so i have been putting it off long enough and i think i am finally going to try to get in the game. if anyone can contact me that would be great. i have a couple questions:
what are people charging for different size prints? assume matted prints for now.
where can i get a good deal on mattes? i have a printer i like but i need mattes, maybe frames too.
i am pretty sure i understand the copyright laws as it applies to me, but if someone wants to buy the rights to a picture (exclusive rights mainly) how do i go about doing that? is there a form? what would something like that cost them?
does anyone here have access to someone who does plak mounting? i have someone who is interested in that. i would like to get pricing and see how large i can get them.
i am sure i will have a million other questions, but any help would be great. thanks.
You obviously have a lot of research to do. Pricing is SO subjective, no one can answer your question here.
Your pricing should be what YOU think your work is worth. The market varies too much for someone else to put a value on it. It also matters what the content is – Wedding prints? Fine Art? Commercial? These factors change everything. You need to know how much money you need to get from this work to make it profitable. If you don’t know that number, then its time to do some work and find out what it is.
You will never be a successful (read: profitable) photographer unless you have the business side down perfectly. There are TONS of shitty photographers that make a ton of money because they know how to correctly run a business, and a ton of absolutely amazing photographers that quit after a year because they cant run a business/make money.
Lets say you change 300 dollars for a 20x30 canvas print.
Canvas - 150 dollars
Estimated hours of work in editing, getting it prepped for print, etc. 5
Estimated hours actually shooting. 3
So thats $19/hr estimated before other expenses. I wouldn’t work for 19 dollars an hour where I had to provide thousands upon thousands of dollars in my own camera gear, computer, software, monitor calibration, transportation to and from locations, website hosting costs, etc. Factor all of that in, and youre looking at minimum wage by the time you pay for everything. This is assuming a steady stream of customers-- which in a poor economy, there wont be. Most people making money in photography right now are wedding photographers.
Another thing-- dont even think of trying to sell prints from your home printer unless its a true professional grade photo printer. A really easy way to tell if its not a professional grade printer is if it has a fax machine, scanner, copier, etc built in.
i understand that. i guess i should have specified some more info. i would consider them “fine art” prints. i have some retail spots interested. they do not want to do consignment (which i do not want to do either). so i would be selling physical prints to them. i understand that they have to make money too, so i guess i would be looking for a price point that would allow me to be profitable while realizing that they are providing an outlet for me. since i am new to this, i was interested in some realistic retail prices to work from. i have a meeting with someone this week and i dont want to look like a total rookie. but i guess there are a lot of variables. i just have a million questions. i will learn as i go along, but i also dont want to be taken advantage of you know?
some other specific questions i have:
when i matte a photo for sale, what kind of adhesive/tape is the best? do i need backing?
when i frame prints, what is the best way to stop warping? should i tape the whole back perimeter of the photo?
if i am selling to a business, does that change my price point? i would think it would. there is an office interested in a large print (like 4’) and i am struggling on pricing it.
sorry for all the noob questions. this is just something that i am doing on the side for now. hopefully it can turn into a business one day.