Pricing large prints?

[DWHonan]

Fellow photogs,

I've been contacted by someone interested in purchasing a print of my award-winning Foss River photo (gallery link) at a size larger than 11x17, and I have absolutely no clue how to price prints in the 16x24, 20x30 and 24x36 sizes. From your experiences, can you suggest some fair price ranges for prints of that size?

Thanks!

[BobH]

Dave,

You may not realize it, but you've actually asked two questions here...

Question #1:

I have absolutely no clue how to price prints in the 16x24, 20x30 and 24x36 sizes. From your experiences, can you suggest some fair price ranges for prints of that size?

I typically just go up in price as the prints go up in size, using a sort of ratio, but nothing real scientific, like using the square inches or anything.

As an example, for matted but unframed prints:
8 x 10 $25
11 x 14 $40
20 X 30 $60
24 x 36 $75

Basically nice even numbers going up in reasonable increments.

I'm flexible on prices and willing to negotiate...

Now, on to question #2:

... purchasing a print of my award-winning Foss River photo

Grand Prize Winner, Trains Magazine, the premier magazine about trains and railfanning. Yearly contest, sponsored by Canon, etc, etc. For train fans, this is a big deal. i.e. Dave did more than just win "Best in Show" at his local county fair. (As an aside, just to show the caliber of photographers that hang out around here, Steve Carter won 2nd Prize...)

That being the case, all bets are off. Now you have two factors to consider. The first is the value of the photo to start with, and the second is how much that value increases as size goes up.

I'd suggest getting some input from folks here, and also visiting some galleries etc, and comparing prices for work you consider to be comparable.

My gut instinct? I would easily ask $250 for that print, and possibly quite a bit more.

It's not only prize winning, but unique and something that's not easily replicated. We're not just talking a pretty night shot of the Space Needle where there's lots of competition out there.

[popsphotos]

Another question comes to mind. Is he buying a print, or, limited reproduction rights, or, the original, including full rights being signed over?

Pops

[DWHonan]

Originally Posted by popsphotos

Another question comes to mind. Is he buying a print, or, limited reproduction rights, or, the original, including full rights being signed over?

Pops

Pops,

Just a print.

[jakewatrous]

Hi Dave,

It depends on your comfort level, and also on the budget of your customers. People have gotten tighter with money, especially for photography it seems, but I'd think prices in this range would work: (unframed, of course)

16x20: $200-$250
20x24: $250-$300
30x40: I've never sold a 30x40, so I have no clue.

There are two main practices I've seen; sell more copies for less $ per, or sell fewer copies for more $ per. You'll have to gauge the number of likely buyers to decide which would work best for you.

Best of luck, I hope this helps. It's a nice photo.

[popsphotos]

Just a print, signed, no matt or frame, I charge $65 for a 16x20. My market is much different from yours, however. Rural town, farm and hard hat community, just getting back into selling after 50 year hiatus, few awards, no gallery. I've sold a few, but I'm not out hawking them, either. I think the $250 range fits at the low end, as the customer came to you, it is a prestigous prizewinner and you are known in your field.

Pops

[squirl033]

for unmatted prints in those sizes, i'd normally ask somewhere between Bob and Jake...

12x18 - $65-$75
16x24 - $75-$85
20x30 - $95-$125

those are direct prices. if there's any kind of commission involved, naturally, the prices are higher. i've spoken to numerous gallery owners and the like, and they all seem to agree that those prices are pretty much in the middle of the range, which is a good place to be. obviously, i subscribe to the idea of selling more prints at more reasonable prices, rather than selling just one or two at high prices.

i like the image, though i have to say the processing makes it look more like a painting than a photo... grand prize from Trains Magazine contest - pretty cool!

[DWHonan]

Thanks for the comments, compliments and suggestions, everyone! Y'all've (I lived in Indiana for five years, I'm allowed to say that) definitely helped, and I really do appreciate the assistance.

Originally Posted by squirl033

i like the image, though i have to say the processing makes it look more like a painting than a photo...

Since this came up -- and not for the first time -- I thought I'd take this opportunity to provide a quick peek behind the scenes...

Here's the version of the image everybody is familiar with; slightly cropped, with some basic post-processing (fairly minor raw adjustments, levels, brightness/contrast, saturation, USM) performed:

The following version depicts the original image taken straight out of Camera Raw 4.5 (via Elements 7) without any adjustments other than the default settings, resized to 900x600, and hit with a bit of unsharp mask:

The bottom line: There just was not a lot of post-processing work that had to be done with this image; the original scene was simply that incredible and surreal. Sometimes you just get lucky.

[NinaS]

11x14 Limited Edition Print in a 16x20 Frame ~ $349.00
16x20 Limited Edition Print in a 20x24 Frame ~ $599.00
20x30 Limited Edition Print in a 30x40 Frame ~ $799.99

make them sound like they're worth it & they are worth it

[squirl033]

i went under that bridge today while pokin' around up along the river... nowhere near as dramatic in daylight! LOL!