Pricing of landscape photos?

[msmith0807]

I was wondering how people price their landscape photos. I have never really sold anything but have been recently approached by a hand full of people who want to buy one of my shots. (A friend of a coworker of a family member saw it liked on my facebook page). There are 7 people who want the image, they started with asking for the full resolution file and they would print it out themselves. I said no as I want to have control of my work and know who has copies of it. However they then asked if they could buy a print of it. I have no issue doing so and am actually rather excited that strangers that I have never met like and want one of my photos.

The problem I am having is I don't know what is a fair price to ask for. I don't want to under or over value myself. What is the going rate for a landscape photo from an amateur photographer?

I don't think the shot is particularly good, but who am I to argue.

I was thinking somewhere in the $50 range would be fair for a 30x20 inch print. Does that seem like a fair number considering the quality of the shot or am I way off base.

Image was taken in Bancroft Ontario Canada at about 12:30am August 8th 2013. 30 sec, f2.8 iso 6400, 5dm3, 24-70 f2.8L v1 at 35mm, minimal processing of the raw file in lightroom 4

 

[dr croubie]

Firstly, nice shot.
Secondly, before thinking about pricing, think about printing, as in where and how to get it done. You didn't mention yourself if you had a printer (and how good it is), or were you planning to go to a lab?
If you've never printed (big) before, the best thing to learn is that screens and papers look very different, you might go through a few paper-sample-packs before you find something that matchess well with what you're printing, especially as your buyers saw the shot on their screens. If you've got a printer at home, try out a few papers and profiles and whatnot to see what would look best, or ask your local lab if they can give you some smaller prints for a sample.
(I'm lucky, in that I've got an Epson R3000 which goes up to 13", if I want wider than that my local lab has the larger epson 4800 or something which uses the exact same inkset, so that it'll look the same just larger).

So if you want that big, unless you've got a 20" printer already, you'll be going to a lab to get it done. Start by asking how much it's going to cost you to get it printed. For example, my local lab charges $120 for a 60x75cm (24x30") print onto "fine art" (etching/museum rag/metallic pearl/etc), or $60 for a regular "photo print from digital". Then maybe double or triple that to cover all your work, gear, test shots, etc. (or if you're nice and doing it for friends, just give it to them at cost plus a few bucks)

 

[msmith0807]

Thanks for the input dr croubie. I use a local company http://www.posterjack.ca for all my printing and they seem to do a real good job. They offer a 20x30 print on glossy photo paper for $19.99. So by that logic asking for something in the $40 to $60 range would be fair.

I should really look into getting a decent quality photo printer for quality test prints, but for now i suppose this is a viable option.

 

[Kernuak]

Thanks for the input dr croubie. I use a local company http://www.posterjack.ca for all my printing and they seem to do a real good job. They offer a 20x30 print on glossy photo paper for $19.99. So by that logic asking for something in the $40 to $60 range would be fair.

I should really look into getting a decent quality photo printer for quality test prints, but for now i suppose this is a viable option.

I wouldn't recommend glossy for landscapes (I'm not a fan of glossy at teh best of times, but definitely not for landscapes). Sometimes matt papers work better, as they tend to be better at showing contrast, but I tend to use pearl, mainly as a compromise. I think pearl or lustre would suit your image though, while glossy would kill it.

 

[msmith0807]

Kernuak - thanks very much for the tip. I will look into it. I absolutely want the image to show the best as possible and don't want to mess it up by picking the wrong paper.

 

[Sith Zombie]

Thanks for the input dr croubie. I use a local company http://www.posterjack.ca for all my printing and they seem to do a real good job. They offer a 20x30 print on glossy photo paper for $19.99. So by that logic asking for something in the $40 to $60 range would be fair.

I should really look into getting a decent quality photo printer for quality test prints, but for now i suppose this is a viable option.

I think pearl or lustre would suit your image though, while glossy would kill it.

+1 I have a large format epson too and I find lustre to work well with a lot of images, especially when people have seen the image on a computer screen. Matt images can sometime seem a bit dull if your used to looking at images from a screen all day, whilst glossy can be too far the other way.
I'm not knocking the other papers at all, as different images work better with different paper types [one of my fav prints is on matt paper] but just stating lustre/semi gloss is probably going to be the safest bet for you.