2026/05/04 – I Went to IKEA and Fell Down a Photography Rabbit Hole

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Here’s this week’s letter and question:

Last week, I went to Ikea to buy a bookcase for my son’s bedroom in a vain attempt to get him to tidy it. As I wandered through the never-ending maze to the checkout, I found myself walking through the photographic decor section and started thinking about why people actually buy photographs.

A lot of us photographers assume that if we take good enough photos, people will naturally want to buy them, but unfortunately, that’s not really how it works. If it were, every technically brilliant image would sell, and we all know that’s not the case.

The slightly uncomfortable truth is that people don’t usually buy a photo just because they “like it”, they buy it because of what it does for them.

Once you start looking at it like that, a lot of things begin to make more sense, and it applies to almost every genre of photography, including competitions. Every now and then, there’s an image that wins something big, and the reaction from photographers (and honestly, us working at DIYP) is confusion at best.

The photo of a white hare in the snow that won the GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2026 competition is a great example. At first glance, it wasn’t exactly a technically mind-blowing image, heck, some of us were scratching our heads thinking, “Isn’t it over-exposed, and where is the hare anyway?”

The work chat included several funny responses of “Hey, do you like this photo of my black Labrador in a coal shed?” But then we quickly moved on to a “Where’s Waldo” type mission where we were all trying to spot the hare. And then we actually understood the photo better.

The whole point of the photograph was to highlight the Alpine hare’s ability to blend into its snowy environment, and how climate change is affecting that camouflage as snow cover recedes earlier each year. It works not because photographers are impressed by the technical execution, but because it communicates something to the viewer.

This is exactly the shift that makes a difference if you’re trying to sell your own work. When someone is deciding whether to spend money on a photograph, they’re not thinking about your camera settings or how difficult the shot was to get, they’re thinking about themselves. So with that in mind, why do people buy photographs?

Sometimes it’s about how an image makes a space feel. A photograph can completely change the mood of a room, whether that’s calm, dramatic, nostalgic, or somewhere in between.

Sometimes it’s personal. A place they’ve been, somewhere that means something to them, or even just something that reminds them of a moment in their life.

Sometimes, and I know this one might sting a little, it just fits the decor. We can roll our eyes at that all we like, but there’s a reason those mass-produced IKEA prints exist and sell very well.

Sometimes it’s about supporting the artist. People do like buying from people. Your story, your perspective, and your work all play into that decision.

And sometimes it’s about perceived value. A name attached, a sense that this might be worth something one day. That’s a harder one to crack, but it’s still part of the picture.

Of course, the photo itself still matters, but if you’re trying to sell your work (even just as a side-hustle), it’s good to remember that’s only part of the equation. Liking your own photo or remembering the struggle it took to create it isn’t what makes people buy a gallery print. Neither is technical perfection.

If you want your images to actually sell, you have to start thinking a little differently about why someone might choose to look at them every day in their living space. In the end, they aren’t really buying a photograph; they are buying all of those other intangible benefits that hide behind the photo.

I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this one. If you’ve ever sold a photo or gallery print, what do you think made someone choose that image?

Catch you next week!
Alex and the DIYP Team