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> Final Q - Who would like to sell their prints? Today. |
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#11
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Interesting idea, Marc. I'd be very happy to write about this on my blog (www.theonlinedarkroom.com). It's not huge - around 10-12000 hits per month - but they're nearly all from film photogs. I could possibly put a permanent ad up as well.
As for pricing a print. Being basically skint I'm not the best person to ask right now. However, I'd pay around £50-60 for a fine art 10x8 and maybe £80-100 for the larger size. Personally, I'd never pay the hundreds that some photographers ask but that could change if I get lucky on the lottery this week. www.theonlinedarkroom.com |
#12
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To reply to your questions now that I see what it may be about.
1) I have no sales experience - couldn't sell a fridge in a desert or a heater at the poles and wouldn't try. 2) Never used 'social' media of any kind but can see their use if you have family abroad or need to advertise yourself. I cannot envisage ever doing so. Further, I rarely spend time surfing the web or anything approaching this activity. 3) No wish to sell prints although quite happy to do so. My photography is for myself and if anyone else likes my photos, thats a bonus. I get all the 'exposure' I need through this forum, my camera club (all digital except for me), and am happy to bore anyone else interested in seeing them but will not force them on anyone. I further think that producing 'limited' prints to excuse the higher prices charged is a typical con to maximise the transfer of money between accounts. On the other hand, I appreciate that people have to earn a crust and if people are happy and prepared to pay for what is being sold at the price being asked, best of luck. However, it is a sad reflection on humanity that greed appears to be the major driving force. Mike |
#13
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Hi Mike.
Editioning of photographs is a fraught concept. By it's nature, photography lends itself to the creation of multiple (similar) prints of one negative. In the past, pre-digital, how 'identical' the individual prints were came down the difficulty of the neg, and skill of the printer. In some cases (Saint Ansel) photographers changed their interpretation of a negative over the years, so an image evolved. Editions, I think, are intended to reassure buyers that their new purchase is 'special'. One print of just 20, or whatever. Reassured by this they are supposedly more likely to buy (invest). Unfortunately, if you have a great image, and chose to edition it (and be strict) you may lock away potentialy a very popular image. Mike Johnston over on The Online Photgrapher argues quite strongly that Editioning favours Dealers not Photographers (will find the link). The Great BoB Carlos Clarke went through a spell of destroying his negatives after printing the edition- as far as I understand it he came to regret the process. Anyhow, gotta go work. Will find that link later . . . |
#14
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Marc, sorry I got the analogy wrong. I should have said I am a half empty person thus a pessimist.
I may be mean as well. I just can't envisage being prepared to pay £50-60 for a 10x8 print. That's not to say most people are like me however. I'll watch with interest as to how it develops Mike P.S. That's "mean" as in miserly to our U.S. friends not mean as in nasty or bad |
#15
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Marc, in theory your idea is a good one, but I have very serious reservations about the concept, I started, when I set up my site, to try selling prints in limitied edition numbered sets, at a high price, and the number of enquiries I got could be counted on the fingers of one hand, I changed the offer and now do O.K., not a fortune but I sell enough in a year to make it worth while,It costs more to post mounted prints, and you charge more, I have offered and still do, to supply mounted prints, I have yet to sell any, all that goes are prints unmounted, so I would not produce limited edition prints, also, if I produce a limited edition print and it sells well, I am stuck, so I will sometimes produce editions of prints, but as it is not a limited edition, but a simple edition, then if it is popular I can produce a second edition of the print, I may not make as much money per print but over the course I can make more from the print if it is popular, selling at a lower price, I learnt long ago about limited editions, plus with Traditional prints 10/8 is not popular, the smallest is around 9/12, 10/8 I find doesn't sell well, these days people want a bigger size,
I have found in both direct sales and internet sales that for every 10/8 I sell I sell 10 9x12, and only ever sell mounted prints direct though mainly galleries, I have been selling prints since the year 2K and it works as above for me, but good luck with the idea, it is a lot of work, and if it wasn't for my other half, who handles all the marketing side, I wouldn't be in this business now. Richard
__________________
jerseyinblackandwhite.blogspot.com |
#16
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Stone
Nothing's set in stone and I can certainly take on the concerns about limitied edition. We can do both or not at all. Its all up for debate.
As for mounting, well. I'm not convinced. Prints mounted ( To me anyway ) kind of make a print come alive as a something. Also, its at the very least a form of protection. I know that this whole thing is hard to guess out but its going to happen either way so lets play with it. Please do, all, chip in more thoughts and raise issues and solutions. |
#17
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I think prints should definitely be sold mounted, otherwise it seems to me like a restaurant selling you some food without a plate.
Also, how a print is mounted plays a big part in its visual impact. Colour of the mount, size, style etc are all part of the visual experience of the print and these aspects should be in the hands of the artist not the consumer. |
#18
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Was it the magazine PhotoArt back in the 90's that sold (or tried to sell) darkroom prints? The magazine gave prices in the image caption.
A problem there I would have thought is that PhotoArt was bought by mainly photo-practitioners and not the types that have cash to collect prints. Essentially I think Marc must be congratulated for trying another angle in promoting darkroom printing. I hope it works. Personally I'd be interested in supplying images on disc to go on a 'selling' site, then if anyone wanted to buy they could do the deal through that site, the site could take a percentage, and I would be instructed to supply a print to the buyer in whatever size or mount they want. I think as a business it could do good things - as long as there are enough people left making darkroom prints that are capable of selling, because it's tough out there, especially as digital stuff had bitten the arse of the low/mid priced print market. Anyhow I'm watching this post with interest. Cheers Richard |
#19
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Quote:
Richard
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jerseyinblackandwhite.blogspot.com |
#20
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Quote:
On mounting vs not mounted: I tend to feel that a mounted print is more of a finished item; the mount and mat are choices which need to fit the image, plus it offers a good deal of protection to the print itself during shipping. It's one thing mailing out an unmounted print for a print exchange, but quite another when it's a customer paying a significant amount for a fine art piece. |
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