Selling Photos at Art Festivals

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I am seriously considering submitting an application to enter a juried art festival over the July 4 weekend. While I am no stranger to attending art shows and festivals, this will be the first time I will be a participant.

Are there any Dopers who participate in art shows? What tips or advice can you give? For those who sell photos, how do you price them? I obviously want to price them competitively, neither too high, nor too low.

How many photos should I take? I thought 30-50 pics would be reasonable, but again, I’m not sure. I plan to take 2-3 copies of each photo, matted with an acid-free archival mat.

What am I forgetting? What other questions should I be asking? Help!

2

Well, the first advice is not to get your hopes up. From what I’ve seen and others I’ve talked to, selling photos is a tough dollar. Most people will look, admire, and then think “I could take that”. We’re also in the middle of a recession, and art is generally not a fast mover when times are tough. That said, it is a nice ego boost to sell some of your work, and juried art festivals do tend to attract the well-heeled.

Photos are usually sold either as bin art (matted in acetate envelopes) or framed. Pricing on bin art can be fairly low because material cost is much lower. Depending on the quality of your mats, the size of the pictures, and your desire to, you know, actually keep body and soul together, you can price them anywhere from $15.00 to $100.00. I think $25-$40.00 is the sweet spot. You want to keep it in impulse purchase territory.

Framed pictures are another story, mostly because frames are stupidly, ridiculously over-priced, even if you do it yourself. Materials for the simplest, black metal frame is probably around $30-$40, depending on whether you go with museum quality non-reflective glass or just ordinary hardware store glass. You do, by the way, want to stick with very simple frames for shows. Simple black or silver frames go with just about any decor, and someone who really cares is going to reframe the picture anyway (or buy the bin art and have it custom framed). Most framed photos that I’ve seen in art shows start in the $150.00 range and go up from there.

Obviously if you’re selling your work, you want to make sure that you’re producing archival quality photos. Most ink jet prints are very good nowadays (I haven’t seen any fading in my Epson prints), but (assuming you’re shooting digital), you’ll want to make sure you’re using decent inks that have been rated for longevity. That probably means using OEM inks, rather than refills.

As for how many – your best bet, if accepted, is to ask the organizers or previous participants to get any idea of how much business they did. You’ll probably be assigned a booth with a given amount of wall space to cover, so that can be your guideline for framed work.

Finally, don’t get discouraged if the jury rejects you. There’s a lot of competition and figuring out what a jury likes or doesn’t is very much a crap shoot.

Caveats – I’m only on the periphery of the artistic photography scene – I’ve had a few photos accepted for shows but have never sold one.

3

On the buying end… Have several ‘levels’ of pieces. Higher-priced framed photos (I’ve actually bought pieces because they were framed– obviously I liked the work inside, but I also liked not having to factor in the time and effort of getting it framed into the price. And some of these were clearly in plain $10 Ikea frames), lower-priced unframed prints, and, if you have the means, smaller cheaper copies or postcards. Depending on the type of art fair, many visitors feel compelled to get something – anything – even if they don’t spring for a larger piece.

As for general pricing– again, depends on the fair. If possible, Google past newspaper articles or blog posts, which usually mention at least a price range.

And don’t forget business cards!

4

TG, I sell at art festivals and also attend them as a customer. As someone who likes browsing photographers’ booths, I’d like to suggest that you have prints available in multiple sizes. What if someone falls in love with one of your pieces but the one size you have it in is too large or too small for the space your customer has in mind to display it? Yes, you can offer to take an order for a print in the desired size, but you’ll be much more likely to make the sale if you can meet the needs of impulse buyers.

If you plan to pursue art shows seriously, get a merchant account so you can take credit cards. I’ve done shows where 90% of my sales have been credit card sales.

I’m going to take issue with Cat Fight’s statement that pricing depends on the fair. You should price your work fairly, so you are covering your expenses (including the cost of the show) and paying yourself for your time. I have no clue what that is for photography. My point is this: Don’t do shows where your work won’t sell because it’s “too expensive.” It’s a waste of your time. Don’t change your prices according to venue. When you develop a following, you don’t want one of your repeat customers thinking, “Hmmmm. I bought a print this size at Show X and it was $10 cheaper there.”

I am a jeweler. If this is your first venture into juried shows, I will tell you what I read somewhere: Photography and jewelry are THE most competitive categories. Don’t get bummed if you don’t get in. You just never know what the competition is, who the jurors are, etc.

When you get in, I can give you a bunch of other “learned the hard way” tips about tents, etc. :wink:

5

I go to a number of art festivals and street fairs in the area (San Diego), and as a buyer my biggest recommendation: differentiate yourself.

The first time I went to this one festival, I told a friend it should be named “one more picture of Venice and I’ll scream”. Having been to art festivals, do your best to show different styles, different subjects, etc… Sure, YOUR shots of Venice are awesome and unique, etc., etc… But to people browsing many booths with shots of Venice/Italy/Europe, they will all start to BLUR.

The booths that catch my eye are the ones where they’re displaying something different. You have to keep in mind that yours will not be the only booth these people see. And if you’re just “another lighthouse/mountain/Italy/Europe photographer”, you’ll not get much notice.

Be bold. Show obscure stuff. Show stuff you may not think is all that interesting (eye of the beholder, remember).

That’s my two cents.

6

I sell original acrylic-on-canvas paintings and gicleé prints at art shows; it’s my primary method of turning a buck. Throughout the spring, a few months of the summer and early fall I generally do about 8-12 shows.

Photographers seem to do the very worst at all of the shows I do. I’m amazed at how many there are and how hard they have to work to make any money. The key seems to be to have a ton of inventory and low, low prices…the WalMart approach to art. It helps to have a gimmick; a special type of matt, or frame, or processing/tinting technique, or a specific (and uncommon) style of photography. Being good isn’t really enough, being different than the other good photographers might make you a bit of green.

It’s always a fun way to spend a weekend, though. You get to meet a lot of interesting people, a lot of interesting artists (many of whom are willing to swap art for art…that’s how I’ve gotten most of my humongous art collection), and once you make back your booth and jury fees it’s all pure profit.

Best of luck to you.

7

Thanks to all the replies so far.

I am under no delusions that I will be quitting my day job anytime soon. As has been pointed out, I’m not even sure that I will be selected to exhibit. I am also aware that there are more talented photographers out there than you can shake a long lens at…and all of them are looking to make a buck too.

Even if I don’t sell one thing, I think the experience itself will be worthwhile. Of course, it would be a huge ego boost if people were willing to part with a hard earned buck for my work.

One question about setting yourself apart from the pack: The venue for the show is a little seaside town where the backbone of the tourist industry revolves around birding (it’s where the Whooping Cranes winter). So while I plan to show some more abstract pieces, in the interest of knowing you audience, I thought I would weigh my sample more heavily toward wildlife (esp. birds), seascapes, and the like. Thoughts?