I participated in a two day craft fair/art show this week-end. There were about 30 vendors with 4 photographers. In the two days, I sold only 2 framed/matted photos, a 11x14 and a 8x10. I don't believe the other photogs sold much more than that. All of the folks attending that stopped in my booth absolutely raved about my photos and pricing, but just weren't buying.

I'm just curious, to those of you who sell at such venues, are you'all noticing a slump in sales due to the economy? Photographs are much more difficult to sell, we've been selling my husband's wood turnings for years and he made a killing at the same show. I was so depressed about the first day, I came home and announced I was selling all my equipment and getting a new hobby.

Just a bit discouraged, and interested to know if others are experiencing similar changes due to the economy.

Thanks, Jo

I think it is everywhere. I shot a local theatre show and sold ONE DVD and ZERO prints. The worst showing ever for a theatre shoot--and the worst at this particular venue (about 10 shoots there total). My actual work is the same if not better than ever before. I'm getting compliments from national media saying it is as good as they have seen. Nice to hear but what is that worth? The stipend the threatre pays is too small to justify going without selling other products.

But I'm seriously considering just dropping the theatre stuff...on a dollar for dollar basis, def not worth the time. However I won't right away, because in this case, my kid is part of the theatre. But if it does not pick up by the time she goes off to college, will likely not do it anymore...pats on the back about how great one's stuff only go so far.

Had a small show here, I was the only photographer and sold one 12x18 ready to hang and 3 8x10 prints. Pretty much just covered booth fee and cost of prints sold.
It is depressing. I have been trying to figure out which direction to go from here myself.


My work (so you can judge if it's just me)
http://www.fleetingmomentsphoto.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fleetingmoments/

I dont know if this helps in your case, just a note on price and selling photography.

There is a big mass of photographers today which do not ask enough money for their work. At the long term this doesnt work.

Quality besides, if a photographer asks 99.99$/Image, people will always think of his work as cheap and of him as a cheap artist.

Andi - you're not the first person to tell me that, actually, my husband was the first. And, in the long run, I know you are right. But my pricing is set to cover my material costs, plus labor for matting and framing. We live in a rural area that is a low income area also and I try to price my work so that I have a wide price range. My most expensive item at the show was a 17x23 print in a 24x30 frame that I had priced at $125. In comparing that to the unframed prints my competitors were selling, i.e. 16x20's for $60-$70, I realize I'm "undervaluing" my own work and will make appropriate adjustments.

Luckily for me, I do not rely on this for my income. I do the work because I truly enjoy the full "creation" process of taking the picture, processing and printing it, then I do all my own matting and framing. I sell my unframed prints strictly from portfolios, and don't have masses of bins with prints to choose from. I go to the shows with my husband anyway so we figured we might as well take my stuff along too. If we make a few extra bucks from it, great.

Thanks, and it's good to know others are in a similar boat from the sales perspective!

Jo

Jo,

I have been setting up in a weekly art/farmer's market for 6 years. I've seen ups & downs, but I have noticed a difference recently.

I also get very down about it on a relatively regular basis...to the point where I have considered giving up photography completely (at least as a business, as it sometimes ruins my love for the art). I have recently been trying to take a week off here & there in order to save my sanity and my love for photography.

I guess I'm lucky in the fact that I have a full time job, and my photography has only ever been in the "semi-professional hobby" realm. I definitely don't consider myself a "pro" by any streatch of the imagination.

As far as pricing, I know I'm cheaper than most of the "competition" in the area, but they are well established, and again, as I said, I'm a hobbiest. I did take the advice of the guy I learned from, though, when it comes to pricing, and if you undershoot all of the competition, you're not going to get business because people equate cheap prices with cheap quality. A pretty basic benchmark that was once suggested to me is to take all of your costs for producing a print, and double that (at least) and start there with your asking price.

That extra isn't just a "pad" but is payment for your time behind the camera, your experience, and the time you take in post-editing. At double my cost, I've never had anybody complain about how much it is costing them, since I just explain that the difference is payment for my services, and for less than that I might as well just be running an equipment rental service and let them shoot/edit/print with my gear.

The only people I charge "cost" are family, because with family I like to make a gift of my time behind the camera/in front of the computer.

I would think that you are trying to make money in photography in a small niche market where potential buyers are a much smaller sub-set of the total population. Do you also shoot weddings, seniors, events, portraits......anything else on a job by job basis?

Selling framed and matted prints at small craft fairs is always going to be frustrating....you may have gone into the process with too large of expectations. I would say that a majority of the people that attend the craft fairs you describe are more there to get out of the house than to really spend some money on art for their home.