how much for a photo??

[venusian]

I'm after some advice on how to price a print for sale.

I just completed a photography class at a local gallery, and one of my photos is in an exhibition (mix of amateurs, students and local pros).....we were suppose to put a price on our work, so I wrote POA cos I had no idea what to write....anyhow someone is keen to buy mine but I have no idea what to say $ wise!!

Is there some sort of rule of thumb??

Info - It's a 19"x13" print on canson pure cotton rag....I got the print for free as part of my class but it usually costs $30
The gallery takes a 25% commission

 

[GoCubsGo]

Is it framed? If it's unframed I'd say $75 - $125.

 

[compuwar]

Is there some sort of rule of thumb??

What the market will bear. Generally, you should try to be in the middle-high area of pricing for similarly sized prints. The high end is generally for well-known artists and limited edition prints, and you don't want to be the bottom because it's incredibly difficult to raise prices and keep repeat business.

Check other prints at the same gallery in the same size, and if possible other prints in the same size range in other local galleries.

People will make a buy/no buy choice almost without considering price if the work is very good, but you want to be in the same ballpark so that you don't shock them or look too cheap. Also, patrons of a particular place tend to have mental price ranges for that gallery in place.

Lastly, you could ask the gallery owner what they think- they'll probably give you a very honest assessment of what they think they can sell it for, and it's in their interests to do so at a good rate unless the buyer is someone they want to provide a discount to- but that's relatively rare (however the conversation would have been best had prior to having a buyer approach them.) More importantly, you could ask them if they'd be willing to carry additional copies.

Paul

 

[Abraxsis]

^ +1 to what Compuwar said.

Def. ask the gallery owner, it as, as said above, in his best interest to give an acceptable price.

 

[snberk103]

As a photographer, and sometimes gallery owner..... I agree, talk to the gallery who organized the show.

Couple more observations.
A) 25% commission to the gallery is gift to you. In my part of the world, Canada, galleries typically take 40% to 50%. So don't assume that 25% is standard.
B) If you continue this to sell photographs, do some reading and thinking about limited editions vs limited editions. It's a complicated issue, and limited editions aren't necessarily appropriate to photographic art.
C) If you start selling framed prints primarily, don't discount your unframed prints too much. My advice has always been to deduct only the material cost of the frame (not the markup on the frame) when someone asks about the unframed price of a print. What really bugs me is when someone sells a framed print for $275 and an unframed print for $75. That is not selling a photographic art, that is selling a frame with some decoration attached to the middle.

Selling photographic art, as a gallery or a photographer, is a tough row to hoe..... Good Luck.

 

[ipodtoucher]

It may be overkill but I recommend The Business of Photography by the ASMP. It is great at helping you determine based on different factors, I won't go too much into detail. I got it free when I went to the SPE conference but it's like $35