sagacioustechie Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 <p>Greetings folks,<br /><br /> I have a bit of a dilemma which I hope more experienced photographers can help me out with. Essentially, I have the opportunity to have retail space for 12-20 of my shots in a local art/photo gallery but I am unable to choose which shots are "sellable" from my portfolio. I don't have any experience with selling my work and have been entirely focused on my own creativity and interests up until now. I know there are numerous very successful photographers on these forums and so I thought it might be best to ask before submitting works that I like but may not be very attractive to consumers.<br /> <br />Some background: the owner seemed to like my portfolio and was impressed by edgy and unique sho<br />ts but also mentioned that the local market (Buffalo, NY) is over saturated with abandoned and HDR photography. With that in mind, can any one take a quick look at my portfolio and recommend what might be worth putting up? Any comments, advice, or suggestions are enormously appreciated.<br /> <br />Thanks for the help,<br /> Stan.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonybynum Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 are you trying to make money of the sale of the prints, get more "exposure," have a show of your own, are you paying for printing, framing, etc, what are the prices of the other images, what kind of traffic (demographics) does the location get, how likely are people to buy and how much are they spending now on images if anything . . . are they buying local only, will they buy art, or will they buy documentary etc? It all matters . . . BTW, if you think someone is going to go through 250 shots and tell you what 20 are the best to sell you might be asking a bit too much . . . narrow it down based on the questions i posed, then put up a some selects that fall into the proper channels . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagacioustechie Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 <p>I am trying to make some money off the prints and perhaps get some exposure at the same time. I am paying for the prints myself and I'm not too concerned with pricing yet because I'm still trying to decide what to put up. The place sells anything related to art and photography from posters, prints, paintings, to sculptures and tshirts. They attract a lot of art-savvy people and have shows very often.</p> <p>In terms of what they will buy, I have no idea. I started this thread to get some idea of "what sells". The place will generally accept anything from art to documentary or local.</p> <p><br /> Edit: Thanks Tony I meant to do that shortly. I'll put up a few shots that I'm considering.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagacioustechie Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 <p>I've picked some of the shot's I'm proudest of and would love to know if they're good options. I hope that's not too much to go through. Thanks for the quick response Tony.<br> <a href="../photo/14000334">http://www.photo.net/photo/14000334</a><br> <a href="../photo/14002132">http://www.photo.net/photo/14002132</a><br> <a href="../photo/13432596">http://www.photo.net/photo/13432596</a><br> <a href="../photo/13971673">http://www.photo.net/photo/13971673</a><br> <a href="../photo/13267212">http://www.photo.net/photo/13267212</a><br> <a href="../photo/13980399">http://www.photo.net/photo/13980399</a><br> <a href="../photo/13925772">http://www.photo.net/photo/13925772</a><br> <a href="../photo/13975493">http://www.photo.net/photo/13975493</a><br> <a href="../photo/12714532">http://www.photo.net/photo/12714532</a><br> <a href="../photo/11328258">http://www.photo.net/photo/11328258</a><br> <a href="../photo/14042792">http://www.photo.net/photo/14042792</a><br> <a href="../photo/14022414">http://www.photo.net/photo/14022414</a></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonybynum Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 I think you need to hope that someone in your market place weighs in . . . I can tell you this much, and it's not a reflection on you or your work personally, but nothing you have would sell in my gallery or any of the galleries i'm in . . . it's not that it's not good, its just not salable work in my market place . . . That said, you really need to have the people at the store you work in help you with this . . . tell them you want to make sales and you want then to help you select the photos as they know what their customers what and buy . . . after you get that impute, follow it for 70% of the work, then put 30% in that you like or think people will like . . . the shots MUST resonate with the buyer, it must speak to them. The more compelling the photo, or the better, more interesting the story, the more likely you are to sell it . . . If it's a tourist stop, target the travel shots, if it's a local art hotspot and people go their to decorate their home, you can be more creative but you really need to talk to the people that sell the work that's there. . . Are they really letting YOU make all the decisions? I've never been in a gallery what runs like that, all of the one's i'm including my own, go though a set of criteria for selection . . . Good luck. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagacioustechie Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 <p>There is definitely a set of criteria but I was told to select a number of my images and send them to the owner, who said he likes some of my work.<br> I appreciate your insight, Tony. I'll work on getting more information. The art of selling photography is so entirely different than the art of making pictures that I feel almost utterly lost. Thanks for your honesty and quick responses.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonybynum Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Stan, you are exactly correct. I only wish i had had that much insight when i first started. I could have saved myself $1,000's. In fact, i still have trouble selecting "the right" image. Most people who become successful in the art market (photography) use an editor . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagacioustechie Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 <p>Haha Tony. I certainly can't afford an editor and don't want to spend $1000s on shots that won't sell. I'm very glad I had the foresight to post on here before making any decisions.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearhead Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 <p>I've had shows regularly over the last twelve years. Here's what I've found:</p> <p>1) Colorful photos that don't challenge and look good over the sofa can sell if they're unique and well-done.</p> <p>2) Unique presentation sells. I did canvas before most people knew it was available, printing and stretching myself. The canvas prints always sold. That isn't true now, everyone has seen canvas prints, but there is probably some other unique selling proposition.</p> <p>3) People buy what's familiar. I sold my largest and most expensive print in a show to someone who lived a block from the subject. She bought it because she knew the place so well.</p> <p>4) People sometimes buy from famous people. I'm not famous, but I go to shows and to exhibitions and talk to photographers. Even being successful isn't enough - someone I met with who has published monographs with big name photo publishers told me he sells three prints a year.</p> <p>5) Certain demographics buy certain types of photographs. I can't say I understand this, but about 70% of my print sales to people I don't know are to one very specific demographic that I am not part of, nor are my photos about that demographic. You have to figure out what will sell for you in your area.</p> <p>My current approach is to minimize costs through different presentation. I have a set of 20x30 prints on display that are unframed and push-pinned to the wall. My next show will be bare prints attached to cables hanging from the ceiling. Even though I frame myself, and even cut my own glass, I have spent more on framing than I have made selling prints.</p> <p>This is one wall of the current display:</p> <p><center><img src="http://spirer.com/images/abigailwall.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="467" /></center></p> Music and Portraits Blog: Life in Portugal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_taylor8 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 <p>A good place to start is right in front of you Take your images that have gotten the highest response (score and comments) and use them.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearhead Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 <blockquote> <p>A good place to start is right in front of you Take your images that have gotten the highest response (score and comments) and use them.</p> </blockquote> <p>Can you show a correlation between ratings on a web forum and print sales?</p> Music and Portraits Blog: Life in Portugal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagacioustechie Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 <p>Jeff, thanks so much for the information, it's incredibly helpful. Also Steve, I feel that the ratings on this site tend to be a little bit random unless you get a ton of views/exposure.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_taylor8 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 <p>I have been doing art shows for 6 yrs. My best sellers are images that have done the best on "web forums". Not every highly rated images is a success but I have never had an image score low and be a good seller.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monika_epsefass Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 <p>It's hard to figure out what might be sold. Nevertheless, you want to keep a clear and tidy portfolio, not a range of photos, some of which are landscape, some architecture, some HDR etc.<br> When I selected the pictures for my first exhibition, I put together what I thought were good photos, because I liked them. I had a coach, then, who said that he needed something consistent. He was right - if you stay with one subject, it will grow on the people who come looking much more than individual topics.<br> Don't worry about selling right away - test the temperature. Ask friends what they like about your images and why. I sleep much better with the feeling that I don't need to sell but might, and I've been positively surprised to sell some of my images, and it were those I hadn't expected to sell at all... good luck to you, and have fun in setting this up. It's a satisfying work really.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randallfarhy Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 <p>In addition to what other's have already said;</p> <p>Develop a theme. Random images are just that, and tend to be forgotten quickly whereas themes tend to keep the viewer more interested. This has the effect of making a standout image (in their mind) seem a little more special and more likely to garner a sale.</p> <p> </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonybynum Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 a tight collection is important no doubt, that's why you must figure out what are you goals and what is your time frame. . . if youre after sales, hang what sells in your market place. If you want to give it a chance and show your work you may miss sales upfront but may gain some fans. . . that said, if it's a tourist buying opportunity, you may want to focus on what will sell to that base. . . it's important to decide on your goals and if youre just having a show, tighten it up and show that theme. The truth is much of it's trial and error, but again if it's purely sales your after, make sure you get a good understanding of what that market place can sell and at what price . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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