How To Sell Photography Prints Online

Photo prints make fantastic home decor for homes, offices, and businesses - but selling photos online can be a challenging venture.

Navigating printing methods and selling platforms, choosing between print-on-demand or physical images, making pricing choices, and deciding on your marketing plan can be overwhelming - so let us help!

Whether you're selling to website customers, hiring yourself out as an event photographer, or selling stock photos, this guide will equip you with the knowledge to promote and sell your photos and turn your photography work into a thriving business venture from start to profit.

Why Sell Prints Instead of Digital Photos?

Digital photos are convenient and can also provide a nice passive income stream if you list your digital download prints on sites like Fourthwall or Etsy! However, physical prints offer a unique value proposition for your customers and can be a much more lucrative way of selling photos online.

Physical photography prints command higher prices, elevate your brand, and open doors to additional revenue streams beyond direct sales. 

Photography prints are tangible representations of your photographic and artistic vision. They create a lasting impression and are also a viable business model, as many people want to simply order a piece of art they like, ready to be framed and hung on their wall.

Tangible Art, Tangible Value

Physical prints offer a tangible connection to the art that digital downloads can only partially replicate; people appreciate the ability to hold and display a piece of art in their homes.

While this can be achieved with a digital download print in some instances, there's just something about that immediately tangible quality that generally translates to a higher perceived value, allowing photographers to command premium prices for their work as compared to digital photo sales.

Selling your images as prints is the first level of selling photos online; selling your photo prints as framed art is the next level; and selling sets of prints—pairs or triptychs (3 prints that line up in a row together)—is a popular trend that can bring in even more profit.

Building Your Brand

Every time you create a new photography print and every time you sell your photos, it's a physical representation of your artistic vision. It's the root level of your art and a powerful way to build your brand as a photographer as you sell photos online.

When someone visits your photography website and purchases one of your photography prints, they become an ambassador for your work, displaying it in their home, office, or business; this can lead to increased visibility, word-of-mouth referrals, and opportunities for future collaborations.

Beyond Print Sales 

Selling photos online is just the beginning! Once your photography starts gaining popularity, that increased visibility can open doors to additional revenue streams, through which you can increase your overall profitability and build a sustainable photography business.

• Stock Photography: Licensing and selling photos as stock photography can be very rewarding financially. In this scenario, you'll partner with companies, individuals, or stock photo websites to sell stock photos and license your images for use in advertising, marketing materials, or publications. Selling photographs to stock sites like Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, Getty Images, or iStock photo can be a great side hustle.
• Commissions: Commission work means you're hired for a specific photographic purpose; you might shoot and edit custom prints for clients such as a business or restaurant, shoot portraits for a school or company, or do the photography for an event such as a wedding, theater production, or concert. 

• Merchandise: Expanding your product line to include items featuring your photography, such as phone cases, mugs, or calendars, is a great way to earn more from each photo and sell images in a unique way! You can do this easily on a site like Fourthwall, where you can customize a wide range of merchandise with your images.

• Photo Books: With print-on-demand so readily available, you can quickly put together and publish your own themed coffee table photo books of your photography and sell them on sites like Fourthwall or through Amazon KDP. 

Things To Consider Before Selling Photography Prints Online

Your Target Audience

Identifying your ideal customer will help you decide what types of photography prints you're going to sell.

For instance, if you enjoy landscape photography, you might sell your images to nature enthusiasts, travelers, or interior designers (who frequently use landscapes in their home and business design projects.)

If you prefer shooting portraits of people, you could advertise your portrait skills for actors or professionals seeking headshots or create your own series of character portraits.

Enjoy shooting sporting events? You could sell photos targeted toward sports fans, athletes, sporting publications, or stock photo websites specializing in sports imagery. And, of course, photography gigs like special event shooting, portrait shoots, and selling stock photos are in their own categories.

Your Pricing Strategy

Next, develop a pricing strategy that aligns with your business goals to sell your photos online. 

Factors to consider include production costs, desired profit margins, market competition, and, of course, the investment of your time and talents! These three pricing models are a good place to start:

• Cost-based pricing: Calculate costs, add a desired profit margin, and set your price.
• Value-based pricing: Determine the perceived value of your work and price accordingly.
• Competitive pricing: Research competitors' prices and adjust accordingly.

When setting your prices for selling photo prints, also consider factors such as print size, edition number, and framing options.

A simple rolled, unframed print, for example, should be cheaper than high-quality limited edition framed prints, while a signed framed print would cost even more. Moreover, large, wall-sized prints would be more expensive than a small print-on-demand 8x10 image, as the materials, production costs, and shipping requirements increase with size.

Also, when selling photos online, remember that offering a range of pricing options, from affordable to luxury, can help attract a much broader customer base. 

If you would like to get an idea of pricing strategies for framed and unframed wall art, check out Fourthwall's product catalog for custom options.

Print Quality

High-quality prints of your photography are essential for happy customers and your brand's reputation—it's smart to choose professional printing services or print labs that use high-quality paper, ink, and printing techniques.

Make sure you feature a diverse range of print options to cater to different customer preferences, including different sizes of prints to cover low-to-high price points.

When selling photos online, you could also offer finish options like luster, glossy, matte, or fine art paper; large prints on actual canvas are another beautiful way to showcase landscapes or photographs with a lot of detail.

If you decide to use print-on-demand for your photography prints, it's crucial to select a reliable service that can produce your images to your desired quality standards.

Additionally, if eco-friendly prints are a priority for you, ensure that you gather all relevant information about the printing inks and materials used for the frames. This will help you maintain your commitment to sustainability while delivering high-quality products to your customers.

How To Sell Photography Prints Online in 6 Steps

1. Build Your Online Presence

A solid online presence is essential for showcasing your work, attracting potential customers, and selling your photos.

Think of your photography website as your digital gallery while your ecommerce and social media platforms act as connections to your audience. It serves as a central hub for your photography, whether it’s an independent site or part of an ecommerce platform like Etsy, Shopify, or Fine Art America. 

Fourthwall is an excellent option. The platform allows you to create a customized photography website and online store for free, complete with features for selling exclusive merchandise and memberships.

Fourthwall also lets you choose a relevant and memorable domain name for free, ideally coordinating it with your ecommerce shop and social media handles to maintain a consistent brand across all platforms.

Once you’ve finished building your website, leverage your social media channels to showcase your work and attract potential customers. Platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok allow you to display your images, share behind-the-scenes insights, and connect with your audience.

This helps you build an online community of dedicated fans looking forward to seeing your work while building relationships with fellow photographers and potential buyers. 

2. Create Your Portfolio

Your online portfolio and ecommerce shop act as your virtual galleries, so it's important to curate a collection of your best work. Select images that represent your unique style and brand and that you think will resonate with your target audience.

To effectively sell photos online, the focus should be on quality over quantity. Ensure that every photo is presented well, in high resolution, with consistent lighting, and visually stunning, with different views of each photograph (on its own, hanging on a wall, displayed in small and large frame sizes). You might also consider watermarks for your photos to protect them from being copied.

Showcase a range of different moods, themes, and subjects within your style, a mix of your most popular images and some exciting lesser-known pieces that show off your versatility - a diverse portfolio is always to your benefit!

Arrange your photos in an appealing manner, using a consistent layout and design. You could even consider creating different portfolio sections to categorize your work by theme or subject matter. All of this care will show through when your customers browse your work, and you start selling images!

3. List and Price 

Compelling product listings are essential for driving sales when selling photos online.

You'll want to start by writing clear, informative, and engaging descriptions highlighting each print's unique qualities, and remember to use relevant keywords to improve search visibility. 

Use storytelling to help connect with potential customers, and include interesting details about each photograph's subject, location, dimension, and even some technical specs (camera, lens) for the photo aficionados. 

As discussed earlier, determining the right price for your photo prints is a delicate balance. Consider your production costs, time investment, desired profit margin, costs of your printing lab, and market competition when setting prices for selling your photos, and experiment with the different pricing models to find the best balance between your profitability and customer demand.

Prices will vary greatly between the different types of sales—an individual customer buying a framed print will likely pay a different price than selling stock photos to a stock photo website or someone downloading one of your digital photos via print on demand.

4. Pack and Ship

Once you start selling photos and getting orders - Hoorah! it's time to pack and ship! 

Proper packaging and shipping of your prints is crucial to protect your artwork and ensure customer satisfaction. If you're using a print-on-demand service, you won't have to worry about printing your works or framing them.

However, if you handle all of the production, you'll want to invest in high-quality packaging materials, such as acid-free tissue paper for your prints, sturdy cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, and protective corner guards for your frames.

Your shipping carriers are the transitional point between you and your customers, so research carriers carefully and choose options that offer tracking and insurance.

You might also want to consider offering expedited shipping for customers who want their prints delivered quickly, as this can enhance customer satisfaction and lead to positive reviews and repeat business.

5. Offer Excellent Customer Service

Whether you're selling your photos to individuals, businesses, galleries, or stock photography sites, building strong customer relationships is essential for long-term success in selling photos online.

Provide exceptional customer service by responding promptly to inquiries, addressing concerns efficiently, and going the extra mile to exceed expectations.

It's important to maintain open and transparent communication with your customers and to offer clear return and exchange policies to build trust and confidence as you sell photos.

Provide detailed shipping information and track orders to ensure customer satisfaction, and keep those lines of communication open so customers can reach you easily if they have any concerns or questions.

6. Get the Word Out

There are plenty of effective marketing avenues to take to let people know that you have some great photographic images to offer and that you sell photos online.

Marketing and social media are essential for reaching your target audience and generating sales, so make sure you use a combination of platforms to extend your reach.

On your socials, like Instagram, TikTok, or Pinterest, you can create engaging content, showcase new photos on your site, and collaborate with other photographers or influencers.

You can even use email marketing to great effect to sell your photos by building up an email list of customers and then sending out targeted campaigns to promote and sell images. Consider offering exclusive discounts or early access to new collections for subscribers on your membership program, like the ones you can offer on your Fourthwall shop!

For a more hands-on approach, consider networking at places like photography industry events, galleries, and art fairs. These places provide you with more opportunities to promote your work and make connections with other art enthusiasts. 

7. Analyze and Grow

Analyze your sales data and website analytics to identify trends, customer preferences, and areas for improvement. By closely examining this information, you can refine your marketing strategies, product offerings, and pricing to better align with your audience's needs.

As you continue to sell photos online, pay particular attention to key metrics such as website traffic, conversion rates, average order values, and customer demographics. These metrics provide valuable insights into how visitors interact with your site and what influences their purchasing decisions.

Once your work starts to flourish, consider experimenting with different product showcases and descriptions to see what resonates best with your audience.

For instance, changing the style of your display images can significantly impact customer engagement; high-quality, visually appealing images often lead to higher conversion rates.

Additionally, testing various pricing strategies—such as offering discounts or bundle deals—can help you determine the optimal price points for your products. 

Make Fourthwall Your Photography Headquarters

Are you ready to take your photography business to the next level? Fourthwall is the ideal platform to showcase and make money selling photos online, with a huge range of features to help you succeed. 

With Fourthwall, you can set up your own website and ecommerce photography shop, customizing your design, layouts, and branding to reflect your photography style as you sell your images.

You'll be able to add high-quality images to your product catalog plus detailed descriptions, and you can choose to sell your photography prints as digital downloads, print-on-demand, or framed prints—or all three!

Fourthwall's seamless order management, high-quality print production, user-friendly interface, and marketing and analytics tools will help you create a successful photography business exactly the way you want to. Embark on your journey to sell photos online, and sign up with Fourthwall today!