What is the best way for me to look into the feasibility of selling my shots (hopefully including some sort of feedback on my technique) and examples of places where I can have someone manage the selling/storefront? I'd like to potentially expand my hobby to generate real income and rationalize new equipment purchases (real tripod, flash, etc.), so I want to see if it all makes sense.
I've gotten some great answers so far, and would normally have accepted an answer by now, but I'd like to hold out for some more people's input and experiences. I'll give it a little more time and then I'll pick what I believe to be the most enveloping answer. Great answers, all of you! The effort is well appreciated, and I hope you're not all burnt-out photographers stuck in the financial spiral... :)
Here's some backstory for those interested:
I have been shooting a Canon EOS 30D for almost 5 years now, and have amassed a collection of 5 lenses and additional equipment (see profile for more details). I've probably put in about $3000 over the span of my ownership, and have taken almost 11,000 images (many are dups/trips for alternates, since I can).
I am not about to get rid of my equipment, but I'm looking for some rationale to help me feel like I'm getting something more out of this than great personal images and wallpaper. I have so many friends tell me I take great shots (I consider myself a decent amateur with a slightly-better-than-average knack for subject and framing) and have suggested I get shots printed and try to sell them. My shots are primarily macro and landscape, although with some of my lenses I've been able to dabble in portraits.
Printing larger than 8x12 (with RGB laser only, e.g. Fuji Frontier, call me a snob) was prohibitively expensive the last time I researched it, and I still don't have a high level of confidence on the marketability of my shots. Add to that the saturation of the field with low cost dSLR cameras and image sites like flickr, and I question if it's even worth it.
On the flip side, I hate going into photo galleries where the artist has over-saturated or otherwise over-manipulated the images to the point of nausea, and feel my shots are at least better in that respect.
Answer
If you think you've got the stuff, you could try gaining exposure through a juried site like Onexposure (pronounced "one exposure"). It's not a point of sale per se, but it is a place where you can get a relatively wide exposure to a discerning audience.
You will receive good critique if there's any real merit to your work (snapshots are simply dismissed out of hand) -- even if it's not accepted. There's no need to invest anything until you have at least one image accepted for display on the site (at which point you'd probably want to spring for the paid membership that allows you to set up a "home page" to point interested viewers to a place where they can see -- and purchase -- more of your work). And you get to see and critique the work of others as well, which can help you see your own images more critically.
Once you see the quality of work already on the site, you'll understand.
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