Going Overseas with Your Images

Photographers that do not take advantage of global markets are doing themselves a great injustice. My credit line, for example, has appeared on more than 30,000 published images -- seventy-five percent of which were in periodicals published outside the United States. In addition to the joy of seeing your photographs in Japanese, German, Arabic, and other foreign-language publications, there are a number of other reasons why you should take your marketing efforts abroad. Here are ten: 1) Foreign publications--particularly the in-flight and travel sectors--utilize far more photo-essays than do North American periodicals. 2) International publications, particularly in Europe, seem to have a high respect for quality photographs and pay greater sums for usage. 3) Photographers often find a greater willingness on the part of foreign editors and art directors to cooperate on photo needs. This is because the competition in many countries is not as aggressive as that found in North America. 4) Once you've established a good working relationship with a foreign editor or art director, it is relatively easy to become a "regular," or an in-house photographer. 5) If you offer an "exclusive" to a publication abroad, that exclusivity is limited only to the country or market in which the image appears. You could, therefore, simultaneously offer exclusivity in Italy, Spain, Greece, Germany, UK, Japan, Singapore, etc. 6) If you produce a photo essay, you can sell it over and over without alteration to markets in various countries. I, for instance, have one picture-story that has sold eleven times (bringing in more than $7000) and it is still selling--the last time in South Africa. 7) The professionalism of "most" foreign editors and art directors is far superior to those of North America, with regards to the handling and returning of images--they have great respect for the work we do, and the ownership thereof. 8) The Internet has made global marketing as easy as selling to the local newspaper. 9) Once you know a market's needs, it is not difficult to provide monthly packages--pulling images from your stock--to fill the publication's requirements. For several years I did this with three periodicals. During that period I sold nearly 1000 pictures to these magazines alone. 10) There is a world of markets out there waiting for good photographers. If you don't fulfill part of those needs, someone else will.