101 QUICK AND EASY SECRETS FOR USING YOUR DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHS- P29 doc

Regional magazines, such as Arizona Highways, Vermont Life, Pittsburgh Magazine, and Ohio Magazine, are just some that need photos from freelancers. When you think about it, regional magazines can’t use stock photography because the photos that they use are location specific. Submission requirements vary from magazine to magazine. Some magazines, such as Yankee Magazine (New England states) and Ohio Magazine, give assignments to photographers based on work presented in their portfolio. Other magazines, such as Arizona Highways and Vermont Life, have pages strictly devoted to photographs. They’ll look at any good photograph that has to do with their region. Here’s a comparison of how the photos should be delivered for two regional magazines: Arizona Highways ❈ All images should be submitted to Arizona Highways on a CD or DVD with the following embedded profiles (note that these are default settings in Photoshop, so you won’t have to change anything in that program): Adobe RGB (1998), 8 bit, RAW captures saved as TIFF files. ❈ Document should be a minimum of 300 ppi 12×18 inches. 126 ■ Making Big Bucks Selling Your Photos (and Donating Them,Too) Figure 8.3 A photo similar to this appeared in Palm Springs Life a few years ago. ❈ Include your name and copyright, with detailed caption information. ❈ Filename or number should begin with D_ and end with .tif. ❈ Also, submit a small guide print for each digital file submitted (contact sheets). Vermont Life ❈ Digital photos should be sent on CDs or DVDs as RAW files (preferred), high-resolution TIFFs, or JPEGs without compression. ❈ Include low-res versions of all images. Note: RAW files with low-res JPEGs for viewing and with Adobe RGB color profile are preferred. ❈ Include color contact sheets of all images in a readable size and sharp resolution—no more than nine images per page. ❈ Include a simple caption sheet. Donating Your Framed Photos to Charitable Institutions (and Getting Tax Deductions) Don’t let the IRS get you down. Get some tax breaks (if you itemize deductions) by donating your framed photography to charitable organizations, such as Goodwill and the Salvation Army. Not all charitable institutions are the same. Goodwill notes on their website that when you donate to some thrift stores, only a small part of the donation goes to charity—sometimes less than five percent. Goodwill lets you know that 84 percent of their revenues goes to their employment and training programs. While Goodwill can be a good choice to donate your photographs, there are also other places where you can donate, such as thrift stores run by the Salvation Army, City of Hope, St. Vincent de Paul, and other local organizations. Before you donate your framed photography, the IRS requires that you determine the fair market value. To receive a deduction, you can only donate items that are in “good used condition or better.” I often donate my framed artwork of signs (see Figure 8.4) to thrift stores run by the Desert AIDS project. I also donate my pictures to be sold at silent auctions at fundraisers for that organization. Finding the fair market value for these items is simple—I use the normal price I sell them for, which is anywhere from $60 to $200. Making Big Bucks Selling Your Photos (and Donating Them,Too) ■ 127 NOTE The IRS assesses penalties if you overstate the value of items that you donate. There’s another benefit to donating to charity, other than a tax deduction, and that’s knowing you’ve contributed to a good cause—hopefully one that you care about. 128 ■ Making Big Bucks Selling Your Photos (and Donating Them,Too) Figure 8.4 You can donate your photos to charity. NOTE You must keep good records, having a written acknowledgement that you donated to the charity. Selling Your Photography on eBay Selling your photos on eBay is one way you can make some cash (see Figure 8.5). At BermanGraphics.com, Chris Maher and Larry Berman report that they sold $2,000 of their photography in the first month that they put it on eBay. To get started selling at eBay, you first have to register, and then you have to become a seller, give info about how you’ll pay eBay for listings, and select payment methods you’ll accept from buyers. Finally, you’ll probably need a PayPal account so you can accept credit cards. To register there, go to PayPal.com. After you’ve read everything at http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/sell-getstarted.html, you’re ready to list an item. To sell an item on eBay, they recommend that you read the information on this page: http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/selling-basics.html. To start selling, click Sell > Sell an Item at the very top of the homepage window. In the next window, click Start Selling. You’ll then be prompted through the process of selecting a category for your item, creating your listing, and reviewing your listing. Making Big Bucks Selling Your Photos (and Donating Them,Too) ■ 129 Figure 8.5 Sell high-quality prints at inexpensive prices on eBay. During the process you’ll use drop-down menus to select details about your product. You’ll also choose a description and a selling format (you’ll choose Online Auction), as well as a starting price (other selections contain fees), quantity, duration of listing (five to seven days, including weekend days, is best), payment, payment method, shipping costs, and additional info (including return policy). Next preview and/or edit your listing. If you want a step-by-step tutorial on how to sell on eBay, go to pages.ebay.com/education/ selling.html. Again, don’t forget the power of not reinventing the wheel when selling on eBay. See what others are selling and have sold. For example, I found the following clues as to what photographs are selling by searching for photographs and spotting the ones that have bids. I’ve found a seller, for example, who had a bid on three 8×10 framed photos of huge waves (taken in sequence using burst mode). The photos were bidded for $29.95 and $24.27 for shipping. The seller can’t make a terribly big profit on these items, but she does sell them, as the bidding indicated. Once you’ve signed on to eBay and are in the process of selling an item, you have access to items similar to yours that have recently sold—a very helpful resource! One photography category that sells is nature photography. You’ll find sellers offering dozens of different 8×10 nature photographs for, say, $17 with free shipping. There’s also fine-art nude photography 5×7 prints for $7 (with $2 shipping). 130 ■ Making Big Bucks Selling Your Photos (and Donating Them,Too) NOTE Before you begin selling on eBay, make sure you research the item you are selling by finding a similar item for sale on the site. For framed photos, navigate to Art under where it says Shop Your Favorite Categories on the homepage, and then select Direct from the Artist > Photographs.You can then search for what type of photos you want on the right side of the page. NOTE You want to sell high-quality products at inexpensive prices. eBay is a good place to do this because there’s very little overhead when you sell, so you get to keep all the profit. . through the process of selecting a category for your item, creating your listing, and reviewing your listing. Making Big Bucks Selling Your Photos (and Donating Them,Too) ■ 129 Figure 8.5 Sell. ago. ❈ Include your name and copyright, with detailed caption information. ❈ Filename or number should begin with D_ and end with .tif. ❈ Also, submit a small guide print for each digital file. fundraisers for that organization. Finding the fair market value for these items is simple—I use the normal price I sell them for, which is anywhere from $60 to $200. Making Big Bucks Selling Your