BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: To Be Categorized

Marketing Images

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December 23, 2000

Look for a local or regional art co-op and join it. Most have a gallery in which the members may display their work for sale. Many, if the co-op itself is non-profit, require you to spend time each week helping to operate the co-op.

Also keep your eyes peeled for local/regional art festivals and fairs. There is usually a cost for setting up a booth.

All this requires some investment up front on your part. Presentation of your work is as important as the quality of the image itself, an needs to look professionally done.

You will need to have some large display prints made and framed or otherwise mounted for hanging, and "sale ready." Typically, display photographs are 8x10 or larger. If you are using 35mm, the practical limit for a very sharp and high resolution negative (or transparency) is about 11x14. Have these done at a good professional lab. Ensure the print materials used by the lab are professional grade for display. You don't want a display print fading or color shifting for a very long time. If you do well at the time of making the photograph, you won't need custom cropping, dodging or burning and can get very good "machine prints." Custom work can triple or quadruple the cost of the print itself. If you do have an image custom printed, make certain you can price it . . . and sell it at that price to include the additional cost of the custom printing.

There are several methods for mounting prints on materials such as "Gatorboard." Any print mounted in this manner should be glossy or semi-gloss, and have a protective coating over the print, usually glossy. Professional imaging labs can mount prints for you this way.

Framed prints should be under glass and have a matte between print and glass to keep it from making direct contact with the glass (otherwise humidity will "glue" it to the glass ruining the print). Use the next larger size frame (11x14 for an 8x10 print). Also, seal the back of the frame with brown paper. Framed prints can be glossy or matte, but the glass should not be the "frosted" anti-glare as there will be a gap between print and glass.

Having prints professionally mounted or framed can be very expensive. The most cost effective method is learning how to do it yourself at a hobby store that has framing and matte materials. Stick with standard size frames and at most you might require them to make a matte for you. Mattes in standard print sizes for the next standard frame size are often available ready made in various colors.

Price out the cost of film, processing, printing and mounting/framing before pricing your work. You _don't_ want to do this at a loss. Ensure that somewhere on the print or matte is your name, and that a copyright notice is on the back of the print. You _want_ to get known . . . by name . . . for your work. Without it, you could get "discovered" only to frustrate the discoverer with no method for contacting you!

Lastly, be very protective of your copyrights, and enforce them. It need not be registered to have protection, but it needs to be marked with one on the back to prevent reproduction. Even if you give a framed/mounted display print away as a gift, ensure it is marked with a copyright on the back!

-- John

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December 30, 2000