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 06/12/2006 12:06:01 PM · #1
A friend and I have been thinking of getting into an artshow type of thing and selling prints. Like one of these shows: //www.artsfestival.net/, //www.shakerwoods.com/, etc

So what pics will sell?
Local scenics or architecture?
Abstracts?
Collage (door poster or similar)
churches
animals - puppies, kittens, goose, zoo?
farm scenes?
seasons? summer, spring, winter, fall?
birds?
Pics from outside the area (beach, sailboat, etc?)

What types of pics would you buy, have bought or sold, or your frinds have hanging on their walls?

06/12/2006 12:15:16 PM · #2
Isn't this the 64 dollar question we would all like to know the answer to? :-)

Based on what I see :-

- Arch of famous stuff and local.
- Something I don't understand myself but I see a bit of food type still life shots in kitchens.
- Not abstract but stylised destination stuff - you know the Paris cafe in art-deco type style e.t.c.

Most of what I see is family portrait stuff, although personally I have more travel and arch type prints.
 06/12/2006 12:24:22 PM · #3
I hope to sell my other work (weddings, portraits) as well, but at an art show people will buy art for their walls.

food..had not thought of that. Hmmm...

so this is some of what i have in mind..
//i.pbase.com/o4/77/624677/1/61716063.s6aWlNKb.IMG_6383.jpg
//i.pbase.com/o4/77/624677/1/61716058.PRfH9hg0.IMG_6369.jpg
//i.pbase.com/o4/77/624677/1/61716016.e5qtceyx.IMG_6156.jpg

Message edited by Manic - please limit images to 500px/30kb or link/thumb.
 06/12/2006 12:27:07 PM · #4
I mostly have pictures that are meaningful to me. For some time now, I've been wondering about this, and I've been paying attention to walls. Mostly I've seen beautiful, evocative images, some of them with some kind of motivational message.
I hope you do well on your show.
 06/12/2006 12:30:50 PM · #5
i have a show coming up in ...argh...6weeks...argh... and these are some of the images i'll be hanging.

local scenery and a few art prints. i'm also looking at it as the launch of my portraiture business, so will have a wall of portratis that won't be for sale, with promotional flyers underneath





I'm slowly working my way throgh my portfolio, remastering the shots for print. this is a finished one...

Message edited by author 2006-06-12 12:45:11.
 06/12/2006 12:31:09 PM · #6
We have a big art festival in my neighborhood every year, which was this past weekend. This is what I saw alot of, looking at the photographers at the festival

landscapes, especially Utah/Arizona canyons
architecture, espeically local stuff but also recognizable landmarks
wildlife and birds

I would say the majority of what I saw was the wildlife stuff. Everything from wolves to buffalo grazing to squirrels close up to bluebirds and finches. Some really great stuff there.

I honestly don't know how profitable this kind of thing is for the photographers, but the one lady I spoke to was clearly loving exhibiting her work and talking to people about it (I didn't have the nerve to ask her about the $$$ end)

I don't know if this helps or not. I was thinking as I was walking around what I would buy to hang on my walls, but as a photographer myself, I honestly couldn't see it as just a consumer. I should ask my friends and see what they say.

Liza

Message edited by author 2006-06-12 12:32:46.
 06/12/2006 12:31:12 PM · #7
sounds about right

Originally posted by robs:
- Arch of famous stuff and local.
- Something I don't understand myself but I see a bit of food type still life shots in kitchens.
- Not abstract but stylised destination stuff - you know the Paris cafe in art-deco type style e.t.c.
 06/12/2006 12:36:35 PM · #8
I think the middle B&W is a good image to try. IMO, the first is not as strong (nice reflection though). I don't think the car is something most would have up - he says with several F1 prints around the house [race cars if F1 means nothing].

Maybe to add a bit of diversity in a show it would be worth keeping the car since a show is really only partly about print sales and more about advertising for future gigs.
 06/12/2006 12:40:19 PM · #9
sorry, odd things happening....

Message edited by author 2006-06-12 12:43:32.
 06/12/2006 12:50:57 PM · #10
This is just IMHO of an observer, I haven't tried to sell any photos, yet.

If it is for selling a product...
Is it a Calendar, coffe-mug, tee-shirt, brochure, or cereal...
If Photography is an art to be displayed...

it will sell the same as the ones painted on canvas,
many styles and types to many different people, and places to be displayed.

Anything that appeals to the emotions/moods, love, contoversy, sex, etc, many styles and types to many different people and places to be displayed. Not everybody like jello or peas.

Half the people will like them half will not, so have twice as much variety and styles. Above all quality and attractiveness.

As indicated look at what sells on all the visual-media, and in industries that parallel photography. Timing, Location, and Audience are important. Would you sell Frozen Daquiries outside in the winter? (maybe inside near a fireplace, you would)

Recently I was browseing at an art fair, they can't have music, but for attracting customers colorful-moving-Lights(spinning crystals)/Action can be used. Maybe a slide-show on an LCD-Panel, that would draw a crowd. So does a live, free photoshoot of a model.
06/12/2006 12:58:11 PM · #11
and continuing...
What's in your Gallery.
Well if the members here a an average composite of the real domographics of people in general, then here are the ranks for what is here.

DPChallenge.com

As of June 7, 20006

RANK CATEGORY COUNT

1) Nature...................22,119
2) Black and White..........15,201
3) Landscape................14,886
4) Animals..................14,417
5) Macro....................13,179
6) Portraiture..............12,269
7) Still Life...............11,824
8) Abstract.................11,331
9) Architecture............. 8,853
10) Emotive.................. 8,192
11) Floral................... 7,476
12) Humorous................. 6,281
13) Candid................... 5,575
14) Cityscape................ 5,362
15) Water.................... 5,209
16) Sky...................... 4,900
17) Rural.................... 4,896
18) Studio................... 4,826
19) Family................... 4,677
20) Urban.................... 4,505
21) Travel................... 4,283
22) Action................... 4,165
23) Seascapes................ 3,911
24) Sports................... 3,442
25) Digital Art.............. 3,097
26) Snapshot................. 3,005
27) Food and Drink........... 2,764
28) Photojournalism.......... 2,641
29) Advertisement............ 2,371
30) Interior................. 2,202
31) Transportation........... 2,194
32) Vintage.................. 2,073
33) Fashion.................. 1,716
34) Performance.............. 1,569
35) Nude..................... 1,340
36) Science and Technology... 1,052
37) Panoramic................ 995
38) Persuasive............... 855
39) Traditional Art.......... 759
40) Political................ 750
41) Self Portrait............ 381
42) Diptych / Triptych....... 362
43) Astrophotography......... 327
44) Wedding.................. 210
45) Military................. 198
46) History.................. 192
47) Infrared................. 120
48) Textures................. 70
06/12/2006 01:06:29 PM · #12
Seeing artists selling pics nearly identical to what i have taken - matted is all - for these kinds of prices gets one wondering...

5x7 $35, 8x10 $95, 11x14 $150, 16x20 $350

one guy a print very much like this: ina 30x60 or perhaps a bit bigger (aka HUGE) ina simple frame for $1390.
 06/12/2006 01:16:07 PM · #13
Originally posted by justamistere:
and continuing...
What's in your Gallery.
Well if the members here a an average composite of the real domographics of people in general, then here are the ranks for what is here.


Interesting list...but this is what we DPCrs submit. I/m not sure that water/seascapes are this low in a sales environment.

Limited Edition signed prints - costs me nothing really, but perhaps ups the prestige and value of the prints.

So how many? 50? Is that overall or per size?
06/12/2006 01:31:54 PM · #14
Originally posted by Prof_Fate:
Limited Edition signed prints - costs me nothing really, but perhaps ups the prestige and value of the prints.

So how many? 50? Is that overall or per size?


I think it does cost you something - You cannot use that print - at least at that or close size - for anything else. Not that I think it's a bad idea, but be prepared to only print that many and not use the image again.

You want to make the limit 1 less than you sell :-) Dunno really but I suspect a lower number would be better and 50 sounds reasonable to me. I might be tempted to make it 10 or something very low as it increases the prestige/snob appeal - you need to make a realistic estimate of how many will sell in the next few months and make the set as low as possible - after all, a limit that is never reached might as well be unlimited :-)

I think a limit on size is ok as long as the size is much larger than any of the unlimited ones - say 8x10 is unlimited but 30xwhatever is the limited edition and you print nothing larger than 8x10 apart from the limited.

Edit: You might want to jack up the price on #1 and #max for that extra bit of appeal :-)

Message edited by author 2006-06-12 13:33:42.
 06/12/2006 01:38:33 PM · #15
like anything else in marketing, you can't do it just once and expect to make money. doing it once is simply a crapshoot. if you want to do it and make money, you've got to do it a lot.

if you can't do it a lot, then you need to focus on other reasons. i do local shows not to sell prints, but to 1) increase visibility, and 2) let people see the face behind the name they've seen in the local papers.

i've sold landscapes, animals, abstracts, and some people shots. i sell them $10 for 5x7, $25 for 8x10, and $40 for 11x14. they are all bagged. the 5x7s and 8x10s come with 8x10 and 11x14 matting, respectively, and all come with appropriately sized acid-free foam board.

it helps to have inventory. i have about 80 11x14s, 50 8x10s, and 40 5x7s, all bagged and ready to go. i got lucky, and recouped my whole investment at my first show. now, if i want to do a show, my only expense going in is the booth fee.

if you're going to do this, you might also want to get set up with a merchant account. i have one that costs me $10 a month maintenance, but with no minimum monthly charge requirement. it also didn't have a setup fee. best of all, it offers touchtone verification. i don't have to swipe any cards--i just call it in and get approval codes. i've heard nightmare stories of artist selling stuff over the weekend, only to find out on monday, when they start processing their sales, that they got some bogus cards.

like anything else, there are a lot of things you can do to make your experience more successful. the trick, though, is having reasonable expectations and not to hang everything on the first one making you rich.

good luck, and have fun!
 06/12/2006 04:22:56 PM · #16
Just "For your information", the statistics I posted in a previous comment above, came from the "Photos-->Galleries" drop-down menu, above.

It was originally in alphabetical order, and I wanted to see it by Category Rank. I actually write software for a living, but I like to keep my left/right sides of my brain in balance, and this is a great place for creativity.
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