First internet sales

Last month I finally got around to creating a Pro Smugmug account. I really didn't know what to expect with regard to sales, but I doubted that I'd ever sell the first shot. Just for kicks, I decided to shoot a couple softball games and a couple baseball games.

Two days ago, I got an email from a parent asking if I would print some of the shots on the site for her. (I had only handed out a couple business cards, so I didn't even realize that anyone knew about the site.) I told her that she could order prints directly from the site. She emailed me back and told me that she would definitely think about it. I decided to take one of the shots of her kid and desaturate everything around her. I posted the shot, and emailed her about it. Here's the shot...

NIKON D200    ---    300mm    f/3.5    1/8000s    ISO 1000

She loved it.

Today, I recieved an email from Smugmug informing me that 5 photos have sold. I also had emails from 2 other parents requesting information and ordering directions. With a little luck and a bit of work, the site just might pay for itself. I just hope the prints turn out well. Positive word of mouth goes a long way in small towns.

 

Thanks Dave...I was just goofing around with the shot. I'm working on my PS skills and wanted to try something different.

Thanks Frank...the simple fact that someone likes my shots is flattering. That someone likes them enough to actually pay for them is amazing. I've sold CDs, self-made prints, and even rolls of undeveloped film before, but never an internet print. I agree that it's pretty cool to know that years from now, she'll be showing my shots to her grandkids.

Doug...apparently I underestimated parents' desire for shots of their kids. These people are definitely excited about the action shots. I put them up about two weeks ago and have already had over 1000 views.

 

Thanks for the kind words Gale, Gary. As for the desaturation, I have to admit I'm not really a huge fan of the technique. However, the background in the original shot was a bit "busy" so I decided to desaturate it. Here's the original for comparison.

NIKON D200    ---    300mm    f/3.5    1/8000s    ISO 1000

 

I shot this one in Shutter priority, f/3.5, 1/8000, ISO 1000
I ran it through Noise Ninja, increased the saturation and played around with the hue and contrast a bit to get a better purple color. That's about all I can really tell you. I'm no Photoshop guru - I just play with the adjustments until I find something I like.

I didn't make any layer masks. Not quite sure how to do that yet - I'm a Photoshop beginner and still learning. I just used the lasso tool to isolate the areas that I wanted to desaturate. I probably could've used a Wacom tablet - but then again I wouldn't know how to use it either.:biggrin: