what next?

[Rhondau]

I have been asked to sell some of my photos to friends and now being asked to sell them in a local gift shop. I have no clue what to do next... should I sign the photo or the back? Should I mat and frame them myself or sell them on their own? If I sell them on my own how do I package them that way? What size, 5x7? I would appreciate any advice, for I am not a business person, this opportunity has sort of fallen into my lap and I would love to take advantage of it. Thanks in advance!

Rhonda

[Indigo November]

Hi, welcome to DPS!

I was in the same boat 4 years ago. Here's what I learned:
1. People won't buy the photograph by itself, framing is a must.
2. Greeting cards sell very well! I buy blank pre-cut, pre-scored cards from cardblanks.com and glue 4x6s to them.

Being that you are selling to a gift shop, greeting cards should go pretty well for you.

Hope this helps you a little,
I'll give you some more advice when I have both hands free (holding a sleeping baby right now).

[BCampbell]

I don't think framing is an absolute must. It depends on how your work is going to be presented... if it's going on the wall, yes, frame it. If it's going in a bin or on a rack, consider just matting/mounting and putting it in a clear sleeve or shrinkwrap.

You have several options for matting and mounting, a traditional mat & backing is most common and looks pretty slick. For gallery display most people avoid colors, white mats are most common, but for general sales you might find a complimentary/contrasting color mat to be attention-getting. You also have wet/dry mounting options, you can mount directly to foamcore or other rigid backing, this is less expensive than matting and lets the consumer make the final decision of mat/etc.

You'll hear a lot of different opinions about signing your work. There was a recent thread, with pretty much every suggestion you could find. I would really recommend asking other photographers and gallerists in your area, as that's your market. But, best practice is to sign anywhere other than the mat, in pencil, with the date the print was made, and the sequence number if applicable. Title and date of the photo is optional. I prefer signing the back of the print. Ask at your art supply store for the pencil you need, they'll know exactly what you're talking about.

I agree that greeting cards a really good option to look into. You can mount the photo yourself as above or call local print services to see if they offer a greeting card option.

Sizes are totally up to you, but it seems to work best to have a wide range, even for the same print. Have a few large prints (over 8x10/12), a few in 8x10/12, then some smaller (5x7/4x6). The smaller photos are often impulse buys and help establish the value of the large photos ("I could get this for $10 but it looks so good at 11x14, I don't mind spending $75 on that!").

Note that most DSLRs shoot in 3:2 aspect ratio, so if you want to print 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, etc, you're going to crop. If you print 8x12 you'll have some unconventional mat/framing choices.

[Indigo November]

Very good advice! I disagree about selling matted photographs though.
I tried this and they sold, but very, very sloowwlly.
I had much better luck (and profit) with the framed ones. I think people like that it's ready to go, ready to hang, ready to wrap up as a gift (about 60% bought my framed photos as gifts).
They don't like to go out frame shopping after buying you photograph.
But maybe it's just the market around here, maybe elsewhere people buy matted photos, I don't know........

Oh, and this may help (OP): Canon, Nikon and Pentax have a 3:2 Aspect Ratio. Olympus and Pansonic (and Sony??) have 4:3 Aspect Ratio

Originally Posted by BCampbell

I don't think framing is an absolute must. It depends on how your work is going to be presented... if it's going on the wall, yes, frame it. If it's going in a bin or on a rack, consider just matting/mounting and putting it in a clear sleeve or shrinkwrap.

You have several options for matting and mounting, a traditional mat & backing is most common and looks pretty slick. For gallery display most people avoid colors, white mats are most common, but for general sales you might find a complimentary/contrasting color mat to be attention-getting. You also have wet/dry mounting options, you can mount directly to foamcore or other rigid backing, this is less expensive than matting and lets the consumer make the final decision of mat/etc.

You'll hear a lot of different opinions about signing your work. There was a recent thread, with pretty much every suggestion you could find. I would really recommend asking other photographers and gallerists in your area, as that's your market. But, best practice is to sign anywhere other than the mat, in pencil, with the date the print was made, and the sequence number if applicable. Title and date of the photo is optional. I prefer signing the back of the print. Ask at your art supply store for the pencil you need, they'll know exactly what you're talking about.

I agree that greeting cards a really good option to look into. You can mount the photo yourself as above or call local print services to see if they offer a greeting card option.

Sizes are totally up to you, but it seems to work best to have a wide range, even for the same print. Have a few large prints (over 8x10/12), a few in 8x10/12, then some smaller (5x7/4x6). The smaller photos are often impulse buys and help establish the value of the large photos ("I could get this for $10 but it looks so good at 11x14, I don't mind spending $75 on that!").

Note that most DSLRs shoot in 3:2 aspect ratio, so if you want to print 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, etc, you're going to crop. If you print 8x12 you'll have some unconventional mat/framing choices.

[kuvahmagh]

I think Sony has the 3:2 aspect ratio since they use an APS-C Sensor rather than the four thirds of Olympus.

[Indigo November]

Originally Posted by kuvahmagh

I think Sony has the 3:2 aspect ratio since they use an APS-C Sensor rather than the four thirds of Olympus.

Quite possible....... I have a Sony P&S and it's 4:3 aspect ratio. I wasn't sure about the Sony SLRs. Thanks!

[Rhondau]

Thank you all for such wonderful advice!!! I posted this question on another forum and the answers I got back were cut-throat and pretty much telling me my photos stunk even though no one had seen them!!! You all were very helpful, gave me things to think about that I had not thought of! I definitely like the idea of the notecards. I live in a "tourist trap" and summer is approaching so I think those would do very well. Especially the shots I have of some of the scenic areas. I love this forum, I have been lurking about for a couple weeks now and I am finding it to be very helpful! Thanks again!!!

Rhonda

[Jill H]

Thanks for this thread and the info - it is something I have been thinking of trying to get into myself. If you are in a tourist area you should do well. Good luck with it.

[Indigo November]

Another cool idea, if you live in a touristy area, is postcards.
I've been meaning to look into that, I don't know if you can make them cheap enough to get a profit.......
But, everyone buys postcards! I think I'll look into that for myself, I'll tell you what I find.

[Swisstony10]

You could also try turning to the wisdom of the person who runs the shop where they want to sell your prints, and ask them what they think will sell best to their general customer base, and at what price, etc.

You could get a hundred different opinions from a forum full of photographers about what will sell best in your local gift shop, but to be honest, who knows best what your local gift shop is likely to shift at the best profit margin - a bunch of photographers scattered in various places around the world, or the person with the closest local knowledge and experience?

From my own experience as a customer buying random prints, I usually go for a mounted print, but not a framed one. If I'm on holiday (particularly if there's a flight involved) then I don't want to be burdened with a frame and glass which is heavy and can get broken, I want a mounted print that I can put between some stiff card in the middle of my case and frame when I get home. Even when I'm not having to travel with one, I usually prefer to by a mounted print and choose my own frame, as someone else's choice of frame isn't always to my taste.

I'm not trying detract from my fellow DPSers in any way, of course - there's a wealth of fabulous information, advice and experience on here on the whole gamut of photographic and business topics (and the answers in this thread are still useful and interesting).

Russ.