CNET has an interesting article up about Darryl Cannon, a photographer who's found a novel way to make money with his DSLR.
Cannon, who shoots with a...wait for it...Canon 40D, waits by a picturesque road on the border region between Tennessee and North Carolina, and takes pictures of the many motorcyclists who travel its winding curves. He stands in front of his car, on which he's displayed his website www.kilboy.com. Curious riders he's snapped visit the site, and find they can buy high resolution images, as well as prints and other gift items.
According to CNET, Cannon earns his living in this manner, as do some other shooters.
This is very clever. I've long thought that there's a lot of potential in this area. I've thought about trying to do the same thing with my son's school events and local sporting events, but I've never had the time or drive to actually make it happen.
I know of some others who have done this kind of thing, though, although no one who's done it as a full-time gig. But a good camera, combined with a place where you can post and sell your photos, is a money-making combination.
It does sound like a lot of work, though. According to Cannon, if there's a motorcycle race, he's take up to 17,000 shots in one session. Imagine processing all those pictures - no one has a workflow smooth enough to make that easy.
Which may be why Cannon says he works "about 100 hours a week." Yikes! Although, if you love what you're doing, and I hope Cannon does, 100 hours can fly by like, uh, 80.
Cannon sounds pretty accomplished. His photos have been published in a slew of enthusiast magazines. I'd contact him to be on The Digital Photography Show, but I'm a little afraid of someone whose site is called "Killboy." (Naw, I sent him an email asking if he'd like to come on.)
According to the CNET article, Cannon sells $6 CDs of his images. But that's gotta be a drag, especially if Cannon is handling the production and fulfillment of the orders. I'd also bet he loses sales to people who either don't want to pay shipping charges or who don't want to wait for CDs to be mailed to them. I say: I wonder if he's considered letting his customers download the JPEGs themselves. Smugmug (and I'd bet other services, although I don't know of them) makes it possible for you to sell your images as digital files, which users can pay for and immediately retrieve. I'd bet Cannon could still get $6 for his shots, without any need to print and ship a physical CD. Maybe he could even work fewer hours.
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