Selling your photo prints - why nobody wants to buy them
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- čas přidán 31. 01. 2023
- So, you are showing your photos on-line, but nobody wants to buy your fine art and Giclee prints. They may be great, but who really sees them and just what is it you are selling. Who are you expecting to buy them?
Keith looks at some reasons nobody buys and why even with a large collection of images they may just not be what people want.
Following on in the 'business of photography and printing' series, looking at marketing and who it is who might want prints.
See the full 'Business' playlist
• Photography as a business
Also - just what happens to all those prints Keith makes for his reviews and testing?
See more of Keith's articles and videos about the business side of photography and printing at
www.northlight-images.co.uk/b... - Krátké a kreslené filmy
You're telling photographers that they need to acknowledge and communicate with their buyers. Great recommendation.
Yes - too often I get question from people who see buyer as just 'out there somewhere'
After years of photography only been seriously printing in the last couple of months, mainly down to your videos. It has completed the circle for me, from the initial press of the shutter button, through processing and now printing. Doing it for me and it is a great addition to the hobby, far more tactile and satisfying than a computer screen that no one else sees. Thanks again.
Thanks - that's really great to know - glad to have helped!
I think some photographers get hung up on the notion of selling prints when they buy a printer. Sometimes you should just get a printer to enjoy making something physical out of your photographs. Just because you print doesn't mean you have to do something commercial with them.
Yes, perhaps 15% of printer enquiries I get, mention some business aspect.
No background business info, just: 'What is the best [cheapest] for X' -
Indeed. I print a lot of my pictures as I enjoy looking at them but I dont try to sell any of them.
So many people may miss the most important part of your video … knowing your audience. Thanks for sharing your infinite knowledge so freely.
Thanks - it does sometimes feel like the thing some people just don't want to think about.
'Basically your prints aren't that good and nobody's much interested. We'll ignore that one for the moment. You'll have to work that one out yourself' - that comment made me laugh as it i so true. I'll keep mine up on my website and if someone likes one and buys it then I'll be happy they get to enjoy it as much as I do. Another insightful video Keith, thank you.
Thanks!
Keith,
I have made prints for over fifty years mostly in the darkroom. In my early days I would dry mount, over mat, and frame my images. I would exhibit them and occasionally sell a few images, but always ended up bringing most back home . Today I print digitally and sell some images through my website, but I often will give my quality proofs away in coffee shops and book stores in my area. It's funny when they are free a large pile of prints can disappear in a few hours. I photograph for the love of exploring and the places the camera takes me. Without the camera in my life I would have spent a lot more time on the couch. Always enjoy your videos.
Thanks - glad they are of interest!
I often used to take spare prints along with me to local business networking meetings and 'give them away' asking people to just tell people where they came from if they showed them in their offices ;-)
My photo album consists of 13x19 prints of my favorite photos. I do it just for me.
Yes - a perfectly fine approach. It's about finding what works for you.
Thank you, Keith, for sharing your experience with us.
I bought a new Canon IPF Pro 1000 in December and have been experimenting with different papers. I mainly photograph people so I gave many of these prints to my models. Every single one of them was so happy and grateful. I’ve noticed that people like to look at themselves and that portrait photography often functions as a mirror. If you show kindness, patience and understanding for their imperfections, it shows in the photos and people appreciate it. That sharing experience made me realize what kind of prints I need to focus on.
Thanks - that's interesting to hear, especially as someone who doesn't really photograph people at all...
@@KeithCooper Yes, I know. Sometimes dealing with people can be challenging, but in the right setting, also rewarding. Thanks for the reply and once again for your videos. I find those business oriented very interesting and informative. Those helped to take my rose-coloured glasses off.
Sound advice Keith
Luckily I am at an age that i wouldn't even bother boring my family or friends with my "Photography" as it is a personal love rather than a shared one, if that makes sense.
The funny thing is, that sometimes (a rear occasion) I am asked " are you still taking photos"😂😂😉😇
Yes - I may do it for a job, but I still make sure I do stuff for myself as well...
Hello Keith. Definitely, printing your own pictures helps you in getting a better photographer. You’re proud when you can touch the result of your work, it’s a great sensation. I enjoy what I have instead of seeking for what I miss…
Yes - makes a real difference
I take exceptionally great picture, that are out off this world, says my mother. I like your statement “maybe nobody likes your picture” It is so true. I bought a few pictures when I was in Yellowstone because the photographer had a few of bisons in the deep snow and we were there during the summer. Otherwise I take the same picture when I am there and they mean so much more to me than a better looking picture I could buy. If you take pictures for yourself and not with the thought ‘I want to sell them’, you will have more fun with your hobby. At the end of the year, make some cheap calendars and give them to your friends and family. Trust me, they love it.
yes - the enjoyment factor is a big one!
Keith, I bought a Pro 300 before Christmas, and yesterday printed a 6x9 picture of my wife and son. Now, instead of it being hidden inside a computer file digital folder, it is sitting on my table where I can enjoy it. -- BAK --
Excellent!
I only sell the prints who are locally photographed. I travel the world taking images but only sell local prints from the area I'm in. I also print and hang them up. No one has ever bought a print of my website or social media but I sold plenty in galleries etc. So print print, print and print locally shot images on fine art paper.
Yes - Local and real prints matter
Seen quite a few of your vids since - this is the best 😎👍🏻
Thanks
The breakfast print looks delicious 🤤
On that note, edible prints might be an untapped market for photographers.
I have someone from Epson calling round today - I'll ask them what they can offer ;-) :-)
Thanks for the insight. Found this immensely helpful.
Glad it was helpful!
Something we all need to hear, thank you.
Thanks - glad it made sense!
I learn many things from you Sir. printer, print, colour observation. Thank you
Thanks!
Great video Keith, couldn't agree more and it's so refreshing to hear someone like yourself say it like it is.
With so many fantastic prints out there available to buy from literally hundreds of thousands of artists across the globe, to somehow think ones own prints are going to be so much more in demand and profitable is just lunacy quite frankly.
Yes sir, my rule is I take photos for me, and I print for me.
Should anyone happen to see one of my prints and wish to purchase a copy then I'll gladly sell them one (at a very humble price mind you) and be happy in the knowledge that someone out there likes my vision enough to have it hanging on their wall.
I haven't been printing all that long so have yet to adorn my walls enough to be happy with; however, when this day comes I will occasionally rotate the images as you do and when it's time to freshen them up I plan on donating the old images to local charities to either sell or auction off for their benefit.
Win win I feel 😉
Thanks for taking the time to make your vids, very informative and appreciated. 👍
Thanks - I'm really pleased the video seems to have struck a chord with so many people...
You can print Your photos like a stickers/labels for laptop, different sizes. It's working. Good sales.
Yes - there can be many markets if you know your audience and where they are
I particularly like the bw of Wells Catheral!
- and the bw print of the one behind the Wells cathedral.
Fantastic!
Thanks! I need to go back with some newer kit some time ;-)
I have just bought a Pro 300 for my own enjoyment and to advance my Photography experience. I have the idea of creating prints of the village I live in. I don't think it will generate a business but I might get a few interested.
Yes - 'local' can be a key marketing approach
What I've found, and you touched on it, is the right print in front of the right person. I think even when dealing with portfolios in general (not even prints) some people think that just getting their portfolio seen is the way to get more shoots / jobs, and that's partially true, but you have to tailor your portfolio (or have multiple ones) for each type of client you're trying to appeal to. Many people I've seen (non-pro shooters) tend to make the mistake of trying to be a jack of all trades and appeal to everyone, but I think they'd in some respects be better off just picking one area or one genre, making a portfolio of just their best pieces of that area, and going after target audiences that fit that genre (so for example, if you do travel photography, have a travel photongraphy-only portoflio that ONLY has travel photography) and reach out to travel photography magazines, people who like to travel, etc. So you sort of have to target your audiences I guess, and some people (or rather many) probably don't do that. They want to be flexible when it comes to what they can do and what they can sell, and like I said, that's fine, but tailor what you show and try to sell to a specific audience (you can have multiple audiences... one for travel, one for portraits/modeling, etc) but tailor it so that they see you as a travel photographer or a portrait photographer and not someone who bounces around. And I think the same philosophy can be applied to selling print. Cater your portfolio and prints to a specific target audience that would find those potentially interesting and that are interested in the subject, but don't sell them on other things like landscapes for example if you're going after the travel crowd (although you might be able to get away with it, but say selling landscapes and portraits together doesn't usually work because the two are not really related - but landscape can go with travel photography in some cases, especially if it's a well known travel destination like the Grand Canyon).
Yes - without marketing, your great portfolio counts for nothing...
You took awesome 👏🏻 photos!!
Thanks
Great info. I was just wondering about this. When someone does want a print and you send it digitally, how do you edit it not knowing which lab or paper they will use if they print it? My concern is when the buyer prints the photo, it could end up looking quite different from the digital copy and they will be disappointed.
Ah, I only ever send prints as prints - I don't supply 'ready to print' images at all
Our commercial photography work is supplied in digital formats for most clients. There is normally no special editing.
This is something I learned long ago. My wife and I attend a local farmer's market/art walk in the summer where she sells a lot of her hand-made jewelry. Until last year, I sold woodwork like birdhouses, feeders, and scroll sawn key racks. I sold off my woodshop last year however, and found that sitting by while she hawked her necklaces was boring me, so I started printing cards from my collection of images gathered over the past thirty-five years. I have no illusions, but at least it will give me something to talk about as she tries bracelets on the little girls. I am trying to include as much local interest as possible to increase the chance of selling a couple per week perhaps. I will never try to sell large prints.
Yes, Karen, who helps run the business used to make jewellery and now looks after a lot of our marketing. Someone who will happily tell me when something looks great but simply won't sell! ;-)
@@KeithCooper Small boxes to store weed flies off the shelf of wherever my sister chooses to sell misc. crafts. Bunch o' potheads where she lives.
Yes - know your customer base! ;-)
Yes that's what I have discovered but don't mind, so when I do sell one such a great feeling well worth it
Yes - it's always nice when it happens ;-)
Hello Keith, thanks for sharing your knowledge and experiences with us. I have a question. Do you have experience with printing CANVAS Infinity paper, in particular the Baryta Prestige II, 340gsm with a EPSON 8550 ET printer, black and wide?
Sorry - not that particular one. See my main [written] review for more
www.northlight-images.co.uk/epson-et-8550-printer-review/
It will definitely need a custom profile for B&W
Many of us would like to be able to at least partially support ourselves with our photographs, but I wonder if our deepest desire isn't to have someone else verify our worth as a photographer -- by giving perfectly good money for our stuff. Obviously I speak as someone who is not a professional photographer...an awful lot of us are not. Only a finite number of them are needed.
Yes - the element of 'worth' is an important one.
There has been a general over-supply of would-be 'pro' photographers ever since I took it up professionally in 2003
I am looking to better my knowledge of the complete chain, from putting on my clothes, to walk out the door with a good enough camera to lifting out the printed result form the printer tray. In the end I am looking to see a picture that I personally can be proud of. Youre video's help me tremendously in that. But I am still feeling that I do not know it all. At the moment I am still fighting with my printer and the results I get. What knowledge do I miss in setting up my Epson SC-P900, even after watching youre video's about this printer. I have a real load of papers at my disposal witch are all different in many aspects. How do I find the right settings for each individual paper in combination with this printer is my main question.
For the papers - I use one of my test images. That tells me what is right for printing - if a normal print then comes out wrong then I know the error is somewhere other than print settings.
www.northlight-images.co.uk/printer-test-images/
Choosing a paper for an image style is a very personal thing, but I do have some videos looking at aspects of it.
I think really the only money in print is in printING.... Hence why I just set up a high-end print service.
As you said with the gold rush and tools..
Yes - hope it's going well!
@@KeithCooper Well, It's very slow start, but as I'm starting as a new business (despite 14+ years in print) it's going to be till I get a customer base.
Running an Epson SC_P7500, excellent bit f kit.
You're not far from me in Leicester? - give me a shout if you want
@@KeithCooper not far at all no, Melbourne near East Midlands airport.
Absolutely thank you, any and all pointers would be very welcome. I'll email you directly :-)
I was in a restaurant today and I see another photographer trying to sell is 8x10 print with frame for 273$ Canadian dollar. Very expensive for a kind of picture of the city than I own many of the same kind. I will come back the next month to see if some sales happens.
Well spotted - time to move in - if any of those $273 ones ever sell!
Visibility is everything if you want to sell things if the right person doesn’t see it you don’t sell it regardless of how good it is
Very true...
I have prints hanging on various walls, but they are mostly friends and relations that get them for nothing. I did sell one to someone in Switzerland who had seen it in a recent Fujifilm competition. I suspect that if I quote a realistic price people will not want to buy them. Not in the UK anyway.
Yes, definitely a more limited market here, unless you live in a photogenic location and open a gallery - even that is not an easy business to make work
I will create a photo book first and try a printer service. Then I will upgrade my computer and get an Epson P900 to learn how to print good before creating 12 pictures for an exhibition, locally. I don’t care if no one will buy a print. It’s only goals to be a better art photographer. I sometime think that writing about photo will be helpful to be better at art and photo. But just now I concentrate on getting out and taking pictures.
Sure - writing about photos doesn't work for everyone.
Personally I find it quite meaningless, but as they say YMMV ;-)
Digitally? There is so much available for free that can be down loaded, and then even manipulated perhaps to ones liking, before printing it oneself, why would someone buy. Same thing in music, so much available for free, why pay? So this means its going to have to be something "particular" that is wanted by someone. Artistically speaking, many want something that only they can posses, its theirs, not everyone's from some d load link. It is one of the advantages to old school wet prints, with some selling the negative with the print. In the end, outside of deco art purchasing and the random luck involved with that, you are going to actually have to be an artist producing what is "particular" to someone.
Thanks - very true...
Hello, just found you and enjoyed my first video. What do you think of photos with maybe quotes or a haiku on them. Is it blasphemy?
Thanks
Entirely a matter of personal taste and/or marketing. I've seen interesting examples and one which made my toes curl ;-)
This’s such a great video. So, how do I make money with my photography?… 😅
Photograph things people want photos of, and find people willing to pay for those photos... ;-)
@@KeithCooper Thank you, Keith. That’s really a piece of good advice. I certainly will follow through! 👍🏻👍🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Not.
Here in the USA you can donate your art as a tax write off. Then when it is time to file your taxes you can actually use those write offs to either reduce/eliminate your tax burden or make money off them as a tax refund. But if that isn't your motivation you could donate them to organizations for the benefit of their members, special needs kids to adults, thrift stores, etc. You might be able to work out a deal where the organizations can pay you for the cost of production, maybe some measure of profit for yourself? I'm not sure how you could handle it. For you these samples are useful in demonstrating ideas in your videos. Such that people want to stick around to see more of them so you get more ad revenue.
One thing these can be used for is to make jigsaw puzzles. With a craft cutter like a Brother Scan N Cut it will cut materials up to 3mm thick on materials up to 12x24 inches. Larger prints can be pre-cut into sections or panels that will fit on either 12x12 or 12x24 inch mats. Then you can make custom cuts for each puzzle. If you got some more money you can buy a flatbed commercial cutter that can potentially handle larger works. They tend to be a whole lot faster than a craft cutter. But they also tend to cut only 1mm thick materials. You might consider renting various display facilities, public spaces, etc for art shows. Not just of your own work but of other like minded friends/artists.
Thanks for your suggestions...
It's not just "your" prints that are unwanted, the vast public rarely buys prints generally. They spend more money on decorative junk, lawn care or movies. People do buy posters that are cheaply held by stores often with some text across the bottom thus making a "statement," and then generally spend more to frame them than they cost to buy.
Most people rightly enough lack the confidence in their artistic judgement that would allow them to spend real money, and so when they buy for a wall, they look to something that comes with it's own validation as part of the price - it' schlock picked by an interior designer or sold in a furniture store or even more safe is a known print from a known artist. But they won't spend for archival, or for original and unique.
This may sound like a black dead end for photographers and it is, but imagine being a painter or draftsman! It's remarkable that the print side of photography has so much support in the way of products and educational materials.
Yes - all good points. There are markets but rarely as open or expansive as some hope...
Yes. This! Absolutely. Most people are looking for budget "on trend" home decor, not a work of art, or originality.
Very good points! 👍🏻
I am pretty sure your market and mine don't contain many photographers. I regularly visit galleries, photographic and other media, but never to buy something for my wall. I'm a competent landscape photographer, I can jolly well make my own and then it's my creation, I can take pride in it, more so when someone compliments it.
I have books about photography, I have some books of photographs, and I have books about something where the photography is important, but without the text it's fairly meaningless. See whether you can find Portrait of a People by Heide Smith. It's about the Tiwi, the people and their culture.
Yes - as I've noted before, only other photographers look at prints closely and mutter about sharpness, but they don't buy prints...
As to the books I do look mostly at the pictures... I rarely ever read much of the text in photography books.
There are many reasons I don't do weddings or portraiture professionally, and take Karen along if I need to do some 'people photos' as part of another job ;-) :-)
Unwanted prints get used as wrapping paper
Nope - can't see that one flying, in this household ;-)
Once again, common sense advice for an aspiring photographer.
Thanks!
its just too popular. many artists will be appreciate - AFTER death....so photos can be something like home decor staff prepared for selling by next generation of family ( or some owner of this photos) as..a bargain ;)
Yes - not sure where mine will end up... ;-)
Maybe, instead of recycling the prints, you could give them to charity.
Suggested many times I'm afraid - I have passed on a few but...
It's very difficult to give away large prints which will cost anyone getting them real money to mount and display.
Also they are often slightly scuffed or damaged at the edges from storage.
Most depressing Video ever!!!
Unless you have prints people want...
@@KeithCooper But you don't sell many so.......
@@dalepowerA business choice...
This is one of my 'business' videos, so very much aimed at those thinking of selling prints to make money, but who have not considered how and where they will get their work in front of people actually wanting to buy them.
The prints in front of my are mostly scrap - produced during printer and paper testing
For starters, never put your bare hands on the prints. This will result, in the long term, in yellow blotches on the prints. Wear cotton gloves or handle prints by the edges.
Yes - these are not prints to go off to clients!
That said, depending on when you last washed your hands and the type of paper it may be a long time until it happens ;-)
You can always print it again. No big deal.