Snapped4U is particularly good for selling photos of special events
and fundraising, and these tips mainly address those uses. Many of
the tips are for amateur photographers, but there are also suggestions
for using Snapped4U that professionals may find helpful, too.
Shoots arranged in advance often offer the advantage of printed and/or
online publicity that can include notice of your photo op. Ask to be
mentioned in advance publicity, printed programs, and follow-up articles.
It's good PR for you and helpful to your customers!
Fundraising Galleries often have good sales because customers not only
get the photos, they also get the satisfaction of supporting a favorite
cause or charity. Even if you volunteer your time and donate the photos,
the good PR that results may well be worth your effort, and if the
charity has 501(c)(3) status, you might also have the benefit of a tax
deduction. (Ask your accountant.)
Shoots arranged in advance tend to have the best results, but don't
rule out last minute opportunities. Watch for events where people will
be out having fun: Air Shows, Art Fairs, Apple Orchards, Baseball Games,
Beaches, Bowling Leagues, Christmas Tree Farms, Concerts, Cycling Events,
Derby Parties, Dog Beaches, Dog Parks, Ethnic Festivals, Equestrian
Events, Fairgrounds, Football Games, Garden Club Events, Golf Tournaments,
Graduations, Homecomings, Markets, Marinas, Monuments, Music Festivals,
Nascar/Indy Events, Pageants, Parades, Parks, Pinewood Derbies, Political
Rallies, Proms, Regattas, Reunions, Runs/Marathons, Scenic Overlooks,
Skating Rinks, Sledding Hills, Soccer Matches, Softball Games, Super Bowl
Parties, Swim Meets, Tailgating, Tennis Tournaments, Tide Pools,
Valentine's Parties, and Water Sports.
The natural light of outdoor venues makes good shots easier to get.
Public places require less planning. If you choose private property,
be sure to get advance permission from the owner.
Events where most people bring their own cameras means lots of
competition, so be prepared to make your shots unique.
Occasionally very good galleries have poor sales. If your subjects
aren't comfortable using the Internet, your sales will face an
insurmountable obstacle.
Plan the Shoot:
Get off to a good start --
Be friendly. Make people so comfortable they're smiling even
before you ask!
Avoid unpleasant situations. Ask permission before shooting, and
don't photograph children or pets without first asking the adult
with them. Don't claim to be a professional photographer unless
you are.
Explain your photos will be posted and sold online at
www.Snapped4U.com. Wearing a Snapped4U cap and/or handing out business
cards will help your customers remember where to look.
Caps and Cards
Shoot at a resolution that will allow you to edit and still maintain
quality sufficient to produce a good 8x10. We recommend that the long
side measure at least 1600 pixels. And, remember our maximum file size
is 8MB, so set your camera accordingly.
Be sure to take spare batteries and an extra card!
Take photos that you'd buy --
Posed shots of smiling faces are the best sellers. Distant or candid
shots rarely sell.
Shooting at eye-level usually results in the shots most flattering to
the subject.
Shooting from the waist up gives people less to dislike!
Group shots of friends or family are good because they may include a mix
of people that are rarely together. Plus, you might get a shot of a
camera-shy person who usually declines having his photo taken.
People with their pets are also good sellers. Pet-owners often take photos
of their pets, but forget to get photos with their pets.
Pose people and suggest they remove their sunglasses.
Take advantage of stairs, benches, and other natural props. Use them to
avoid 'line-ups' by staggering layers of standers, sitters, and kneelers.
Make sure everyone can be seen and that those on the end don't seem off by
themselves.
Take one pose from different angles, then change the pose a bit and shoot
some more.
The larger the group, the more shots you should take. Since we sell jpegs
which can be easily shared, only one shot means at most one sale. Taking
lots of shots improves the chance of several sales, as different members
of the group may have different favorites.
Kids and pets often don't pose well, so take lots of shots and improve
your chances of getting some good ones. Using your camera's sports
(action) mode can be good for kids and pets… and large groups, too!
Consider the angle of the sun. Using a flash might minimize shadows.
Choose views that provide the best backgrounds. Keep an eye out for
distractions like radio towers, power lines, traffic signs, etc. Notice
that a crowd in the background is usually OK, but a stray individual often
is not. If a good background just isn't available, use a shallow
depth-of-field to put the background out of focus.
Make Your Gallery Customer-Friendly:
Galleries are automatically identified by the photographer's name. It is
up to the photographer to provide other pertinent information so that the
photos will be found when a customer searches.
Choose a concise description to serve as the gallery's name.
For tags, carefully choose descriptive words. When customers search by a
keyword, the results will include galleries with that word in the
description as well as those with that word designated as a tag.
Large galleries can be difficult to search. Limiting a gallery to about
300 photos keeps it customer-friendly. If necessary, find a good way to
divide your photos into multiple galleries.
Make your photos easy to search. Photos will appear in alphanumeric order
within your gallery. Your camera or computer assigns filenames in
chronological order, and that is usually the best order for customer
searching. If you edit, rename edited versions by simply adding a suffix
to the filename to preserve chronology. If a customer's photos are
scattered throughout the gallery, they will be difficult to compare, or
worse, not even found.
To use a favorite shot or jpeg message as the gallery icon, copy it and
name the copy '0000' so that it will appear first. Then upload both the
copy and the original so it will appear first and chronologically, too.
If you shoot an annual event, consider reposting the gallery the following
year. People often appreciate old photos even more than new ones.
Remember that all editing must be done prior to uploading, including
rotating for correct orientation. Your galleries will have a nicer
appearance and be more customer-friendly if your photos aren't
sideways!
Before uploading, review your photos. Keep your gallery's quality high
and more appealing to your customers. Delete bad shots and enhance others
with basic editing such as straightening and cropping. Name edited
versions by simply adding a suffix to the original filename so that they
maintain a logical position in the gallery display.
Look for photos that can be made more flattering by cropping at the waist
or shoulders for instant weight loss. Don't upload unflattering views!
Many customers are unfamiliar with photo editing, so posting different
cropped versions of one photo gives your customers more options.
Promote Your Gallery:
Photos must be found to be sold. Be sure your customers know the photos
will be sold online at www.Snapped4U.com.
Whenever possible, choose events with a website or Facebook page where
you can be included in advance publicity and then also post reminders
following the event.
As you shoot, explain how to find the photos online. Offer to email a
reminder and keep a list of anyone willing to share their email address.
Handing out business cards and wearing a Snapped4U cap can help customers
remember where to find your photos.
(Check out our Caps and Cards.)
Create and post your gallery immediately after shooting to avoid missing
the earliest customer searches. When this isn't possible, create your
gallery in advance and use the message box to tell customers they've come
to the right place and to check back soon. When an empty gallery is
posted, the gallery icon will say, "Coming Soon!"
Know the System:
Photo Price: The Photo Price is set at $4 for our Event Galleries.
Photographers choose the Photo Price for Photographer's Choice Galleries
and Fundraising Galleries. The Photo Price applies to all photos in the
gallery and may not be edited.
Photo Subject: Event Galleries are exclusively for photos of
friends and family out at special events. Photographer's Choice Galleries
allow the photographer to choose any subject compliant with our Terms and
Conditions. Fundraising Galleries are exclusively for photos of
fundraising events or for other events and occasions when proceeds from
the photo sales will be donated to a school, church, or charitable
organization. No "Prohibited Content" is permitted even when the gallery
is a password-protected Private Gallery.
Terms and Conditions
Posting Fee: There is no posting fee for Event Galleries and
Fundraising Galleries. For Photographer's Choice Galleries, a posting fee
of $4 is charged for each 2-month posting period. Payment is made when
the gallery is posted and marks the beginning of the posting period.
Posting Period: All posting periods are 4 months. At the end of a
posting period, the gallery is automatically taken offline, but the option
to Renew Posting appears and remains available for a period of 1 month.
(For galleries designated as Annual Events, the Renew Posting option
remains available for 11 months.) When the Renew Posting option expires,
Snapped4U will permanently delete the gallery. Never use Snapped4U as a
place to store your files!
Sales Commission: The sales commission is $0.50 on photos priced $3
or less and 15% on all others.
Account Balance: Sales are immediately credited to the
Photographer's Snapped4U account. Photographers may view their account
balance at any time. The balance in their Snapped4U account is paid to
their PayPal account on the 1st of each month. If the
Photographer's PayPal account is tied to a bank account, withdrawals can
be made without a fee. Contact PayPal's Customer Service for information
related to PayPal.
No inappropriate use of Snapped4U is permitted. See the
Terms and Conditions
for a detailed description of inappropriate use and Prohibited Content.
Please report any content you find offensive to
abuse@Snapped4U.com.
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