My Photoshelter Homepage
There comes a point in a every photographers workflow. You’ve downloaded photos onto your computer and into a hard drive. Hours are spent editing away to make the perfectly contrasted portrait. Images have been sent to your client, or your mom, and finally you’ve archived everything to a second hard drive. As a photo pro, you eagerly move onto your next shoot, forgetting the 40-50 selects from your last shoot. The hard drives pile up and the images get lost in the void of metal enclosures which, of course, are themselves enclosed by a dark closet next to your guest room.
Then there was the time you needed that one image of a long lost friend or that important portrait of that business man you photographed back in 2005. You file through dozens of hard drives finding the one you actually remembered to label – “Summer 2005″. Have you have been restarting your drive to run the motor and fan every 6 months? Alas, you have not, and your drive doesn’t boot up. You’ve now lost ALL those images. The day, and likely the week, is ruined. Everyone is sad.
That is one way to handle your old images. There is another way! I use Photoshelter and I love it. Now hold on just one moment as I put on my salesman hat.
I still use hard drives. It’s crazy, but I even still use DVDs! Yet, Photoshelter has now become a necessary and easy part of my photo workflow. Just before my hard drive goes into the closet, I simply upload my favorite 40 images from each shoot to my online archive. Now my images are backed up online. Think of it as an extra safety net for your images. Most importantly, my images are now online.
I’ll say it once more…my images are now online! That means that I can access them and download them to my hard drive from anywhere, and so can other people. That’s the key. Other people can now find my images. With proper keywords and captions, Photoshelter has become THE way to sell stock. I can honestly say that at least twice a month I sell an image that would normally be hidden inside that dark closet (which really isn’t that dark.) That means I am making money from simply uploading my old images. Hello sushi dinner!
So now, I am making money and safely storing my old images. Great. But wait, there’s more! Photoshelter also has great social networking capabilities and has become the number one gateway to my portfolio website. I have received more that five jobs after being found directly through the Photoshelter directory. Clearly editors and art buyers are hip to the trend.
So, let me put my Madmen hat back on the rack.
No matter how you archive your images or what service you use, having them online is an absolute must. Here are the top reasons why:
1. Online archiving is close to a guarantee for safe photo preservation. Of course, don’t stop with hard drives, but when they fail you still have them online.
2. Get noticed: Your photos will be online and others can find them through proper keywording and captions.
3. It’s all about SEO: Simply put, adding links to your blog and portfolio helps your search rankings and helps people find your photos.
4. Social networking through archiving: Get your old photos circulating through the social web world.
5. Sell, sell, sell: With your photos online, you will make money. It’s only a matter of time.
6. Find your images quickly, easily, and anywhere!
7. Look professional: An archive can be your portfolio. Don’t present yourself as a photographer if you only have a flickr.
Have I made my point? Get your images online.
Now, let me plug my portrait photo workshop which will take place in Oaxaca, Mexico the first week of April. In addition to portraits, during the workshop, I will be talking about the business of photography and will be going into greater detail on selling images and using an online archive. Join us.
UPDATE: I’m happy to announce that Photoshelter will be offering a discount membership for those attending my workshop. If you needed the extra incentive…there it is! Big high five to the fine folks at Photoshelter!
