dcstep

Osprey

Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS

As Marc says, great composition that leads us nowhere. I also agree with his suggestion for more contrast in the trees. If you have Nik, some of their Silvereffects presets seem to made for this type of shot. My only original comment is to raise the shadows on the right.

I sell them unmatted. You never know how the buyer will frame it, so why matt it? I know lots of photographers do that, but it's never a discussion when the buyers are pulling out their wallets.

Thanks for the update. Isn't it wild, your regular work takes over at the exact time that your photography starts showing signs of success. I'd love to see some of those B&W prints in person. I don't know your costs, but I can imagine that it's going to be a hard sell if you double your cost. Framing is a huge issue.. Gallery 6, where I exhibit, has our own printer/partner. We do most prints on a 100% cotton rag paper, hand tear the edges and mount with no glass in a black parsons-style frame. I try to double my cost with my price. Bin-prints are a nice little profit niche I use a Canon PRO-1000 printer, with Moab 17x22" 305 weight cotton rag. I package each print in a clear sleeve and a 17x22" black backing, but no matting. People that can't afford $400 to $800 can walk out with a very nice print. I share wall space with four others, so we tell the bin-browsers that we can print and frame any of the bin prints in any of the sizes and framing that they see on the walls. I've got one Grand Canyon in snow on the wall, but five alternative shots in my bin. One huge nice thing about bin-prints is that ink and paper cost under $10 per 17x22" print, so even at a discounted price of $40, the margin is great. Average sales price is around $50, with some going at up to $80. It's tough to provide high quality and leave a profit margin. The more that you can do yourself, the better...but, there's the matter of time when it's not your full-time gig. Oh, one other thought, it looks like you have enough of a "business" to treat it as such on your tax return.

Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS

Ricochetrider, I'm wondering where this voyage led you. Are you printing your own prints and displaying them for sale? Are you selling "Stock?: Are you selling enough to include it in your tax return and deduct your costs. I've been selling stock with Getty Images since around 2010, but I started stepping up my "photographer" activity and image around 2020 and actually have been showing in Gallery6Denver.com since 2022. I moved up from a Canon PRO-100 printer to the PRO-1000 and now print 17x22" bin-prints on high quality paper. I have an excellent printer/framer for larger on-the-wall framed prints. Bin-prints have a higher margin, with a cost of only $10 (excluding depreciation) vs. $350 for a framed $700 print which may or may not sell. Gallery location and traffic is a huge issue. Without lots of traffic, including the right mix of buyer types, selling in a Gallery is tough. Selling online is tough. Getty is a powerful marketer, if you can get on with them, but they keep 80% of the gross, so you have to have lots of images up for sale. I've only got about 300 and need to take the time to post 3,000. I still have my full-time job and don't depend on photography to pay the rent. I do make enough to pay for equipment and justify deducting all of my costs. I devote around 18 hours per week to photography, which is not near enough to come close to making a living. Weddings, portraits, events, senior pix, etc. are more financially rewarding. Also, leading classes and outings. All of those require full-time focus, well beyond what I'm doing now. So, what's happened with your dream, if you don't mind me asking?