Ok, so, I bit the bullet and upgraded to a Premium Fine Art America membership so that I can upload an unlimited number of images and better promote those images. After all, I need a dedicated online “home” for my for-sale images.
While I’ll continue to use my Alina Oswald website as my main website, I’ll also include links to my new photography website that comes with the Fine Art America premium membership. Unfortunately, WordPress, or at least the WP membership that I have, limits the code that needs to be inserted (in the WP site) to allow for selling directly from my WP website [sigh], but that doesn’t mean that I cannot include links to my brand new online store.
Known by many names–Brocken Bow, Gravity Rainbow, or Brockengespenst–the Brocken spectre is an optical illusion originally observed and described by theologian and natural scientist (with a lunar crater named after him) Johann Esaias Silberschlag (16 Nov 1721 – 22 Nov 1791) in 1780 on Brocken Mountain, Germany…hence, the name of the spectre. Brocken Mountain’s famous visitors include Goethe, who mentioned the Spectre in Faust, and poet Heinrich Heine, who mentioned the spectre in Harzreise (1826). The words “Viele Steine, müde Beine, Aussicht keine, Heinrich Heine” describe the difficult mountain climb in foggy conditions. [Note: The poet’s work has inspired other authors. In recent years, in his book Smash Cut Brad Gooch mentions Heinrich Heine‘s poem about a mermaid called Lorelei.]
Here are a few pros and cons, a.k.a. my two cents, [this is just my personal, independent opinion I choose to share] on selling photo art online through Fine Art America free and premium memberships:
- while I’m selling photography through various sites, such as Art Pal (ArtPal does promote your images on social media and allows you to upload an unlimited number of images, which are both, fantastic options) I find it easier to upload to Fine Art America and adjust how images appear printed on various products, or as artwork (canvases, framed prints, etc.), on various walls;
- free accounts are a good start, but they are somewhat limited when it comes to marketing and promotion, and in particular the number of images you can upload
- premium accounts ($30/yr) offer:
- the possibility to upload an unlimited number of images
- a dedicated website for your images – a place where to send potential buyers to, and from where to sell your images
- more ways to market and promote your images, including selling from your own website (WP doesn’t really qualify 😦 )
- website customization…somewhat
So, is it worth giving the Fine Art America Premium Membership a try? Absolutely!
Also, a European alternative would be Picfair, which also offers free and premium memberships.
Happy photographing and happy photo selling!
And, as always, thank you for stopping by.
Alina Oswald 
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