How to Start Your Online Photography Store

Author Blake Webster

Introduction

The first camera I remember taking photos with was my parents’ Kodak Instamatic in the late sixties. They eventually gave me the camera and I continued using it until 1973, when I met my wife, Elaine. She owned a Polaroid, and we used that until 1981, when we purchased a Russian 35mm camera. It was a good starter camera for learning how to shoot 35mm, but all the labels were in Russian. It was also heavy and cumbersome, so the following year we traded it in for a Nikon 35mm point and shoot.

In 1996, I became a web and multimedia developer and started designing templates for Dreamweaver and FrontPage. In 2003, aiming to step up the quality of my designs, I added photography, yet another element to enhance the look of my sites and, I hoped, my sales. I couldn’t afford to pay the expensive royalties commanded by the large stock photo companies, so I started taking my own pictures.

I upgraded to a newer 35mm camera, the Nikon N75. In that year, 2003, digital cameras were just coming out and still very expensive. Moreover, digital quality and mega pixels were still quite low.

As I took photos for my design templates, I soon developed a renewed interest in photography, a great way to express one’s creativity. I’ve long been drawn to architectural themes, so taking photos of buildings was a perfect way to enhance my online business designs. I started developing Flash photo galleries that would allow other photographers to display their portfolios using a professional and intuitive interface.

As I continued taking photos, it became clear I had to find an alternative to the high cost of developing my work. So I went out and bought one of the first high-end digital cameras, the Nikon Coolpix 8700. Now I was able to take as many photos as I wanted and have them web-ready instantly.

That’s when I decided to set up my first online photography store. Soon I was shooting and processing high-resolution photos and selling them online.

Shooting high-quality photographs often depends on being in the right place at the right time. Beyond that, though, elements such as composition and lighting need to be mastered. As my passion for photography grew, my skills improved. Then I decided to expand the sale of my photos beyond my online store, to take my template designs to the next step, using higher-end imagery.

One of my clients, a professional photographer in Florida, was selling his Nikon D200 digital camera, complete with wide-angle lens. I bought the camera and still use it today. Given how it improved the quality of my work, it was one of the best investments I’ve ever made.

As I created new images, I added them to my online catalog and also sold them through other stock-photography sites, such as iStockphoto and fotolia.

I usually divide photographers into three categories: amateur photographers, photographers and professional photographers. Amateurs take photos for family and fun, with no commercial motivation. Photographers have a special passion for photography and might sell some of their photos. Professionals hire out their services and sell their images.

In this book I aim to help you advance from amateur photographer to one of the other two categories. This is a guide to setting up an online store for selling your photography.
Even if you are a professional, you may lack the budget for hiring developers to establish your online presence, and may lack the time to do it yourself.

I will offer three approaches in different price ranges. Two of the recommended software applications will make use of the WordPress content-management system. The third is a stand-alone software application that requires a MySql database. It has all the store features built in and makes use of various css design templates to enhance the look and feel of your store.

We will focus on just three approaches because I believe they are the most cost-effective and user-friendly ways to start an online photography store.