It's all about the image! That's what one of my college professor's would say over and over again. I thought of course that he meant that if you could make good (cool) images then the rest would fall into place. Later on I learned a new definition of what "It's all about the image" could mean. After working as a Commercial Photographer for several years and working in the stock photo industry I found out the hard way that it is not enough to be a photographer capable of amazing feats of imagery. It's about looking at the image as a product and marketing that image using much of the same business practices required to make a living from any product. As with other products you need to start with a good quality product to sell. You need to find a way to consistently produce your product at a manageable cost. You need to find a buyer for that product and/or  set-up a distribution network willing to stock (no pun intended) your product and find new customers. You need to sell that product to your customers and distributors as if you were selling tires or some hot new electronic gizmo. You need to step back as an artist and from time to time stop looking at your images like a jealous artist and start looking at these images as your most valuable resource to be exploited in order to make a living.

I have known many many great artists who have spent years developing their creative skills only to find themselves barely making ends meet. It is the marriage between the artist and the businessperson in all of us that is the key to finding success as a professional artist. The saying is true - It is all about the image, but as a professional artist, it's also about making a living with that image.