Debating selling at Art shows

[Lacrossedad]

I know this has probably been talked about a lot but here goes nothing. What are some thoughts or experiences of getting some of your work printed and doing some art shows? I have some prior experience with my wife who did wood crafts and did pretty well. Is this a cluttered field? I do mostly birds and wildlife, not a lot of landscapes. I know landscapes sell better. I have just been shooting for several years and have started getting some stuff printed for friends and family and everyone says I should sell at shows. Is a web site needed or advised? I shoot for my own enjoyment but just wonder what others experience has been.

 

[Overread]

Every market is crowded.

A lot depends not just on your photography and your product, but also your presentation and salesmanship. Some people can make a display and sell stuff; others can put loads of material out and never sell a thing. The big aspects are the cost of producing a body of work for prints and also of having a stall to rent at the event. Bigger events can net you more sales; but also cost you way more. It's also something where weather can make or break you - get a nice warm day and you'll sell; get a wet windy day and no one will turn up.

One way you can lower costs is to have things like prints in frames for display only and then take orders on the day (and payment) to ship the product to people's homes. You need to, as much as possible, take payments then because its so easy for people to put a card in the pocket and forget about it. Have some unframed and just printed with a card back for your bulk of sale stock. etc... so you've got some to shift. You can also then discount frames and such nearer the end of the day to unload stock so you don't have to take anything back.

Just be sure you know your minimum amount to produce the picture in a frame so that any discount doesn't end up with you paying them to take it (ergo charging less than what it cost to make).



The more shows you do the more you'll get a handle on what does and doesn't sell and you can adjust accordingly.


That said with Corona Virus around the world chances are this is a plan for next year

 

[Derrel]

Lots of people suggest selling at shows, but it is nearly impossible these days to sell photographic art as if it were the 1970s. It is now quite possible,Easy in fact, to go online , to steal files and to have them printed at very affordable prices.

There are many places across the web where fairly high resolution digital files are available, and many people have easy and ready access to printing Solutions for very low cost. It is no longer the 1970s or 1980s. It is possible to buy high-resolution files for as little as $0.89 from a multitude of stock photo agencies. Selling prints at craft shows is a model which is now 45 years out of date and it is not surprising that people are telling you you should sell your pictures...these people obviously have no idea of how competitive the market is, nor of how little value is attached to an image. It is now possible to reproduce basically any image and as a result the value of images has plummeted. Turning what you love to do into a job is a Surefire way to take all the joy out of it. I would strongly reconsider taking the advice of people who give you atta' boys and back pats...