Building a career in photography means making a key decision early on: how will you share and sell your work? For most artists, the path boils down to two main directions.
Photography by: Eugenia Sol
You build your own presence online and manage your entire business.
The Cons: You are responsible for everything—marketing, sales, website management, shipping, and accounting. It requires you to be both an artist and a business owner.
The Pros: You have full creative and financial control. You keep all your profits and can build a direct relationship with your audience and collectors.
You seek representation from a gallery to sell your work.
The Cons: The gallery takes a significant commission (often 50%). Your work must align with their vision, and securing representation can be a highly competitive and lengthy process.
The Pros: The gallery provides credibility, an established audience of collectors, and handles sales and marketing for you. This allows you to focus almost entirely on creating new work.
So, which path is right for you?
There is no single “right” answer. Many renowned artists have built successful careers entirely independently, while others have thrived through gallery representation. Some even do both simultaneously for different bodies of work.
The best choice depends on your goals, your work, and your personality. Do you crave total control and enjoy the business side? Or would you prefer to hand off the commerce to an expert and focus solely on your art?
