How much do you sell your prints for???

[jhkphoto]

i have been asked by a couple of people if they could buy some prints of my work. i know this has most likely been posted before (sorry i could not find anything in my search:)) but how much do you all sell your work for? also what is your additional charge for matting and framing?

[jhkphoto]

i know some one has to be selling prints out there....

[Familiaphoto]

Go poke around in this forum. You will get some guidance there.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=23

[AlphaChicken]

The price of a photo varies. It all comes down to a few things:


How much actual cost did you put into producing the print. You for sure shouldnt charge ANY less than this.
How much work did you put into producing the print. This includes taking the shot, post processing, proofing, printing.
How much is the shot worth to you personally?
Is the print framed and how big is the print?
Who are you selling it to?
Is it a shot that is going to be printed a limited amount of times? If so it is worth more.
And last but not least, How much do they want the print? ;-)


Obviously all these things are only answerable by you. And obviously they change from shot to shot. The price is ALWAYS subjective. Some advice, is to find your lowest price, and start at 200% of that. If they dont like it, offer to "cut them a deal". :) Works every time.

Where in North Carolina are you? Near the WNC/Asheville Area?

[tim]

Depends on the type of print - landscape, portrait, wedding, or art.

[AlphaChicken]

Well, anything can be called art.

I would say it depends more on the purpose of the shot. Whether it was contracted (wedding/event) or studio work or art (art could include anything but mostly experimental).

[jhkphoto]

the prints are a collection of a hole lot of different things: nature, landscape, still life etc. nothing shot specifically for a client.

[jhkphoto]

its different stuff off my site. also alphachicken (if that is your real name) im from Greensboro

[AlphaChicken]

Ahh very cool! I have cousins that live there. :) Real name is Henry ahahahaha.

[jhkphoto]

Great! but how much should i sell my prints for!!!! haha

[tim]

the prints are a collection of a hole lot of different things: nature, landscape, still life etc. nothing shot specifically for a client.

Personally for an individual art print (ie anything that someone would hang on a wall) it's not worth selling anything for less than a few hundred dollars, and even then i'd not go out of my way to sell it. Below that the time it takes to process, print, package, and deliver works out to too little profit for the time invested.

To someone on minimum wage things might be different. Say it took 4 hours to take the photo, including travel etc, an hour to process, an hour to deliver, that's 6 hours. Say the print cost $20 and they sold it for $100. That's $80 profit, $12 an hour, for something done in their spare time. If you make $400 a week $80 is significant.

For weddings images are ordered in volume, things are done in batches, and people have already paid a significant fee, so print prices are relatively low - I charge (from memory) $10 for a 6x4 and $50 for an 8x12. For portraits where there's pretty much no initial investment and prints are sold in low volume that goes up by a lot, but I don't publish those prices.

In the end all this means is that you have to take into account your time and costs and sell for a price that you're happy with.

[canonnoob]

Heres a formula I use... Base printing price (depending on how and where you print) + 1.00 +70% of base price... But that is just for my smaller prints.

[AlphaChicken]

Tim hit the nail on the head.

[jhkphoto]

cool thanks** for your advice

[tim]

Heres a formula I use... Base printing price (depending on how and where you print) + 1.00 +70% of base price... But that is just for my smaller prints.

So you'd sell a 6x4" print that cost you $0.30 for $1.50? I charge almost ten times more than you for wedding prints, a lot more again for portrait prints, and if I did art prints they'd be more than two orders of magnitude more expensive that you.

I think this pricing advice is poor.

[AlphaChicken]

So you'd sell a 6x4" print that cost you $0.30 for $1.50? I charge almost ten times more than you for wedding prints, a lot more again for portrait prints, and if I did art prints they'd be more than two orders of magnitude more expensive that you.

I think this pricing advice is poor.

Agree. You have to include some price in there for time spent and personal value. You cannot just base off of the cost of producing the prints; you are cheapening yourself.

[ALaS]

Does anyone ever fear that they cannot back up the price they want? Like do you fear they won't like the shots for all the customer has paid?

[AlphaChicken]

It is human nature to complain. I just expect it. Doesn't instill any fear in me. If they don't like my work then it is their problem. If they do like it then I am made to feel good. If I know that I personally did a bad job or did not do my best work, I will offer some kind of compensation.

[tim]

Does anyone ever fear that they cannot back up the price they want? Like do you fear they won't like the shots for all the customer has paid?

I have my prices, people can pay them or not. I don't depend on print sales to make my living, I depend on the fees I charge up front.

[jhkphoto]

Does anyone ever fear that they cannot back up the price they want? Like do you fear they won't like the shots for all the customer has paid?

Nope

[Karl Johnston]

Does anyone ever fear that they cannot back up the price they want? Like do you fear they won't like the shots for all the customer has paid?

i used to until tim taught me a thing or two.

[Mark1]

I agree you have to consider what it costs you to make the picture...time, effort, materials for printing/frameing. All of it adds to the price.

However what can realy add or really take away is how easy is it for someone to see your picture and go take it for themselves. If it is in another country or another state it can add value. But if you are selling them in front of the building in the picture....you get my point.

For me, I consider all of this. But then lower the price as far as I can justify it going. I very rarely do a limited run ( only 2 that I can think of). So I will price them to sell. Put them in the range where there is no real decision that needs to be made for them to want to take it home. They can do the "cash and carry". Then I make it up in volume.

[Zazoh]

This is the wrong forum but I will reply anyway.

There are 3 brides to be where I work who have been using 3 different photographers. 2 of them have crazy high prices for prints but only charged a nominal sitting fee. Images for all 3 were great. The two that had photogs charging high priced prints didn't buy.

In one case the brides sister was at the shoot and used a point and shoot while the photographer had reflectors and such, so took advantage of the composition an lighting provided by the photographer. She wasn't intending to do this, because the pro photogs HAD to be better, but they were not and she had the prints done and walgreens and on a side by side you couldn't tell the difference.

The other, ate the $150 setting fee and reshot with the photographer with lower prices but higher sitting fee, and who released the image rights.

[jhkphoto]

i think we are bit off topic...
What i am talking about is stock shoots, photographs that you have accumulated from over the years. (not on assignment)
i will spend about 25 at the lab, and about 5 bucks on matt board. +time spend.