First photo sale - need a little help

Scuba

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I know I know I sound like noob well that is because I am when it comes to selling an image. So give me a little help.

I don't have a website so a old coworker saw a couple of images on Facebook. He is in a different state. So what is the best way to do this? Also what is a good price?

I know the price depends on cost of business etc but I am not in business. Just give a little help please.
 
There are so many variables it is almost impossible to suggest a price. What size, what resolution, what subject-matter.... FWIW, (not that I do all that often, but when I do) I usually sell non-commissioned 8x10, print only or digital files for $50-75, and matted and framed start around $150.
 
Well I guess I don't know if I should sell the digital file or as a print?

He wants to hang on the wall so let's assume 8x10 or 11x14 and the subject is a horse in both images.

I wasn't thinking matted and framed but I guess I should consider that
 
8x10 is a desk print because it looks pretty small hung on a wall, though adding a mat and frame helps somewhat. 11x14 is a small wall print.

If you sell a digital file, you have zero control over the quality of any prints made from the file.

To print you need to know how much wall space he has set a side for prints.

Have you had many of your photos printed for yourself?
 
Yeah I guess you are right that is small. I have had a few printed for my office. I think a 20x30 and 16x20. Now that I think about it a 16x20 would be a good wall size.

So it sounds like a print is the best way to do it because I don't want my image to end up somewhere I didn't want it which could happen with a digital file.

So what would be the options and best option for this situation for a print. I guess I was thinking I could upload it and have it printed and shipped or printed local to him and he could pick it up and frame it. Or is that a bad idea?
 
That is a very good point. I know this guy so I know the price is going to have to be a little lower if I want to sell to him. Not that concerned about that because again these are shots I took as a hobby and for myself to enjoy. I guess the logistics of getting him a file or print is the part I am not sure how to do. I have pretty much removed the idea of sending the digital file. So I have considered having it printed at mpix and mailed directly, or mailed to me then I could mail it to him, or the less desirable having it printed somewhere local to him and having him pick it up.
 
Alain Briot recommends never selling a print that isn't mounted and matted because it is unprotected and "unfinished"... it is not a final product.

Btw, what resolution is the file? A 16x20 print is quite large for a crop sensor (I do not know what you have). But you could print 11x14 and mat to 16x20... I have done one print at 16x20 that I shot with my 40D and it's fairly low quality. I think it was less than 200ppi...
 
The images were shot on my old body at 12.2mp crop sensor. one image is 2850x4270 and the other is 2816x3454. At 20" that would put the res down to ~175dpi and ~210dpi for the two images respectively on the long edge and ~175 for the short edge at 16"
 
The common number often thrown out there is 300ppi. Of course, this is dependent on many factors, but I think it is a good number for home artwork, if not a little optimistic. 200 is quite low when viewing from a few feet.
 
If you want to go larger (to a 16x20) you could try upping the resolution in PS or some other software and see if you're happy with it. Easy enough to try.

Framing a large print gets pretty expensive, plus the shipping costs and hoping it arrives in one piece. If one is in business and always framing, shipping, etc they have worked this out, but I can appreciate your decisions being difficult on a one shot deal. It's also hard to pick out frames for a situation like this....cost, decor in his room, something that works with your photo and whatever mat you choose, etc. While the advice about not selling unframed pics is good, since this is a friend and you're trying to keep the cost down, I'd be tempted to ask him what size he wants, get it printed and back to you so you can be sure the quality is good, then you ship to him. Explain to him that to keep the costs down, he'd be better off getting the framing done himself.

Just my opinion.
 
The images were shot on my old body at 12.2mp crop sensor. one image is 2850x4270 and the other is 2816x3454. At 20" that would put the res down to ~175dpi and ~210dpi for the two images respectively on the long edge and ~175 for the short edge at 16"
You don't have to work with approximations.

The formula is : pixel dimensions divided by inches = resolution and the resolution of digital images is PPI not DPI. DPI is a description of output device resolution. PPI and DPI are not interchangable terms though many professionals and even manufacturers that should know better do so.

I notice you listed the short side of the photos first which by convention indicates a vertically framed shot (image width is always stated first).

At any rate 2850 pixels / 20" = 142.5 ppi and 2816 pixels / 20" = 140.3 ppi

However you have another issue. The 4270 x 2850 image has a 3:2 aspect ratio and a 16x20 has a 5:4 aspect ratio. A significant portion of the orignal would have to be cropped away to change it from 3:2 to 5:4.

The other photo that is 3454 x 2816 is close to but not quite 5:4. (3454px / 2816px = 1.23 - 5:4 is 1.25)

3:2 means the long side of the photo is 1.5 times longer than the short side. The long side of a 5:4 photo is 1.25 times longer than the short side. The long side of a 11 x 14 is 1.273 times longer than the short side and can't be expressed as an integer ratio like 3:2 or 5:4.
 
KmH, so glad you got into the aspect ratio subject....SO MANY people do not realize this and how much of a problem it can be when deciding exactly how to crop/what size to print an image. If an existing image can't be cropped or changed to fit a standard frame with proper matting, it requires a custom frame, which really gets expensive!

The images were shot on my old body at 12.2mp crop sensor. one image is 2850x4270 and the other is 2816x3454. At 20" that would put the res down to ~175dpi and ~210dpi for the two images respectively on the long edge and ~175 for the short edge at 16"
You don't have to work with approximations.

The formula is : pixel dimensions divided by inches = resolution and the resolution of digital images is PPI not DPI. DPI is a description of output device resolution. PPI and DPI are not interchangable terms though many professionals and even manufacturers that should know better do so.

I notice you listed the short side of the photos first which by convention indicates a vertically framed shot (image width is always stated first).

At any rate 2850 pixels / 20" = 142.5 ppi and 2816 pixels / 20" = 140.3 ppi

However you have another issue. The 4270 x 2850 image has a 3:2 aspect ratio and a 16x20 has a 5:4 aspect ratio. A significant portion of the orignal would have to be cropped away to change it from 3:2 to 5:4.

The other photo that is 3454 x 2816 is close to but not quite 5:4. (3454px / 2816px = 1.23 - 5:4 is 1.25)

3:2 means the long side of the photo is 1.5 times longer than the short side. The long side of a 5:4 photo is 1.25 times longer than the short side. The long side of a 11 x 14 is 1.273 times longer than the short side and can't be expressed as an integer ratio like 3:2 or 5:4.
 
KmH, so glad you got into the aspect ratio subject....SO MANY people do not realize this and how much of a problem it can be when deciding exactly how to crop/what size to print an image. If an existing image can't be cropped or changed to fit a standard frame with proper matting, it requires a custom frame, which really gets expensive!

One of the benefits of matting is that it's easy to create a custom mat yourself or order a custom mat, and it's inexpensive. So there is no need for custom framing, at least because of non-standard dimensions, unless you simply do not want it matted.
 

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