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Where is the best place to sell prints of your photography? Having your art in a local gallery, online using Etsy, Fine Art America, or SmugMug?

I have tried all four of these, and I will share what I have learned the last couple years about each one, the positives and negatives. Is one option the best? Is it good to do all four options? Yes and yes! After seeing what I have learned, choose which options are best for you, blending them together. I tend to focus on one option the most.



1. Having your art in a local gallery:

It is gratifying seeing your art hanging in a local gallery, but is it great for print sales? I tried it one year, and learned some valuable lessons:



Pros:

Clients can see your art physically to see the quality and colors of your print to know exactly what they are going to receive when they purchase.
You can meet locals in person to develop a stronger connection, which creates longer relationships and more chances of repeat sales. Seeing you in person helps them get to know you better than only seeing you online.
You can get more well known in your community because you are more visible.
Having your art hang in a gallery adds value to your work and validates you as an artist.
You can easily sell signed prints because you see the print before the customer sees it.
You can offer limited edition prints.


Cons:

It is expensive to be in a gallery: you pay for the print to be made, pay rent, and pay commission on top when your print sells. This eats into your profit. You will have pressure to sell a certain amount of prints each month just to cover rent and expenses. You will need to raise your price of your art to cover that, so it will be more expensive for your clients than from your shop online.
You are limited to the size of the space you rent, so you will not be able to display your entire portfolio.
It takes time to make your prints and manage your inventory.
You can only sell when the gallery is open, not 24 hours a day.
Other artists are also selling in the gallery so there is competition.


2. Etsy:

Etsy is an online platform where you can open a shop to sell prints of your art. It started for people making handmade creations, but now it is open to photographers who print their images. I have sold prints on Etsy, so I am familiar with the process of setting up a shop and fulfilling orders. This is what I have learned:



Pros:

Because Etsy is online you can reach buyers beyond your local area and it’s open to shoppers 24 hours a day.
You choose the type of prints you want to offer in your shop, from the company of your choice, and you choose your prices.
You can get traffic to your shop from Etsy because shoppers go there to buy.
You can do ads to promote your art.
When you get a sale you know the customer name, address, and email address.
Etsy pays you direct deposit which is convenient, and you can be paid daily.
You can put your shop on vacation mode if you are unavailable to fulfill orders.


Cons:

Setting up your shop on Etsy is complicated and time consuming.
You need to make your own mock-ups for your art, uploading 9-10 images per listing.
You might have to crop or distort your images to print at specific dimensions if you want all your print sizes the same on each listing.
You need to fulfill your orders, and pay to have the print made and shipped, so money comes out of your pocket.
Etsy charges fees to list and sell your products, which add up to around 13% of your product price. This takes away from your profit, and can surprise you if you don’t plan your prices accordingly.
You have to find a printer that can make the prints and ship them for you.
You have to personally handle customer service issues for orders from your shop, and you might not be reimbursed for your expenses of the order if Etsy sides with the buyer.
You need to fulfill your order on time to have a good rating on Etsy.
There are many different products sold on Etsy that are not art, so buyers shopping might not be interested in prints.
Many other sellers are on Etsy, and a buyer could easily exit off your page to another seller’s page, so you could easily lose a sale.


3. Fine Art America:

Fine Art America is also an online platform where you can sell prints of your art. But it is a print on demand site, where they make the prints for you. I have been on Fine Art America since 2015, so I know this platform very well and sell regularly on it. This is where I spent most of my time and where most of my sales come from. Why do I enjoy using Fine Art America? For me it all comes down to a simpler workflow which gives me more time to create my art, and being able to sell museum quality prints worldwide.



Pros:

Fine Art America prints your art for you so you don’t need to fulfill orders or worry about deadlines. So your website can run itself if you are out of town.
Prints are museum quality.
Prints are made to a custom size to the exact dimension of your image so you don’t have to crop or distort it.
You can choose which products you want to sell on Fine Art America (wall art, home decor, stationery, apparel, etc.)
Fine Art America is a popular place to shop for art, it is high in the Google Search.
Artists worldwide can sell on Fine Art America, and your prints can be shipped worldwide.
You can get discovered worldwide as an artist.
You can start with a free account and upload 25 images to see how you like it.
It is only $30 a year to upgrade your account to Premium for unlimited image uploads and a Pixels personal website. This is the only expense. There are NO SURPRISE FEES fulfilling orders, so this is a great option for someone on a budget. Because you are not paying for fulfilling orders or getting fees from sales your bookkeeping is more simple.
You can use a custom domain name on your personal website.
You can show your entire portfolio to increase sales.
You can use your personal website to promote your art, and visitors can’t exit off your page to another artist’s page, so you keep visitors strictly on your art.
Setting up your shop is simple: you only upload your image and not mock-ups. Fine Art America automatically makes your mock-ups for you, saving you A LOT of time.
You can create discount codes for sales on your shop, offer limited time promotions, and participate in sitewide sales and designer print sales to get more sales.
Clients can subscribe to your email newsletter and you can manage email campaigns from your Fine Art America site.
There is a 30 day guarantee for buyers which protects you as a seller. Fine Art America will handle customer service issues for you.


Cons:

When you get a sale you will know the city the buyer is from, but not their name, address or email address.
When you get a sale you are only paid once a month, on the first 15th of the month 30 days after the sale (to cover the 30 day guarantee).
There are over a million other artists on Fine Art America, so there is a lot of competition making it a challenge to get higher in the search.
You can’t sign your prints because they ship directly to the customer.
You can’t do limited edition prints.


4. SmugMug:

I have a SmugMug website to show only my very best work to clients, so it does not show my entire portfolio. I do not use Smug Mug to sell prints because I am continually replacing images in this portfolio with new ones as I add to my portfolio. You can choose to show your entire portfolio to sell prints from SmugMug using BayPhoto, which has nice quality prints.



Pros:

You can customize your SmugMug site to really showcase everything about your business, adding pages about other products and services that you offer. For instance on my SmugMug site I have a page about my husband’s book and another one about my online course.
You have unlimited storage on your SmugMug site for jpeg images, so it can be used as backup storage (you can upgrade your account to add raw photo storage).
You can choose your profit margin for prints and decide which products you want to offer.
Your website has only your art so there is no competition from other artists.


Cons:

The subscription for a SmugMug website is expensive ($110 - $384 a year depending on the plan).
You can customize your SmugMug website a lot, but it can be complicated.
Prints are made in only certain dimensions, so the image might have to be cropped, but you can move the crop left to right to work better with the image.
You have to work hard at promoting your website to get traffic for sales.


So, you can use all four of these options to sell prints of your art. It is working well for me to use SmugMug to showcase my best work for clients and different aspects of my business. And for prints Fine Art America has been very successful. I have sold 607 prints on Fine Art America so far (as of November 11, 2023). I have my Etsy store to reach new buyers on that platform.

Use the platforms that work best for you, and spend time on the ones that give you the most success.

If you would like to learn more about how to sell your art using Fine Art America, check out my online course “Selling Photos Online: How I Broke The Code” here:

https://www.lieslwalshphotos.com/selling-photos-online-how-i-broke-the-code

I show how I became a regular seller on Fine Art America and what I do to drive traffic to my site to increase sales.

In September I launched my online course "Selling Photos Online: How I Broke The Code" to teach artists and photographers how to sell prints of their art online using Fine Art America. It has been a huge success! I share all of my secrets that I have been using the last four years to successfully sell my art online. I use a very simple workflow that gives you more time to create your art.

Come join me here: https://www.lieslwalshphotos.com/selling-photos-online-how-i-broke-the-code

I am so happy how the students are enjoying the class and getting great results! I got more reviews this week, and their words say it all:

"From the beginning, Liesl introduced a well organized instructional platform that went above and beyond my expectations. Her unbelievable attention to detail truly sets her apart from others in this field."

"What set Liesl apart was her unwavering dedication to her students' success. She went above and beyond her role as an instructor... "

"Liesl set up the program so it is easy to understand yet so detailed. I am learning so much during this course that it has helped me to learn how to make my site so much better. Each module is like discovering a new adventure."

"Liesl Walsh has put together a phenomenal course to successfully sell art on Fine Art America. I have been a member of Fine Art America since 2015 but could not get anything going to sell photographs. Liesl's course has changed all that and it got me excited again about selling my art of FAA. "

"Such an honor to learn from the best of the best! Absolutely an eye-opening and mind-expanding experience."

"I highly recommend this course to those who wish to thrive on Fine Art America, with their own online business, and to all emerging and professional photographers/artists. I give it 5 stars out of 5!!"

"I think Liesl has produced one of the best tutorials for helping artists to set up an online website to help them sell their art through the platform Fine Art America. It is so straight forward to follow, within minutes of starting to watch the videos I had an account set up and after watching a few more I had images uploaded to it."

"She has always been welcoming and available, offering her advice on many photography related issues. I know that I can always count on her artistic sensibilities, as they relate to photo processing and visual credibility. She's smart, has tremendous moral character, and cares deeply about her work."

"Without a doubt the best online training if you want to master Fine Art America, Liesl doesn't miss a thing in this training, a master in her own right."

It is such a pleasure to be working with these students! Come join me so you can reach your goals selling your art online! :-)

https://www.lieslwalshphotos.com/selling-photos-online-how-i-broke-the-code

I am so excited and happy to announce that I have finally finished creating my brand new online course for artists and photographers: “Selling Photos Online: How I Broke The Code”!
It is READY and on my website!!! :-)

I have been working full time, nonstop, everyday on this for the last 5 months: recording videos, editing, creating the course, and putting it online. It has been a huge project, and I want to thank my husband Mike for being a constant support and help. I could not have done this without him. He chose the title of this class weeks ago, and is my problem solver.

This course is for all artists and photographers who want to sell museum quality prints worldwide using Fine Art America. I show you how to build a website on Fine Art America, customize it for a powerful impact, how to market your art to the people in your niche, and how to boost your social media skills.

If you are an artist who is brand new to Fine Art America this course walks you through all the steps from setting up your site and prices to uploading your images. If you are already on Fine Art America this course will help you strengthen your website to make a stronger impression on visitors to your site, and increase traffic to your site to boost sales.

Included in the course are:
* 3 months of weekly live zoom coaching videos so we can meet face to face and I can help you reach your sales goals.
* You will also get access to a private Facebook group.
* You will receive a bonus video about how to photograph your paintings and drawings to sell online.

Fine Art America is my favorite platform to use to sell my art online. I will share everything I know so that you can build a website that makes a strong first impression and increase sales. I have been on Fine Art America since 2015. It took me years of struggle and a frustrating start, but I broke the code of how to sell. Now I sell regularly, doubling my sales each year. I have become known locally in my area of Florida, my images are getting published, and businesses are buying my images. It's getting exciting! I want you to have success, too!

With this online course you can have an easier start and sell faster than I did. Finding the right eyes to see your art is key to increase sales. I will share with you all my secrets and tips for connecting with people in your niche online, reaching thousands of people for free each month without spending money on ads, avoiding ad costs up to $15,000 a month and giving you a higher profit.

I will show you specific examples of what I do and the analytics of the results of what has worked. I have some exciting stories to tell you! I won the Fine Art America billboard contest two years in a row (2021 and 2022), but there's more!

I will share my story as an artist so you can see how and when I strengthened my portfolio and boosted sales.

Please share this with other artists that you know, thank you!

(I am not being sponsored by Fine Art America with this course but have their blessing).

So come join me! There’s still time to get ready for November, the busy Christmas shopping season!
I look forward to having you in the group!

~ Liesl Walsh

https://www.lieslwalshphotos.com/selling-photos-online-how-i-broke-the-code

Liesl Walsh created a new YouTube channel to share info about how to create strong images and sell your art successfully on Fine Art America. She is creating a course about how to build your Fine Art America website and boost your sales. Please subscribe to get updates about this course and when it's released.

Liesl knows how frustrating it is to start selling your art. It took her a while to figure it out. She wants to share how she does it to help save you time and money, so you can get selling much faster than she did. She has done this without spending one penny on ads. Yes no ads! (Of course you can do ads, but if you don't have a budget for it yet you can still sell your art).

Liesl has sold 553 times on Fine Art America so far. FAA is her favorite platform for selling her photography. Please subscribe and stay tuned to learn how she does it, she wants you to have success, too!

Please share this channel with other artists you know who would like to sell their art online.

This channel is not just for photographers, but all artists who want to sell prints of their work online (painters, drawers, digital artists, etc.). Liesl started as an art teacher years ago and loved to draw and paint. Later she became a full time photographer. She wants to share her tips with you so you all can create powerful images that sell online.

She looks forward to seeing you in her next video!

I am excited to start my YouTube channel to share how I create strong images and sell them on Fine Art America. I have sold 547 times on Fine Art America so far. FAA is my favorite platform for selling my photography. Please subscribe and stay tuned to learn how I do it, I want you to have success, too!

This channel is not just for photographers, but all artists who want to sell prints of their work online (painters, drawers, digital artists, etc.). I started as an art teacher years ago and loved to draw and paint. Later I became a full time photographer. I want to share my tips with you so you all can create powerful images that sell online.

I look forward to seeing you in my next video!

In the meantime~
You can see my portfolio on Fine Art America here: https://liesl-walsh.pixels.com

You can learn more about me here: https://www.lieslwalsh.com

All the best,
Liesl Walsh

Would you like to be mentored by a world-renowned photographer to boost your photography? I recommend Serge Ramelli's Photoserge Institute of Photography.

Serge Ramelli is a French photographer from Paris who has over 614,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, the number one channel on Lightroom in the world. Serge is a landscape and cityscape photographer whose fine art is being sold in YellowKorner, one of the largest gallery networks with over 85 galleries around the world. Serge has published 7 coffee table books with Teneues about New York, Paris, Venice, Los Angeles, and Barcelona.

The Institute is an online mentoring course with Serge Ramelli where you submit photos for each lesson and receive honest feedback on every single photo. He will push you to become a better photographer to boost your photography to a higher level. After completing the assignments you will receive a diploma making you a certified photographer! I graduated from the Institute in 2020 and it made a huge difference in my work where now I can make a living with it.

This course is designed to help you develop a stronger portfolio which is the number one thing that can help you grow your photography business. I learned very helpful tips for editing cityscape and landscape shots taken at different times of the day. Also workflow tips, HDR, panorama, using Luminar and Aurora, and doing an environmental portrait. If you want to get better results with your photography, Serge's coaching in the Institute will help!

This is what I like about the Institute:

You can work at your own pace, there are no deadlines.

The videos are short enough that you can easily watch them in your schedule.

This is for all level photographers, beginner to advanced.

This program provides much more feedback than other online courses.

Serge will tailor his feedback to your level and will challenge you to grow beyond what the lessons are about.

You can ask questions throughout the process for personalized feedback.

You will become a member of the PhotoSerge Institute of Photography Community, a private group of all the Institute students where you can see the photos they submit and learn from reading Serge's feedback on them.

The course helps you master your camera settings, different shooting situations, and editing tasks.

Serge also coaches you on the side to help you develop your photography business and reach your goals and dreams for the future. This goes beyond what the Institute lessons are about! He will help you strategize for a successful future. You will be able to contact him personally for advice. I can say Serge's coaching has made a huge difference in my life where I can now make a living with photography.

After completing the lessons and final exam you will receive a diploma to be a certified photographer!

Please contact me at lieslwalsh@gmail.com if you would like to learn more about it, thanks!

Liesl Walsh

South County Healthy Living Magazine featured Michael A. Barry's book, "Vagabonds in France" in a book review in its Summer 2020 issue:


Book Review: Vagabonds in France

"Come with my wife and me as we lose our home, put everything in storage, sail across the Atlantic, navigate through Europe, dodge pickpockets, climb mountains, and descend into the Paris Metro. Endure nasty weather and illness, witness the flood of the century, and meet some wonderful and not-so-wonderful people. Chuckle with me as we live among the French and try to learn their ways and language. Then make it back home again to an empty house we’d never seen before. – Michael A. Barry"

These words written on the back cover of Vagabonds in France captures the essence of a memorable two-month adventure. Using the pen name Michael A. Barry, Mike Walsh wrote the text and his wife Liesl illustrated the book with 75 photos showing many of their favorite stops. Liesl is a popular local photographer from Venice.


Vagabonds in France is an easy read about their visits to Funchal and Madeira in Portugal, Malaga, Cartagena, and Barcelona in Spain, and Antibes, Nice, St. Paul de Vence, Eze, Arles, Avignon, Paris, Giverny, and Versailles in France.


This is more than a fluffy travel book about charming castles and fine restaurants. Mike’s story notes plenty of tourist attractions, but it also includes dismal weather reports, close encounters with low level scoundrels and the unending search for restrooms (le toilettes). His playful writing style and levity about life on the other side of the pond is refreshing. I found myself giggling every few pages.

The backstory is also interesting. Mike and Liesl were living in Parrish when their landlord called to tell them the house they were renting was being sold. Their immediate stress turned into excitement when the couple realized their unwelcome news was an opportunity to fulfill a dream. So, after stuffing all of their possessions into storage, they boarded a cruise ship headed east. Way east for 3,788 miles to Madeira Island, Portugal plus another 762 miles to Malaga, Spain. Welcome to Europe.


Mike’s regular updates to family and friends became the basis of his book. Liesl took thousands of photos. Her select images featured at the end of each chapter enhance the reading experience. My favorite photo is the cover featuring Mike and Liesl strolling in Montmartre, Paris. You can see the famous dome of Sacre-Coeur in the background. With the magic of Photoshop, Liesl placed separate images of herself and Mike on the cobblestone road.


Vagabonds in France is an enjoyable book even if you don’t plan to drop everything and head for Europe. Then again, maybe you should. – Randy Moore

Vagabonds in France is available on Amazon. See more of Liesl’s photos at LieslWalsh.com.

Renowned French photographer Serge Ramelli is giving away a FREE Photography Toolbox that includes FREE Lightroom presets and profiles. In the toolbox you will also get FREE Photoshop brushes, FREE Premier profiles, FREE Sky replacements, and FREE Textures. Included are videos how to install the presets and profiles, how to do sky replacement, and how to use the Photoshop brushes and textures.

You can get the FREE Photography Toolbox in the link here:
https://www.photo-serge.com/cfpl001a?affiliate_id=2302163&aff_sub=FAA&aff_sub2=&nopopup=true&noautoplay=false&cookiepreview=true

This is an affiliate link, and all of the products listed here are free. But I would receive a small commission if you were to purchase another product that Serge Ramelli offers. I am working with Serge as an ambassador in his PhotoSerge Academy assisting him in teaching photography online.

Serge Ramelli is from Paris now living in Los Angeles. He has over 600,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel, the number one channel on Lightroom in the world. Serge is a landscape and cityscape photographer who's fine art is being sold in YellowKorner, one of the largest gallery networks with over 85 galleries around the world. Serge has published 7 coffee table books with Teneues about New York, Paris, Venice, Los Angeles, and Barcelona.

Serge Ramelli enjoys teaching photography with the goal of helping his students achieve success. Serge has many courses about Lightroom and Photoshop. He coaches students in his private Facebook group, the PhotoSerge Academy, and in his new mentorship program, the PhotoSerge Institute of Photography, where students complete assignments to receive a diploma and become a certified photographer.

If you would like to learn more about Serge's courses or coaching/mentoring programs, please feel free to contact me at Liesl Walsh Photography at https://www.lieslwalsh.com/Training. Thank you.

One of the things that has helped me during this time of staying at home is to stay busy learning and working on my photography. I just got Serge Ramelli's Fine Art Masterclass and can't wait to start it. It is inspiring me! :-)

Serge is a renowned French photographer from Paris who has his photos in over 85 art galleries around the world. He has published 6 coffee table books and has almost 600,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel teaching photography. It is an honor to be working with him teaching photography online to students from all over the world.

Use this time to boost your photography and grow as an artist. Keep your mind on positive things and stay hopeful. Check out Serge's Fine Art Masterclass in the link. He shares how he created the images in his coffee table books. I hope you enjoy it!

https://www.photo-serge.com/cfpl018-fine-art-masterclasspit2nke0?affiliate_id=2302163&aff_sub=FAA&aff_sub2=&nopopup=true&noautoplay=false&cookiepreview=true

This is an affiliate link, and I would receive a very small commission if you were to purchase this course. I am an ambassador for Serge Ramelli in his PhotoSerge Academy, assisting him in teaching photography online. If you would like to learn more about Serge's courses or coaching/mentoring programs, please feel free to contact me at https://www.lieslwalsh.com/Training. Thank you.

Photographer Liesl Walsh is excited to announce the new release of her husband's book, "Vagabonds in France" (pen name Michael A. Barry), which is now available in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon. Liesl illustrated the book with 75 of her photographs and designed the book cover and the interior layout.

Michael writes:
"Vagabonds in France" is a lighthearted book about an unexpected travel adventure to France. Find out how life threw a lemon at us with losing our home, and our attempt to make lemonade. Putting all our furniture in storage, we left everything behind to experience an adventure of a lifetime. With no mortgage or rent to pay, we left with no return date or home to come back to. Exploring for 9 weeks, we traveled from Florida (Tampa and Key West), to Portugal (Funchal, Madeira), to Spain (Malaga, Cartagena, and Barcelona), to the Cote d'Azur in the south of France (Antibes, Nice, Eze, St. Paul de Vence), to Provence (Arles, Avignon), then a month in Paris. Come with my wife and me and see this country's amazing beauty, along with all the humorous cultural differences and "what the hell" moments you'll get a kick out of. Climb mountains, descend into the Paris Metro, dodge pickpockets, endure nasty weather and illness, and witness the flood of the century with us. Experience some wonderful and not-so-wonderful people. Chuckle with me as we live among the French and try to learn their ways and language. Then make it back home to an empty rental home we found online. Readers say they feel like they are right there with us on the journey, and laugh out loud, especially from the "Bathroom Reports". This book, with its 75 photograph illustrations, is available now on Amazon in both paperback (black and white illustrations) and Kindle (color illustrations)! To see the book on Amazon please go to http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NCUNSEK . The book is also available outside the US on other Amazon websites.

About the Author:
Michael A. Barry is a semi-retired small business owner, husband, and world traveler from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania now living in Florida. Hobbies include: aviation, anthropology, psychology, history, and weekend polyglot.

You can read a preview of the book on Amazon in the link below.