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M$1 December 17, 2008 11:14 AM

How should a fine art photographer price images in a gallery?

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December 17, 2008 06:58 PM
If your primary income is not derived from your art, then you have a certain amount of leeway in pricing. In other words, it is less important to factor in overhead items. If you consider yourself to be a "fine art photographer", and you have a reputation, that is worth something. If these are unique in some way, numbered, or one of a kind, then that too is worth something.

In general, I frame my work in simple black metal gallery frames from NB, with white mats. I buy from a chop shop with whom I have an account, and this keeps my costs a little lower than going to Michael's or some such.

If your gallery is taking a percentage, then you need to decide what you want to get after the sale is complete. I have three basic sizes that I print to, and I charge $350, $200, and $75 respectively for the large, medium, and small. Anything else, of custom size, or frame, is negotiable and generally costs more. None of my work is numbered. This pricing has worked well for me in several venues including cafe shows, and gallery hangings, I do add a percentage if the gallery is taking a cut.
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December 17, 2008 07:00 PM
What is NB?

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December 17, 2008 09:07 PM
Sorry... habit. NB is Nielson Bainbridge http://www.nielsen-bainbridge.com/ I should have put that in the reference.

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December 17, 2008 11:19 AM
price them by resolution... the higher your resolution the higher your price... also go by the rarity of the shot... is it a image that can be found regulary?.. or rarely?...

Im not a fine arts photographer... but i'm jus going with what I would price.

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December 17, 2008 11:24 AM
If it were a digital gallery that would work. Perhaps I should have clarified that the pieces are framed and printed works. There is a base cost involved in printing and framing; beyond that how do you set price? Notoriety? edition number? Location?

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December 17, 2008 10:26 PM
Absolutely not. This is not how the art world works, and I strongly recommend that you do not price by technical quality or "rarity". Photography is not a treasure hunt.

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December 17, 2008 11:29 AM
This is actually something most people fret over. What should I charge people for my work? It is their work after all, what they do for a living, but if you charge too much for your prints, people might not buy them. If you charge too little, people might think you are an amateur and still not buy your work.
So what is that happy medium? That is something that is going to take research. Go to some fine art galleries and see how much some people are charging, find out how long they have been in the business and if people are buying or just coming in to art gaze. You might need to visit a few galleries. Don't be afraid to talk to the gallery owners, maybe they could take a look at your portfolio and help you, it might even get your foot in the door for a private showing.
Don't forget to pay attention to the market. If the market is down people aren't going to waste what little money they have on a picture. When the market is up, go ahead and raise the price 10 or 15%, if they want it badly enough, they will buy it.

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December 17, 2008 12:30 PM
By uniqueness. Technical difficulty and any going rate for the talent ( if there is any in the shot .

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December 17, 2008 10:28 PM
Your work is implicitly unique if a gallery has offered you a space in which to put it. Varying each piece's price by "uniqueness" or technical difficulty is confusing for the general public, and indicates that you consider photography a commodity. If you want to be in the art world, price your work like art.

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December 17, 2008 01:03 PM
As an artist I have focused on similar questions in the past myself. I found this sentence on a British website and found it resonate enough I wrote it down and put it in my wallet.
"Confidence and a belief in ones own judgment is sufficient enough for making adequate valuations of whatever kind."
I like to look at ebay and see what the market is paying for what I'm selling.
It's also a quantity/quality issue, would you rather sell 100 $50 items in a shorter period, or can you personally afford to wait longer to sell one $5000 dollar item. I have sold photos strictly by donation and done quite well at times because my costs were under a dollar and very few people would pay less than five. Five to one is good money, especially when it's an automated process to create. Just some thoughts...
Source(s):
artcollecting.co.uk
http://artcollecting.co.uk/ValuingArt.html


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December 17, 2008 10:29 PM
Good points all, though I'd like to add that eBay is not a reliable indicator in the least as to what your local art market is like. Buying art sight unseen over the Internet is not a process that many wealthy buyers have adjusted to.

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December 17, 2008 01:52 PM
As an economist, I love the idea of a silent auction for every piece. Perhaps you could set a minimum bid for each piece. Figure out what you would need to make on each piece to "break even," figure out how many pieces you would conservatively expect to sell in an average month, and price your minimum bids accordingly. Pieces that don't sell after a set amount of time would them see a reduced or eliminated minimum bid.


The down side is that you give up a little bit of control as far as pricing is concerned, and some pieces might not sell due to an artificially high minimum bid.


The upside is that every desirable piece will sell for what it is worth, and not a penny less. You will not leave any potential profit on the table!

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December 17, 2008 02:19 PM
1. Based on success of previous sales
2. Based on theme of the art
3. Based on uniqueness

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dmc dmc
 
December 17, 2008 02:28 PM
From a practical point of view, your situation is not radically different than non-artists pricing their goods and services. Only that art is more subjective is the main difference.

Ask yourself these questions in deciding what your product's value is.

1) What are my costs. Framing, paper, ink and labor all cost.

2) What intrinsic value is added. If you're "Andy Warhol", "dead", or put yourself at great risk to get the shot, there is added value.

3) Factor in other "unique" values that separate your work from everyone else like quality of parts used in making it. Overall aesthetics, etc. Give it a rating system from 1 to 10.

After you factor all of the above, you should have some idea of where to set your price.

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December 17, 2008 03:17 PM
Don't have a specific answer for you, but wanted to share an interesting pricing structure I saw at a local midwestern art gallery. They were set up where there were numerous items and all were for sale on consignment.

The gallery offered a leasing plan for some of the more expensive artwork. People could lease the art for up to 6 months at, I think it was 5% or 10% of the purchase price. They could decide to buy it after the 6 months. If they bought it, the money they already paid went to the purchase price.

I believe the piece had to be over $250 to qualify.

That's the general idea, I may have gotten the specifics wrong.

I thought this was a neat idea to keep both artists and art lovers able to buy art and make money in a soft economy.
Source(s):
http://lansingartgallery.org/


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December 17, 2008 03:35 PM
It depends where you are. In GA, prices seldom go over $100 and most photos do not sell: they stay in exhibits in internet cafes where generally it is free. Number of print counts, also size: Lagerfeld photos are usually life size, he has his own paper made for him. Then the price goes through the roof. Try to have a theme, a good gallery, to sell for remodeling hotels. Or try to have a book publisher. it is a hard market.

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December 17, 2008 10:25 PM
Don't price by "resolution" or "quality." If some of your photographs are technically inadequate, don't hang them. You aren't selling a side of meat.

Charge by size and by the amount of work that each took -- it's generally a good idea to keep the same rates for a given body of work, unless there are a few pieces that are clearly a different process that warrant higher or lower pricing.

Scope out the gallery or venue before determining your pricing. Ask what price ranges typically sell, or look for red dots. Don't use this as a sole determinant, and don't vary your prices between venues (unless there's been a significant passage of time) -- just use this information as a factor in your initial pricing. Gallery owners and purchasers will be irritated if you change pricing for a given piece. If a gallery is too high-end or low-end, consider either skipping it or offering a different version of the work (larger prints, say).

Consider editioning your work, and be honest about it.

Don't have your work framed at the gallery unless you are independently wealthy, or if they require it and you're desperate. Learn how to do it yourself and drop the $100 on tools -- you'll save tons of money, and you can do it well if you're patient and have a clean work area.
Source(s):
Personal experience as a photographer.


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