Pricing Framed Prints - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

02/15/2004 12:10:59 PM · #1

Raptors Series

This is a framed set of four 4x6" prints with a double white matting and a black metal frame assembly. The dimensions are 7"x33". If you were going to sell this, what would you charge for it?

soup

Canon EOS-30D

02/15/2004 12:14:42 PM · #2

archival materials?

you could get quite a bit for it i bet. its a nice set of photos.

a few hundred dollars - if its archival materials.
might as well try...

Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L USM

02/15/2004 12:16:35 PM · #3

If you are looking for competitors and/or quality inspirative works, I would suggest you to examine this production:

//www.umbra.com/

I own one of their multi-picture frames and the quality and design are superb. Also, they have very different choices in style and designs which I find really well done and original.

JC_Homola

Canon EOS-20D

02/15/2004 12:18:00 PM · #4

Difficult question.

What I've done with the other art I do is, create a formula to give the base price.

Cost of materials, base labour (ie, if you do the matting/printing yourself) keystoned plus value added. (by keystoning the base you have room to work for wholesale accounts and discounts at retail)

The Value added is very subjective. What do you feel YOUR worth. Do you want to receive $50 for a composition like this? $100, $200,, what will the market bear?

What have your images sold for in galleries? What is the most you ever received for a matted/framed print?

All these things go into figuring the price.

I suppose not much help, but it is a very hard thing to decide.

02/15/2004 12:34:12 PM · #5

Originally posted by JC_Homola:

The most I have ever sold a matted only print for is $150. That was a double matted 11x14 print in a 16x20 mat. I have sold a significant number of matted/framed 8x10 prints (11x14 mat frame) for $80-$110 locally. These were all in rather cheap mat/frame combos that I bought at AC Moore.

My 'time' is irrelevant I think. My name is also irrelevant at this point. But I hope the latter changes some this year. I plan to try to find a larger market around here to work with.

Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L USM

02/15/2004 12:40:14 PM · #6

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

....
My 'time' is irrelevant I think. My name is also irrelevant at this point. But I hope the latter changes some this year. I plan to try to find a larger market around here to work with.

It's an excellent idea.

I have been occasionally thinking of a business like that in similar terms, that's why I was suggesting to evaluate different kind of frames.

Some frames integrate well with classical decorations, while other are definitely required to properly "settle" in a modern environment.

Also, the position/size/design of each sub-frame can influence the overall composition of a multi-picture.

Eventually, these parameters should be included in the definition of the final price even if, of course, the targeted market is the ultimate parameter.

JC_Homola

Canon EOS-20D

02/15/2004 01:26:16 PM · #7

My 'time' is irrelevant I think. My name is also irrelevant at this point. But I hope the latter changes some this year. I plan to try to find a larger market around here to work with.

I would beg to differ. Your time is valuable. Too many artists devalue the amount of time they invest in the creation of their work.

I agree, that trying to create an hourly wage, or figuring in all the time that went into shots when you were out in the field is not really possible.

But, your time spent matting and framing esp. is important. That is all time when you could not be shooting or doing something else important to the end result.

I strongly suggest considering that when pricing your work.

02/15/2004 01:48:43 PM · #8

I'm thinking that 3x my materials cost would be a good place to start maybe...

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM

02/15/2004 02:00:37 PM · #9

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

I'm thinking that 3x my materials cost would be a good place to start maybe...

mmm.. that could be too much or too cheap for your targeted customer.

The actual value of art is from 1 dollar to millions.

It mostly depends from the size of the bank account of your prospective customer.

Therefore, I would definitely suggest to review the formula to introduce some other substantial variable.

connie

Canon EOS-40D

02/15/2004 02:27:56 PM · #10

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

My 'time' is irrelevant I think. My name is also irrelevant at this point. But I hope the latter changes some this year. I plan to try to find a larger market around here to work with.

I think just the opposite. Your time and signature are relevant. I have been collecting photographs for a number of years and a name attached to the photo is very important to me (even if itâ��s somebodyâ��s early work). I guess thatâ��s why I have not sold any prints on DPCPrints. They would be sold unsigned.

John those shots framed look excellent together! Congrats on your sales!

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED

02/15/2004 02:31:18 PM · #11

A very important consideration (IMHO), going Connie's way is the "Limited Edition".

You should decide upfront how many copies of a specific "product" you will produce and put an enumerated label on each copy.
(The price, also, it is influenced by the number of copies that you will decide to produce).

Of course, you could decide to make new editions later on, but your existing customers would not appreciate it, therefore it would be better to show some loyalty and just produce an exact, announced number of your work in Limited Edition.

Flash

Nikon D700

02/15/2004 02:34:21 PM · #12

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

This is a framed set of four 4x6" prints with a double white matting and a black metal frame assembly. The dimensions are 7"x33". If you were going to sell this, what would you charge for it?

A couple of thoughts.....1). how much can a person go to the local department store and purchase a multiple "Birds' of Prey" wall hanging, typically mass produced. 2).Is this for sale in a "Showing", where buyers are mingling and sipping champagne or is this an item for sale in a flea market? Is this a contracted work, specifically requested by a buyer or a collection of your "stock" photo's that your are trying to recoup some money from?

I just posted about a book from the ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers). It has been quite enlighting to me in giving me plenty to ponder as I decide how to do this business the right way.

The materials for the matted and framed work were likely in the 50.00 range. The creative process to compile it is valuable. The effort to seek the location, patience to shoot the subject, and investments in processing, developing, editing, and printing has a value.

[75-275.00]If this is for sale in a specialty store, like a local birder's store, where local audobon members congregate to get their special mix of seeds.

I have also seen, even Ansel Adam's wall hangings discounted as much as 60%, because they weren't moving. So gage your market and price accordingly. You can always charge/accept less. It is hard to raise the price after the fact. A local audobon store owner may let you put it there on consignment.

Flash

Message edited by author 2004-02-15 14:34:57.

02/15/2004 02:43:31 PM · #13

Originally posted by connie:

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

My 'time' is irrelevant I think. My name is also irrelevant at this point. But I hope the latter changes some this year. I plan to try to find a larger market around here to work with.

I think just the opposite. Your time and signature are relevant. I have been collecting photographs for a number of years and a name attached to the photo is very important to me (even if itâ��s somebodyâ��s early work). I guess thatâ��s why I have not sold any prints on DPCPrints. They would be sold unsigned.

John those shots framed look excellent together! Congrats on your sales!

Thanks for the comment... my 'signature' is indeed important to the sale, but my 'name' doesn't make the print worth anything extra.. this is what I meant to say :)

Sony DT 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 Aspherical ED Super Wide Angle Zoom

02/15/2004 02:48:38 PM · #14

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

...but my 'name' doesn't make the print worth anything extra.. this is what I meant to say :)

You never know.. it may mean something to time travellers! ;)

JPR

Sony Alpha a55

02/15/2004 03:00:35 PM · #15

$160

LindaLee

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

02/15/2004 03:02:03 PM · #16

John, you and I have discussed the signature thing before - I think it is invaluable in the sale of fine art - which is what photography prints are generally becoming considered to be. I truly think that most people WANT a signature, and I agree with Connie - the artist's name is nearly always important to those who collect this kind of work.

Your investment in time (taking photos, digital darkroom, printing, matting, framing) should ALWAYS be taken into consideration in the pricing of your work - even if you are "just starting out" in the business of selling prints. And don't sell yourself short - don't sell your work inexpensively just to sell it. Always market to a more upscale audience, and market your work in those venues that will place your work in front of those people. Flash made some excellent points in reference to venue of sale, and the fact that you can always reduce, but never raise, a price.

I also agree with the "Limited Edition" idea. This nearly always creates more value for your product, as well as making people "feel" that it is worth the price to get something very special, that only a few people will have.

All that being said, I would place the retail value of that print collection at somewhere between $150.00 - $250.00.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

02/15/2004 03:43:28 PM · #17

Thanks to everyone for the feedback...

I have a little less than $35 in materials for this framed set. I have about 1 hour of time in putting it together. These four photos are from two separate trips to the North Carolina Raptor Center in Charlotte, NC.

These images are part of my own library of stock photos. They were not done by request. I would like to price my work in such a way that it sells to my audience here in town, but I also want to make it worth my time and effort. My sales locally have allowed me to call this a self-financing hobby at this point and I would like to keep it that way.

Here's a bit of an issue that I have to resolve as well. Based on the feedback I have gotten here, I plan to price this item at $165. This item is a bit different for me because it is a quad. I will likely price my single images as follows:

8x12 print in a 12x16 mat/frame: $129
10x15 print in a 14x19 mat/frame: $149
16x20 print in a 20x25 mat/frame: $189
16x24 print in a 22x30 mat/frame: $209

These mat/frame sizes may vary a bit because I don't like to do standard uniform borders with the mats. I like to 'bottom weight' the mats a bit when I cut them.

The issue that I have discussed with some of my camera club members is the issue of selling prints online. Currently I sell these prints for these prices:

8x12: $15
10x15: $19
16x20: $29
16x24: $29

These are prints only with no signature, but my camera club people think that it's too cheap and I agree. My online sales are basically insignificant though. I have sold 21 prints via dpcprints since its inception almost a year ago. I need to do one of two things... I need to raise the prices of these prints and further reduce online sales, or I need to stop selling online. It's probably not a great idea to try to sell online for these low prices and then sell them locally for significantly higher. I don't think the market for online sales of this stuff is very large.

Limited editions are definitely part of my game plan for the future, but not at this point. I had a local art shop that was selling my work but they have closed. I need to start investigating another place to sell here in town. When I locate that place and get setup with them with some regular sales, limited edition work will begin.

soup

Canon EOS-30D

02/15/2004 05:45:00 PM · #18

ask more for matted photos....

its work, and costly...

sell online for the sake of exposure

LoudDog

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

02/15/2004 07:01:59 PM · #19

My price would depend on the customer. If I'm at park and swap and want to make some $$$ I have to sell cheaper. Most people there probably won't pay $100 plus for a print. If I'm in a fancy smancy gallery in the big money part of town I'd charge big $$$.