photo price

chrisbrown · Jul 12, 2008

So, there is someone who is interested in buying one of my photos he found on flickr in a 30x21 or as close as possible to put in a gold leaf frame. This is my first encounter with this and I've never sold any of my pictures. He either wants me to pay him to download the full res version, or pay to have me blow it up for him and shipped to him. What would you charge for either of these options?

reg · Jul 12, 2008

Why would you pay HIM to download the full res version?

Either way, just remember that while a 30x21 isn't really likely to get copied, simply due to size, while a digital photo LARGE ENOUGH to make a 30x21 can still keep chugging out prints.

chrisbrown · Jul 12, 2008

yea, that was a typo.

anyways, that's what i'm planning on doing, but not sure how much i should charge him for me to print it, ship it, and my personal time..

RyanLilly · Jul 12, 2008

Just curious, can we see the photo? A 20x30 is a standard size. Its $25 at mpix, do you need to frame it, or just sent the print alone?

eravedesigns · Jul 13, 2008

Idk im not great with pricing myself but I would say at least $100 After shipping fees and fees for the poster you will get a $50 profit.

chrisbrown · Jul 13, 2008

Yes, you may. It's a picture of the Avenue of the Oaks at Boone Hall Plantation outside Charleston, SC. It's not my best post processing but the composition is exactly what I was going for. I checked today at my local wolf camera and they can do a 30x20 for $25 as well. Not sure how much shipping will cost, but I will be going with eravedesigns at $100 even..here's the photo.

Crimsonandwhite · Jul 13, 2008

You should charge $100 for the print at least and then add on shipping and handling fees....

This guy is getting a unique piece of art, not some crummy crap from Hobby Lobby.

Nice work by the way

Diddy2theJJ · Dec 11, 2008

That's an awesome picture!

viridari · Dec 11, 2008

1) That photo is outstanding! I love it!
2) Wolf Camera's $25 print won't be anywhere near as nice as MPIX.com's $25 print.
3) Never ever ever give print resolution files to people that you haven't hired to print your images. Once that gets out in the wild you have no control over it anymore.
4) Don't undercut yourself. I see these kinds of prints going for $850 out of local coffee shops in Raleigh. Of course, don't price walk him either. $300 - $499 is probably more than fair. He didn't skimp on the frame so he probably doesn't intend to skimp on the art that he puts in that frame.

zookeeper · Dec 13, 2008

That is breathtaking!!! I agree with viridari on the price. The best printer I know is FullColor (fullcolor.com). I can't quote the print price off the top of my head but I've been using them for a couple years, and am amazed at the results. Be proud of your work and let that show in your print quality!!

dmassphoto · Dec 21, 2008

A little formula that I've had success in the past is take the overhead (price of print) and multiply it by 2 for a "processing fee" then multiply that number by 3 for a "creative fee" to get your final price and adjust as needed.

So, let's say you want a 20"x30" print from Mpix. That's $24.99 x 2 = 49.98 x 3 = 149.94. Add tax and you have your final fee, which is usually a fair price for artwork. Do NOT, I repeat DO NOT give him a file.

alencooper · Jul 2, 2010

Well Whatever I seen there a beautiful photo and I think there is nothing any cost of our passion if we like to do so. Even though if you are asking that then I would like to say it could be $30. Got it buddy.

GeneralBenson · Jul 3, 2010

dmassphoto said:
A little formula that I've had success in the past is take the overhead (price of print) and multiply it by 2 for a "processing fee" then multiply that number by 3 for a "creative fee" to get your final price and adjust as needed.

So, let's say you want a 20"x30" print from Mpix. That's $24.99 x 2 = 49.98 x 3 = 149.94. Add tax and you have your final fee, which is usually a fair price for artwork. Do NOT, I repeat DO NOT give him a file.

That's a good formula, I like that.

KmH · Jul 3, 2010

dmassphoto said:
A little formula that I've had success in the past is take the overhead (price of print) and multiply it by 2 for a "processing fee" then multiply that number by 3 for a "creative fee" to get your final price and adjust as needed.

So, let's say you want a 20"x30" print from Mpix. That's $24.99 x 2 = 49.98 x 3 = 149.94. Add tax and you have your final fee, which is usually a fair price for artwork. Do NOT, I repeat DO NOT give him a file.

At a minimum. But don't forget to add shipping and handeling. Mpix will drop ship it for you, if you'd like.

I would starve to death using that " x2 - x3 formula."

I recommend you have them ship to you first though, so you can check the print, before you send it on.

Mpix is a really good printer but they are still human and make the rare mistake. Their customer service is top notch if there is any problem.

I would want to know if the buyer was planning on matting the print in the frame and what size the mat would be. If so, I would probably have Mpix print it on 24x36 paper, which is the largest they offer.

I never use less than a 2 inch on each side mat, so If I need to mat and frame an 8x10 I make sure it's printed on paper as big or bigger than 12 x 14. If you provide lines for Mpix on your upload, they will trim the wall print sizes for free.