[hks_kansei]

How does one price “art” photographs?

I shoot quite a lot and am considering selling some of my pieces, I’m not intending to make a living off the sales, it’s more for my own pride than anything. (the pride in knowing that some of my photographs are good enough that somebody is willing to pay money to own it)

Anyway, for those who do this sort of thing, just how do you set a price?

I understand that a part of it will be covering costs, so cost of printing, framing, etc. But once that’s taken into account, how on earth do I set the actual sale price?

Thanks all.

[Miguel]

Retail pricing for "art" photographs is a mushy situation. How are you planning to sell your work? If you expect galleries to sell framed art prints, then visit as many venues as you can in your area and see what the retail prices are. Realize that there is a strong correlation among a higher price, your reputation, the quality of the presentation, and the reputation or perceived quality of the gallery selling your prints. I'm also making an assumption that a gallery owner would take you on--in my part of the US art photographers hustling for show space are constantly hitting up gallery managers so it helps to have connections and be known some to get a shot. Plus photography doesn't sell as well as other media, so be warned.

Beyond formal galleries, there are cafes, bookstores, teashops, medical offices, and hospital wings that regularly display and sell photographs. Generally the retail prices are less here, but the commissions can be less so it is worth checking out.

If you live in an area that tourists visit, another sales market is making custom postcards or notecards of local famous or strange places. Labor intensive, but it can feed an ego.

it’s more for my own pride than anything

Nothing personal, but in my experience (having curated exhibitions and shown my work fairly regularly since 1983), keep this one to yourself and loved ones--many gallery owners and managers are interested in promoting artists who are driven and have something to say and use their talents to communicate it. For a "new" artist, building a portfolio that reflects your unique vision spread across multiple images can be tougher than expected. It helps to run drafts of your portfolio past non-friends and family who can deliver straight, constructive feedback.

Hope this helps.

M

[Kozlok]

Find out how much money your buyer has, and charge that.

[aglet]

Find out how much money your buyer has, and charge that.

That's about right!

Some people will pay a lot for an image that really resonates with them, others will buy cheap, mass-produced junk to decorate their space.

Producing your work usually takes a lot of time, effort and expense. I refuse to lower my prices to mass-market levels just to appease some shop owner or his cheap customers, they're obviously not the right market. Do not let yourself get involved in a race to the bottom.

If I can't make at least a moderate return on my art prints, I won't produce them for sale. I may give a few to friends or otherwise get them out where they can silently advertise for me and, every once in a while, I'll make a worthwhile sale.

It's a tough commodity type market.. unless you're already notorious for some other reason.
Sort of the opposite of when people come to hire you as a service, providing photography, of which prints are an expected end result.

In art, connections and luck will do more for you than talent, as I've seen many times.
Don't get discouraged, do it for the joy of it. Boost your pride and hone your skills with your local photo clubs and organizations who often run internal challenges or contests. Some of them may even oganize sale events where you may have a chance to get your work noticed and sold.

As for pricing - I go by the square foot, different rates for different types of prints (canvas, premium matte, etc.) and don't get caught up in the "limited edition" nonsense. That only seems to work if you're already a known name.

[PPPPPP42]

If you can make a photoshopped picture of a flat river and a sidewalk in a 6ftx12ft print, then it is worth $4.3 million.
Rhein II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

These are my general thoughts on selling photos.

You are pretty much selling your name, look up the most expensive photographs ever sold (on wikipedia) if you have any doubt. Most of them are pure crap by any way of judging and are clearly only selling the name. A few are valuable because they are so old and of a type that can't be reproduced in their original format however.

The very best thing you can do if you ever want to succeed as a retail photographer is stand out and make a name for yourself, and that won't be done just on the quality of your prints these days. The market is too flooded with "photographers" who all have stuff to sell, one person in a crowd that big is hard to spot.

When I looked into what it costs to make a display sized print and realized that I could basically buy something from Walmart rather than have them print my photo and then put it on a backer or frame I decided to only make things for my own walls.

A great many photographs that would definitely qualify as art in my book would look like crap on a living room wall (unless you have some sort of odd hipster motif) and thus have very little practical monetary value, whereas I know of many snapshots of pretty places that are worthless from an artistic standpoint that would look great on a wall and sell easily for that purpose.

[nomadkng]

My venture into the retail world of art has been akin to sticking my foot into a tub of boiling water. When I travel for my photo portfolio, I make it a point to stop at 3 or 4 local galleries to view "the competition". I then hope to speak with the manager/owner/decision maker, about wall space, bin space or backdoor by the dumpster space where I could consign my work.

Consign is the operative word here. For retail art, YOU bear all the expense; the matting, the framing, the printing, the shipping and the gallery DECIDES what it will charge and often then negotiates down from there until you have made them ENOUGH money that you become a business partner. You are also held liable for meeting any and ALL delivery requirements as set forth by the gallery, ie x number of pieces, x number of subject matter, x sizes x number of mounting options.

My last deal was with a small gallery in Tahoe for about a year, providing essentially postcard prints, 4x6 in simple fold over mountings packaged in a plastic baggy. (this was my "trial run" before they would give me actual wall space. the good news is I was selling my work, the bad news was I was making about 1---ONE--- dollar profit per piece of art after ALL my expenses were considered, not counting my time. It just was not worth it to me. I was eventually offered half a wall, but after realizing what my costs and liability would be to maintain the space, I had to decline.

Most galleries rent you wall space, but it starts at 300/mo and YOU must provide gallery quality (and gallery APPROVED) work, framed matted and mounted. I did the math and figured I would need to move about 10 pieces a month with a 40% markup on a 16x20/24 size print. That's double matte, archival paper, with backer board and frame. And people wonder why these prints are selling for $350+?

And what if the customer only wants an 8x12 or wants a 32x40? You have to be able to deliver these items on the customer's AND gallery's schedule. (This is why the gallery I was working with wanted almost 10k in "inventory". It served as both quality control for the gallery (they could see what I would deliver in terms of packaging and presence of product) and meeting customer demand. In vacation spots like Tahoe, some customers want their images delivered, some actually want to take them with them in a crate. If Mrs X is willing to pay 2500-3500 for a 32x48 stretched canvas work and she wants it by 2pm before her flight leaves, it better be in inventory!)

I also ran into that with my Street Fairs. At one point I had nearly $5500 invested in "sample" prints (5 select images in diff sizes and diff framing/mounting options) plus a flipbook of another 50 or so images at 4x6 just to provide a portfolio for prospective clients. And you know what? some still thought they were at a garage sale and wanted a framed 8x12 for $5. "Ma'am, the frame alone is $25."

So I guess the long winded answer is, charge what you think you need to charge based on whether you are doing this for profit or for pride. You may actually have to lose money for a while to get a reputation, which I have decided I am unwilling to do. That is why I am almost strictly an on-line presence at the moment, marketing my photos through my website. I may venture back out into the world of retail art again someday if I ever get a decent raise at my "real" job.