selling at a art show

[dannylightning]

My buddy manages a bar, he is talking about having a art show and has asked me to bring some of my photos to his art show. I know nothing about this. as far as what size the images should be cropped to, how to edit a photo to be printed out or what photos I can or can not sell.

I have a few photos I took at a car show that I really like the cars are owned by other people so I am not 100% sure if these are something I could legally sell or not.

I am not sure where would be a good place to have the prints made, preferably a place that does a excellent job and does not charge allot of money. my buddy turned a old strip club with a bad rep into a nice classy bar/restaurant but business had been quite slow there. I came up with the idea for the art show because the area the bar is in is very artsy. I think it might bring in some people who wold not generally have went there but than again since the place had a bad rep it might not so I don't want to spend allot of money on this.

so basically, could I use the photos of the cars and where is a good place to get reasonably priced prints made and what size would i crop those photos too..

 

[snowbear]

I don't know what you have locally, but I have used Adorama Prints and would not hesitate to do so again.

Some people judge a photo's value, partly based on the print size - they'll pay more for a larger print than a small one. With that in mind, I wouldn't go any smaller than 8" x 10" unless you are framing them together. For hanging on our walls, I don't print smaller than 8" x 12" for single photos, but I have a couple of triplicates - three 4" x 6" photos in one frame.

Don't forget to factor in the cost of mats and frames, which I'd keep simple and consistent.

Good luck.

 

[dannylightning]

I was thinking prints would probably be around 20x24 or something along those lines, I dont know what frame sizes are available so I would need to find some frames before I decided what size to make the prints but I do feel a descent sized photo would sell better. I would just stick with a basic frame that looks nice to keep the cost low so I can charge a reasonable price for the photos. I am not even sure that many people will show up for this but than again they might, I cold see it going either way.

A couple of the photos I want to use like these ones I took a while ago with my old DSLR, those are around 3-8 mb I am not sure how big of a print I could have made with those. a few of the newer ones I have the full size raw file to work with.

 

[snowbear]

If you Google "standard frame sizes" you can get an idea. For 20" x 24", I'd go with a 24" x 30" which will give you 2" border on two sides and a 3" border on the other two. There are "frame kits" available at Michaels, AC Moore and other places - basically a pair of aluminum channels that fit together with included L brackets. You but two pairs, fit three sections together, put the matted photo and glass in, then fit in the last section. They are pretty cheap and give you non-standard sizes but you have to buy the glass separately. I've used then for shots I've put in the County Fair.

 

[dannylightning]

A bout a month ago I told my friend that that a art show might bring in some business to his bar and grille. this morning when I woke up I had a text from my friend saying he wanted to do it and asking if I could help him put the show together. so i have not thought seriously about getting any framed prints till now. there are a few stores around here where I can go and see what they have and Ill see what ill do a bit of searching online.

from the little bit of info that I found it looks like I would probably need a release from the owner of the cars if they are customized cars that can be identified, if the owner saw the photo he would definitely know it was his so I might not be able to use those photos which is a shame because a couple of those turned out excellent and I think would have sold easily to someone who likes old hot rods.

 

[KmH]

What type of prints do you plan to have made? C-prints or inkjet prints?
When made with the right type of ink on the right kind of paper, inkjet prints will last longer and stay color fast longer than c-prints will.
Getting prints made and framed requires an entire subset of knowledge beyond making photos with the camera.
Tutorials on Color Management & Printing

Photographs destined for print can usually be sharpened a bit more than photographs destined for electronic display.
Real World Image Sharpening with Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Lightroom (2nd Edition)
The Digital Negative: Raw Image Processing in Lightroom, Camera Raw, and Photoshop
The Digital Print: Preparing Images in Lightroom and Photoshop for Printing
Fine Art Printing for Photographers: Exhibition Quality Prints with Inkjet Printers

Charlie mentioned using a mat when you frame a photo.
The mat goes between the photo and the glazing and serves 2 purposes.
1. The mat aids presentation by providing blank space between the photo and the texture/color of whatever wall the print hangs on.
2. The mat keeps the photo from contacting the glazing. Over time a print in contact with glazing will stick to the glazing and speeds up any deterioration of the print.

Cheap mount and mat materials are often acidic and contribute to print degradation.
There are better pH balanced or even acid free mount and mat materials available, but they cost more.
Part of selling fine art images is being able to assure potential buyers that your prints, framing materials, and framing are of the highest quality and will last.
Marketing Fine Art Photography

 

[snowbear]

No, a release should not be needed unless the photo is for commercial purposes. Commercial means an ad, as in endorsing a product (not selling the photo). I can't say about company logos - I've read about cases where a company rose a stink about their logo being used on the web without permission, though I've never followed up and see what happened with them.

 

[vintagesnaps]

You could look at American Society of Media Photographers for info. on model/property releases etc. It depends on how recognizable the subject/property is and how you're using the photos. To sell one print meant for someone's personal use to hang on their wall you probably won't need a release. (I'm not sure about if there's a sponsor's name on a car or signage). Usually a release is needed for commercial use (product/model photography for ads etc.) or retail use (photos on mugs, posters, etc. that are produced in quantity).

Larger prints/mats/frames will likely cost more. Depends on the wall space, do you want a few large ones and several smaller ones, or fewer but all large sized? Standard sizes are 8x10's or 81/2 x11 in 11x14 frames, or 11x14 in 16x20, etc. If you look on Adorama's site there are nonstandard sizes too. I print and mat/frame my own but only 1-2 at a time and not large sizes.

You could get hinging tape to attach prints to the back of the mat. Look up Lumiere Photo in Rochester, their site had a video on hinging and matting. Archival materials will likely cost more but should preserve artwork longer.

Even with a friend I'd think about having something in writing, or at least be clear on if they'd keep a percentage of sale prices or not. Artists may consign works to a shop to sell at a percentage; restaurants, coffee shops etc. often allow artists to display since it gives them artwork for their wall space and then leave any sales up to the photographer to handle.

 

[KmH]

You don't need permission (a property release) to sell photos of other peoples cars for non-commercial usage.

You will be selling photos as art, which is an editorial use, not a commercial use.

Scroll down to the April 23 and April 11 blog posts: Photo Attorney: April 2005

 

[dannylightning]

thanks, I think Ill probably use one of the car photos than.

 

[Holejee]

Don't be surprised if nothing sells.

 

[Gary A.]

Don't forget to sign and number your art.

 

[Light Guru]

Don't forget to sign and number your art.

Signing is important but numbering is only important if you are only going to only print a set number of that image.

 

[KmH]

Yep.
Making a piece of art a limited edition adds some exclusivity, but print 426 of 1,000 isn't as exclusive as print 4 of 10.

I have the mat widow cut so I sign on the print paper, not the mat. That means the mat window is cut somewhat larger than the actual photo, and the photo is printed on a piece of paper that is also bigger than the photograph.

 

[dannylightning]

If nothing sells I wont be upset, I am not really sure that many people will show up for this but there are allot of people into art in the area,

I have decided to go with 11x14 prints because they are only a few bucks each and frames are not that expensive. I ordered about 10 different prints, when they get back Ill probably frame the 5 that look the best.

I really don't plan on selling photos often but I figure this should be fun, as of right now there is only one of each print, where do you usually sign and number the prints, probably on the back I would imagine.