Autumn Ivy: From this morning’s shoot
Seemingly, for as many ways as there are to take a photograph, there are an equivalent number of ways of displaying it! For our home, the preferred method is gallery style without a frame, as shown above, except that all of the pictures that I’ve hung so far are B & W. Mind you, using self-adhesive foam core board is NOT the museum/gallery/archival way of doing things. Of course, these boards are acid free and of archival quality, but there is no glass protecting the picture from the rays of the sun or pollutants. I figure, if it starts to fade, etc. I’ll just print another one! Also, I mount, on the back of the board a couple of Velcro tabs and mount these to the wall. This is a sure way, if not removed correctly, to have to paint in the future! 
However, the tried and proven method for removal is patience and a blow dryer to melt the glue.
Anyway, since I’ve been asked a few times to sell my prints, now I have to start thinking about:
- Papers (Luster, high gloss, plastic film, fine art paper)
- Sizes
- Mats
- Mat boards
- Prices
- Shipping containers
- How to sell: Customized, 3rd party (Photoreflect, for example), by request, Paypal, etc.
Geez! When you are printing for yourself, only, none of these things really matter. You can do it however you want!
I’ve decided on a couple of things, I think:
Sizes: 6 x 9, 10 x 15, 12 x 18, 16 x 24. As you can see, all of them are full-frame size, not the common types of frames that you’ll find in the grocery store. When I shoot, I shoot for the entire frame (2:3 ratio), not for a 4:5 cropped ratio.
Mounting: More than likely conservation mounting where the photo can be removed, without damage, and placed into something else. So, I’ll probably use precut mats and mat boards that I found here, a place that I finally found after searching high and low for 13 x 19 mats, etc.
Pricing: Who knows. I’m seeing that this is rather expensive to even get a single print out of the door. I’ll have to consider ink, paper, mats, mat boards, tape, etc. It all adds up rather quickly! No wonder prints cost so much! There’s a lot of work involved!
In the photographic work flow, if the end result is the web, things are a lot easier! If you want something to hang on your own wall, a little more difficult, if you want something to sell to someone, a lot more difficult!
I know that there are a lot of you who sell prints and, as usual, I welcome your input regarding any of the above mentioned items, especially shipping containers and materials.
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6 Responses to “Displaying: The next step!”
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Paul, you’re off to a fine start. How far have you got in you thought process? Are you eventually going to do a gallery of selected prints for sale with a shopping cart and a payment method? Then there’s variable shipping cost and taxes. Wow…I can see how it’s a huge step.
Dang, Earl! I hadn’t thought about taxes! Grrr! How could I forget? I live in NC where everything is taxed, including my dog! As a matter of fact, I jut got my vehicle property tax bill yesterday!
Ha! You touched one of my aggravations – shipping containers! They can get quite tricky especially if you are selling mounted and unmounted prints – if you are shipping just one print vs. 10 of them. Some people resolve this by simply shipping everything rolled in tubes. I only do this for very large prints (ie. 24×36) because I like the convenience and presentation for my customers by shipping flat. You also have to be quite careful in rolling prints as they can be easily damaged – either by putting them in the tube, or by someone yanking it out.
There aren’t a lot of good sources for flat, large boxes – Uline.com is one of the larger ones. If you want to have a benchmark on HOW to do it – order some large prints from West Coast Imaging. The attention to detail in how the print is packaged is top notch. They have absolutely set my standard for shipping.
A critical thing to keep in mind is to have a 1-3 inch border between the print and the edge of any packaging (the larger the print, the larger the border). Too often corners are crushed or a side is dinged and you want to have a ‘safe zone’ before the damage reaches the print.
I could go on and on about all your topics here, but it would be a book!
I am going through a similar process myself; however, I won’t be printing on my own, it’s just too expensive. I have an online gallery setup at SmugMug (http://www.smugmug.com) that is integrated with my website. They provide all the size options you could ever want (too many in fact), and their prints are excellent quality. The biggest advantage is they handle all the transactions for you. I just ordered some prints to compare the different options they have and I have to say that Lustre undoubtedly looks the best – matte texture with a glossy look.
I like your idea of mounting though… I’m not sure SmugMug offers any mounting options which is the principle drawback in my mind. I will have to try those Velcro tabs for myself, I have ripped off paint from my walls more than once using industrial strength “picture mounting – easy removal!” adhesives. Good luck with the sales.
Oh yeah, and about pricing… good luck, that is the single hardest thing to come up with. I have seen it vary drastically from photographer to photographer. Definitely do some research first though, see what other people are selling their prints for. You’ll be surprised how many amateur photographers can take great pictures these days (just browse through Flickr) and many of these people have their photos out there for free with the creative commons license.
Pricing is the largest “let down” of the whole sales biz. When I used to do a little crafting sales…a long, long time ago…the craft ladies would tell me to sell at 1 1/2 to 2 times your total cost of all expenses. That does make for a very expensive product, however when you consider the time an artisan puts into their work, after paying for expenses, the buying price is more than fair.