I want to sell prints, but I'm new to this... HALP!

[andrewdoeshair]

How about prints that relate/show a jar of the ADH Dry and the ADH Wet hair products that you sell under your brand? Like marketing pieces that fulfill a dual role, as both a hairstyle shot (Give me the #12 cut, but longer on the sides!) AND as a subtle reminder that that cut uses an ADH product to maintain the look.

You have that slogan, "Good hair doesn't come from a jar," yet you sell 4-ounce jars of the Wet and the Dry styling products. Maybe use that slogan on the prints or posters?

Spit-balling here. Maybe there is a market for in-shop photos? Big Derrick's Barbershop [ Big Derrick’s Barber Shop - Salem, OR ](Salem,OR) has a pool table, and shots of whiskey available, lots of tats on folks, Wi-Fi,Play Station, beards, etc....AND they have photos on the walls... Not the 1980's barbershop for sure. More emphasis, by FAR, on mood, atmosphere, and decor than in old-style shops.

Thank you. When people smell advertising they get turned off. At least in my crowd. I've taken to a sort of method where I rarely post about the product and instead mention casually that it was used. The less I push it, the more people want it. Sales have been up since then. "Good hair doesn't come from a jar" is a slogan intended to disrupt the patterns of consumers in men's hair. The first question men ask on my haircut photos is "which product does this?" and because retail is a HUGE part of being a barber, a jar as a solution is pushed more and more.

"Good hair doesn't come from a jar" gets barbers and stylists talking about styling techniques with their clients (it's been a hugely uncomfortable topic for decades, but now men want Bekcham hair, and a blow dryer is how you get it). I used to post shots of "manly" tattooed and bearded guys blow drying their hair (one photo was even used by GQ in their blog!) to try to break down the stigma. "Good hair doesn't come from a jar" has opened up a lot of new dialogue in salons and barber shops, and is the central theme of my lectures. Barbers and stylists who have seen their careers improve because of what I go around teaching buy a lot of merch from me, mostly stickers, shirts, and yes, jars, but this photo idea was to hopefully offer a limited sort of premium item in my store. Like the skateboard combs or the zines were. Not necessarily to advertise, but to put something out that other barbers and stylists aren't. Even if it doesn't sell, I'll feel like a badass for having done it.

 

[Derrel]

Mounting, matting, and framing an photo turns it from an image, into an artwork, or a display object, there is no doubt about that. If you want to keep the costs reasonable, decide on a format (tall, or square or 4:5 or 4:3), decide on a presentation look, and decide on a unified frame and hanging system, and make a small series of framed shots, and you'll likely find out if you have a sellable product. Write some good ad copy, and place it in front of the target market. And you are right: this is all value-added stuff. You're not selling images, you're selling more than an "image", you're selling wall art, or display art, and in addition it might have some utilitarian value as haircut/style examples.

Digital capture will allow you to set the black point of the images so they do not get too dark in the darker areas, and keep the highlights nice but not blown, and will allow you to really "SEE" the image as it is being lighted,posed,and shot; that's a big digital capture benefit. I think you should definitely put together a set of files, and have them printed. Keep in mind too...you can "lay in" a fake matte, or a border around a single-sheet print, so it's easier and less-costly than matting, and can be slapped in a basic frame, and yet still look polished! Use a 1:1:1:1.5 border around the image, with more space (1.5 units instead of 1 and 1 and 1) at the bottom of the image.

 

[Designer]

The lab where you get your prints made will have various papers they will show you.

Make your matted and framed prints a collector's set. Each set all framed alike, signed and numbered. Sign on the mat. Same for the series numbers. After you sell all of one run, start another with different images. Soon people will be fighting over them.

 

[weepete]

My local lab do a sample prints paper selector. Basically a small book of printed samples on different paper types. Costs the grand sum of £5.50 or $6.82 at the current exchange rate. They also do a variety of test prints and discounted samples. I'd see if you could find a lab to do something similar or just ask if they could. That would enable you to see the paper in question in person which is to me what a print is all about.

 

[mmaria]

I'll do photography part and you do my hair

I went to your account and haven't seen any curly hair there... why?

 

[waday]

Is there a bar and grille where barbers hang out?

My previous barber had a fridge with beer in it. TVs, magazines, etc. Loved the place. Guy was a little... interesting.

My current salon offers wine and other drinks while waiting. Not a big fan of the place, but the cuts are good.

I still miss the barber I used to go to before moving away. Old Italian guy, curly chest hair, gold rings and necklaces galore. Knew my cut, barely said a word. When he did, he mentioned bashing in people's knees who did bad things. I miss him.

 

[andrewdoeshair]

I'll do photography part and you do my hair

I went to your account and haven't seen any curly hair there... why?

I fell into a sort of niche where I became popular with guys who have always hated their curly hair and wished it was straight. One of the biggest draws on my account was content based on straightening curly hair, because thermal styling was news to most men. I've been trying to get out of my pigeon hole, basically straightening the top of men's hair and doing a fade on the sides, so I've been getting a lot more female models lately and as soon as I remember how to do it I want to leave hair curly for some images. I just have been straightening curls for so long that I barely remember how to style curls

 

[vintagesnaps]

So are the '70s back again?? or is it the '80s? I forget when exactly we used giant curlers because we all wanted to straighten our hair, and when I got that frizzy perm that was definitely a bad choice of my youth.

I've done submissions to juried exhibits and I've submitted original B&W darkroom prints that I did - and digital photos, and alt. processes, and Polaroids that I've done. So it probably depends on what you want.

I've done B&W prints in a darkroom, send out color film, and from digital images mostly have printed my own - but if you're near Richard lab like Derrel said why not go there and try getting a couple of prints done? Look at the papers they have, maybe try a couple of different ones. I like glossy better too as Derrel also mentioned, but it might depend on the image and the look you want. A 'wet' print done in photo chemistry has a different look than an inkjet print so maybe try both and see what you like.

From 35mm if you want an 8x10" that will not be the entire frame; usually when getting enlargements from film I have an 8x12" done and crop it myself. So you might need to ask about that and show them the images you want enlarged (because centering it may not get the part of the image you need and might lop off part of someone's head and even worse, their hair style!).

Some of what I've seen that's supposed to look like film seems to look more like old photos that have been in somebody's basement for years... using fresh film isn't going to get that look and I don't know if most people could tell the difference if a photo was originally done using film or not. What's being viewed is a digital/scanned copy of the film image anyway if it's online.

You might also take a look at ASMP or PPA (I use ASMP's resources) for info. on model releases, licensing usage, etc. For selling a print intended for the buyer's personal use (to hang on a wall) typically a release isn't needed. For retail or commercial (business, advertising, etc.) a release is probably necessary. For what you've described it might be best to start getting releases signed if the photos could end up displayed in a shop and the purpose is to decorate the walls and to help promote the business. But get some professional information and guidelines.

Also a guideline is if the subject is recognizable, a release probably would be needed. Shooting from the side or back still could be recognizable and tattoos etc. need to be considered. I think if I saw that person in your sample photo, I might know it's him in the photo, so to me it would be recognizable.

 

[Derrel]

ATTN: SOME NSFW- NOT Safe For Work not safe for work
*****
This is how many younger people think of film, today, in 2017.

Editorials

This site is promoted expressly as this: Wild Fly Me: 35mm film Unretouched

 

[pixmedic]

I spent years finding a barber that could do a good "high and tight".
i always assumed it was the simplest of all haircuts, but apparently i was wrong.

 

[mmaria]

I'll do photography part and you do my hair

I went to your account and haven't seen any curly hair there... why?

I fell into a sort of niche where I became popular with guys who have always hated their curly hair and wished it was straight. One of the biggest draws on my account was content based on straightening curly hair, because thermal styling was news to most men. I've been trying to get out of my pigeon hole, basically straightening the top of men's hair and doing a fade on the sides, so I've been getting a lot more female models lately and as soon as I remember how to do it I want to leave hair curly for some images. I just have been straightening curls for so long that I barely remember how to style curls

oh lol... it happens ...pls make some curly girl happy, because it's not easy for us to find someone who'll know how to do curly hair!

Imo, curly hair is easier to cut than straight, it forgives some mistakes.. and yet, I can't find a hairdresser that can cut my hair (and it's not even that curly it's wavy)
I was straightening it for more than a year (with hairdryer, by hairdresser) and I ruined it.
The first time I washed it myself I realized I needed to cut it short (for me short, not that short objectively) I decided to let it be natural but because I didn't came across a hairdresser who can do my hair, I do it myself.
I do it pretty ok, but it would be much better if I had my scalp in front of me and then to cut my hair, of course