Photography

[Quercus]

Any photogs. making cruising money from photography? Stock ? Local? Sailors? Magazines? Details appreciated.

[shadow]

I'd be curious to find this out too actually.. I think it would be cool and make sense to take exotic shots of extreme locals that can't be reached without a boat.

Good question.. Hopefully, we can find out.

[Pblais]

Any photogs. making cruising money from photography?

Taking them is far easier than selling.

[David M]

A friend of mine submits articles and photos into Latitude which do get published. He and his wife are cruising a boat all over the Pacific. Many of the hundreds of photos he submits sit in their photo library as I speak...he does it for free. Latitude probably have more photos that they know what to do with.

My guess? ..there is not much money in photos alone. Call someone like Latitude 38 or one of those slick magazines and ask. I bet you could get paid for submitting a professional quality article with accompanying photos. This months edition of SAIL has a article written by one of the pro's at Latitude 38 about a race on the SF Bay...I would imagine he got paid by SAIL magazine. I think it was Kimball Livingston...but I'm not sure.

How are your writing skills?

[seafox]

nowt to god....

[cooper]

..in these days of digy cameras and (foxy) spalling chickers, it is easier than ever to produce an article. Which makes the competition pretty tough. Getting articles published even if you are not getting paid for it can be a lot of fun and who knows maybee a stepping stone.

[AnchorageGuy]

we write for several magazines and our articles include many photos. None of them pay much and even fewer want only photos they have to pay for. it might cover beer money but that is about it. Mags like Cruising World and some of the other bigger ones will only publish from their "associate editors" and getting something published is difficult. There was a good discussion on the board some time back. Submit something to Cruising World and you will probably get a reply that they are full for the next year. That seems to be the new rejection strategy. We have a good relationship with some but even then it is hard to get anything published. But if you have read most of them for any time you will see articles for megayachts we can't afford or the same old stuff rehashed for the thousandth time.

[MarkJ]

I have felt for a number of years that it would be a bit hard to crack into as there are too many good people doing it.

One of the Australian mags offers for $70 per page (incl photos) on a destination.
And I bet the destinations within 1,000 miles of anywhere have all been done!

So if I write the text and forget my camera will you supply 2 pics, vetted, for AU$35?????

All I can see it being is being a fun thing. the problem with being a fun thing is there must be many ex-journalists out there who really are wordsmiths and have managed to get the auto-focus on the digital camera working.

I've seen a few narrow markets in my time, but making a living from cruising stories and photos is about the narrowest ever.

[Quercus]

Thanks for the replies.

I have contacted a few mags. and have gotten a good response. No sales. But, it will be a few months before we get going. Just curious if I was missing something or if there was any ray of hope.

Mark in Sydney, I will try to supply you with photos if you tell me what you want!

Now, I am the middle of the U.S. far from the ocean. You can see my site at www.djkphotos.com- powered by SmugMug. Warning- mostly horse pictures!!

[Quercus]

Oh, another question. Those of you who do shoot and submit to various places, what computer and software do you use on board?

[Hud3]

Here's a guy who makes a living taking photos on the water--Tim Wright.

Photoaction.com home

I think that by looking at his website, you can see the amount of effort, time and skill it takes to "make it" in this segment of the photo buisiness.

He lives on his sailboat in Admiralty Harbour, Bequia, in St Vincent and the Grenadines. When not off shooting the classic yacht regatta on Antigua or the ARC boats arriving in St Lucia, he takes photos of individual boats approaching Bequia. He took the shot of my boat that you see below. He came over in his dinghy the next day and showed me his photos on his laptop, and I bought one.

It's hard to get really good photos of your own boat under sail. Maybe that's a direction for you to consider.

[Pblais]

I think that by looking at his website, you can see the amount of effort, time and skill it takes to "make it" in this segment of the photo buisiness.

Being good sort of makes a diffeence. Great looking portfolio. I would pay for a nice shot like he does.

[GordMay]

How much would we be willing to pay for a good action shot (print) of our boat?

[RaptorDance]

Gord - depending who's taking the picture, you can get a great one for free to a few hundred US (commercial helicopter shot). I've only paid for one picture of our boat and that was very early on.

Quercus - Each publication typically has a rate schedule and publication guidelines on their website. Latitude 38 for example, pays up to $100 for a multi-page article with photos. Check the other pubs, you'll find that it's barely worth the effort to submit anything for the money - now, for the ego on the other hand!

Cheers,
Bill

[Moonchaser2304]

Check out the founder of Welcome to Yacht Shots BVI :. at Nanny Cay, Tortola BVI, Guy Clothier. phone: 284.494.0175 yachtshotsbvi@hotmail.com When I was there this year I stopped by their office because I was fascinated with his business model and how he got it started. He's a fascinating character and has had the good fortune of being able to hire a small team of people that are excellent professional photographers and also have the ability to hold a camera with a 10" long lens while darting around in a powerful dingy...read the "about us" section..he's made the concept of boat photograhy work becasue he has a very high volume of potential customers due to the high volume of charter yachts in the BVI.