Hello, 

I've been in the process of putting together a both for the past month.

I'm looking for suggests from photographers on what types of prints and what sizes you find sell best.I'm currently debating between traditional framed prints, Acrylic prints and canvas.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks

- Mike

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  • I've only done art fairs as a painter, but as both painter and photographer, I have some suggestions. I think Bari's suggestions are all good ones, with one exception. I would print on all those surfaces EXCEPT canvas. Canvas is so strongly associated with oil painting that printing photos on it suggests things the photographer didn't necessarily intend.

    Having struggled with paintings that come out looking like photos, I came out firmly believing that a painting does what the photograph cannot, and the photograph does what the painting cannot. Each makes its own contribution to the viewer’s appreciation of the world. Both use technologies, but photography has a tradition of evolving with its technology.

    Finally, trying to give photographs the texture of oil paintings robs them of the very qualities – fine-grain, smooth tones and color (or not) rendition specific to films, CCDs, filters and lenses, yes, and paper/substrate styles – that give them power.

    My website has both painting and photography galleries.

  • Hi Mike,

    I mostly sell framed 19x13 photos, matted to 24x18 and framed either in black or white wood frames. I found that maintaining a mostly uniform presentation and size makes the art stand out rather than the presentation platform. I have a few exceptions where i’ve had my images printed on metal with a semi gloss finish and I leave them frameless. The metal prints sell well. My best seller is a 30x20 metal piece. I think having a few choices of sizes and surfaces available to offer rather than to necessarily have on hand is a good way of being versatile without shelling out a lot of money before a show in the hopes that a different print medium will make the sale. You only need to have one or two examples printed on another material such as the mentioned acrylic and perhaps another on canvas.

    Pick the most appropriate subject photo you feel would look good on a different surface other than paper and use it as an example when showing your work at a show by pointing out that all your photos can be printed on such materials. I had a photo printed on natural wood and it eventually sold but I felt that it was not a good media for my photos. See what patrons are attracted to and ask them what they like about the piece. Some visitors will mention the uniqueness of a photo because of what it’s printed on more than they like the actual photo. So rather than invest in printing many photos on different media and getting stuck with prints that won’t sell, experiment with one or two. 

    You can also have a few copies that are just matted, unframed and placed in clear sleeves in a bin and those would be your less expensive alternatives for some who want to spend less or frame them on their own.

    I hope that gives you some perspective.

    Bari

    • Thanks Bari,

      That is very helpful. I really appreciate you taking the time to thoughtfully answer my question. 

      - Mike

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