I just spoke with a potential client yesterday about possibly selling him some photography as art pieces/decoration for his new hotel he is building. Initially he's talking about 120, 24" x 24" images (outside frame dimensions), and I know that just my production costs alone for something like that are likely to run in the thousands of dollars.
I'm uncertain about three things:
how to properly price my work based on the production costs
should I offer a quantity discount (if so, how much)
if he wants a certain number of a certain style of print that I don't have, are there any issues involved with purchasing stock photography and getting those images enlarged and finished?
Obviously if I get this job it'd be a huge boost to my business, but the possible dollar figures involved make me a little nervous when I present my quote to the hotel owner. Essentially I'm concerned with pricing myself out of a job. But at the same time I want to value my work properly.
If anyone has experience with this kind of issue I'd be interested in hearing what you have to say.
Thanks.
__________________ Curtis Cunningham
Photography and Graphic Design www.photistry.com
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
I bought a large number of 24x36 & larger pieces of framed artwork for a restaurant I was part owner of 3 years ago. The complete pieces were way under the price I would pay wholesale for just for the frame alone. It was crazy how low they will go for - well under $100 each. I simply walked through a warehouse and picked what I wanted.
High quality work & frames, I even bought some for my own home. All out of a factory in China I expect. We had customers asking if they could buy them off the wall. Crazy!
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
I understand there are other, low-cost options out there. But at the same time I'm trying to be positive and optimistic about this whole process, and find constructive ways to approach this opportunity. I want to do as much as I can to present my proposal in such a manner that the hotel owner sees the value in supporting local businesses. Besides, a factory in China won't have the local, custom prints this owner is looking for.
__________________ Curtis Cunningham
Photography and Graphic Design www.photistry.com
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
well $300 for the print isnt outrageous and is a moderate price. is it 120 copies of 1 print...? i would recc Neilson frames, the wood ones come assembled or the metal ones are easily assembled, both are quite affordable and nice.
i dont frame much, but i started by going to a custom frame shop, that carries the exact same frames i get and see what they charge. i took off 20%.
when ordering the frames there is probably a disc, pass it along the the client.
Obviously if I get this job it'd be a huge boost to my business
Sure?
I find that this promise - often done as self-deception by ourselves to ourselves - rarely comes true. Particularly not if one sells way under price. Just think of this, what will you cite on follow-ups for the same customer? Once people get used to bargains they demand them.
__________________ Dierk Haasis
[DH² Publishing] - Writing and Imaging
He hasn't said specifically, but he talked about wanting a lot of different styles of pictures. So at the very least he's probably going to want a few of several different images.
As far as framing goes, right now I'm looking at a couple different production places in Vancouver that would be able to do everything for me. I'd rather pay one shipping charge to get the finished product here to my home, rather than multiple charges moving the print here, the frame there etc. etc.
__________________ Curtis Cunningham
Photography and Graphic Design www.photistry.com
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Hi Curtis:- is he wanting photos specific to your region. Can you supply that many? Maybe contact another local photographer to purchase the rights for some of their work. Or maybe partner with someone. Do you have a frame shop in town? Same thing you might be able to put together a couple of suppliers to offer the complete package.
The other alternative is to use a cheap mass produced frame and precut matte. Your cost would be under $ 50.00 for the framed print. I dont' know if the client will be able to tell. It's risky to present this type of print but if the client knows that's what they are getting and that is reflected in the cost then it might work.
A long term way of making more money from the deal is to rent the work to the hotel. You would get a monthly payment from them. This would work well if you have a continuing body of work so you can change out a percentage of the prints every month.
Maybe 5 % of the prints every month. They might like this idea because the art work changes regularily. The down side is that you are up front for the purchase of the prints and you have to produce maybe 6 more prints a month. But you are building up a stock of prints and may be able to sell them through the framer or gallery that framed them for you.
__________________ "Never Stop Learning"
All Nikon Digital www.photos-now.ca
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
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