I will start by making something very clear. I have not technically made money from a photograph I have taken. In fact, I have simply had a photograph I have taken published in the world’s leading travel magazine – National Geographic Traveller. This in itself is quite an achievement, thus I am claiming this as another item ticked off for 2014.
The completion of this item came about rather unexpectedly. In October/November 2014 whilst defining my Edison Project list, I decided to put one to test – to enter every competition I came across over one month, with the aim of winning an iPad. In pursuit of this challenge, I came across the National Geographic Travellers’s Photo Competition 2014. The competition wasn’t giving away an iPad, but it was giving away the chance to win a once in a lifetime Arctic voyage. All you had to do was submit a photograph from your travels.
Having entered, I completely forgot about the competition until I received an email on 15th January stating that my photo had been selected as one of the finalists within the City category. The photo was of the Aqueduct of Segovia. I didn’t win, but this was a big achievement in itself. The photo was present on the National Geographic Traveller’s website. It will also potentially be published in a supplement in Aprils print edition – this is to be confirmed as my photo was taken at 72 DPI rather than the 300 DPI required for print.
There is also a little bit of irony behind this post. I sold my camera (it was only a basic digital compact camera) on ebay the week before being selected as a finalist. Also, for those that are interested, I eventually won myself two iPads in that one month test. So it does pay to enter competitions.
Getting a photograph you have taken is a really nice experience to attempt. You do not need to be a professional photographer with expensive equipment. I have proved that. All you need is some type of camera device, an eye for an interesting photograph, and the motivation to seek out opportunities to get your photograph published. Whilst I did it via a competition (the National Geographic Traveller competition generally opens annually in the lead up to Christmas) I am aware of friends who have had that pictures published from Flickr and Instagram.
The Aqueduct in Segovia.