did it because you enjoy the chase and creating pics disregarding the expense - or if in the process you captured other pics that paid the ongoing expenses - the project was a success.

But if you did it to make a profit, you didn't."

Dan is spot on here and I personally never ever chase what people say they will buy mostly because of the above reasons and for me, they almost never actually do buy when I got the image anyway.

That said, I personally LOVE the chase. I do it all the time because I am driven to create what I want to create and given a particular cast I can certainly see that it did in fact pay off by that standard. You created the image you wanted to do AND you even sold it which is of course just icing on the artistic creation from my view point. Congrats!

(My chase often involves snakes and I have spent hundreds in gas chasing good snake images knowing good and darn well they will never sell until I make a market for them.)

Oh, there is no link to the image, at least not one showing on my work computer, can you post the name of the ship and I will look at it?

i agree with dan on this, while its great to get the sale, unless they bought a 1000 of them, chasing and hounding one person to buy something, sounds like you cornered them into buying, it seems just like its not worth the time to do it like that. in the end, with the expenses mentioned - did you break even?

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Now, it doesn't sound at all to me like you hounded them as they ASKED you to get the image and this is just good follow up.

Gales; It is good to step out of your comfort zone from time to time, especially when it comes to doing something different when it comes to sales.
But I'll have to agree with Dan, JC, and Mike on this. While you spend your time and effort and gas trying to "chase" a customers request, it can often cost you more than what you get back in return and not just cost you financially, but mental stress doing the work and disappointment of the financial return. Hopefully she ordered your largest metal print so it would cover at least you travel expediences.

Next time a situation like this comes along, treat it like a photo shoot / commission. Charge a non-refundable "research" fee, create a contract.
Don't waist your time or energy on someone's "wishes" unless they are serious.

Doing "research" or concepts for others and not getting paid for your time and effort, is not doing business, but doing someone (friend or stranger) a favor.

Gales,
Congratulations on mission accomplished, but you really need to dump that "I hate to be a salesman" attitude....the art isn't going to sell itself, so you'd better start loving being a salesman!

"I spent the next 7 months chasing her around the state."

If you would have spent more time looking for the boat instead of chasing after the wife for 7 months, you wouldn't have missed her husband's birthday!

I'd venture a guess that most photographers on this site spend more to get their shots than what they take in from them, but every sale you make here moves all of your work up in rank, so chasing a customer request may end up paying off for you in the long run if it gets the rest of your work more exposure as well. Enjoy it for the victory it is.

@Monsieur, he wasn't chasing the wife! He was chasing the ship! I went under the assumption he was getting other photos while on the hunt, so I wasn't seeing the time being wasted. But hey, I'm a glass half full kind of gal!

That's a most impressive image - well worth chasing it around. Congratulations on the sale... I hope they enjoy it.

Congrats on the sale! I would've done the same thing as far as going after the photo. Whether there was any actual profit or not it's a fun adventure and since for most of us this is more about a hobby than something to live off of the extra money you get back is a bonus.

Dan, JC, Mike and others:

I am sure that ultimately, I did not make money on the sale. I am okay with that for a number of reasons, but the main one is that this is, first and foremost a hobby for me. I don't expect to make money. With the exception of the pictures of the Saginaw, every other image here is a picture I took for my own edification. Anything I do sell is gravy.

Photography is one of many hobbies I have. It is the only one I enjoy that has brought money in, instead of all flowing out.


JC: The ship in question is the Saginaw.


Marlene: That was more the point of what I was getting at. I have to realize that there are people out there who are willing to spend money on my images. And if I spent more time promoting it, and following up on it with people who I talk to about it, I'd probably sell more. And I'd probably promote it more if I had more confidence in it.

Toby: That is pretty much my attitude at this point in time. A couple of weeks ago I spent 8 hours on the road, burned a tank of gas plus bridge tolls just to get some images. I would have to sell several pictures to recoup the money I spent, but I had a blast. Which is why I did it.

Gales, that is really what it comes down to then. You had a blast getting the image and even made a little money off the venture.

Congrats!

I saw the image when I got home, (work doesn't like the AW site.) Beautifully done!

Personally, I always shoot for my own enjoyment, period. I have been blessed that many people also enjoy what I produce and most of my shoots, sans snakes, pay for themselves in the long run.

anyway, congats

And I didn't mean to sound defensive, JC. I am very realistic with my expectations and am aware that the way I choose to address my photography limits what I will make from it.

The misunderstood shipspotters! Like those crazy people that chase trains and hike miles into the woods to get that unique train shot.



I waited quite a while for this one but most of my photos didn't come out the way I wanted. Well, she will be back in the area in about 5 days so I will be out there again.

Actually Gales, I think you have a nice niche market and it could in fact be lucrative.

SMP - Yeah...boatnerds are weird. A lot like what I think birdwatchers are like. We'll drive hundreds of miles to see/capture a ship we don't have. Tomorrow I am driving across the state, in marginal weather, in hopes of catching a boat entering port. We'll see how that turns out.

JC - Could be...

Gales may not have made a profit..yet.

That doesn't mean he won't sell MORE of them in the future.

It is real hard to make a "profit" from selling one shot. Most involve some kind of expense and time to make. Even still life shots of fruit in your kitchen. You have to drive to the store, buy the fruit, set it up, shoot it, edit it, upload it, then hope it sells.

The obvious thing is Gales LIKES chasing ships and if he is doing something he enjoys an the challenge, he is a success,

Sometimes the hard to get shots are the best ones BECAUSE they are hard to get.



This was one of my hardest shots to get. It took two springs of trying. Getting it was a pain in the butt, countless hours sitting in the woods.

Was it worth it after I sold my first print? Probably not. But I have sold numerous prints of it. It is one of my best sellers. I believe part of the reason is few people would be willing to put in the time to do it themselves. Even the people with "real nice cameras whose friends told them they should sell their pictures".

Even if I didn't sell a single print I can still remember how I felt when I KNEW I finally caught what I have been chasing. Do not underestimate the value of "the hunt"!