Ross asks:
I would like to open a website to sell my photographic art. What do I need for the site security and content encryption to protect my pictures from people taking them without paying for them?
Rob’s Answer:
1)
If you're not already, use Adobe Lightroom.
Not only is it a professional level digitial photogprahic development package (that is outstanding), it will take care of watermarking, metadata, keywording, etc.
Importantly, Lightroom will also allow you to build a template for new photographic collections. With 1 quick export, you can resize, name and upload your photographs to your own, unique template. This will eliminate the need for any sort of Content Management System since you will have full control over your photographic collections.
Lightroom = wicked awesome.
2)
Find good hosting with a reliable policy on bandwidth overage. One of my photos was dugg and boy did it sting.
I didn't think about the overage that would occur on my small gallery and ended up paying just over $500 for the extra bandwidth. On the up side, I broke even because I had a record number of sales, but I didn't make any money either.
Think ahead, think bandwidth.
3)
Content protection isn't as important as you think.
At first, I was really worried about protecting my images. Here are some of the ways that you can protect your images online:
A) Hide the images by putting a blank file over the real image
B) Cut the images up so that when save is clicked, the person only receives a small portion of it.
C) Use watermarks like the stock photography sites do. Check out istockphoto.com for an example.
D) Use flash to show the images
E) Disable right click with Javascript
Here are the technical explanations on how to make each of these things work:
http://www.webresourcesdepot.com/10-ways-to-protect-images-from-being-stolen/
I quickly realized that if someone wanted a low resolution copy of my photograph, they would get it one way or another. Between using the Print Screen button, to disabling javascript, to using the clone tool in photoshop to remove watermarks, you'll never be able to protect your photographs from everyone.
4)
My Solution
If MP3 file sharing has taught the music industry anything, it is this one fact: People will pay for quality, options, and ease of access.
A)
Generate low quality (72dpi and below), small versions of your art for display online. Provide 1 ultra high quality example of what the person will receive when they purchase your work. A high resolution download along with a photo of the example hanging on a residential wall will instill trust in most people.
B)
Give people a cheap option. If someone wants a desktop background and not a full print, give them the option. Format and price a photo around $2 - $3 and most people who would have stolen the photo will buy it. Mentioning that you're a starving artist or the like helps this point too.
C)
Make your sales process easy, seamless, and trustworthy. iTunes is popular because it is soooo easy to purchase music. 2 clicks and you're done. Your payment gateway needs to be easy and trustworthy to detract theft.
P.S.
One quick note on traffic... submit a few of your highest selling photographs to all of the stock and online photographic marketplace sites.
You can find a list of these here:
http://www.google.ca/search?q=Sell+photographs
You won't make much money by doing this alone. The fees and requirements for submitting a volume of work are both daunting. However, when you submit a few of your best, people will search diligently for your work and will quickly become fans.
Oh, and send your fans photographic postcards (free from Vistaprint.com). Word of mouth is wicked awesome.
CONCLUSION
I found that selling photos online was a really great way to pay for my equipment. While theft is a concern, when you employ large scale ecommerce and piracy theory to even simple online transactions, you'll have a stronger bottom line.
I hope that this helps you!
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