Someone wants to buy a photo from me ... how much should I charge?

Keith

Keith

The best camera is one that still works!
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A couple of weeks ago I went to a largish social function and took this photo: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=72623 The woman in the photo has contacted me and wants to buy an A4 sized print on high grade media suitable for framing.

Having recovered from the shock of actually selling a photo ... I was wondering how much I should charge her? She won't need the photo for a few weeks as she and her husband are returning to Madagascar for Christmas with her family and won't be back until mid January when she will contact me for delivery of the print! 😱
 
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🙂 It's a nice feeling isn't it Keith?

I charge £15/20 for 8x10 (FB wet, digital) - that's half for the printer bloke and half for me.
 
kully said:
🙂 It's a nice feeling isn't it Keith?

I charge £15/20 for 8x10 (FB wet, digital) - that's half for the printer bloke and half for me.
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Yes Kully ... it's a great feeling and a sort of vindication that you're not totally wasting your time with all this photography stuff. 🙂
 
Add materials and labor. The material cost is objective; the labor is subjective, and that's the area you can play with. Look for professional estimates and charge a little less.

That's what I'd do.

Congratulations!
 
Congratulations Keith! Was this taken at the police event that you wrote of?

I second Francisco's advice. Make sure that your costs are covered and then add something extra for your artistry and skill. I price prints differently according to the situation in which I am selling them. For example, I would charge significantly more for a corporate portrait or a headshot for an actor than I would for a candid. Depending on the cost of materials, I would say that $20-$25 for the portrait in question would not be at all out of line (Erik's estimate might be a tad on the high side 🙂). Again, congratulations.
 
Congratulations !

I would charge a little more than that if you print yourself.

Think about an hourly rate, and a reasonable time to actually do the print.
Multiply by 2-3. E.g, 70 US/h, half hour, at least a maybe US 80-90 ?

If you don't hand-print, since she asked you, I would try US 47.90 🙂

She came to you so you can ask for more ...

Roland.
 
Sorry, I was thinking of prices for colour prints (it would seem that I am not quite awake yet!). For a B+W print, especially if you print it yourself, Roland is right. You should charge more than I suggested.
 
Keith,

Congratulations on selling your photo!

I enjoy collecting photos (11"x14", 16"x20") from 'not-yet-famous' photographers. One benefit is that I own their work before the prices go through the roof...

Rule of thumb, I routinely pay Au $50-$100 for 11"x14" prints. That's just the print, I arrange matting & framing myself.

If she likes it, and the quality is there, she'll pay and won't feel ripped off in the process.

A little off topic but FYI (it might be useful) I get very good quality and service from http://www.frameshop.com.au/ for mats and frames, despite the not-quite-there-yet website. I have no relationship with them, other than being a very happy repeat customer.

Cheers,
George
 
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I wish more than 20% of the people who told me they wanted to buy a print actually did buy it once I told them an asking price. And I do not generally ask much! Lots of people have something like $5 in the head!

Congrats on the interest this person had. Let's see if they still want it once you decide on a price.
 
rich815 said:
I wish more than 20% of the people who told me they wanted to buy a print actually did buy it once I told them an asking price.
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And the other side of the coin, you wouldn't believe how many people with online galleries, and contact details, don't supply a price or even acknowledge my request. I like to think it's rampaging spam filters keeping my emails from them. 🙂
 
Congrats, Keith.

Just this week I got some hand-printed b/w´s in 30x40 back I ordered. For a close to A4, a 24x30 cm (9x12 inch, I suppose) Baryt-Print they charge EURO 28, that means about 47 AUD. If the print is made on PE it´s EURO 20 or 34 AUD.

That is expensive I know, but the printer is excellent and recommended by pro´s here in Hamburg. I needed perfect prints, so I ask him to do it.

Based on his prices and without knowing anything about these things in Australia I second the suggestion of HuubL. If you do print yourself charge something around 50 AUD, that´s a good price me thinks.

Thomas
 
I have an Epson R2400 arriving next week which supposedly is the bees knees for black and white ink jet printing and from memory it comes with a sample pack of Ilford Art Papers in 8x10. I'll print the image and see if it's satisfactory ... a friend of mine who lives nearby is a professional framer so I can offer the framing too I guess.

Rafael ... that was from the police function. Her husband was a delightful guy and obviously adores her ... I think he is the one paying for it. 🙂

This has encouraged me to become a little more pro-active and I've registered a domain name tonight and linked it to my Zenfolio gallery. I'm also getting a couple of hundred cards done with my name and the linked web address (keithnovakphoto.com) on them. In future at these sort of events I can give someone I've photographed a card and they will be able to see the images on line and contact me if they are interested. This has cost surprisingly little to do and the cards will be useful when I'm photographign people in public places if they question my motives!

livepreview.jpg
 
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Keith, congrats on the break! It's a true accomplishment and the picture is beautiful.

I would ask the husband how much he thinks the picture is worth to him.
No one who loves his wife would quote you a dissapointing figure with that question 🙂

Tell him that you are serious about selling pictures, but your customer's deep impression is also important to you.

That way he'll be a walking billboard to his friends quoting how great you are 😉
 
I recently sold a 16 x 24 print, framed. I had the printing and framing done by Mpix.com and my selling price was double the cost to me for Mpix. The final cost was $150USD. The buyer was quite pleased at the cost (as was his wife.)
 
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I would suggest you be totally up front with her and say you really dont know what to charge her for the print, and ask her nicely what she was expecting to pay. Have a price in mind you want to charge and if she offers you more smile and say that is fine, and if she offres you less, explain the costs involved and you would need to get at least x$ for it. chances are if she really likes it she will offer you more than you think.

Cheers
 
300-500 dollars. if you take yourself srsly as a photographer that's the price, if you are new and upcoming.
for 25 bucks i might as well give it away... or ask for a cup of coffee.
 
colker said:
300-500 dollars. if you take yourself srsly as a photographer that's the price, if you are new and upcoming.
for 25 bucks i might as well give it away... or ask for a cup of coffee.
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I agree. Under £100 UK/$150 US is derisory. Give it as a present rather than charge less than that. Or charge more.

Tashi delek,

R.
 
I was told to always consider the cost of film+cost of time shooting film+cost of developing+transportation costs for store, location, lab+time for post processing or printing+time for ordering materials+wear and tear on equipment. I agree, might as well give away a print rather than undervalue your hard work, it feels better in the long run.

edit: also that one image is just one out of thousands that wont sell. Those thousands played a crucial part in getting that one image as well.
 
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