Could you sell your own fine art photo prints. Things you need to ask yourself

[@hamshanksproductions7161]

If I get back to selling prints again, I won't be selling them cheap. I don't care if they sell but I'm not putting all that effort into it to make little. However the last time I was selling, I didn't do too bad but not enough to make a living. Cheers Keith.

[@KeithCooper]

Yes, finding a price you're happy with is important - Thanks

[@johnvaleanbaily246]

I came to the conclusions you outlined some years ago. I print for myself, family and friends as a hobby... I enjoy it... and it keeps me out of trouble !

[@KeithCooper]

Yes - it's why the printmaking was only ever a minor addition to our business. The printing and then printer testing, came under the 'business development' and 'training' budgets... ;-)

[@dadobbs]

For me, the primary market is art festival display in person. In the states, there are at least several festivals each weekend where one can submit images to be juried and invited to display and sell. Once invited, you incur the booth space cost and travel expenses. Booth tent and display panels can cost up to several thousand dollars. With experience, one discovers which images are popular and sell. I enjoy the challenge of producing beautiful photography. Currently, I am printing and selling more of my body of work on metal. My customers like the deep blacks not found in any other printing process. The art festival business can be one way to meet your market and sell your art. Also, many artists make friends, find love and enjoy the lifestyle.

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks for the notes. It's partly because there is simply nothing like this where I am in the UK hat I always emphasise the importance of finding what markets there are where the viewer lives. That and taking time to understand how the market works!

[@jbairdexp]

A enjoyable and educational watch as always. No nonsense. Unfortunately the world of photography is full of people who take themselves way too seriously!

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - I'll stick to my given names for my work ;-) :-)

[@johndwilliams]

A refreshing change to most other channels. You have a new subscriber.

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks, that's appreciated.

[@leststoner]

Thank you! Just want I'm looking for.

[@KeithCooper]

Glad it was of interest!

[@Zorrely021]

Thank you very much for this video. I am starting my small business soon :)

[@KeithCooper]

Best of luck for it!

[@Zorrely021]

@@KeithCooper thank you.

[@goranritterfeldt2608]

Thanks a lot. Very clever thoughts as always. Take care. Göran from Latvia

[@KeithCooper]

Thank you very much!

[@robinjones6999]

Fantastic information. I knew guys who did sports photography for local papers and gave up since the remunerations were so small it made no economic sense

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - yes in quite a few areas of photography :-(

[@LOTUSARTSTUDIO-gx8yf]

Sir, we listening many time Art paper, Art paper is very expensive Art paper is best for printing but i want to know what is Art paper. At here We know only glossy paper or roll, cast coated paper, Resin coated paper matte paper, digital coated paper but what is Art paper and how thick it is strong it is 🙏

[@KeithCooper]

'art paper' is a marketing term, thus it can mean whatever you want ;-) I normally take it to be a matt paper of cotton rag or similar See here for some I've used over many years - I'm afraid I don't follow paper types/supplies/prices outside of the UK at all innovaart.com/product-category/fine-art-range/

[@LOTUSARTSTUDIO-gx8yf]

Sir I am very confused about ink and supported paper, Is Satin and Luster paper support dye ink???? I am waiting for your kind information

[@KeithCooper]

yes - look at any review I've made of a printer with dye inks

[@RAS-pz3st]

Just a hobby ( beginner) .. retired. Question - I want to hang my prints on my wall. What do you use to hang them, without marking my walls or tearing of bits of paint when you want to replace them?

[@KeithCooper]

Sorry - nails in a hole drilled at a slightly downwards angle using a small diameter masonry drill No such concept as an unmarked wall in this 1888 house ;-)

[@mightymogul2748]

I like the balanced views of your videos, especially of the business side. I doubt many photographers have given any thought about the non glamorous side of photography, selling and marketing. I think very few photographers make a living from selling prints, unless your name is Charlie Waite

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - I tend to get an increase in questions about this every time I review a good printer ;-) It seems many still think that 'the right printer' is the key to print sales ;-)

[@bifcake]

Ok, I think I get it. In a nutshell: Prints don't sell, bullshit sells. You mentioned a persona that one plays, but it's not just a persona that one plays, it's the persona that another perceives. It reminds me of a story that Rufus Wainright told on some interview. His sister was friends with Leonard Cohen's daughter and the first time that he met Leonard Cohen, he was hanging out with his sister at Leonard Cohen's house with LC's daughter. They had a parrot in the kitchen. He said: all of a sudden, this man appeared in his underwear and he started feeding the bird and talking to it. He stayed there for a bit and then he disappeared. Some time later, the man came down the stairs in a suit and Rufus Wainright looked at him and got taken aback, thinking: Holy shit! It's Leonard Cohen!

[@KeithCooper]

Yes, a more succinct way of describing it... albeit not to the punters ;-)

[@thomaseriksson6256]

I will start a project of old infrastructure. My specially is ART woodland photo in BW. Is there some equipment that you recommend? I'm an amateur and currently use Nikon D700; Zeiss primes a few Nikon AFS lenses as 28mmF1.4 E, AFS 60mmF2.8 Macro and AFS 200mm F2.0 VR and Nikon PC lenses 24mmF4.5, 45mmF2.8 and 85mmF2.8. I’m saving for a upgrading to 2nd hand D850, AFS 24-70mmF2.8 E VR and AFS 70-200mm F2.8 E VR. I use LR and PS and a calibrated EIZO. I never have had a good result using printer services so I have not a lot of prints from my projects.

[@KeithCooper]

Ah, I never recommend equipment - it's how you use it that matters. Seems you pretty much have everything needed. In fact you likely have vastly more kit than is needed :-) The other difficulty is that I have no idea what anyone else means by 'ART' ;-) It is whatever you want it to mean, but have fun anyway...

[@thomaseriksson6256]

@@KeithCooper Thank you for an honest answer. As an Engineer I newer studied Art in school but I’m have started to Read Modern Art books and books on important photographers. I‘m specially interested in the Pictorialism movement and my work is in that direction. I often use multi exposures and dense ND filters.

[@KeithCooper]

Ah, then maybe you already have a possible advantage over me, since my knowledge of 'famous' photographers and 'movements' is very limited. I have none, nor really want, any qualifications in photography, and the prospect of studying it formally leaves me stone cold :-) I'm minded to suggest the fact that you mention ND filters and multiexposures (and 'zeiss' lenses) suggests you perhaps need to take your engineering hat off more often ;-) I used to be an electronics engineer and geophysicist - I leave all my techy stuff at the door, until it's genuinely needed (which it is sometimes). Any time I think my kit is genuinely limiting what I'm doing, I apply some very strict criteria - almost always it's practice and photography skills which are wanting - rarely is it equipment...

[@thomaseriksson6256]

@@KeithCooper I work with microwave receiver units for airplanes. I have taken courses in photo at university and private courses with professional photographers, especially nature and studio work, the later I have had use for at work. I’m not good at printing and keep working on one subject until I have a portfolio and a perfect picture. So I will work more on my pictures and put art theory in practices but I need to upgrade my 12Mpix camera to a D850 45 Mpix and that will set a limit on with of my old lenses I can use and therefore I will get two Zooms. I know that it’s working with the pictures that are the important bit... My goal is to get my photos In a Museum Of Modern Art.

[@KeithCooper]

My only comment is an old engineering adage I've lived by for many years: 'Don't let perfection be the enemy of excellence' That and I'm by nature extremely wary of anything related to 'art theory' ;-) YMMV of course ;-) That said, hope it goes well for you!

[@ddsdss256]

I can just hear Homer Simpson chuckling and saying "giclée" heh, heh...

[@KeithCooper]

Yes, 'Hokum of the highest order' ;-)

[@borderlands6606]

People who pay good money for a print do so because of who took it. For the rest, it's how much will people pay for a piece of wall art. At the highest end wall art and fine art prices blur, banks are untroubled by how much a photograph for their boardroom costs, but they'll need a backstory to show it was an investment. Most of the highest prices paid for a single print meet this criterion.

[@KeithCooper]

Yes - the "who took it" aspect of marketing is a whole different area. The whole concept of your 'brand' is a tricky one if you go that route... ;-) I look at it obliquely in some of my print sales related videos - as would be expected it has many aspects which bear little connection with how 'good' a photo is from an artistic or technical POV ;-)

[@borderlands6606]

@@KeithCooper It's fair to say technical quality has very little to do with the financial value of a print, and aesthetic quality has only a passing connection with price. Popular taste can be guessed pretty accurately - the art market value on the other hand depends who your agent is!