Oct 8, 2018
Q&A about how much you should charge for your photos or prints, how to use a polarizing filter, and which camera should you get for your kid to learn photography?
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This episode is sponsored by:
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Here are the questions that Marco answers in this episode:
- Marco, I’ve just listened to you latest Camera and Inspiration episode #18 with Jeffrey Stoner, where you’ve talked about selling your images through galleries and online. One important question was not covered though: How much should I charge for my images? I now that there is not one definite answer to this, but I know that you always try to give us different approaches from your experience. And I would greatly appreciate hearing some suggestions from you. Thanks, Luke.
Question from: Luke, Washington D.C. USA
Things to put into consideration when calculating the cost of your images/prints:
- Cost of paper (including test prints to reach your desired results)
- Cost of ink for that size print (including test prints and wasted “cleaning” ink to reach your desired results)
- Cost of the printer amortized over i.e. 3 years and divided by a realistic (conservative) amount of prints that you sell each year - then add that pro rata to each prints cost.
- Cost of your computer and software amortized over i.e. 3 years and divided by a realistic amount of prints that you sell each year - then add that pro rata to each prints cost.
- Cost of photo equipment (camera, lenses, tripods, bags, filters, strobes, etc.) that you buy each year. Allocate the amount of annual cost (or only half of that if your print business is only about 50% of your business as a photographer) and add that pro rata to each prints cost.
- Cost of your time. Many artists don’t put this factor into consideration, but time is valuable. The time you spent scouting locations, traveling, waiting for the right weather or moment, selecting images, post-processing, printing, and marketing yourself can make up a huge amount of your time that you can’t be making money at doing other things. Just add a $10 minimum wage to each hour that you invest in the photos that you want to sell as prints. Add those to get the number of hours per year and add that pro rata to each prints cost.
- Now you have value for the real cost of each image that you sell. But didn’t you want to earn money doing this, too? Your cost of living has not been covered yet. And rent, food, health insurance, education, transportation, clothes, entertainment, and taxes have not been covered at all by this. So based on the realistic (conservative) amount of prints that you want to sell each year, you need to add a profit into the calculation, too. If you sell about 30 prints per year, a 200% markup may result in a decent profit to sustain your print business. If you sell higher volumes, a lower markup can be feasible, but if you sell through galleries, remember that you may have to subtract an extra 40%-60% commision of the sales price for the gallery.
This is just to give you a basic idea of how to calculate your real cost of each image and how to price it to make a profit. Your results may vary, but be honest with yourself in the process.
- Would you please give an example of when and how to use a polarizing filter. How do you know when you have the correct setting for maximizing your image? Thanks!
Question by: Bill, Missouri, USA
Products discussed in the answer:
Examples of high quality circular polarizing filters with 77mm diameter:
Haida 77mm NanoPro MC Circular Polarizer Filter:
Amazon Germany: https://amzn.to/2Ozsi5V
Formatt Hitech 77mm Firecrest SuperSlim Circular Polarizer Filter:
Amazon Germany: https://amzn.to/2yivqJf
B+W 77mm Circular Polarizer MRC Filter:
Amazon Germany: https://amzn.to/2IJrgis
Step-Down Ring Set:
Amazon Germany: https://amzn.to/2E2VfTE
- Hello Marco, first of all, a big thank you for producing the PPN shows so regularly and with so much detailed information from your experience, instead of just scratching the surface. This has been really helpful for me. Today, I have a question regarding sharing the love of photography with my daughter. She is 6 years old (she turns 7 in December), and I want to give her a camera to start photographing with. Can you give me some ideas what to get her that is adequate for her to start with? Regards, Guiseppa.
Question by: Guiseppa, Milano, Italy
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