I came across the Red Bubble website. At first glance it looks like a cross between Imagekind and Cafepress. It’s a similar, print on demand service that allows users to upload their photography or artwork. Like Imagekind, there is social networking and people can look at and comment on each other’s work. Like Cafépress, it’s possible to sell tshirts and greetings cards as well as prints (although Cafepress has a far greater selection.) Red Bubble appears to be newer than either Imagekind or Cafepress, and the thing that caught my attention is an excellent incentive they have to attract new users, their Red Bubble Photography Competition.

And what an incentive it is! The top prizes are a Leica M4-P plus 50mm F2 Summicron (or a Canon 400D + 17-85mm IS USM if you prefer), a Gitzo Carbon Fibre Tripod with a Really Right Stuff BH-40LR Head, and an ElichromD-Lite 4 Studio Lighting Kit. Shipped anywhere in the world (if you happen to win).

Entry is simple. All you have to do is open an account, upload some photos, make them for sale, and add the relevant competition category to the tags. All before August 24 (the cut-off date).

Uploading photos is easy, the instructions on the site are very clear. Today I uploaded five new photos (one for each category entry) and now I’m going to sit back and see if anyone actually buys anything (well, I’ll promote it a little as well).

One little oddity I noticed about the site is that the prices of the photos are in Australian Dollars. It didn’t make this clear when I was uploading and I realised when I clicked on the buy button next to one of my photos.

Take a look at my Red Bubble Photography Portfolio here.

What do you think of Red Bubble? Have you tried to sell art or photography on Red Bubble? Tell us about your experiences and leave a comment.

• Four Cool Photo Sharing Sites For Photographers
• Red Bubble Photography Competition Winners
• Successfully Sell Your Work On Imagekind Part I – An Interview With Best Selling Photographer Eyal Nahmias
• Six Winning Tips for the Travel Photographer of the Year Competition
• Succesfully Sell Your Work On Imagekind Part III – An Interview With Benjamin Rogovy