What do you charge for a 4x6 color print?

[Tuolumne]

I have recently started selling photos from my web site at SumgMug, www.citylightsphoto.com. The photos I have started selling are to parents of children in music classes or theatrical shows. I am selling 4x6s for 99 cents. I know the default price on SmugMug for a 4x6 is much higher, but somehow I haven't been able to bring myself to charge $5.00+ for a simple 4x6. They seem like such commodities that I think parents would just as soon print their own digital photos, however poor they may be, as pay me that much. But I don't know for sure.

How much do you charge for a 4x6 sold off a web site?

Thanks,
/T

[uhligfd]

Why do you sell your pics? Income needed?

Why do you take pics of other's kids? For fun or with a business, profit motif?

You could give them away, right; and you could charge 20$ if you wanted, right?

So, please answer the why question above and then enjoy the lack of business or the give-away to "friends in the city" ...

[jayjee]

For me it depends on the type of print. bw, color, darkroom, inkjet, silkscreen, platinum, silver, etc etc

$.99 seems very reasonable and maybe a bit cheap depending on the level of work you put into it from taking the shots to processing to editing to printing to mailing and so on. Don't sell yourself short. The more you think your work is worth the more clients will pay.

[Tuolumne]

Answer: All of the above. I am not a "real" commercial photographer, but a serious amateur. I have been toying with the idea of becoming more of a commercial photographer, probably part time. I was asked to photograph shows and master classes by those running them, partly because the music schools and directors wanted them for their own purposes. I put them online. I figure, why not let the parents buy them, too. But hey, all of this costs me time and money, and the hosting site is making some money, so why shouldn't I too. Perhaps, I think, I could make this into a business. So, what's a reasonable price to charge. Is 99 cents laughabley small?

BTW, if you aren't in the business of selling your photos by the square inch, you probably can't give a meaningful answer to this question. I'm really looking for guidance from commercial photographers on this.

/T

[Tuolumne]

For me it depends on the type of print. bw, color, darkroom, inkjet, silkscreen, platinum, silver, etc etc

$.99 seems very reasonable and maybe a bit cheap depending on the level of work you put into it from taking the shots to processing to editing to printing to mailing and so on. Don't sell yourself short. The more you think your work is worth the more clients will pay.

I do all of the post processing, editing, uploading, etc. But SmugMug does all of the printing, packaging, mailing, dealing with customers who don't like the print quality, etc. For a 4x6 print SmugMug charges 19 cents + some % of my markup + shipping and handling. I only get to collect the markup which on a 4x6 is 68 cents. So, that's how much I make on SmugMug when selling a 4x6 color photograph.

This is their standard for all photo hosting. If you host there and they fulfill your orders that's what you'll pay. Of course, how much you make on each photo is dependent on your markup, which is why I'm trying to figure what is reasonable.

/T

[lZr]

Half a hour ago I shared 12 pics no money to my students. Am I.....? I think they can have it because they were my models for a while...

[Tuolumne]

Since you are doing it as a friendly service, and trying to get a feel for selling, it seems quite reasonable.

But as Pitxu says, commercial work, and art work in particular, is seldom sold by the inch, most of the time the price reflects the situation. If you shoot a wedding it includes, two books, with this many photos, two enlargements for framing, at a certain price. If you sell to a magazine then it is per photo used, etc etc.

Art is totally based on your reputation and what the market will bear, a 5x7 could sell for $2500 or $100.

You will find your way.

I have no reputation. I am not Richard Avedon, Yousuf Karsh or Annie Leibowitz. If I were, I probably wouldn't be taking these pictures in the first place, and I know that I could get almost anything I asked. I'm just a guy doing some people a favor and testing the waters to see if I can make it a business. In these unrarified realms people do price photos by size. If there's anyone out there who isn't just taking photos for the fun of it, comments on your pricing structure, especially for small 4x6 prints, would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
/T

[ibcrewin]

I charge 5 bucks for a 4x6 and 6 for a 5x7. That's what I would pay for a nice print of my kid.

[ClaremontPhoto]

I 'charge' one beer for a 150 x 100mm because they asked me to do it, and they posed, and they enjoyed it too.

If she's pretty I'll charge one kiss instead.

Otherwise she pays one beer.

[Steve Bellayr]

I agree with the $50 for a 4x6 at the current rate it is probably cost effective for the parents. Maybe, if they bought several you could give someone a little break. If they don't want to bring their camera and take the time to photograph their child $5 is probably more than reasonable.

[Steve Bellayr]

Correction: $5 per print, sorry.

[Avotius]

I sell 4x6's for 10 dollars a pop.