I dream of selling my photos, but where do I start? First if you have posted your photos on social media sites, you have already given them away so they have no retail value. Anyone, anywhere can grab and print, sell or do anything else they wish with them. You have lost control of such images.
So the first rule is to never post an image anywhere until you have it protected. You can protect it by adding a watermark or only post photos with a very low resolution so it has no reproduction value. Use the copyright symbol © followed by the year (©2025) which notes that the image is protected by USA copyright laws. Most everyone respects that but it does not totally protect your photo. If, after this you have an image for sale the following tips may be helpful.
Should I sell digital copies for the buyer to have printed? No. You never sell an image for a client to print because that requires a high quality image. You lose all rights to that image once it is in the hands of a client — UNLESS you sell all rights including your copyrights at a much higher fee. If you do that the client owns the image plus the copyright and can use that image anyway he chooses forever.
Can I make and sell prints on demand? Yes. However, that can be cumbersome, time consuming and expensive. A better option is to seriously evaluate the quality of your work to select a good image that has broad appeal.
Print a few copies maybe 5, possibly 10 depending on costs, to test your marketing skills. Choose high quality paper and a reputable printer. Select a size that is affordable maybe a 12” x 16”.
Once you have the prints, sign in the lower right corner and number each print. If you have 5 prints each one would be signed John Doe 1/5. All five are signed in the same way. That tells the buyer that only 5 prints exist of this image and it’s also an unwritten promise that no more will be made. This allows you to ask a much higher price for each print. Don’t over price your first test — you are testing sales appeal of your product.
Use one print for marketing purposes — you can sell it later. Frame it professionally using a wide mat or a double mat. Post a high quality photo of the framed work on your marketing site noting the price of the print only. Make sure that it’s clear that the frame and matting are not included. Add a shipping fee. Don’t guess — shipping is expensive.
You can also sell such prints in art shoppe which take a commission up to 50% or more so your pricing must reflect that. This, or even higher commissions. may prohibit these sales.
Selling your photos as art is certainly possible — if you have a reproducible image that has broad appeal and is reproduced on high quality paper or other surface by a reputable printer.