[heliphoto]

It's seems the trick to selling prints is having prints on hand (duh! ). A local frame shop / gallery will be displaying some of my shots, and the owner seems confident that they will sell (if priced low enough). He'll be displaying these shots...









Among the "real" artists featured in this shop is Rodney Lough, who has some really impressive images (and 5 of his own galleries), so I'm just happy for a few of my shots around under the same roof.

Also I'm selling the lightning shot above to several of the firefighters I work with, as lightning fires are our bread and butter ... I'm certainly not close to actually making money from photography, but it's nice to see a little bit of cash flow the other way.

[Scottnorwo]

Congrats and continued good luck

[Geronimo]

Fan-[expletive]-tastic! I nearly called you a very inappropriate [expletive/] name, for being capable of taking such pictures, when I can't [yet!] - but we do na' know each other!
Your modesty is also something that I would like to think that I am headed towards. This is very encouraging for a newb.
Cheers,

PS: The picture with the 'feet', makes my heart 'jump'!

[nanok]

the owner is no idiot, i am confident they will sell, too. very nice images.

i am still trying to figure out how to make money, your comment "having them on hand" might seem obvious, and i did think about it, but every bit helps, so thank you, and good luck.

[heliphoto]

Congrats and continued good luck

Thanks Scott, I hope these are just the pebbles which foreshadow the landslide .

Fan-[expletive]-tastic! I nearly called you a very inappropriate [expletive/] name, for being capable of taking such pictures, when I can't [yet!] - but we do na' know each other!

Go for it man, inappropriate names are de rigeur where I work . Thanks for the praise - just being out and about in the country really helps me find the shots.

Your modesty is also something that I would like to think that I am headed towards. This is very encouraging for a newb.

Thanks, my modesty is definitely the feature which makes me so totally awesome !

Cheers,
PS: The picture with the 'feet', makes my heart 'jump'!

Yeah - it has that effect on people .

the owner is no idiot, i am confident they will sell, too. very nice images.

i am still trying to figure out how to make money, your comment "having them on hand" might seem obvious, and i did think about it, but every bit helps, so thank you, and good luck.

Thanks ... Actually, I'm finding that having your work printed and on hand is really key to making sales - in fact the way the frame shop dude saw my photos in the first place was while framing the only print I'd sold up to this point (which is the fourth one above - my feet on the peninsula of rock), and of course I sold that one to someone based on her seeing it in a calendar I made for my family last xmas...

Just bringing some copies of that lightning image to work today sold a few more to the firefighters on my crew (and potentially got me some more orders from those guys). Of course I give my crew members a discounted price.

[timbo13]

congratulations, Josh! I predict success for you with this venture!

[rparmar]

Great shots, though the last one makes me dizzy! I do hope someone was holding onto you.

[heliphoto]

congratulations, Josh! I predict success for you with this venture!

Thanks Tim!

Great shots, though the last one makes me dizzy! I do hope someone was holding onto you.

Thank you Robin - no one was holding me... no one was around for miles ... but keep in mind the effects of a 10mm fisheye - the drop is not quite as drastic as it appears (probably 3m front and right - 10m left).

[rparmar]

Thank you Robin - no one was holding me... no one was around for miles ... but keep in mind the effects of a 10mm fisheye - the drop is not quite as drastic as it appears (probably 3m front and right - 10m left).

Geez... I wouldn't want to drop even 3 metres with my camera! Did once and it hurt.

[photolady95]

Fantastic photos!!, Josh, all of them.
I couldn't decide which I liked best, but since all of them are the BEST, chosing was a no brainer. Congrats on the gallery opportunity, I'm sure you'll sell lots of them.

Your work has always seemed gallery ready to me... I am happy to hear you are finally letting others have a chance to own your work.

Now for a flood of questions...

What sizes will you be printing? Have you done a lot printing? Will your work be framed for display (by the shop)

What range is the shop owner thinking when he says "priced low enough" ?

I have no doubt they will sell. I am very happy for you...

[heliphoto]

Geez... I wouldn't want to drop even 3 metres with my camera! Did once and it hurt.

Yeah, I was pretty cautious with my footing .

Fantastic photos!!, Josh, all of them.
I couldn't decide which I liked best, but since all of them are the BEST, choosing was a no brainer. Congrats on the gallery opportunity, I'm sure you'll sell lots of them.

Thank you photolady, I hope to sell a few.

[heliphoto]

Your work has always seemed gallery ready to me... I am happy to hear you are finally letting others have a chance to own your work.

Now for a flood of questions...

What sizes will you be printing? Have you done a lot printing? Will your work be framed for display (by the shop)

What range is the shop owner thinking when he says "priced low enough" ?

I have no doubt they will sell. I am very happy for you...

Thanks for your confidence Gus... I ordered a bunch of prints from Bay Photo and got a 50% discount on the first order (so I made it a big one...) I ordered 12x18" prints and got 'em for approx. $3 each, with the framer charging $7 for mounting 'em, so I'm in $10 per print (including ones which won't be immediately displayed, but I ordered 'em at that good price).

The pricing recommended by the shop owner is quite low - $20 for a 12x18 mounted, and I'm fine with this for a start (doubles my money I've put into the prints). Considering I've had prints offered on my website for almost a year with zero sales, I'm willing to start small. I think this price is way below standard for "fine art" photography, but it's a start, and in this economy, I don't think I can start out priced too high. The shop owner also admits that this price is low, but for Modesto CA, he thinks it's about right.

[rparmar]

The pricing recommended by the shop owner is quite low - $20 for a 12x18 mounted, and I'm fine with this for a start (doubles my money I've put into the prints).

I think that's insane!

Even if a print costs only $10 to make what about the time for the photo session? And equipment? And expertise? And amortisation? And management? And accounts? All of these need to be costed and built into your price or you are simply going to get screwed. Get a good guide to freelancing or self-employment and it will show you how to properly cost your time.

Starting low will only guarantee that you stay low. I'm not suggesting you start charging hundreds, but you need to be a little more reasonable. Number your editions to give them value. Sign them. Include a certificate on the back that says something about the photo or its production. Add value where you easily can.

But don't undersell yourself like this. You're worth more!

[nanok]

i would have to agree. i understand it's hard not selling for a long time, i know what it feels like, but going to such a low price is not a solution. also, the price of the print should not even be discussed, the fact that you got them for cheap is incidental, you should start by pricing your work, and only add the price of the print (including the trouble of preparing them, ordering and so on) after.

your work is worth much more imho, it is up to you of course, but there are other factosr you should consider too (think about your peers who might be trying to make a living of this kind of work..). enough said, it is, as i said, up to you at the end, and i don't want to rain on your parade.

great work, and good luck in any case!