Adorable Dog Images Sell Greeting Cards
By Kathy Kupka, Cr, FP, SP
Member of PPA and VPPA (Northern District)
In 1998 I started my photography business, specializing in child photography. That same year I was asked to exhibit my portraits at Children's Hospital in DC, which resulted in Recycled Greeting Cards (acquired by American Greeting Cards) expressing interest in seeing more of my work. I soon received my first rejection: "Unfortunately, your work was not chosen for publication. I will say that our department liked your work very much... I do encourage you to keep submitting to other card companies... Artist's Market...or try us in six months or so."
Two years later when a Cockapoo, Buddie, became part of my family, I was inspired to begin photographing dogs. Shortly after that I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma (MM), and in 2001 I started cancer treatment in Little Rock, Arkansas.
My experience with MM led to the creation of a calendar of humorous images of Buddie to benefit the Myeloma Institute. Called “Being Buddie,” it ultimately went on to be a PPA AN-NE (marketing competition) award winner.
I sent the calendar to the greeting card company that initially encouraged me to keep submitting. I also submitted to Avanti Greeting Cards. Though not accepted, I appreciated that the women from both art departments responded in a positive way. They gave me encouraging advice, explained why my submissions were rejected, and always wished me luck.
My favorite rejection was when I submitted an image of my son with tattooed arms holding Buddie. Reply was, “The guy is way too sexy for our card line. Maybe if he had a flannel shirt on and a few years of subcutaneous flab cushioning this torso then he’d be more appropriate for our everyman prototype. Same thing goes for sexy chicks. Think more Aunt Bea."
I decided to try selling my cards on my own. I asked family, friends, neighbors, and strangers if I could photograph their dogs to add to my portfolio. "Parents" needed to sign a model release, and in exchange they received an 8"x10" print of my choice and a card.
I photographed dogs with captioned balloons attached to their collars and made cards consisting of 4"x6" prints attached to 5"x7" high quality card stock. I first put a few cards in a gallery in Arkansas. One card had a picture of a Lab with the caption "Guess who's thinking of you?" The owner told me that a woman bought it for her husband who had made her give away their Lab when they moved.
Next, the owner of a pet boutique in Middleburg was interested. She said my images looked like little pieces of art and I should sell them for $5.00 each. She thought they'd do better without balloons. After 3 months, she said she wasn't selling many and "space is money." Then a pet boutique in Leesburg carried them for a couple of years. That owner told me people were really looking for their particular breed.
I stopped photographing dogs with balloons, had my cards press printed from Millers printing company on quality card stock, and changed the price to $5.95 each.
I tried a local gift/coffee shop, and that's when they really started to sell. I discovered people liked the captions and dogs but the dogs didn't need to be a certain breed. I also put them in other gift shops, all on consignment. Then, I started to sell on Etsy. I still love to hear the cha-ching when I make a sale, but art fairs have been the most lucrative. I will also sell cards on my new website.
I have been selling a variety of all occasion cards, and people seem to really like my cancer and recovery/sobriety cards. I can relate because of my cancer experience, and because my beautiful daughter suffered with alcoholism, I became familiar with Al-Anon terms and phrases.
I love testimonials:
"Hi Kathy, I'm a friend of Bill's. Your cards are great. Thanks.”
(A "friend of Bill" is a member of AA.)
"Hello, I'll simply be blunt and ask if your cards have been photoshopped or the animals have been posed. The portraiture is exquisite. Thank you."
(My dogs are actually wearing boxing gloves, on a rocker, etc. I don't manipulate my images except for a few obvious ones.)
"Seriously, please don't ever underestimate how wonderful and how scarce cards like these are."
Looking back, I can see that my journey with both the rejections and encouragement were all part of my success today. I love photographing precious pups; they make me happy and helped me find a home for my work.