Hi folks
I've participated in several group shows. The objective was to show friends and
anyone else who was interested what we'd been up to. If some sold - and quite a
few did - that was a bonus.
Two points that haven't been mentioned:
Framing. In the first exhibition, I offered prints matted (not framed), and I'm
sure a lot of the ones sold are still lurking behind wardrobes or in dark
cupboards waiting to be framed. Having to get a print framed is a nuisance and
detracts from the immediate excitement of buying a print. One has to find a
framer, deliver the print, choose a frame (not easy for some people), and
collect it later. It's also expensive. Together, these factors create a
disincentive to buy. For later exhibitions I offered prints matted (only) or
matted and framed, and I've never sold and unframed print since. Customers like
being able simply to take the print home and immediately hang it on the wall. I
even provide hooks.
I make my own frames (aluminium extrusion) and price them at the cost of
materials. This is also an incentive. People know they are getting a frame at a
good price and know exactly what they are getting and the total amount they're
going to pay.
It means also that I get to choose the frames, which are part of the overall
effect. When I sold unframed prints many were taken to framers who said "Black
and white print, black frame, end of story", and the result was prints rather
overshadowed by heavy-looking black frames.
Editions: I don't know if editioning affects prices or the likelihood of sales,
but I limit my prints to editions of three. I once sold a print twice of three
times, but had only the one print that was on show. Thus, I had to make two
more prints without a proof to work from. It was a salutary lesson never to
show a print for which I didn't have at least a proof. I don't have illusions
that people will be clamouring to buy my prints and that prices will go through
the roof, but limiting my prints means that I can print an entire edition
(three prints, plus a proof) and not accumulate a vast quantity of unsold
prints that I don't know what to do with. That said, I print entire editions
only if I think a print is likely to sell or if the printing is particularly
difficult: having worked out the necessary burning and dodging, it's easier to
make a couple of extra prints there and then than to re-learn the process at
some later date. On one or perhaps two occasions I've missed an opportunity to
sell a fourth print, but as I said, sales are not the objective.
Hope that helps.
Brian
On Friday, 30 September 2022 at 05:35:42 am NZDT, Zack Widup
<w9sz.zack@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi, I am doing a photo exhibit along with two photographer friends on
Saturday. This is the first time I've done this. One thing that has always
eluded me is what to charge for a photo if someone wants to buy one. They are
mostly 8X10 prints in 11X14 frames. Are there any guidelines somewhere on what
to charge for a print?
Zack
