# Selling Photos - questions.



## Amberly001 (Oct 17, 2013)

This is my first time selling photos - I have had my first person message me and ask if I could make a photo with a bible quote on it. I have already practiced with many quoted photos of my own, and I know I can do it. And selling your first photo is so exciting!!

Okay, here are some questions.
When you sell your photos as a print, you take your watermark off, yes?
When selling printed photos - you print the photo and you provide the frames?
Quoted photos - You take the photo they want and experiment with the quote? Like you provide many different samples with different fonts?
How much should you charge for photos? I never thought I would sell a photo before I turn 18, but now I am going to sell one and I have no idea how to price a photo. I am only 15, so I have no idea how to price a photo at all. I was thinking, for quoted photos - charge a price for the time it took to make the quote on the photo and a price for the frame and how long it took to get that shot? But I still don't know how much I should ask for still. I will be printing them myself, unless they are too big for my printer to print - then I will be using the 24 hour photo printing at Costco. So then wouldn't you have to pay a fee for the traveling time??

But just anything else that concerns selling photos and tips would be awesome, thank you very much!!


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## Steve5D (Oct 17, 2013)

My prints never have watermarks on them. If the print is matted, I might sign that. I leave that up to the client. Frames? I almost never sell those. Frames (and mattes, too) are what I refer to as "decor" items. They might look fine, but they may not match the decor of the space the photo is going into. Unless you're getting the frame at wholesale (which, at 15, you're probably not), you're going to have to include the price you paid for the frame into the cost of the photo. Depending on the frame you choose, that could send your client packin'.

I've never done a quote on a photo. Frankly, I would think it could open up a fairly big can of worms if you start providing numerous examples of different fonts. Pick two or three, and tell the client "This is what I have available", and stand firm on that.

For printing, don't print it yourself. Costco is _really _inexpensive, and the quality is _excellent_.

For print pricing, I'll charge in the neighborhood of $80.00-$100.00 for a 12x18" print. If I had to take the time to develop and insert a quote, I might tack on another twenty or thirty bucks.

If I'm doing a print for someone, it's normally paid for upfront. At the very least, get a non-refundable deposit which will, at least, cover your expenses. That way, if the client backs out, you're not out of pocket on the deal...


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## sm4him (Oct 17, 2013)

I've just recently been doing some photo prints with text on them as a fundraiser for our women's ministry.  I'd say it depends somewhat on what you're planning--if I were to allow people to ask for custom quotes and specific fonts, I'd charge a LOT more, because it would basically make every single one a limited edition and would require extra design work with each photo.

I just create my design--choose the photo, choose the text and determine the layout--then I offer THAT photo with the text for sale. I offer them framed or unframed--so far, I've found almost everyone has purchased them unframed.  A few people have asked if I have a specific type of picture (for instance, one person wants a photo of the mountains), and a couple have asked for specific verses. Since this is a fundraiser, I tell them I'll do it IF I can fit that verse onto the chosen photo okay.  I do NOT offer any choice in the fonts. The choice is, buy the photo, or don't. 

As far as price, what I'm basically doing for unframed is using 3x cost as a basic starting point, then adjusting it some.  So, if an 8x10 cost me $3.00 to have printed, I might charge $10 for it.  The 16x20s cost me a lot more, so I don't quite do 3x on them, more like 2.5x cost.
BUT--as I said, this is all for a fundraiser, NOT for me to make money. I'd probably sell them for a good bit more if I were selling them to the general public.

I absolutely wholeheartedly agree with Steve on the printing--don't print them at home; not unless you have some sort of super spectacular professional printer.


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## Amberly001 (Oct 17, 2013)

Okay, thank you!!
Yes, I do like the Costco printing idea much better than printing it myself - but we live an hour away from the nearest Costco. And we only go to that area about once or maybe twice a month -which is why if it is going to be bigger than an 8x10 then  would print it to Costco. I love their prints as well.
I just thought that my parents would drive themselves crazy if we drove for two hours just to get one photo - and when I get to drive myself I don't know if they will let me go that far without one of them with them. But I don't know when I will be able to take drivers ed.

And thank you again for all the tips!


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## ronlane (Oct 17, 2013)

All the above is great advice. As for printing, consider using someone like mpix.com, they have good prices, fast service and ship to your door. (Beats a long drive)


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## Steve5D (Oct 17, 2013)

Amberly001 said:


> Okay, thank you!!
> Yes, I do like the Costco printing idea much better than printing it myself - but we live an hour away from the nearest Costco. And we only go to that area about once or maybe twice a month -which is why if it is going to be bigger than an 8x10 then  would print it to Costco. I love their prints as well.
> I just thought that my parents would drive themselves crazy if we drove for two hours just to get one photo - and when I get to drive myself I don't know if they will let me go that far without one of them with them. But I don't know when I will be able to take drivers ed.
> 
> And thank you again for all the tips!



I gotta' be honest here, I dig your enthusiasm.

When I lived in San Diego I was, literally, four minutes from the nearest Costco. Now that I'm in St. Augustine, it's a solid half hour to the nearest Costco, so I feel your pain (well, a little, anyway).

Try this: Instead of making the two hour round trip for one photo, plan on getting a few photos printed. I probably print as many photos for myself as I do for clients. Are there other places you can visit near that Costco? Maybe you and Mom go do some shopping or something. Just don't shop at Costco. That place will suck the money directly out of your purse.

The other thing to bear in mind is that the print you get from Costco is going to superior to what you're able to do at home. Costco uses Noritsu machines, which use silver halide processing. That's far and away better than your Epson or HP inkjet printer.

Perhaps if you explained the benefits of the professional processing to your folks, and the fact that you're getting paid so you want to do it right (they'll love seeing that dedication in you), they'll be more likely to want to help. 

The bottom line here is that you're 15, and you've got someone who wants to give you money for one of your prints. That's _awesome_. When I was 15, I could barely give my stuff away. You've got a lot more time in front of you than you have behind you, so use that to your advantage. Progress and improve, and you just may find that you're _always_ encountering people who want to pay you for your work...


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