Pricing Landscape Prints

[Destin]

Hey guys; I've gotten pretty good at pricing my portrait and wedding work as there is a very concrete formula to figure out how much I need to charge to turn a profit.

I'm going to start venturing into selling more of my landscape work at local art shows and such. How do you even begin to price them? If I run the same formulas as I would for my other work, the overhead would include travel expenses and the prints would become unbelievably expensive.

How much markup should I be applying? 100%? More? Less?

Examples based on things I currently have hanging on my own walls:

Example 1: A 12x24 piece of wall art (photo printed on aluminum) costs me roughly $70 at cost.

Example 2: A Framed, double matted 10x15 metallic print costs me $45 at cost.

Where would you price these? How would you arrive at those numbers?

 

[john.margetts]

The market price for such pictures (basically fine art photos) depends on where you are selling them. You cannot price them on a mark-up basis.

Selling in Lincoln's Usher gallery I charge c. £100 for an A3 print while in Barton that would go for £120. In a smaller local gallery I would be down to £80. The difference is a mixture of commission I need to pay and customer expectation.

The only real guide to price us to see what level others are selling at. No need to be cheaper as art is not that sort of product - being more expensive will price you out of your local market.

 

[smoke665]

@john.margetts You referenced an A3 print as opposed to say an 11x14 here. Is this a difference in region, or a gallery requirement. Also you didn't specify if the print is mounted, matted, framed or all of the above.

 

[john.margetts]

@john.margetts You referenced an A3 print as opposed to say an 11x14 here. Is this a difference in region, or a gallery requirement. Also you didn't specify if the print is mounted, matted, framed or all of the above.

'A' size paper is an international standard for paper sizes. As far as I know, it is the only paper available here (UK). I could cut it down to other sizes but I don't see the point. 'A' size papers are close to the sensor size of most DSLR cameras so require minimal cropping and, once cropped, will fit A5, A4, A3 or A2 (or any other A size) without further adjustment.

The prices I quoted would be mounted in a window mount and in a cheap frame. I do not use expensive frames as I would expect the buyer to want a frame to suit their decor.

 

[BoldArtist]

Why do you have to use metallic inks?
Can't you just buy a relatively large giclee printing machine for print creation?

 

[Destin]

Why do you have to use metallic inks?
Can't you just buy a relatively large giclee printing machine for print creation?

Not metallic ink; metallic paper. Gives a really cool look with colorful night shots.

I don’t do this with all my photos; just the listed example. It’s only a few dollars more than a normal print though.

 

[vintagesnaps]

If price was marked up based on actual cost of materials, I'd be pricing based on the cost of the portion of ink in the tanks and the piece of paper it's squirted on, a mat and hinging tape. Pricing is for your ability and expertise, the time spent learning and practicing, etc. leading to the quality of the work you create. That's why I think it can be challenging pricing creative work.

I started out going to art shows, craft fairs, etc. to see how photographs were being priced. In my area it varies somewhat in a more urban area compared to out in the country. More established or well known artists/photographers price higher than unknown types like me. When I started doing submissions to juried exhibits I looked up pricing at those shows online. Not that anything sells! lol yet anyway, but I learned how to price in an appropriate range.

PPA and American Society of Media Photographers - Homepage have links to the same pricing guide but I don't know if it prices for artwork or for other contracted work. Might be worth a look.

 

[BoldArtist]

Why do you have to use metallic inks?
Can't you just buy a relatively large giclee printing machine for print creation?

Not metallic ink; metallic paper. Gives a really cool look with colorful night shots.

I don’t do this with all my photos; just the listed example. It’s only a few dollars more than a normal print though.

I looked online but I'm confused about which is which? I haven't found clear examples on metallic paper, so I can see the difference from reg. paper type printing.

 

[Destin]

Why do you have to use metallic inks?
Can't you just buy a relatively large giclee printing machine for print creation?

Not metallic ink; metallic paper. Gives a really cool look with colorful night shots.

I don’t do this with all my photos; just the listed example. It’s only a few dollars more than a normal print though.

I looked online but I'm confused about which is which? I haven't found clear examples on metallic paper, so I can see the difference from reg. paper type printing.

Professional Photo Printing & Photo Gifts | Nations Photo Lab

Here’s the type of paper I’m speaking of.

 

[smoke665]

I use Nations and have never been disappointed. I haven't tried the metallic yet, might need to.

 

[jcdeboever]

I recently had a 36 x 36 silver geletin print done from the actual negative. Cost was $1200 (rounded down)to print, mat, and frame by a professional lab.

 

[petrochemist]

'A' size paper is an international standard for paper sizes. As far as I know, it is the only paper available here (UK). I could cut it down to other sizes but I don't see the point. 'A' size papers are close to the sensor size of most DSLR cameras so require minimal cropping and, once cropped, will fit A5, A4, A3 or A2 (or any other A size) without further adjustment.

A series paper is the most common in most of the world, but there is also B series as part of the same international standard.
Of course this is another place where the US is not part of the world at large (despite their 'world series' sports events).

If buying prints via an on-line printing service the sizes often do not actually include any A series options, likewise pre made mounts frequently aren't quite right for A4 or the sizes available as standard from my photo printing sites...

 

[BoldArtist]

Why do you have to use metallic inks?
Can't you just buy a relatively large giclee printing machine for print creation?

Not metallic ink; metallic paper. Gives a really cool look with colorful night shots.

I don’t do this with all my photos; just the listed example. It’s only a few dollars more than a normal print though.

I looked online but I'm confused about which is which? I haven't found clear examples on metallic paper, so I can see the difference from reg. paper type printing.

Professional Photo Printing & Photo Gifts | Nations Photo Lab

Here’s the type of paper I’m speaking of.

I guess I need to see them in person. I will ask aroumd atphoto stores,etc...
What I see is really light images here that are less readable.

 

[DannyK]

I use Nations and have never been disappointed. I haven't tried the metallic yet, might need to.

I've had metallic prints down at Nations and love the results.

 

[zombiesniper]

Use an 18mm lens + get up on a hill + take landscape photo + charge $5 an acre + road sign advertising $5 an acre = (said while placing pinky aside his mouth)1 MILLION DOLLARS!

Really the pricing strategy suggested by john.margetts seems like a good way to go.