This was inspired by a post by Mel Sinclair on her website on the same topic (Mel has some gorgeous images from Iceland – on my wishlist but I haven’t managed to get there yet). Pricing’s something I’ve thought about a lot, all photographers do, I think, but never written about before.
I too am a very small player in the photographic scheme of things. No doubt it’s hard enough to make money in Photography these days, with what seems like “everyone’ doing it, it’s getting even harder and harder to make back the true worth of a photo.
I’ve get lots of very positive feed back along the lines of “Oh! I Love your image / calendar / canvas print” but those comments do not translate into sales.
It does seem that art has lost its value. If I had a sale for every “I could take that myself” comment I’d be the most successful photographer out there! And I wonder just how many ever Do go out and take it themselves. Darned few, I’d bet.
What it Takes to capture a great image:
Travel time and cost.
If I’m driving – anything from 15 minutes to 5 days – yes, I’ve driven a 2,000 km round trip for an image. And we all know the cost of fuel – currently my diesel van costs $95 to fill the tank and with perfect driving conditions at 90 kph I get just on 700kms a tank. So for that 5 day round trip it was 4 tankfuls. Plus the cost of accommodation, food and other trip essentials.
Equipment.
DSLR bodies x 2, lenses x 4, Medium Format Digital bodies x 2, lenses x 4, tripods x 2, monopod x 1, media cards x 10, flash units x 3 and a whole lot of peripherals like cases to carry it, reflectors and other gear. And lets not forget the mobile phone.
And on local trips – anything up to 90 minutes to catch that storm, sunrise or sunset – I need a nap when I get home , so I can get through the rest of the day, and it takes time to load, backup and edit those images too.
Processing those Images
A computer (IMac) to process them; 3 x HDDs (3 x 2Tb) for storage and backup; Time to download, backup and edit (and editing time is a substantial factor); Internet access costs; hosting costs for my page; plus marketing time uploading and sharing to various sites
And the Intangibles – the ones the “Take it Myself” brigade don’t stop to consider
My time, effort and the skill used in taking the the images has taken many years of study, training, workshops and practice to develop – and it is a never ending process. What value do you put on it – and how do you calculate it?
Does every image have a value? Yes, but you need to include all those general costs it took to produce the image, as outlined above, plus the individual factors which went into any particular image – see the examples below.
If I’m selling you licence for a file you will get the full resolution file, untagged, so I will never be able to use that image again for prints or any other purpose (except possibly marketing). It will no longer have a place in my library of saleable Fine Art. Consider this when objecting to the price of an exclusive licence.
Two example images.
Blue Dawn and The Old Jetty (my most popular image online) are available to purchase on my website . Go on, you know you’d like one! Hint, hint, they make gorgeous canvas prints.
Factor in the cost of flights to and from New Zealand, car hire, accommodation, associated trip costs – $7,200 – and a month away from home – and the cost of internet access and backups on the run.
And a lot more intangible costs in time, researching locations so I knew where to go to catch extraordinary scenes, over a year planning and arranging the trip and itinerary.
When you factor in all hose things is around $365 for a 1m x .5m canvas so expensive?
So please, next time you pass up an amazing image from any Photographer, please consider all I’ve said here, and if you like the image enough to hang it on your wall, then buy it. You’ll make someone happier – and you’ll have a beautiful work of art to put in your home and enjoy forever.
Footnote: Mel Sinclair had this rider in her piece – I’m not popular enough for this yet, but it’s worth remembering when considering ANY artist’s work:
“The hours I spend, fighting every single stolen image from those that think it’s OK to rip me off online. DMCA notices don’t write themselves, and I often lose hours trying to chase up stolen images. Why? Because I want my photos to hold their value, I want my collectors and buyers to know that they can only get it through me or my authorized outlets. It’s about being exclusive.”
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