I have thought about doing so for years but just haven't had the balls to actually attempt it. Have any of you tried it before, been successful or failed? Care to share your story here? Any advice on printing framing, and where and how to sell?

I've always thought it would be cool to actually print up a bunch of my photos and then do two things, one get them up in a coffee shop on the walls for a month! Two go to a local pop up market like the Saturday Market and outside of it have a little fold out camping table and have like 8 framed pictures on display for sale.

I suppose if you have had luck online and care to share your secrets on different platforms that have worked well for you selling photos, that'd also be very appreciated by myself and others to learn about.

Here's one pic I think I'd attempt to frame and sell if I ever got the courage to do.

1.


PS Have any of you guys ever had clients that wanted portraits and you suggested taking them to a abandoned location to do the shots, How do the logistics work for something like that. Do you have them sign a contract that they can't rat you out or sue you if you guys were to get in trouble or injured?

Also I thought before that it would be cool to start a Urban exploration touring agency. But again that would be a slippery slope with the legal stuff. Like receiving money to guide people to places that are potentially off limits. Any of you ever make that happen in your town/your state or your country?

Posted by Thinklikefreak PS Have any of you guys ever had clients that wanted portraits and you suggested taking them to a abandoned location to do the shots, How do the logistics work for something like that. Do you have them sign a contract that they can't rat you out or sue you if you guys were to get in trouble or injured?

IIRC, such a contract would be unenforceable because the promise being made involves illegal actions or property. It'd be like suing your bank robbing crew for only getting 80% of the promised funds during your heist.

You might be able to get a contract between the property owner and yourself/the guest to absolve the owner of all responsibility for any injuries or death experienced while onsite, but I suspect this won't be legally enforceable either, nor an undertaking of any interest to any property owner.

Posted by Thinklikefreak Also I thought before that it would be cool to start a Urban exploration touring agency. But again that would be a slippery slope with the legal stuff. Like receiving money to guide people to places that are potentially off limits. Any of you ever make that happen in your town/your state or your country?

Ignoring the titanic legal risk you would put yourself in without the property owner involved, this isn't even Blowing Up a Location 101. This is the highschool college prep that comes before that. The number one way to ruin your favorite location, whether by vandalism, scrapping, arson, owner security, or police presence, is to bring people to it wholesale. They will take photos or videos, and they will tell other people about it, and they will walk right past you for those purposes because they can do it themselves for free.

Get to know the people in the know and earn their trust and friendship and be rewarded with more than just a neat place. UE is a hobby, not an industry, and in the interest of protecting yourself and the private property involved it should never be anything else.

SaladKing basically covered everything I was planning on saying.

I've shot models in explores before but they are friends of mine as well as explorers too, so know what is what.

As for a touring agency, in the UK there is the long running joke of the urbex tourbus arriving at the latest location that is doing the rounds on Instagram/Facebook, and the urbex tourbus full of idiots with no idea of what they are doing is a guaranteed way to get somewhere either trashed or locked down tighter than Fort Knox (after its been trashed). This hobby is already on it's knees thanks to morons putting clickbait rubbish all over Youtube drawing massive attention to locations, it doesn't need another outlet for people to capitalise on it.

No money in prints but there's some in publication. I made $750 on this.
I bet maybe three people read this little blurb in the October 2011 issue of Playboy. Especially with the naked blonde printed right below it.

Posted by uLiveAndYouBurn No money in prints but there's some in publication. I made $750 on this. I bet maybe three people read this little blurb in the October 2011 issue of Playboy. Especially with the naked blonde printed right below it. https://live.stati...1_22420b564f_c.jpg https://live.stati...2_307e4c4dec_z.jpg

Dam that is awesome! Congratulations 750 dollars is killer. Haha on three people reading it with the naked girl image next to it. I bet more. Perhaps more like 3/10 people that looked at the issue looked at your picture and read the caption/paragraph :-/.

I know an explorer who got some of his shots featured in a local art show, so it can be done.

Posted by uLiveAndYouBurn No money in prints

Well, there's some money in prints... but being landscape/adventure/fine art (stretching it*) photography, IMO it's not really worth pursuing as an end in itself these days. The most revenue I generated from a single shot is a little over $400 from two sales... and this was frankly the most architectural** shot of a well-known structure (appeal to sentiment) from an explorer's perspective.

The reason is simply that as much as many people enjoy consuming UE photos in an electronic medium... most of them 1) do not want somebody else's adventure decorating their living room, and/or 2) the cluttered, detail-rich nature of most UE photos don't look well in their cluttered, detail-rich living rooms (this is why people do buy modern art and prints thereof).

Hey siper, have you had better luck in selling UE photography?


* Long discussion better left alone.

** Read: perfect, squared-up, boring, but technically sound. Exactly why somebody else would want it as decor.

Posted by Thinklikefreak I've always thought it would be cool to actually print up a bunch of my photos and then do two things, one get them up in a coffee shop on the walls for a month! Two go to a local pop up market like the Saturday Market and outside of it have a little fold out camping table and have like 8 framed pictures on display for sale.

I've never sold any of my work ever. However I am horribly materialistic consumer who regularly buys indie art stuff, so take my advice from the later perspective.

Those seem like reasonable goals to me. Maybe try to navigate your local photography/art scene and see what opportunities there are. Getting advice from people irl would probably provide a bit more reassurance. I've seen some crazy stuff at art coffee shops.

Becoming a "brand"/ have a wide online presence can help you sell stuff. (But it maybe also makes you a sell-out? When all you want to be a punk diy artist?).
You could be the Arrex of urbex. http://www.rxskulls.com/

Good luck getting something going :]

Oh, so something like this?!


(picture credit to Steed!)

Have never sold any my work - though I've never really set out to try.

I've had them featured in a few local publications and a gallery display about the gentrification of my hometown. That was a bizarre experience.

My work has had more of an editorial pull than commercial/fine art I suppose.

You never know though, I say go for it!

One of my friends has built a very successful business from selling prints of her (usually) urbex photography. She's exhibited in numerous big places and her work was bought by and is on show in many high end bars/places across London and further afield, so it can be done but its by no means easy.

I've thought of making a coffee-table book for myself and a few friends and family from my motorcycle trip pics and a few exploration pics.

I've sold a few of my UE prints here in NYC. people like the large format film and the unique views I get. I'm having my work shown in a gallery for the first time next month so I'm really excited!