I try to get out for a walk every day and aim for 3 to 5 miles depending on the weather and how I feel. I rarely take my camera on these walks although from time to time I regret that decision. Instead however I like to listen to music as I walk and think about different things.
One thing that has occupied my mind recently is why I take so many photos and what is the value in what I do. Photography is my hobby and it gives me a lot of pleasure, sometimes I think it would be good if I could monetize my hobby but if that became my focus then it would stop being so enjoyable. That being said I have been lucky enough to sell several pictures through exhibitions and the odd commission, plus for the past 8 years I have produced a calendar which I have sold with the profits going to charity. Selling something that I have created is so satisfying because it means someone else has seen the beauty in what I saw and captured through my lens. But what makes a good photo/image is subjective so what I may think is a work of art another observer might be unimpressed.
I have also sold a few pictures through photo websites and stock photo services, but the websites set the price and they take a huge commission (one recently took 80% commission on a sale) and in those cases the buzz of the sale is diminished by the thought about how someone else is profiting from my work and my creativity, so I try not to dwell on that aspect and just be pleased that I have made a sale.
I was talking to another photographer recently and he commented that he doesn't try to sell his work because that way he avoids disappointment, not because he doubts the quality of his work, (I saw some of his pictures which were excellent) but because what he thinks is good someone else might not agree. He shared a story about doing some publicity photos for a friend who was opening a new coffee shop. He produced what he thought was an excellent image, which he proudly showed to his friend who then casually dismissed it as not being what they were looking for and that was a hard lesson for him at that time.
So the answer to my question "What's It Worth?" really depends on the image, why it was taken and who you ask. Take the images below for example. I really like these pictures but they're not going to win me any prizes or go up my wall. The first two shots of the couple taking a selfie have no real value to me, but the image they are capturing in their phone will serve as a nice (maybe even priceless) reminder of their visit to Colmar and the memories they associate with it. The third shot has monetary value but only in that it cost me money after I had taken it. The original shot was a wider shot of the street scene with the busker on the corner, however he demanded I paid him for his image, I argued that he wasn't even playing his instrument and that if he had been working I wouldn't mind paying him but he was insistent that I paid. I wanted to avoid a scene, it wasn't worth the trouble so I paid; and having paid for the shot I was determined to use it, making him the focus of the image whereas before he had just been a "prop" in the overall scene.
