Selling NZ Landscape Photography

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gcorgnet

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Reply # 785842 23-Mar-2013 12:11

timmmay: An observation: if most of your cost is the cost of the actual print, your price is too low. On the other hand if it's a heck of a lot higher you probably won't sell anything unless it's an awesome unique print.

Hi,

I hear what you are saying, but I guess it is a matter of finding a decent price, keeping everyone happy, bearing in mind that this is not a business for me.

Jaxson

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Reply # 786527 25-Mar-2013 09:52

Interesting thread, I'm enjoying reading.

Custom Canvas Comment:
Not that these particular shots are worth carving up, but a good 'cheap' approach is to split the image into two parts, printed on standard canvas blocks. Gets you that extra wide dimensions you wanted, but without the canvas needing to be fully customised.
Be sensible about where you cut it, and if there is a gradient involved, consider leaving a gap so the angles line up between the two canvas blocks. My brother got one of the Wellington hillside done like this and it looks very effective considering the cheap price he paid for it.

gcorgnet

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Reply # 786573 25-Mar-2013 11:20

Jaxson: Interesting thread, I'm enjoying reading.

Custom Canvas Comment:
Not that these particular shots are worth carving up, but a good 'cheap' approach is to split the image into two parts, printed on standard canvas blocks. Gets you that extra wide dimensions you wanted, but without the canvas needing to be fully customised.
Be sensible about where you cut it, and if there is a gradient involved, consider leaving a gap so the angles line up between the two canvas blocks. My brother got one of the Wellington hillside done like this and it looks very effective considering the cheap price he paid for it.

That is a pretty good idea actually. I have seen these in shops but somehow never thought about doing that to custom canvas...

Goosey

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Reply # 786577 25-Mar-2013 11:29

Interesting you say its not a business for you but as soon as you sell one... your deemed to have a business in the eyes of the IRD ! (well kinda).

May I suggest you get pricing for the prints you wish to sell and put this on trade me.
e.g.

List an auction for a specific print and size (so that keeps your costs known and fixed).
Under the delivery options is where you could list various methods for printing on fixed canvas or paper size etc i.e. limit the options.

This doesnt really answer your original question about finding a 3rd party who would be willing to buy your images. Is there any NZ service like 'photostock' or say a publisher you would consider approaching?
You could find out by going to a tourist shop and asking who their supplier is etc.

gcorgnet

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Reply # 786593 25-Mar-2013 11:48

Gooseybhai: Interesting you say its not a business for you but as soon as you sell one... your deemed to have a business in the eyes of the IRD ! (well kinda).

May I suggest you get pricing for the prints you wish to sell and put this on trade me.
e.g.

List an auction for a specific print and size (so that keeps your costs known and fixed).
Under the delivery options is where you could list various methods for printing on fixed canvas or paper size etc i.e. limit the options.

This doesnt really answer your original question about finding a 3rd party who would be willing to buy your images. Is there any NZ service like 'photostock' or say a publisher you would consider approaching?
You could find out by going to a tourist shop and asking who their supplier is etc.

Regarding IRD and taxes and stuff, I have to see I did not really do any research about that and whether you'd need to pay tax if you were to sold a couple of prints. Interesting point, I should look that up..

I like the suggestion about listing the actual print on trademe as it would keep things simple...

I have thought about going to tourist shops and ask but I have the feeling most of them wouldn't really know where the pictures are coming from. They must just buy bulk prints from suppliers and sell them off.. I guess I could try and ask suppliers details and that ask them to try and find more info...

Thanks,

Guillaume

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Reply # 786606 25-Mar-2013 12:19

gcorgnet: Hi guys,

I am a hobbyist photographer and have got a few good shots of Auckland and other NZ places. I have been wondering how to go about making some money out of this by trying to sell prints or canvas or something..

What about joining Dreamstime?

Here is a link to how you can sell your images. Does not look like much but maybe its a start:

http://www.dreamstime.com/sellimages

For each transaction, the photographer receives a 25-50 percent Revenue Share, which is calculated based on the net sales amount for the transaction. Exclusive images receive an additional 10 percent bonus, while exclusive photographers enjoy a 60 percent Revenue Share and an additional bonus of $0.20 for each approved submission.

I have bought some nice panoramic high quality images from the site which I had put onto canvas.

gcorgnet

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Reply # 786633 25-Mar-2013 12:55

Thanks for the link. I had thought about these stock photography websites but was worried that my photos would just end up being lost in a sea of other photos and plus I thought targeting a NZ audience would probably be better because the photos would speak to them more than to people living in other countries.

Also, these sites sell the photos to anybody who can then do whatever they want with it and this is not what I want...

Thanks,

Guillaume

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Reply # 786641 25-Mar-2013 13:03

gcorgnet: Thanks for the link. I had thought about these stock photography websites but was worried that my photos would just end up being lost in a sea of other photos and plus I thought targeting a NZ audience would probably be better because the photos would speak to them more than to people living in other countries.

Also, these sites sell the photos to anybody who can then do whatever they want with it and this is not what I want...

Thanks,

Guillaume

PS: I have used these guys before to create my own custom panoramic pictures.

http://www.thecanvasprinter.co.nz/

Highly recomended.

Geektastic

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Reply # 787965 27-Mar-2013 14:10

Even the great Craig Potton has difficulty selling prints I think.

He had a very swish gallery in Arrowtown for several years but last time I was there it had gone and I am sure that if it was doing well, it would not have.

The American market for such things is quite different - they have a lot of shows and a so on at which people set up a gazebo and sell prints and do reasonably well.

Here (speaking as a professional photographer) it's hard enough to overcome the "my staff member/uncle/brother has a camera so why do we need a professional" problem - never mind sell prints!

For me prints are a dead loss - I do not even own a photo printer now as all my clients want digital files.

gcorgnet

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Reply # 787978 27-Mar-2013 14:30

This is a good point actually. The few times I have used a professional photographer (wedding, pregnancy pics, etc..) I wouldn't have taken anything else than digital high res files.

From the photographer's point of view, there is only ever be a limited audience for given wedding or portrait pics, so if they can get a good price for digital files, why not do this rather than selling a few prints...

But for landscape I guess things are different as anybody could be a potential customer and once you let go of the digital file, it is very hard to control what will happen to it... Unless you manage to sell it (for a lot more than a print) to some company who can then deal with this issue...

This is my (basic) understanding anyway, feel free to correct me if I am wrong!

Guillaume

Jaxson

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Reply # 788158 27-Mar-2013 18:14

Should I even raise the issue of obtaining permission from the landowner/s?

RileyB

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Reply # 794601 7-Apr-2013 14:17

The problem with landscapes is there is just so much good stuff out there already, and probably cheaper then you would like too.

Probably the easiest way to I've found to sell landscape photos is locally. People love great photos of their home/province. This is of course harder if you live in a big city as there will already be a lot more stuff out there.

I've seen a lot of cafe's sell landscape stuff on behalf of photographers, but I don't really know if there is much turnaround.

On the note of printing, I try to stay away from canvas, as I don't like the look myself, but if your after top quailty canvas prints of any size, http://thephotogallery.co.nz/ is the place to go.