do insects sell

[Naturenutz]

Hi folks,i have been reading some of the interesting threads on here on advertising and selling photo's,building websites etc.
Ive realised i have a fair collection of images of mostly insects,butterflies,moths dragonflies,flies etc,i hve some wild flowers too that ive taken just as a hobby.I quite fancy getting some printed and framed or maybe finding an agent and maybe advertising a few as more of a hobby than anything. My question is , Do insects sell ?
Any advice appreciated .ps its mostly macro shots i have and im really just testing the water here..Ive got the photo's i might as well use them.
cheers for any replies
vic

[ron1863]

Not got a clue but possibly nature magazines would be interested

[JeffH]

Hi Vic,

I'm not really into insect photography and therefore can't speak from personal experience but I think it's fair to say that photos of insects will not have the same appeal to the non-specialist buying public as, say, some birds do.

As Ron suggests, the likeliest market for insects would probably be nature/wildlife magazines (eg. BBC Wildlife, the Wildlife Trust's magazines, etc) but here you'll probably be competing with the stock image libraries.

Having said that, I note you mention also having photos of wild flowers, butterflies, moths and dragonflies and, subject to their quality, I feel sure these - probably in that order - would be of broader appeal (ie. to the buying public) than what, in my ignorance, I'll simply call 'creepy-crawly' insects and flies.

Certainly I don't think any local cafe (which was suggested as a possible selling venue on another thread) would want pictures of such things on their walls

I hope that helps

Jeff
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Avocets, Kingfishers and Barn Owls)

[Geoff F]

Well, I put insect photos on my Pbase site and they get looked at sometimes crustacean's Photo Galleries at pbase.com but most people seem to prefer other subjects. Although some insects are regarded more highly than others; eg, hoverflies, especially on flowers, are regarded as friendly while spiders definitely aren't.

But although I have sold the occasional landscape photo I have, so far, never sold an insect photo.

[Naturenutz]

Thanks for your replies ron,geoff and jeff. my thoughts were similar to your replies, maybe ill just get a few printed up for my myself. . When you have spent time studying and photographing these insects you see them as wonderful critters , i quite fancy a big blown up spider on the wall . Should get a good reaction from visitors .

[Lord V]

My experience is you are unlikely to sell prints of insects to the public but you can sell insect pictures to commercial companies, book publishers, newspapers and magazines. I get quite a few enquiries/sales via my flickr site and also made some money using a media company to place photos/articles in national papers.

Brian V.