Selling Photographs

[Ektagraphic]

Hello- I have never sold a single photo that I took and the camera club I am a part of is going to a fair in August and I am going to bring along a couple of Ilfochrome prints I am having made. I know that the selling price of an 8X10 can vary from person to person and from subject to subject greatly, but if you currently have any 8X10 photos for sale, what are you asking? Thanks

 

[Darkroom317]

Sorry that this doesn't answer your question. Where are you getting your Ilfochrome prints made and what is the cost?

 

[removed account4]

hi ektagraphic

are they matted and framed ?

john

 

[Christopher Walrath]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.167 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102 UP.Link/6.3.0.0.0)

I once sold an 11x14 of Bodie Island Lighthouse (printed by the local lab), print only for $40. Now that I make my own prints, if I were to sell one it would be for a bit more than that.

 

[Aklens200]

Hi,
Here is the formula for setting prices;
5 times what the print cost you.
Everthing else (ie film, matting, frame etc) is 20% over what you paid.
Hope this helps.
If you have any further questions on prices and would like to talk with me go to my website and leave an e-mail address. (www.jobvana.com/photographer-jrichardoswald/ )
Rich

 

[BetterSense]

Here is the formula for setting prices;
5 times what the print cost you.
Everthing else (ie film, matting, frame etc) is 20% over what you paid.

But what if you printed it yourself? I don't know how to determine what a print costs me, between the materials used, travel expenses, my time, etc.

The old-standby answer to any such question should be 'whatever the market will bear'. Figuring that out would seem to be the trick.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

I reason along the lines that I wish to be well compensated for a print I sell. I do print everything myself, though, and spend an awful lot of time on prints I sell, to make sure it's absolutely perfect (in my view) before it can leave the house.
I sell my prints in an archival mat and bevel cut over-mat, they are archivally processed via a painstaking process. My current price for an 8x10 photograph is $250 this way. Not much by some standards, but I feel it's adequate for the work I put into it.
If somebody asks to pay less, I always say no. I would rather give the photograph away for free as a gift to somebody I know would cherish it. I can tell I haven't sold more than perhaps 20 images in my photographer life.

I hope that helps.

- Thomas

 

[Aklens200]

It does take bit of time to figure out the small parts, materials, time etc.
I'll try to help here.
Travel= See IRS (I see you're in the US) code for travel deductions.
Materials= devide the cost of the items by the number of items used. (paper pack cost $25.00 per 25, 1 is $1.00)
Time is the hard one as I don't know what photographers charge per hour down there.
Here is what I carge: $120.00 per hour to photograph and $25.00 per hour darkroom, touch-up (hand painting etc.)
This all works out to about $15.00 for my cost, so I carge 75.00 (and up) for my photographs.
The problem with using 'whatever the market will bear' is you get someone that has a 'D' camera and a home printer that thinks they are the greatest photographer on Earth charging $5.00 for there snaps, so people think you should to.
Do not under sell your self!
You are better then that...you are an artest.
Rich

 

[nickandre]

Pick a price that will sell. Choose an image that evokes some emotion or looks cool and charge a lot. People will not buy under-priced pictures. Price determines the attitude of the buyer. I like the 5 times the cost, especially with ilfochrome, though I doubt the 75 cent sheet of RA4 paper and 25 cents for film and chemistry justify a $5 pricetag for my 11x14 color work...

Bottom line: if it's large, shiny, and interesting charge a lot.

 

[Ektagraphic]

Well, it is a matted Ilfochrome that ends up costing me $30 with the matt....

 

[Shangheye]

For digitally printed images of 8x10 (actual image size), I charge 90Euros (about $120). I have yet to put any of my analogue images up for sale, but I would require at least twice the figure above (@ $240) due to the uniqueness and effort in making the print, and that is what I intend to charge. Those prices are matted and framed in a very basic frame...Kal

 

[removed account4]

usual mark up in a "store"
is 3x the cost .. cost+overhead+profit= selling price.
but that does not account for the time and effort you made
in getting the image in your camera &C ...
5x sounds reasonable.
while tiberiustibz makes a good point to charge alot
the economy stinks right now and people would probably
buy something that doesn't cost and arm an a leg ..
maybe just an arm ...
there are a lot of people with "the looksies" who go to fairs,
so don't be upset if you get a lot of people saying
"wow, nice print, this is beautiful, you have a great eye"
and they don't give you their wallet ...

have fun!
john

 

[Ektagraphic]

Well, I won't make much, but I think I will start out at $38. It is costing me about $34 for the print. I know I don't make much but my goal is to start off by atleast selling a photograph. Hopefully, when my Ilfochrome is on the table next to all the homemade inkjet prints many of the others have, people will be drawn to it.

 

[Ian David]

I reckon you should at least charge a round figure, eg $40. An odd figure like $38 seems to suggest that a piece of your work is something that can be precisely valued down to the last dollar.
Ian

 

[nyoung]

Choose an image that evokes some emotion or looks cool and charge a lot.... Bottom line: if it's large, shiny, and interesting charge a lot.

Amen, Amen, Amen.

The art market is NOT like a supermarket or Walmart.

Very often (most of the time I think) the buyer really doesn't know beans about art. She (and 95 percent of the time the buyer is female even if the check writer is male) wants something she connects with emotionally to hang on the wall and to show off to her friends.

The "show it off to her friends" part also often includes telling how much she paid for it with more expensive being much, much better.

I've seen many people over the years use obviously inferior photographers for weddings/portraits just because of the cachet of using the most expensive.

(Disclaimer - I personally am not in the portrait or wedding biz I speak from observation of my friends who are.)

Print 'em big, price 'em high.

 

[jaimeb82]

I agree with nyoung, you are selling cheap is you price them at $75. This is not about a Made in China merchandise, or let's see who can sell at the lowest price, you are an artist and you are selling a part of your intellectual property.

 

[Neal]

Dear Ektagraphic,

You're giving them away at $38. As for formulas, that is good for charging rent (machine time on a lathe for example). You are selling a finished product that has value completely separate from what it cost to make (the individual copy that is). Five years ago I was at a very large craft show in Chicago. An unmounted 8x10 in a plastic sleeve was going for $75 on the low end and $175 on the high end.

Good luck with your sales!

Neal Wydra

 

[thefizz]

Don't devalue your work. If the price looks cheap then the product will be perceived to be cheap/low quality. $38 for an Ilfochrome seems crazy to me. If your print looks good amongst the inkjets then a higher price will not be surprising to potential buyers. I would sell for at least twice what you are looking for. I'd much prefer to sell 1 print for $100 than 5 prints at $30 each even thought they would earn me $150. The only time I would sell cheap would be to family and close friends.

 

[Tom Kershaw]

Don't devalue your work. If the price looks cheap then the product will be perceived to be cheap/low quality. $38 for an Ilfochrome seems crazy to me. If your print looks good amongst the inkjets then a higher price will not be surprising to potential buyers. I would sell for at least twice what you are looking for. I'd much prefer to sell 1 print for $100 than 5 prints at $30 each even thought they would earn me $150. The only time I would sell cheap would be to family and close friends.

Your post raises the issue of how to deal with variable pricing for the same work, including whether currently marketed prints only be available at one price at any one time.

Tom.

 

[ryan.alexander]

I think a lot of the people replying to this post have the wrong idea about photography, or if you concider photography an art form. You shouldn't be calculating down to the penny how much it costs you to create a print and how much the frame costs and the gas to drive from your house to the shop to get all your supplies.

If you are selling a piece of art the price should be determined by how much you think your work is worth. If your photo is just a gimmick and has no emotional value or artistic statement you should re-think your approach to the medium.

Charge what you think your work is worth, try to be modest about it.

 

[ryan.alexander]

Why don't you give us a link to the photo and ask us how much we would pay for it?

 

[WolfTales]

Don't undersell yourself. That's the worst.

The market is what you can make of it.

 

[removed account4]

perhaps you should go to a local art fair
and see what people are charging for photography.
there are a handful of fairs in rhode island ( wickford + scituate ) and
on cape cod ( chatham and beyond ) ...

in all internet forums everyone is an expert about everything
but without knowledge of the local market, it is not much help ...

good luck
john

 

[bsdunek]

Don't undersell yourself. That's the worst.

The market is what you can make of it.

I did this years ago when I started to sell my photographs. The gallery I was in finally enlightened me. I took my work out for a while and then put it back at higher prices suggested by the gallery. Things sold better!

 

[lightwisps]

I hope this helps, it is our price list:

Dead Link Removed

The funny thing is that we sell very few 8X10s but a lot of the larger prints.

Good luck and email me any time.

Don