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

[andrewdoeshair]

Edited because I tend to over share unnecessary details and not keep the main thing the main thing... Short version: I've never printed a photo but I want to try selling a few prints as wall art and I'm hoping to have the prints look as nice as possible. The market I'm after is a small niche and there is just enough demand for this type of photo that I wouldn't mind trying, at least just to say that I tried. I'll hang them in my office if they don't move. Advice on paper types, printing services, etc is much appreciated. Thank you

 

[tirediron]

First of all, why film?

Next, why will someone be purchasing a print of this? For the decorative value? For the educational value? Because it's you've created it, or?

 

[Designer]

If you've seen any off my other threads you know that my main purpose behind a camera is to photograph haircuts.

That's not what you told me last time. You said it was portraiture that you wanted to do, not hair photography. So now it's the haircut? Maybe you should make up your mind.

Once I have the negatives ..

What negatives?

 

[andrewdoeshair]

First of all, why film?

Next, why will someone be purchasing a print of this? For the decorative value? For the educational value? Because it's you've created it, or?

I was leaning toward film because in the barber scene there is a lot of hostility toward people who photo shop their haircuts. I figured a film photo (hopefully that ended up looking really filmy) would widen the market because the people who are opposed to photo shopped haircuts wouldn't be ready to call it a fake. It would be both for decorative value and because I created it. I've put out zines in the past with hair photography and the demand for them was way higher than I had expected. I thought I'd take a stab at some decorative pieces to see if there is demand for them.

 

[Derrel]

I looked at your Instagram page here, lots of very,very nice cuts! Hairdresser (@andrewdoeshair) • Instagram photos and videos

I'd rather have a digital file to print from instead of printing from a negative.In this, 2017, the vast majority of print places today are printing not from negatives, but from digital files. As far as prints go, there are multiple surface types. Smooth, glossy-finished papers will show more fine detail and will look very sharp and crisp at close viewing distances, but can also show glares/reflections from lights when mounted on walls. Matte paper does not show glares from lights hardly at all, but it greatly reduces the sense of sharpness and fine detail on high-frequency details, like hair, or leaves,etc..

"Metal prints" might be worth looking into. I have no knowledge of your place in the industry, nor the culture of it, so I have no idea about selling haircut/hair style prints to people in that industry. Not sure if film is the right capture medium, but there is a film type for almost every look. Slow-speed color slide film, slow-speed color negative, medium-speed filsms, high-speed films, low-contrast pro color negative films...all have a slightly different look from one another.

Pardon my lack of understanding, but I do not truly know what the market for these types of photos is. I am not familiar with what peoople might want in these types of photos. But I do think it might be a good idea to make these shots in series form; maybe using say one type of barber's cape for 12-20 images, or one type of backdrop, something to unify them, so there's a bit more of a temptation to make them "wall art for the shop". Not really sure what the market is though: I do not fully understand who the target audience really is.

 

[andrewdoeshair]

If you've seen any off my other threads you know that my main purpose behind a camera is to photograph haircuts.

That's not what you told me last time. You said it was portraiture that you wanted to do, not hair photography. So now it's the haircut? Maybe you should make up your mind.

Once I have the negatives ..

What negatives?

In that last thread the goal was pictures that said "this is a cool person, looking cool, who happens to have just gotten their hair cut by me" in an attempt to stand out in the sea of haircut photos (photos that say "this is a haircut"). For this particular project the goal is to showcase minor details of a haircut that someone would probably have to cut hair to appreciate, with the goal of creating something someone might want to put on their wall. Totally different gig, totally different goals, totally different approach. And by negatives I mean after I shoot the looks and I'm standing there with the film negatives, can anyone recommend where I should take them to get the best prints? is there an online service that will provide higher quality prints than what I would get from a small local photo store? I've never printed anything, I'm a product of the digital age

 

[Derrel]

I see you have a hair care product line you sell. ADH Brand

This is a lab close to you that has a big reputation. Look online for a video showing their operation. Richard Photo Lab

 

[tirediron]

I agree with Derrel 100% on the digital aspect; these days, from a manipulation perspective there's no difference. Shoot film, scan the negative, "Photoshop"... That just adds, IMO, a totally unnecessary degree of complexity and expense to the equation.

As far as the decorator value, I would have thought (and again, like Derrel, I know nothing of you or this facet of the industry), that most barbers would want to display there own work. I can see a market for shooting for others so that they can display their own work as prints in their retail space & on-line, but as decorative... seems a stretch to me. Sort of like a body shop using pictures of other shop's paintwork in their front office.

 

[Designer]

And by negatives I mean after I shoot the looks and I'm standing there with the film negatives, can anyone recommend where I should take them to get the best prints? is there an online service that will provide higher quality prints than what I would get from a small local photo store? I've never printed anything,

So film then. If you find a good lab that does good work at reasonable prices, then they can make prints as well as develop film. The trick is to find that lab. Can be done mail order if you have to.

 

[andrewdoeshair]

I looked at your Instagram page here, lots of very,very nice cuts! Hairdresser (@andrewdoeshair) • Instagram photos and videos

I'd rather have a digital file to print from instead of printing from a negative.In this, 2017, the vast majority of print places today are printing not from negatives, but from digital files. As far as prints go, there are multiple surface types. Smooth, glossy-finished papers will show more fine detail and will look very sharp and crisp at close viewing distances, but can also show glares/reflections from lights when mounted on walls. Matte paper does not show glares from lights hardly at all, but it greatly reduces the sense of sharpness and fine detail on high-frequency details, like hair, or leaves,etc..

"Metal prints" might be worth looking into. I have no knowledge of your place in the industry, nor the culture of it, so I have no idea about selling haircut/hair style prints to people in that industry. Not sure if film is the right capture medium, but there is a film type for almost every look. Slow-speed color slide film, slow-speed color negative, medium-speed filsms, high-speed films, low-contrast pro color negative films...all have a slightly different look from one another.

Pardon my lack of understanding, but I do not truly know what the market for these types of photos is. I am not familiar with what peoople might want in these types of photos. But I do think it might be a good idea to make these shots in series form; maybe using say one type of barber's cape for 12-20 images, or one type of backdrop, something to unify them, so there's a bit more of a temptation to make them "wall art for the shop". Not really sure what the market is though: I do not fully understand who the target audience really is.

Thank you for the breakdown. I was planning on a "series" exactly how you just described! I was in Dallas early this week doing a lecture at a really nice barbershop, and the owner was saying that he'd like to buy really cool haircut photos to put in there That's what got me thinking about doing this. Back in the 80's there were (very 80's looking") haircut photos all over the walls of salons and barbershops, but in the 90's they moved them all into books, and now they're all on instagram. A few of the larger influencers in hair have offered posters with haircuts, with great success (they're everywhere now), but they're basically marketing pieces with pomade logos all over them. I thought it would be fun to make wall art that wasn't mass produced or that weren't pomade advertisements. If these do well then I'll have another outlet and another reason I'm glad I quit cutting hair 40 hours a week.

 

[Designer]

Probably the best chance of somebody wanting to purchase a print is the person who got the haircut. Or his mother.

 

[Designer]

Is there a bar and grille where barbers hang out?

 

[andrewdoeshair]

I agree with Derrel 100% on the digital aspect; these days, from a manipulation perspective there's no difference. Shoot film, scan the negative, "Photoshop"... That just adds, IMO, a totally unnecessary degree of complexity and expense to the equation.

As far as the decorator value, I would have thought (and again, like Derrel, I know nothing of you or this facet of the industry), that most barbers would want to display there own work. I can see a market for shooting for others so that they can display their own work as prints in their retail space & on-line, but as decorative... seems a stretch to me. Sort of like a body shop using pictures of other shop's paintwork in their front office.

That might be a plan for the future, to shoot other's work for them.

 

[Derrel]

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.

 

[andrewdoeshair]

Probably the best chance of somebody wanting to purchase a print is the person who got the haircut. Or his mother.

When I sell one of these I'm using the money to buy you tacos and asking your advice on my next move (insert laughing/teasing emoji) . I don't know the business of photography very well yet but I do know the hair industry... Inspiration, education, and entertainment related to hair is free and abundant to the point that it's got no value (like it probably is in the photography world) but there are still a lot of people who will wade through the noise to seek out and appreciate value. Owning something made by someone who's work inspires you still has value (I once cut a skateboard deck into combs and sold them for $50 each). Owning something limited or hard to get still has value (more so since the internet makes content free for everyone). Like every other project I've worked on, I actually don't care if people will buy them, I just didn't want to do it poorly any more times than I absolutely have to before I can do it well. I figured this thread could save me $70 in printing on the wrong paper or using a known inferior source or method for printing. On that note, I'm now rethinking the film part and will likely use digital.