How to Sell Glamour Photos

Glamour photographs are photographs depicting men and women in fashion settings, typically portraying the latest fashions in make-up or clothes. Taking glamour photos can be a financially rewarding career for freelance photographers skilled in glamour photography. Breaking into the glamour photography business as a freelance glamour photographer can be challenging, but if you have the talent, the drive to succeed and you know where to look for photo markets to sell your work, you can make a career out of selling glamour photos.

Purchase a current copy of "Photographer's Market." This is a market listing that contains contact and submission information for hundreds of places a photographer can sell his work. These markets include book publishers, magazine publishers and advertising agencies looking for freelance photography. The guide includes a special section for photo markets that consider glamour photography. "Photographer's Market" is one of the best investments a glamour photographer can make in his career.

Browse the market listings. You'll find information regarding the type of photos each magazine purchases, who to address submissions to, how to submit and where to submit. The listings also include pay information. Select a couple of likely candidates for your work and submit according to the submission guidelines of each publication. The best way to choose likely candidates for your work is to go through the listings and write down any prospect that accepts the type of glamour photographs you take. The guidelines will tell you how long it might take to hear whether your work has been accepted. Don't follow up on a submission until the indicated response time has passed.

Create an account at one or more stock photo web sites that purchase glamour photos outright or allow you to receive use royalties for any work downloaded from the website. Upload your photographs to these web sites and monitor them regularly for sales. These stock photography web sites have grown in number in recent years and are ideal outlets for a freelance photographer's work---they can lead to steady income.

Build a portfolio by adding sample photographs from each freelance glamour job you complete---keep your portfolio updated. A portfolio can be one of the most important tools for when you seek employment or freelance work with major or small-press magazines. Some photographers get a web site and upload all of their work for prospective clients to browse. You should also keep a physical portfolio of your work ready that includes examples of your published work to showcase when you have in-person interviews for a glamour shoot. Building a portfolio is an ongoing process: The more work you do, the better your portfolio will appear to prospective clients.