Does anybody here sell their Photography

[Pharaoh]

In art galleries etc ?

What kind of prices do you see for a framed and matted 11x14 or framed matted 16x20?

Still trying to find a place that sells inexpensive mattes online. The mattes seem to be the most expensive component. Michaels wants 44 dollars to cut a mat for a 16x20 in a 18x24 frame. I get the frame for half that. My biggest problem online is finding a glossy or semi glossy black mattes online. Any tips?

Thanks! :toast:

[NV Whino]

1. No to your first question

I only sell my photos as part of a design job. (Better than most to show the product/winery, but not good enough for gallery sales.)

In answer to your second, here are a couple of matt places with reasonable prices.
http://www.documounts.com/builders/matboards/9/1/

http://www.matcutter.com/?referrer=google&gclid=CI_g4f7As6cCFQoTbAodIFw3_g

As for glossy matts, a.) why on earth do you want glossy?; b.) I've never seen any glossy black matts; c.) You would probably have to make your own using self-stick shelf paper or the like.

[Pharaoh]

2. I don't know

not super glossy just not flat black. I do a lot of stuff on a jet black background and the added depth of a slightly glossed black mat with a white core really pops the color :party:

[postatomic]

3. A wonderful photo like that would be lost with a black mat

Go visit a few galleries or photos on display in museums. Most use a white mat and black frame. It's considered the "traditional" method for displaying 'fine art'. Actually, some galleries will only accept photos matted and framed this way. I do some prints with frames I make myself from found objects but they work with the subject matter I'm displaying. These I sell to a very specific buying group.

Getting your photography out in The Real World can be time consuming and frustrating. And, very costly.

You will appeal more to the 'pretty picture' buying group if you keep your pricing in the $40 to $80 range. When you get into the $150 to $250 range you start reducing your buying group and when you get into the $300 to $500 range you have to appeal to the 'casual' fine art photography buyer. The 'serious' fine art photography buyer is in the $700 to $1,000 range. Over $1,000 the buyer is going to probably want you to have some 'street cred'. I'm kinda' pulling these numbers out of my ass but they are fairly accurate.

The Real World will require lots of exposure and some basic social skills.

I have a link you might like. It's on my other 'puter'. If you want I can dig it up and send it your way.

Not sure I answered your questions. If you need some clarification just ask.

:toast:

[Pharaoh]

4. your right!

I will try that,white is more nuetral,thanks for framing up that visual

The galleries around here would get 250 300 for something like this, although they take a huge percent, I think it's 60/40

so after ones framing costs you don't get much. But it's nicewhen someone likes yourstuff :o)

Anda way to create clientelle when you attach a business card :o)

[regnaD kciN]

6. One note about pricing...

You will appeal more to the 'pretty picture' buying group if you keep your pricing in the $40 to $80 range. When you get into the $150 to $250 range you start reducing your buying group and when you get into the $300 to $500 range you have to appeal to the 'casual' fine art photography buyer. The 'serious' fine art photography buyer is in the $700 to $1,000 range. Over $1,000 the buyer is going to probably want you to have some 'street cred'. I'm kinda' pulling these numbers out of my ass but they are fairly accurate.

The OP and I were both talking about matted and framed photos. Generally speaking, the mats and frames are heavily marked-up items. There is a saying in the art world that a buyer will happily pay $250 for a frame, but then balk at paying $25 for the artwork to put in it. I generally sell unmounted prints for relatively-low prices, matted prints for quite a bit more, and matted and framed prints for a lot. This seems to be general practice among photographers I know.

How much you can expect to charge also depends on the venue. I've learned to stay away from "arts and crafts" fairs, for example, because the people who attend those are generally only interested in staring at the "pretty pictures" and maybe buying a photo greeting card for a few bucks, leaving me with maybe a dollar profit on the sale. I understand that you can charge and make a lot more at bigger-name juried art shows, which attract a more upscale level of customers, but require a pretty large upfront investment, which I haven't felt like doing yet.

[regnaD kciN]

5. I sell...when I can...

To be honest, photo sales have fallen off a cliff since the 2008 mini-depression. And it's not just me -- one of the top nature photographers in the country, who has had work published in National Geographic among other prestigious magazines, and whose (expensive!) photo workshops sell out months in advance, told me a few months ago that he only sells around five prints per month these days.

Anyway, back to your question -- prices are all over the map for a given size of photo, and vary as well depending on the commission the gallery charges. I charge $269 for framed and matted 11x14s and $429 for 16x20s at my web site, and around $300-$325 for such 11x14s in galleries. That means I make a smaller profit off such sales due to the commission, but I don't want to price gallery photos so much higher that people will decide to buy online instead -- it tends to sour relations with gallery owners pretty quickly if you're drastically undercutting their price yourself.

As to mattes, I generally use MatCutter.com, which has very good prices, especially for "all-in-one" combinations of mat, backing, and bag together. While they don't have glossy black mats, they do have black with a white bevel, which might work very well with the photo you posted.

[Pharaoh]

7. Thanks for the input!

I'm fairly new to this I have hung a lot of stuff in my living room and people want them, so I'll make them one. I had some sell in a gallery years ago when I was doing film, now just recently got the bug again when I bought a new lens. It's a wonder what a new lens to play with will do for you. For me it's not so much about making money as I like it when others want to put one in their living rooms. I have had a few professionally mounted on a backing board, not sure how to do it myself. Just usually a stiff piece of cardboard backing up the print and mat.

Classy huh :party:

But would love to learn how to make my framing better. Yeah it is a big investment to get 10 or so framed up to make a presentation to a gallery, but am working on it again. I can always give them to friends if they don't sell. But I like the feedback.

:toast:

[Pharaoh]

8. Actually the pic

Of the feather I posted was not the one I was working on. It was the Koi pic posted in the thread named Koi. I really liked the gloss black mat on it But did not want to pay Michaels 44 dollars for the mat. The Koi shot has been blown up to 16x20, and I have the 18x24 black frame, but have not yet nailed down the mat. Still liking all the input though! I still "see" this shot matted in semi gloss black mat, but am open to input.

Postatomic can you give me a simulation of that?

It's kind of blurry and wavy and abstract, but I like it

:party:

[Stevenmarc]

9. When it comes to pricing

You really need to do your research locally, visit the galleries in your area, check the pricing, look for the dots and see if it's selling at that price but also keep in mind the reputation of the artist and adjust your pricing accordingly.

That said, dont sell yourself short, if you don't value your work, trust me, the collectors aren't going to value it either. I've seen group shows where you have an artist try to undercut the other artists with their pricing and guess what, their stuff sits on the wall while other pieces don't seem to have a problem selling.

As far as juried shows go, 90% are pure crap, they're a cash machine for the promoter who is basically collecting entry fees, however, there are some that look great on your artist bio and are worth entering provided you do your research, check the judges out and see what their artistic style is, check out the work that was selected in previous years and assess if your style even has a shot before you write the check.

Check out your local arts organizations and establish yourself in some of the shows that they sponsor, it helps get your name out in the community and if they distribute small artist grants you might be able to offset production costs. Also, it doesnt hurt contributing a piece to a charity auction, it puts your work in front of an audience who can actually afford to buy your work.

As far as mats go, for under $150 you can get a decent mat cutting system, it's really not all that difficult and nice to be able to get a custom size on short notice.

[Mz Pip]

10. I sell most of my work unframed

I'll mat it and put it in a clear sealed sleeve with a backing board. I sell them for 30 - 80 depending on the size. My really large prints go for much more.

I do all of my own printing, matting and framing. That saves a bundle.

I get the backing boards, sleeves and some of the smaller mattes at www.clearbags.com