Flickr to Allow Photographers to Sell Prints
Flickr is planning to let photographers sell prints through a new Print Shop and is currently testing the feature with a small list of approved sellers.
While photographers have been able to purchase their own prints through Flickr in the past, now the website is going to allow select photographers to use the platform as a storefront to sell them to anyone.
At launch, the option to sell prints through the Flickr Print Shop will only be available to certain photographers who fit the website’s criteria. There is a form that photographers can fill out if they wish to become a future seller, but candidates must be Flickr Pro members and must live in the U.S. Beyond this, it is unclear what Flickr’s criteria for approval and inclusion is.
For now, the pilot program offers prints from photographers Amanda Powell, Darren LoPrinzi, Jason Rosenberg, Jeff Sullivan, Jordan Kines, Lauri Novak, Matt Katzenberger, Patrick J., and Shannon O’Shea.
The integration of printing makes sense considering the site was purchased by SmugMug in 2018 and SmugMug already allows photographers to offer print sales.
“Your prints will come from Bay Photo, a professional lab located in Santa Cruz, California, and they ship all over the world,” Flickr writes on its blog. “We offer paper prints, wall art, and desk art of photos in a wide range of sizes and finishes.”
To order a print, users can go to the new “Print Shop” storefront. There, they can select a photo from a participating artist, click the shopping cart icon in the right-hand corner underneath the image, and select which settings they prefer before purchasing the art. Print buyers don’t need to be Flickr members to make a purchase, either. The storefront brings up a number of options, but it does not seem to offer a search feature if someone is looking for something specific.
There are a number of options, from smaller desk art to large wall showcases. There are also paper, canvas, wood, and metal options. Each comes with numerous size options. The interface will also show you how the image will be cropped if the dimensions don’t fit. The cropping location can also be tailored before finalizing the purchase.
Flickr has been working on ways to make its product offering more desirable over the last few years including the addition of support for artistic nudes and virtual photography. The addition of a print shop makes Flickr ride a rather unique line between a social network and a personal website, and does provide photographers with another way to try and make money from their art.
While extremely limited now, if successful with its small approved sellers, Flickr will probably expand the program to more users.
Image credits: Background of header photo by Annie Spratt.