Pricing and mark-up for fine art photography

[type]

Sorry, there is no obvious pbase forum in which to post this question:

A collector of fine art wants to buy a series of 12 of my photos (each A4 size), all to go in one large frame and I don't know what to charge her besides costs.

It involves a certain amount of labour from me: optimising files, getting them printed, supervising mounting/framing etc. and then of course, there is the charge for owning them.

I've done searches in forums on this but came up with nothing and most of the useful forums you have to pay for, anyway and I need a quick answer.

My thinking is that a sensible mark-up might be at least 150% of the cost. This woman is not unused to paying several thousand pounds for artwork, so I think if the cost of putting the picture together is say 400 pounds that a total price of 1000 pounds is not unreasonable. Perhaps even 200%? I have to be careful about over-charging because she is likely to get me further business/commissions but this piece is to share wall space with some 'names' in art-sculpture etc. and while I don't share their fame and can't command the same prices as them, she wouldn't expect me to give it away for a bargain price either, seeing as she knows I know her tastes - and what they cost. My approach to pricing so far very much depends on who's paying.

Has anyone any advice on this, and how clients have tended to react to different strategies?

Many thanks!

Niall

[jdepould]

If it weren't for the line about getting further business and/or referrals from this person in the future, I'd say 150-200%. But if it were me (big IF), would probably go between 800 and 1000 in the interests of future business.

[davecollier]

I am not a business guru but here are my thoughts:

If you wish to establish your name, then covering your costs should be the bare minimum criterion for setting prices. If you want to make profit then I suppose you could set a price at twice the cost (i.e. 100% profit margin) so you have enough money to replace the work you sell (either for yourself to keep or to sell to someone else). The more ambitious alternative is to set the price 3 times higher than the cost (i.e. 200%) so you replace the work you sell and have some profit to put in your pocket. Heh, isn't "profit" the reason folks go into business?
I tend to agree that 150% is a happy medium if you are trying to build a name for yourself and a growing customer base.
Good luck!!
Dave

[halesr]

Since your buyer is used to paying fairly large sums for art and you are hoping that her purchase will lead to further sales, if you do give her a special price and I lean toward the 150 - 200% markup, you might want to let her know that she is getting a special price so that future buyers she drives your way do not think that is your customary price.

If these 12 prints are part of a limited edition, it is common practice for later prints in the edition to cost more as they are getting more scarce.

Rene

[lindarocks]

The trouble with 'cost plus' pricing is that in these circumstances it's rarely a true valuation of the cost - Niall, your reference to £400 is, I suspect, the cost of prints, mounting and framing alone - my feeling is that there will be quite a lot of 'hidden' cost in as much as your time hasn't been properly costed into the equation - the cost plus 100-150% mark up which you suggest seems as though the mark up, which should be profit and contingency (in case, for example, you drop the made-up frame and have to pay to have it re-made), will probably just about cover your professional time.

Don't forget that all the time you spend prepping up stuff for sale is time you can't spend shooting new pics so the price you charge should fairly reflect that. My experience is that there is a lot of time sucked up in this stage and it's easy to underestimate how long these things take.

If this person is a collector, then she'll expect to pay the going rate for a (perhaps lesser known...or another way to say it is 'emerging') artist.

Why not have enough faith in your art to consider a value added approach to the pricing - forget how much it all cost you and think what you believe it to be worth in the context of what you think the market will stand? In this case, you know the person is an invester in art, you know she likes your work so I doubt you have anything to fear. Again, in my experience, if you sell cheaply to someone who then refers on, you'll be stuck in the low price end of the market because the referrer is likely to discuss prices with potential buyers.

In other words, your time throughout the whole process is also part of your investment in the images - don't undersell yourself.....

Good luck with it

[ianyork]

Why don't you ask her what she feels a reasonable price would be?
She is a collector and will have an idea of the market, and whist she will obviously pitch for a low price.. You may be surprised how high her offer is..
You can than suggest that you were looking for a little higher than that and add 20% or so...

What ever price you plump for, I would agree with the sentiment of lindarocks, cost should have nothing to do with price..

Art is a value based industry and should be linked to three things

1 How much do you think they are worth – you are exceedingly talented photographer and should be proud to charge a high rate for your photographs?

2. How much will the customer pay? You have already stated that this customer is used to paying a several K for work so is someone that recognise that you have to pay for quality.

3. Remember the story of Chanel No5, it was originally marketed as a run of the mill mid priced perfume and had limited success.. It was then re-branded and priced at a considerable high premium and the rest as they say is history…