Selling Fine Art Prints
I’ve written about this a few times, the most recent being my attempts to push my images higher up the search order on Fine Art America. I don’t know if that made the difference, but I did sell two images at the end of January. This one as a 72 inch wide print:
And then this one as a coffee mug:
OK, I thought – that was interesting – perhaps I should continue to add images and do a bit more internal promotion on the site and that is where I currently am – adding more images when I get a bit of spare time. I’m adding any European images to Photo4Me at the same time.
I’m a recipient of a great photo magazine published (for free) by Really Right Stuff – the tripod and camera accessory company and there was an article in there by a photographer who prints and sells his own images from his website. His name is Aaron Reed and his website is highly professional and aimed solely at creating the urge to buy one of his prints as an investment. What is intriguing is that he apparently started taking photos in 2007, created his business selling fine art prints in 2013 or so and claims to have sold $500K of prints in 2020. Of course I can’t validate this, but anything like those revenue numbers would be a very intriguing business. He appears to have a dedicated space to handle orders and framing, and I would think he employs at least one person to assist in handling the shipping, but any way you look at it, it is an impressive result. What made me think was his blog post on Fine Art America. His point is that anyone buying “real” fine art would not be going to a place that sells mugs, face masks and shower curtains and the customer ratings of FAA are far from stellar.
He is very open about his pricing (although I do find his explanations of what you actually get in each tier to be very confusing) and here is a copy of his price list. Note how this is worded as an investment, not just a purchase – his site is very oriented towards the investment value (in potential growth in value as well as its value to your well being as a lovely piece on your wall):
The only one that is in any way comparable with something you might get at FAA is the simple print (which I believe is mounted on a thin plastic sheet rather than rolled up) with a 36 inch wide print selling for $550. I’m attempting to sell the same size as a rolled print for $313 on FAA and I’m sure his quality is far more controlled.
His blog has a mix of articles for the buyer as well as for other photographers and is well worth a read in depth. There are articles about mistakes to avoid, how to get started etc.
What I also find intriguing is how vibrant his images are – especially on a bright screen.
His processing might not be natural (sorry if he reads this!), but I bet these look amazing as a large print on the sort of materials he uses. There would be an instant “Wow” factor when you see this for the first time on the wall of a house. Realism, not so much – impressive, sure!
I’m a little old to think about restarting fine art in a different way, but if you thought your images had potential, I think this approach could be well worth trying. I’m certainly going to emulate some of the processing styles and update some of my own images and create a new collection for them on FAA. But if you are thinking seriously of making money from fine art prints, this could be an artist to study (and perhaps use as a mentor).
Your article is very Interesting. Aaron has a very different marketing model. Info: he’s also selling on Ebay. https://www.ebay.com/str/aaronreedphotography Value as art or Art is in the perception of the beholder. I knew someone some forty years ago who was selling limited edition Prints. Saturation makes prints pop off the surface. Thanks for the good job you do. A
Are you familiar with Topaz software? A Blog has a discount available.
Thanks Andy
I have used Topaz occasionally, but I find that Lightroom and Photoshop do most things I ever want to do. I have Mask, Sharpen and Denoise but I can’t recall the last time I used any of them!
And thanks for using my links! It all helps!
Oh yes I did buy Luminar with your link some time back. Have been experimenting but have not fully implemented it. Hope you the referral promo. A
Thanks for your blog post, very insightful. I started selling on FAA last year and what has struck me – from what others sell – is colors that really POP sell the best. It’s made me start to think about how I need to ‘punch’ up the colors on my images too. Not necessarily realistic – more stylistic. Nice to know you’ve observed that too.
Yes, I’m working some images now before uploading. Using the Selective Color effect in Photoshop or the HSL saturation and luminance controls in Lightroom. It is surprising how a little change in those controls can make a big difference to the image.
Steve
Good article. It is true, I have always found it curious to be able to buy an art print on paper or on a shower curtain, of the same image, in the same place. In Aaron’s case, it makes me think about which part of his job is in photography and which is in marketing. It is evident that he is a great photographer and his work is fantastic, I know him through various social networks. My question is how to get a quality and artistic photograph to be bought by a collector or an art enthusiast, and much more how to go from selling a work of $ 200 to $ 9000. Creating a network of followers on social networks is not easy, and most of them are also photographers, at least that happens in my case. Start participating in contests and be the winner, or start in an art gallery, or make exhibitions, or sell online on a modest personal website or Fine Art America …
Yes, he is impressive on several levels – he has quickly picked up photography and developed a distinctive style and his processing supports that – all his images are very dramatic and would get the “wow!” comment whenever they are printed at a large size. Then he has developed a good website and got it ranking reasonably high with Google. Then he has developed relationships with some wealthy clients and companies who also seem to support Peter Lik. Then he has marketed the idea of photographs as an investment very successfully. A lot has gone well for him! And, good luck to him! I personally will stick with FAA and others – too stuck in my ways to change!
I don’t think one can beat the detail of mid format by upping the saturation.
His prints are very beautiful, but there are artists who would question whether it is actually fine art.
As for FAA, no wonder it doesn’t sell much there. A few times when I ordered cards for myself, based on my own pictures, i was disappointed with the results. Orders take long to ship also. Also once I ordered a notebook and the picture was not printed in the way I customized it. I rarely sell in FAA and I question weather its worth to keep uploading there.
Yes, there seem to be a lot of complaints about slow delivery. I bought a face mask of mine in December (as a joke) and it was well made, although useless as a real face mask, and did come on time.
The puzzle is one product I liked the result of. It seems as though the printer for the cards is the worst. Two years ago all my Christmas cards came with a horizontal, red line. This is a printer issue and would not have happened if there was someone checking the products before shipping. I din’t have the time to have them re-done and since I refused to send them back I was not given a refund.
This guy is the master at selling prints…Peter Lik. I think a lot of photographers use him/his system as a template.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/business/peter-liks-recipe-for-success-sell-prints-print-money.html
https://lik.com
Yes, I agree – I’ve been in one of his galleries somewhere – very upmarket and he prominently displays the images that supposedly sold for $1M or more. Clever marketing and a similar style perhaps – very strong colors and contrasts.
Steve
Thank you for taking the time to read the article and for sharing your thoughts everyone!
Thanks Aaron – and thank you for offering so much useful information on your site! And congrats on creating such a great business!
Fun and interesting to read this. He has an interesting tact. I agree with him that targeting the very high end is best. And I do think that exclusivity is a primary factor. He was obviously very fortunate to start this model at the right time. I don’t think the market would support this at a larger scale but I guess only time will tell. For sure his style is a bit gawdy. That saturation….. But, it’s a legit style and he is successful so I respect it. But it does make sense he seems to sell a lot in Las Vegas- a perfect fit!
Best wishes to all.
Zach
Yes, it is interesting. I think I am more of the pile them high brigade!