 Christopher B. Smyth |
How to decide on selling prices of an image? I have someone interested in purcahsing one of my photos for a wall mural. they require high resolution image. My original image is 3000X2008 straight out of the camera. is it possible to increase the resolution if required? What price should I charge? I was thinking of asking how many times it would be used and the size and base my price on that. Anybody give me any input? Thanks Christopher
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Brendan Knell |
" is it possible to increase the resolution if required?" Yes. If you're going to do it in PS, it's best to do it in small incriments. Also, Genuine Fractals is supposed to be good for increasing resolution. "I was thinking of asking how many times it would be used and the size and base my price on that." Yes, you really should do that, because it is a good idea. For example, you would charge someone that is going to use the picture for advertising their business a lot more than someone that just wants a print to hang on their living room wall.
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Christopher B. Smyth |
Thanks Brendan, I have talked in depth with the potential buyer. I would like to ask more than what I mentioned to them as apparetnly wall murals are worth a large amount. However one of the other sellers has drastically reduced their price so the buyer would most likely not accept a higher price from someone else. As for enlarging it they have a company they use that does all that work for them. Many eyes will see it and hopefully some will want to know where to get it. The only thing is they are cropping out the water in the foreground. too bad but just to be able to say "hey that is my photo on your wall" is good for me. plus I will make some moeny off it up in the hundreds somewhere not as much as I would like but you also have to think of thier budget. Exposure I think of, sure I would like $1000 for it but as mentioned many things to consider. Yes for advertising I use a stock photo price calulator which gives me some ideas of pricing depending on times used,size etc.
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Mark Feldstein |
I have to tell ya Chris that you're essentially devaluing the present nature of your work by rationalizing a subsequent marketing value in the piece. Even worse, you're cutting your cost in light of what the BUYER says the competition is doing. That's a very sleazy, amateurish practice on the part of the buyer and reflects badly on his employer. Just to let you know, that's not generally the way professionals operate. In that sense you're doing both yourself and professionals a disservice by cutting your price during your own bargain days in order to get published. While you haven't asked what I would do, I'll just tell ya. LOL !! First, I'd tell the buyer to take a hike in that you know he's trying to sand bag you with a lowball price. He obviously wants the photo for the mural or they wouldn't have contacted you. You're dealing with individual pieces of art here, not trading commodities like wheat or corn. Your work has a unique value. Understand that and charge accordingly. The inherent value to your client is that they have the use of your work in decorating their office or whatever. The inherent value to you is the money they pay for the usage AND the somewhat remote possibility that someone will contact you to buy more based on having your name there. Now, if in fact the other "seller" has significantly cut the cost of his usage fee, that tells you how desparate HE is and what HE thinks of his own work. After that, it's unlikely he'll ever be able to charge the same client, or perhaps even others when word gets out, the reasonable and customary fees for usage and/or assignment fees. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. ;>) Whaddya think?
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Mark Feldstein |
Sorry, the second thing I'd do is double the price and THEN go talk to the guy who's running that outfit to let him/her know how offended you are at these underhanded, unethical business practices and what a bad rep. they're going to get in the photographic/designer/illustrator community. :>) Take no prisoners. Negotiate and don't capitulate.
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Christopher B. Smyth |
i can see negotiating but that is a hell of a big price drop. I have confered with a local profesional photographer and he also informed me that they usually seel for $1200. So I should negogiate but not drop too low because then like you said I would be lowering the value of my work. Does not matter if photogrpaher is pro or amateur? I would think not.As you mentioned they like the image and want to use it. yes they are trying to snowball into a lower price. Well I will think about it and when I hear from them if they are going to use the image will have to negogiate hard. I ask your advice .......they know what it is worth .they told me. I also thought if it is true about the price drop that is a hell of a discount. What is the lowest price you would accept? I am now thinking much higher than what I mentioned , and yes I do not want to undervalue my work. If they don't like the price c'est la vie. Somebody somewhere someday might come and pay handsomley for my image. Thanks for the help all advice is pointing to a price range I figure of at least $900 that is only $300 discount compared to a $900 discount. I will let you know how it goes.
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Christopher B. Smyth |
mark I never thoguht of that .you make good points. true if I sell for a low price Iwill never get a high price. for someoen to drop thier price drastically they must be desperate. Well what I was told was that the other person told these clients that a picutre like that is worth $1200. it would be a big panoramic. now that I think about it if the first seller told them a price of $1200 why would they go way down to $300. i can see negotiating but that is a hell of a big price drop. I have confered with a local profesional photographer and he also informed me that they usually seel for $1200. So I should negogiate but not drop too low because then like you said I would be lowering the value of my work. Does not matter if photogrpaher is pro or amateur? I would think not.As you mentioned they like the image and want to use it. yes they are trying to snowball into a lower price. Well I will think about it and when I hear from them if they are going to use the image will have to negogiate hard. I ask your advice .......they know what it is worth .they told me. I also thought if it is true about the price drop that is a hell of a discount. What is the lowest price you would accept? I am now thinking much higher than what I mentioned , and yes I do not want to undervalue my work. If they don't like the price c'est la vie. Somebody somewhere someday might come and pay handsomley for my image. Thanks for the help all advice is pointing to a price range I figure of at least $900 that is only $300 discount compared to a $900 discount. I will let you know how it goes.
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Mark Feldstein |
Wellllllllllll Chris, I've donated work to outfits like the National Park Service to be used for a wall mural at a visitor center. (With photo credit, I might add.) And charged Union Pacific Railroad $2,300.00 for a series of 3 shots that were used in a collage mural in their executive offices in Bethlehem, PA. But, I should note that in the case of UPRR, I was already getting paid a day rate directly from them for a series of projects I was working on and I love doing business with them. They're a class outfit and very very fair to the artists who work for them. This buyer just doesn't pass the smell test. So in effect, in this case and in my view, the only difference between a pro and a non-pro I think, is only in how you handle the deal and how you set the stage for future dealings (assuming this is more than a single-one-time deal). I don't believe whether you earn your living as a photographer or not, makes an ioda of difference in how much anyone should pay or not pay for a particular piece or usage rights. What I hear from a lot of people around this site and in the day to day world, is that most people who submit work for publication, any form of any type of publication, would likely sell their souls including give the work away in order to be published in some way, whether a mural or magazine or newspaper or to illustrate a web site. I think you also realize that if you caved in for $300 bucks, if someone asks the buyer how to contact you, the buyer would likely be proud of himself to pass along the fact that they shouldn't pay your asking price and to hold out for the $900 discount. I just won't do business like that. Without the "angst" dough for the buyer's stupidity, I'd stick with your original offer (demonstrates integrity on your part) and offer to discount it by $201.00, for a grand total of $999.00 (still a buck less than a grand). The kind of attitude your clients display just shows me how unenlightened they are and at the same time, pisses me off. I'd tell them you don't sell your art work by the square foot and tell them if they purchases multiple pieces, THAT would entitle them to say a 10% discount (settle for 15%). Lastly for now, (and then I'll climb down off the soapbox) is the fact that if they like your work that much and believe it fits with their overall decor, they should not only be pleased to pay your asking price (as they would for a statue or painting) AND AND offer you wall space for an exhibit of your work (that you don't necessarily have to charge them for). Hope that helps. Yeah, let us know what happens.
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Samuel Smith |
c'mon mark,tell us what you really think!kiddin otay. believe in what you speak and speak in what you believe.i think I got it. sam
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Christopher B. Smyth |
I am realy slow but in the end it turned out they did not use my image after all. Thanks for the help
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Mark Feldstein |
Well Chris, you know sometimes better late than never. Sooooooooo what do you think happened? Was it price? What did the corporation tell you and do you believe them? What happened to the other guy you mentioned? Did they use his work? Let us know. Mark
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Christopher B. Smyth |
If I recal correctly when enlarged it did not come out as expected,so they told me they were unable to use it.
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