Archive → May, 2010
How to Sell Photos Online
How to Sell your Digital Photography at Stock Photo Sites
Many of your hobbies can be turned into business ideas that can make you money. As a digital photographer you can sell those beautiful photographs online. Here are some ways to do that.
Digital photography allows you to capture a variety of images in a variety of formats. For instance, remember when you used to visit the carnival or amusement park and they took those old-fashioned pictures of people? The pictures looked faded but that was simply a sepia tone. You can create the same effect on your digital camera when you edit a photo.
Stock photography is one of the best ways to break into the online digital photography market. You can sell your photos to others who need pictures for websites, newsletters, magazines and e-zines and other media. Surf the Web lately? Many of the photos look the same. Your photos can add a new flavor to what is currently being offered. There is never any harm in seeing how your images will be perceived.
First, understand how the stock photography business works. On these sites, customers can purchase pictures or lease them for a certain amount of time. On some sites, photos are free to use when signing an agreement of use and including a link back to the site.
As a photographer, you will make more money if your photos are leased as opposed to being sold. The one time sale may net you some cash but the lease will provide a continuous source of income off of that one photograph. And, many people can pay to lease the photograph at one time. Through the leasing process, your work will be viewed by a large audience.
Start by researching current stock photography sites. Find one that offers the leasing option to customers and also has an easy-to-navigate site. Begin here and test the waters with your work.
Now, all you need to do is produce some quality work. Look at other stock photographs. What do they have in common? Are the pictures clear? Can you make out all of the features of the photo? At the least, your photographs need to be clear with the subjects in the foreground.
Another consideration is the type of digital photos you are trying to sell. More of the same that already exists won’t be received well. The stock photography companies are out to make money too. Don’t be afraid to try some new ideas for holiday photos or for everyday photos. They will let you know what does and does not sell.
In the meantime, create a website or blog with links to the stock photography sites featuring your work. This will send more people to view your photographs and may lead to other opportunities in the future.
Tips for Cleaning Your Home the Natural Way
Natural Lemon and Vinegar Cleaners
Vinegar and citrus are a great way to clean your home without using harmful cleaners. I have an article at Suite 101 that will offer you some tips and ideas for using your own homemade cleaners. Read it at How to Go Green and Clean Your Home the Natural Way.
Creative Gift Wrapping
Many people find wrapping gifts tedious and a waste of time and money. But, with some creativity, it can be fun and sometimes save some money, and also provide the person receiving the gift something as nice as the actual gift.
Comic pages – a great way to wrap gifts, especially for kids, is to use the comic section of the newspaper. They will have fun (hopefully) trying to read some of the strips while waiting to open their gifts.
Towels – Inexpensive holiday themed hand towels, for either the kitchen or bath, are a great way to wrap a gift for any lady on your list. They are cute, and something someone might not buy for herself. This is especially nice; if the gift they are wrapping is something they can pamper themselves with in the bath, like lotions or bath gels, or cute kitchen gadgets.
Brown paper bags or newsprint – wrapping a gift in brown paper bags or newsprint provides a wonderful canvas for creative minds to decorate. Use markers, crayons, rubber stamps, etc, and let the kids draw all over them. Grandparents, or aunts and uncles would love it, and will probably not even want to open the gift, so be sure to take pictures of the gift.
Gift bags – gift bags are a nice and simple way to give a gift. Surround the gift with colorful tissue paper, some curled ribbon tied around the handle, and you’re ready to go. Gift bags can be expensive sometimes, so look for good deals at discount or dollar stores.
Baskets – sometimes you can get away without wrapping the gift at all, by putting everything in beautiful basket, wrap it in clear, or holiday plastic, tied off with ribbon and you’re done. The basket is not only a great way to present the gift, but is a useful part of the gift itself.
There are also many stores that offer free gift-wrapping with purchases at the store. This is a wonderful convenience for many busy shoppers. Others may charge a small fee, but you have to balance time against the savings of doing it yourself.
If you want to use traditional wrapping paper, and do it yourself, stock up on the paper at the end of the year sales to use for the next year. This will save quite a bit of money, and wrapping paper doesn’t go bad.
What is Valentines Day
Valentine’s Day — Where Did THAT Come From?
(Saint Valentine died 1,700 years ago. And today, we’re
still sending Valentines. . .)
Just as soon as the stores put away their Christmas
merchandise, out comes the Valentine’s Day items — even
though Valentine’s is still more than six weeks away.
I don’t know why, but it always takes me by surprise to
see Valentine’s Day merchandise so soon after
Christmas.
I’ve always wondered where Valentine’s Day came from,
and under those circumstances, a person could be
forgiven for thinking it was invented to create more
business when Christmas is over.
But no, after a little research, I discovered that
Valentine’s is not a holiday that was “invented” by
greeting card companies to sell more greeting cards or
by candy companies to sell more candy or by florists to
sell more roses.
Valentine’s Day actually started more than 1,500 years
ago.
According to legend, Valentine was a priest who defied
the orders of the Roman emperor Claudius and continued
to perform marriages. It seems that Claudius realized
no young men wanted to join his army because they
didn’t want to leave their wives and sweethearts. When
it was discovered that Valentine was still performing
marriages in secret, he was sentenced to death.
Valentine allegedly cured the jailer’s daughter of
blindness, and on the night before his execution, sent
a note to her signed “from your Valentine.” He
reportedly died on Feb. 14, 269 A.D.
In 496 A.D., February 14 was named by Pope Gelasius to
honor St. Valentine.
The first Valentines are credited to Charles, Duke of
Orleans, who was imprisoned in the Tower of London
during the 1400s where he wrote romantic verses that he
sent to his wife.
A woman named Esther Howland is credited with sending
the first Valentine in the United States.
The United States Postal Service is credited with
advancing the popularity of sending Valentines when the
penny postcard was introduced in the mid 1800s. Before
that, sending mail was too expensive for the average
person, because at the time, the person who RECEIVED
the letter paid the postage and not the person who SENT
the letter.
Personally, I’m thankful it’s not that way today. Can
you imagine paying the postage to receive your
Valentines?
In days gone by, Valentines were hand-painted cards
decorated with lace and feathers and sequins.
I don’t know about anybody else, but if I were going to
hand paint a Valentine and decorate it with lace and
feathers and sequins, I wouldn’t go to all that work
for just anybody.
Nowadays, however, Valentine’s cards are mass produced
in thousands of designs and sizes — large ones and
small ones; serious ones and silly ones; inexpensive
ones and expensive ones.
The variety of Valentine’s cards is overwhelming and,
as far as I’m concerned, rather unnecessary. I mean,
how many Valentine’s cards does one person need to buy?
Spouse? Parents? Siblings? Second and third cousins?
The teacher you had in fifth grade? The lady who cuts
your hair? The grocery store clerk who tallied up your
last purchase? The man who stopped his car so you could
make it through the crosswalk without being run over?
And what about the Valentine’s merchandise? The candy,
the posters, the teddy bears sporting a red heart that
says ‘Be Mine,’ socks with little red hearts all over
them, heart-shaped rings, necklaces and earrings, and
the list goes on and on.
I wonder what the real St. Valentine would think of the
cards and the candy and the jewelry and whatever else?
Then again, maybe the real St. Valentine would be
delighted by this turn of events.
After all, it’s been more than 1,700 years since he
died, but every Feb. 14, people are still celebrating
Valentine’s Day.
And that puts giving Valentines into a whole new
perspective, doesn’t it.
Victorian Laws of Etiquette
The following “Unclassified Laws of Etiquette” were found in
an out-of-print book published in 1897. Many are still valid today.
Unclassified Laws of Etiquette
Never exaggerate.
Never point at another.
Never betray a confidence.
Never wantonly frighten others.
Never leave home with unkind words.
Never neglect to call upon your friends.
Never laugh at the misfortunes of others.
Never give a promise that you do not fulfill.
Never speak much of your own performances.
Never make yourself the hero of your own story.
Never send a present hoping for one in return.
Never pick the teeth or clean the nails in company.
Never fail to give a polite answer to a civil question.
Never associate with bad company. Have good company or none.
Never look over the shoulder of another who is reading or writing.
Never seem to notice a scar, deformity or defect of any one present.
Never punish your child for a fault to which you are addicted
yourself.
Never enter a room noisily; never fail to close the door after you,
and never slam it.
Never forget that if you are faithful in a few things, you may be
ruler over many.
Never will a gentleman allude to conquests which he may have made
with ladies.
Never send your guest, who is accustomed to a warm room, off into a
cold, damp, spare bed to sleep.
Never fail to answer an invitation, either personally or by letter,
within a week after the invitation is received.
Never fail to tell the truth. If truthful you get your reward. You
will get your punishment if you deceive.
Never compel a woman with an infant in arms to stand while you
retain your seat.
Never fail to say kind and encouraging words to those whom you
meet in distress. Your kindness may lift them out of their despair.
Never attempt to convey the impression that you are a genius by
imitating the faults of distinguished men. Because certain great men
were poor penmen, wore long hair, or had other peculiarities, it
does not follow that you will be great by imitating their
eccentricities.
Never give all your pleasant words and smiles to strangers. The
kindest words and the sweetest smiles should be reserved for home.
Miss Mary is an antiquarian book collector and hostess of
VictorianLinks.com, a portal site to all things Victorian. For a
complete list of all Miss Mary sites visit www.missmary.com.