I sold my first photo today (happy dance!) and am curious to know if others have sold their photos (post them here if you have!) and at what cost? I did my own printing, matting and framing (cheap!), but struggled with what to charge. Because it was a photo for the son of a dear friend, I didn't want to charge too much, so only charged him $20 (the frame was only $7 - like I said...cheap!). It was a 10x14 frame (with mat) for an 8x10 photo. What would be a fair price for selling 8x10 and other size photos without the frame and mat? I think it is only fair that I charge for the printing as well as the time I put into processing the photo itself. Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
Congrats on selling your first photo! Hopefully, this is just the beginning for you.
Many, many people have started threads on what to charge for photos. There are several factors involved, but basically it comes down to this: you charge what you need to make a living, without charging yourself out of business. For example, if you just want to do this as a hobby you don't need to charge $100 for a 20"x30" print. On the other hand, if you want to take this seriously you have a LOT of things to consider when determining pricing.
Here is the most popular photo print of mine to sell. I shot this photo about a year ago, and I've sold probably 300+ prints and digital versions by now.
I sell an 8"x12" print for $11USD, and then all the way up to a 20"x30" print for $40USD. Digital versions with one-year licenses are available, but that always depends on the use. I gave a license to an air show magazine to use as a 1/2 page print for $575.
So, it varies, and completely depends on you. What kinds of expenses did you incur while making this photo? Camera? Lens? Rentals? Lights? Gas?
@kmrtn6 I have a website through Photoshelter. It's a good deal: I get to set my own prices, they take 3% as a processing fee, and I don't get charged the actual printing costs until the end of each month.
Congrats - love both pictures. I sell some wildlife shots and for an 8x10 I charge $25 - no frame. Mine are mostly word of mouth until I get my website up and running. I'm looking at Etsy and RedBubble. I'm considering offering some canvas prints this year and see how I do.
@kmrtn6 I sold my photos to the individual who owns the race car. But I'm thinking of doing more with the race car and show car venue. Also, I've had two or three people tell me I need to be selling my landscape photos. We have a local art show coming up the second week of June, and I thought about setting up a booth with a few photos for sale at that time.
I'm fairly new to this too, but I basically just made up my own prices. I sell for cheap because I live in a small community. If I were selling to someone other than friends and family, I would probably charge more. But I sell my 8x10 or 8x12 prints for $20. I sell matted prints of that same size for $40 and then my prices go up from there. Here are a few examples of the shots I've printed for people.
Congratulations on your first print! I've sold prints in a tourist shot before. The biggest selling one was an 8x10 matted and framed for $70. I have sold cards for $2.50 each or $10 a pack. My just matted 8x10s went for $22 and 5x7 mattes were $15. The shop shaved some off the top, but I had enough to cover all costs for the investment and had some extra. Now, that I live in a different part of the US, I'll probably lower my prices, but I do this for hobby and am not expecting to make a living doing this right now.
I sold one of my frog shots, which my friend paid for the printing (onto stretched canvas, size 60cm x 40cm) and I charged $50 for my time in taking the shot, post-processing and downloading to the printer. Often when it comes to selling in a Gallery, a good rule of thumb is a third for the framing, a third for the gallery and a third for the photographer, and you often come up with a fair price. I sold a piece in PNG like that which worked out well...
Whoops! Pressed the button by mistake. It's always really hard to price things that you make, because you have to take into account the time that it takes to make it. Often, this can completely price you out of the market. I suppose the best thing to do is to look around and see what other people are charging and for what sort of product. It also depends on where and on what basis you're selling them. If the place you're selling is taking a cut of the final price, then you need to factor that into your negociations with them. If you're lucky enough for someone to buy outright, then I suppose it's chance your arm and see what they're prepard to pay. You can alwasy re-negociate. Once you've made yourself known a bit, you can charge more; but the thing with photos is that they're not one-offs; you can always make more of the , which I suppose makes them less of an original commodity. We're having the same dilema. Sara is thinking about having an exhibition and as always, the most diffult bit is pricing! It's interesting what Jason (@bobfoto) says about Gallery pricing, so the more you do for yourself then, the better price you get!
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Many, many people have started threads on what to charge for photos. There are several factors involved, but basically it comes down to this: you charge what you need to make a living, without charging yourself out of business. For example, if you just want to do this as a hobby you don't need to charge $100 for a 20"x30" print. On the other hand, if you want to take this seriously you have a LOT of things to consider when determining pricing.
Here is the most popular photo print of mine to sell. I shot this photo about a year ago, and I've sold probably 300+ prints and digital versions by now.
I sell an 8"x12" print for $11USD, and then all the way up to a 20"x30" print for $40USD. Digital versions with one-year licenses are available, but that always depends on the use. I gave a license to an air show magazine to use as a 1/2 page print for $575.
So, it varies, and completely depends on you. What kinds of expenses did you incur while making this photo? Camera? Lens? Rentals? Lights? Gas?
And great photo...btw
By the way, here is the frog shot.