There are 59 National Parks in the good, old “US of A”. These natural wonders are truly “bucket list” material and thousands of wildlife and landscape photographers flock to them from all around the globe each year for some of the most spectacular photo opportunities anywhere. That's actually not good news for those that want to sell their photos of all that grandeur.
The competition for photographers in selling those images is intense. Not only will you be putting your works out there along with the really big names in the outdoor photography world, you're going to have to work hard to make each shot have a unique appeal that entices viewers to buy. There's no reason you can't sell those images just as well as anyone else, but the odds are a lot longer when you consider the number of really fantastic photos of these locations already out there.
So, how can a simple photographer really make a profit by shooting in the National Parks? The answer is in the other resource that's prevalent in these incredible places: tourists. Hundreds of thousands of people visit the parks every year and although almost every group will have a camera or at the very least a smart phone, many will be willing to pay a reasonable fee for something that looks better than the average “selfie”. That's where you come in and here's how it's done:
- Open a KeepSnap account. Unlike many other opportunities, this isn't going to cost you anything up front. Here's the link to get you started.
- Set up your profile and upload some images. You'll want to have some information about yourself available as well as some of your best work.
- Print a bunch of cards. Print up the cards you'll find available on the KeepSnap site. These will make it really easy for your prospects to get to your profile, even right there in the park, thanks to a scan code for smart phones.
- Put yourself and your camera in the right places. It's not hard to figure out where people want to get those photos of themselves and the family. If the selfie shooters and family posers are there, that's where you want to be.
- Introduce yourself and offer to take the shots. Use those cards you printed. Don't be shy; you're a professional.
- Shoot several. Take a good series of shots, using all of your skills to make them special.
- Show a few. Go ahead and let your subjects see a few of the shots.
- Explain how they can see them all. Refer to your card again and explain that their photos will be available (and when) in your online gallery and they can download all of the ones that they like for printing. You can also mention that they can give the URL to family and friends.
- Edit and upload ASAP. Be sure to get the photos online as soon as possible, and definitely before the date you told the prospects they'd be available. Edit them, upload them and set a reasonable price for downloading.
- Collect profits. Here's the easiest part. Each time an image is downloaded by anyone, you collect up to 70% of the price, and the remainder covers KeepSnap's services. No sales? No fees. It doesn't get any easier than that.
That's it! There's not a simpler system that I know of and with the ease and low cost, I think you can expect to see a lot of KeepSnap cards circulating at these locations soon. Getting started soon is probably a good idea.
By the way, if you're concerned about the legal issues, you'll want to know that the National Parks Service doesn't require permits for still photography unless you're using a model, set or prop, shooting where the public isn't allowed, or doing something that would incur costs to the Service for protecting the park or its visitors. That's one of the things that makes this such a sweet system.
If you live near a National Park or visit any of them frequently, I've just given you the keys to a potentially lucrative business. You're welcome!