than £200 ($350). A small minority of companies operate on a royalty basis. This can give a regular, though usually modest, income into the future.
Given that most companies typically add just a small number of new photographic cards to their range each year – and occasionally bring out a complete new series – this is not a sector to focus on if you want to get rich quickly. Even if you have some really good material, you are unlikely to make more than a handful of sales each year.
Of course, every sale is welcome, but the return on time and effort is generally not as good as in other markets. That said, the payment is normally for non-exclusive, non-competitive rights. That means that you’re free to sell the same picture elsewhere, though not for use on a greetings card during the period for which the agreement is in force. Sometimes this will be limited to a period of time – three years is common – and sometimes will be ‘for all time’.
If you have an appealing feline image, for example, that you manage to sell to a greetings card company, you could, therefore, submit it directly to the publisher of a magazine for cat owners or place it with a picture library. But take care: if you do also market your pictures through libraries, it is essential that you let them know when you have already sold a shot for greetings card use. This is because most publishers of cards also source their material from libraries – and you could easily end up with a black mark against your name if the same image were to be published by two rival companies.
For many years, greetings card manu-facturers were among the most demanding when it came to quality. Quite why that might be, when a card typically measures just 13 x 18cm (5 x 7in), I’ve never really understood. At one time, many publishers insisted upon roll-film 6 x 7cm or even large-format 5 x 4in transparencies, and wouldn’t give 35mm originals a second glance. Happily, some of the companies who have entered the market recently are more relaxed about formats, and will consider all sizes of slides, including 35mm, and high-resolution digital files (normally 20MB+). Even so, pictures have to be of fine quality to succeed.
Most greetings card publishers are happy to receive submissions at any time, with no ‘closed’ season when they won’t consider new material.
THE RIGHT LIGHT
Classic country scenes captured when the light is right will always be welcome in the calendar and poster market.
CALENDARS & POSTERS
Many people buy a calendar each year: it’s useful to have one in the workplace or around the home so you can check dates and record commitments. Some calendars are simple affairs that just have numbers on them. But most also have pictures to brighten up the room – one for every month of the year. You need only to go into any gift shop or stationery store from August onwards to know that calendars are big business, with millions sold each year. You will see hundreds of different designs featuring every subject under the sun: cats, film stars, country cottages, tranquil scenes, wildfire, artistic black and white... Could you supply some of those images? If you are a competent photographer, almost certainly. Every year, the publishers need a complete new set of pictures, and most are happy to consider submissions from potential new contributors.
The calendar market is an extremely competitive field – and one where quality counts. Because the pictures are printed relatively large, and will be viewed for an extended period, they need to be technically perfect and have really strong impact. In the days of film, 35mm was rarely countenanced, and only medium-format and sheet film were acceptable. These days, most publishers demand high quality digital images, and will reject anything that falls short of their requirements.
Don’t bother submitting material if it is not up to the standard you see already being used. Picture buyers only have to find 12 images for each calendar and are heavily over-subscribed in most subject areas, with many thousands of pictures to choose from.
As with most areas of publishing, there is a cycle in calendar production that you need to fit in with if you are to have any chance of making a sale. This varies from one company to another, but most seem to focus on picture selection in the first few months of the year. That is generally the best time to make a submission. If you are in doubt, email the company or make a brief phone call to check for the optimum time. Don’t ask whether they are interested in seeing images from potential new contributors. The answer will always be yes – they don’t want to miss out on the possibility of losing a talented photographer to the opposition just to save a couple of minutes looking at their pictures.
QUALITY COUNTS
Quality is paramount when it comes to posters, in particular, as they’ll be displayed for long periods of time.
The general market for calendars is dominated by a handful of companies, and you’ll find these listed in the various handbooks. There are also a number of smaller players that tend to be more specialized in their scope.
The best time to carry out market research is in the months coming up to Christmas, when the widest range is on sale. With postcards, magazines and greetings cards, it doesn’t cost much to buy a few samples so you can take them home for detailed study. Calendars, unfortunately, are considerably more expensive. This means that you need to do your research on site, making notes where they’re sold. While you might feel a bit self-conscious about doing this, you should have no problems if you choose a large newsagent, department store, garden centre or stationery shop, where you can be reasonably anonymous. If you spend no more than five to ten minutes in each outlet, and move from one to another, you should avoid any hassle or suspicion.
As well as the name, address and telephone number of the publishers, you should look for calendars that use the kind of pictures that you either take at the moment, and have on file, or feel you could take in the future. You also need to pay attention to the kinds of images that each publisher uses. The more information you can record, the better. If necessary, go back on a number of occasions, or visit another town or city if you are worried what staff may say.
One of the great things about the calendar market is its diversity. If you like to photograph something, the chances are that someone, somewhere, produces a calendar featuring that subject. That said, the biggest market by far is for scenic pictures – although some other areas, such as domestic pets, are popular as well. Some calendars depict specific towns, cities or counties and regions, while others are more diverse, containing pictures taken from all over a particular country. Such calendars aim to give a strong sense of place with each image, but also provide good geographical coverage, so there’s variety over the full 12 months.
As well as the traditional ‘blue sky and bright sun’ shots, more dramatic or atmospheric lighting will be considered, providing pictures capture the character of the area and depict a specific location well. However, it is mostly traditional ‘chocolate
