Synopses & Reviews
In recent years as the field of photography has exploded, many photographers consider selling their work to make a profit and to help defray the high costs of equipment. But, many photographers don't have the business and marketing knowledge required to successfully sell fine art photographs; and many of those who have tried have been met with disappointment. Until now, little information of value has been available.
In Marketing Fine Art Photography, Alain Briot offers practical, up-to-date and field-tested marketing techniques from the viewpoint of a fine art landscape photographer who earns a living from the sale of his fine art prints.
Briot teaches that by taking control of the selling process, you can increase your profits and, ultimately, direct your own destiny. Briot's approach is based on offering quality not quantity; and offering something unique, rather than something that is mass-produced. Though directed toward selling fine art, this method can be applied to other products.
After a series of trials and errors, Briot devised a marketing system that allowed him to get out of debt, pay for a state-of-the-art studio, and purchase his first home, all from the sale of his photography. Briot has taught fine art photography marketing to numerous students in seminars, through one-on-one consulting, and through his Marketing Mastery tutorial DVD.
Topics include:
- Defining fine art photography
- Wholesale, retail, and consignment
- Knowing your customer
- Where to sell and how to price fine art
- Fundamentals of marketing and salesmanship
- Profitability and honesty in business
- Packing and shipping fine art
- Common marketing mistakes
- The unique selling proposition (USP)
Synopsis
In Marketing Fine Art Photography, Alain Briot offers practical, up-to-date and field-tested marketing techniques from the viewpoint of a fine art landscape photographer who earns a living from the sale of his fine art prints.
In recent years as the field of photography has exploded, many photographers consider selling their work to make a profit and to help defray the high costs of equipment. But, many photographers don't have the business and marketing knowledge required to successfully sell fine art photographs; and many of those who have tried have been met with disappointment. Until now, little information of value has been available. Marketing Fine Art Photography is here to answer your questions about making a business out of your passion.
Alain Briot teaches that by taking control of the selling process, you can increase your profits and, ultimately, direct your own destiny. Briot's approach is based on offering quality not quantity; and offering something unique, rather than something that is mass-produced. Though directed toward selling fine art, this method can be applied to other products.
After a series of trials and errors, Briot devised a marketing system that allowed him to get out of debt, pay for a state-of-the-art studio, and purchase his first home, all from the sale of his photography. Briot has taught fine art photography marketing to numerous students in seminars, through one-on-one consulting, and through his Marketing Mastery tutorial DVD.
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Topics include:
- Defining fine art photography
- Wholesale, retail, and consignment
- Knowing your customer
- Where to sell and how to price fine art
- Fundamentals of marketing and salesmanship
- Profitability and honesty in business
- Packing and shipping fine art
- Common marketing mistakes
- The unique selling proposition (USP)
Synopsis
Today's digital cameras provide image data files allowing large-format output at high resolution. At the same time, printing technology has moved forward at an equally fast pace bringing us new inkjet systems capable of printing in high precision at a very fine resolution, providing an amazing tonality range and longtime stability of inks.
Synopsis
Today's digital cameras provide image data files allowing large-format output at high resolution. At the same time, printing technology has moved forward at an equally fast pace bringing us new inkjet systems capable of printing in high precision at a very fine resolution, providing an amazing tonality range and longtime stability of inks.
Moreover, these systems are now affordable to the serious photographer. In the hands of knowledgeable and experienced photographers, these new inkjet printers can help create prints comparable to the highest quality darkroom prints on photographic paper.
This book provides the necessary foundation for fine art printing: The understanding of color management, profiling, paper and inks. It demonstrates how to set up the printing workflow as it guides the reader step-by-step through this process from an image file to an outstanding fine art print.
Synopsis
Every photographer, from weekend enthusiast to professional, can learn by studying the "greats". In Why Photographs Work, author/photographer George Barr analyzes 52 striking images by some of the world's top photographers. Accompanying Barr's analysis of each image is an explanation by the photographer describing the circumstances of making the image, including not only the how, but also the why. Also included is each photographer's biography, a reference to his or her websites and publications, and brief technical descriptions of the equipment used in making each image.
With guidance from Barr, we learn to decipher that certain intangible "something" that makes an image go beyond the ordinary. As we gain an understanding of and appreciation for the elements that make an image truly great, we are bound to improve our own images as well.
Included are images by: Charles Cramer, Bruce Barnbaum, Harald Mante, Dan Burkholder, Nick Brandt, Hans Strand, Roman Loranc, Huntington Witherill, Susan Burnstine, Ryuijie, Beth Moon, Phil Borges, Shaun O'Boyle, David Ward, Michael Levin, Michael Reichmann, Michael Kenna, Cole Thompson, George Jerkovich, Bengt Ekelberg, Sandra Davis, Brian Kosoff, Joe Lipka, Gordon Lewis, Lawrence Chrismas, Craig Richards, and many more.
About the Author
George Barr is a photographer living in Calgary, Canada. Serious about photography since age 12, working initially with a WWII Zeiss Ikonta in a basement-bathroom "darkroom", he has progressed through medium format, 4X5, and now digital SLR's. He earns his living as a family doctor with a special interest in psychiatry but his primary passion has always been the fine art print.
Major milestones include learning to make quality prints from Fred Picker, learning to really "see" photographs from Hubert Hohn of the Edmonton Art Gallery, looking at Edward Weston prints bare, attending workshops, working with galleries, and being published.
George has had his images published in the magazines Black and White Photography, Black and White, Focus, Lenswork, and Outdoor Photography.
By the time George closed his darkroom, he was making very high quality prints and carried on this quality with digital cameras and inkjet printing, producing some of the finest inkjet prints made, surprising many traditional 4X5 photographers with the level of quality.
Throughout his life George has been a teacher of medical students & residents, patients, and fellow photographers. A writer of understandable patient newsletters and handouts, it was a short step to writing essays on photography. George has bravely tackled the challenging subjects of aesthetics, seeing, and composing in a style that is clear, practical, and applicable to many.
Table of Contents
Downloadable Resources; Selling Fine Art Photography; Chapter 1: Taking Control of Your Destiny; 1.1 The Best-Kept Secret; 1.2 What is Marketing?; 1.3 The Goal of Marketing; 1.4 Why Marketing is Indispensable to Success in Photography; 1.5 Crucial Questions; 1.6 Photography Must be Your Career in Order to Succeed; 1.7 Market, Market, and Market Again; 1.8 The Breakthrough; 1.9 Skill Enhancement Exercises; Chapter 2: What is Fine Art Photography?; 2.1 Defining Fine Art Photography: A Checklist; 2.2 Art Movements and Personal Styles; 2.3 Handling Criticism; 2.4 Counterintuition and Irony; 2.5 What If You Cannot Do All of This?; 2.6 Terminology; 2.7 Conclusion; 2.8 Skill Enhancement Exercise; Chapter 3: Wholesale, Consignment, or Retail?; 3.1 Selling Wholesale; 3.2 Selling on Consignment; 3.3 Selling Retail; 3.4 Retail and Wholesale Comparisons; 3.5 Skill Enhancement Exercises; Chapter 4: Quantity or Quality; 4.1 Quantity or Quality; 4.2 A Comparison of Quantity-Based and Quality-Based Marketing; 4.3 Skill Enhancement Exercise; What to Sell and Where to Sell It; Chapter 5: What to Sell; 5.1 The Difference Between Prints and Products; 5.2 Product Variety; 5.3 Tips on Selling Framed and Unframed Prints; 5.4 Items You Can Sell Besides Framed and Unframed Prints; 5.5 Packaging, Protecting, and Presenting Your Products; 5.6 Other Important Considerations; 5.7 Conclusion; 5.8 Skill Enhancement Exercise; Chapter 6: Where to Sell Fine Art Photographs; 6.1 Selling to Stores (Wholesale); 6.2 Selling through Galleries (Consignment); 6.3 Selling through a Representative (Consignment); 6.4 Selling on the Internet (Retail); 6.5 Selling in Your Own Home Gallery (Retail); 6.6 Selling in Your Own Brick-and-Mortar Gallery (Retail); 6.7 Selling at Art Shows (Retail); 6.8 Selling Stock Photography (Retail); 6.9 Selling to Books and Magazines (Retail); 6.10 Selling by Advertising in Magazines (Retail); 6.11 Conclusion; 6.12 Skill Enhancement Exercises; Chapter 7: How to Price Fine Art Photography; 7.1 Pricing Based on Expected Sales Volume; 7.2 Pricing Based on Actual Costs; 7.3 Pricing Based on Leverage and Reputation; 7.4 What is Leverage?; 7.5 Should You Offer Limited Editions?; 7.6 Summary of Things to Consider When Pricing Your Work; 7.7 Product Cost Calculation Forms; 7.8 Conclusion; 7.9 Skill Enhancement Exercises; Chapter 8: Best Sellers; 8.1 Two Main Approaches to Creating Best Sellers; 8.2 The Best Seller Creation Process; 8.3 A Gradual, Multi-stage Process; 8.4 Involve Other People in the Selection Process; 8.5 What Makes a Best Seller?; 8.6 Best Seller Examples; 8.7 Conclusion; The Fundamental Aspects of Marketing, Salesmanship, and Business; Chapter 9: The 26 Fundamental Principles of Successful Marketing; 9.1 The Difference Between Marketing and Salesmanship; 9.2 Principle #1 - Hard Work Alone is Not Enough--You Must Have a Plan; 9.3 Principle #2 - Do What Others Are Not Willing to Do; 9.4 Principle #3 - Decide Between High and Low Volume; 9.5 Principle #4 - Generate a Large Demand for Your Limited Product; 9.6 Principle #5 - Control the Volume of Sales by the Price; 9.7 Principle #6 - Spend at Least 50% of Your Time on Marketing; 9.8 Principle #7 - Develop an Interactive Marketing Plan; 9.9 Principle #8 - Implement the Four Legs Approach; 9.10 Principle #9 - Market or Nothing Will Happen; 9.11 Principle #10 - Market in Both Good and Bad Times; 9.12 Principle #11 - Know Why You Are Successful; 9.13 Principle #12 - Do Not Try to Please Everyone; 9.14 Principle #13 - Final Profit, Not Income, Is What Matters; 9.15 Principle #14 - Know and Apply the 80/20 Rule; 9.16 Principle #15 - Know your Average Sale; 9.17 Principle #16 - It's a Free Country!; 9.18 Principle #17 - Raise Your Prices Regularly; 9.19 Principle #18 - Build a Contact List; 9.20 Principle #19 - Take Advice Only from Those Who Are Where You Want to Be; 9.21 Principle #20 - Do Not Reinvent the Wheel; 9.22 Principle #21 - Shows and Other Direct Selling Venues Are a Great Way to Start; 9.23 Principle #22 - Pricing Determines Everything You Do; 9.24 Principle #23 - People Buy Art for Emotional Reasons; 9.25 Principle #24 - Display a List of Unique Factors; 9.26 Principle #25 - Your Customers Must Know How They Will Benefit from Their Purchase; 9.27 Principle #26 - Study the Fundamental Salesmanship Principles; 9.28 Skill Enhancement Exercises; Chapter 10: The 26 Fundamental Principles of Salesmanship; 10.1 Skill Enhancement Exercises; Chapter 11: The Seven Fundamental Principles of a Successful Business; Selling Your Work at Shows; Chapter 12: How to Sell Your Photographs at Art Shows; 12.1 Finding an Audience; 12.2 Why Art Shows?; 12.3 Doing Art Shows; 12.4 Displaying Your Work at a Show; 12.5 Packing and Transporting Your Work; 12.6 Setting Up an Outdoor Office and Frame Shop; 12.7 Finding Art Shows; 12.8 Accepting Credit Cards; 12.9 Where to Get Your Show Equipment; 12.10 Conclusion; 12.11 Skill Enhancement Exercises; Chapter 13: Show Booth Examples and Layouts; 13.1 Examples from Actual Show Setups; 13.2 Show Booth Layouts; Chapter 14: Packing and Shipping Your Photographs; 14.1 Shipping Companies; 14.2 Calculating Shipping Costs; 14.3 Tools; 14.4 Confirmation of Delivery; 14.5 Insurance; 14.6 Fill; 14.7 Labels; 14.8 Packaging Artwork for Shipping; 14.9 Conclusion; Personal Skills; Chapter 15: Fine Art Photography Skills; 15.1 Technical Skills; 15.2 Artistic Skills; 15.3 Marketing Skills; 15.4 Personal Skills; 15.5 Skill Enhancement Exercises; Chapter 16: The 25 Most Common Marketing Errors; 16.1 Skill Enhancement Exercises; Business and Marketing Tools; Chapter 17: Business Tools; 17.1 What You Need to Conduct Business; 17.2 Skill Enhancement Exercise; Chapter 18: Marketing Tools; 18.1 Special Offers; 18.2 Testimonials; 18.3 Certificates of Authenticity; 18.4 Price Tags; 18.5 Collection Signs; 18.6 Email List Sign-Up Form; 18.7 Business Cards; 18.8 Gift Certificates; 18.9 Promotional Items; 18.10 Skill Enhancement Exercises; Chapter 19: Marketing Venues; 19.1 Traditional Marketing Venues (Non-Internet Based); 19.2 Internet-Based Marketing Venues; 19.3 Skill Enhancement Exercise; Chapter 20: Vitae, Biography, and Artist Statement; 20.1 Your Curriculum Vitae; 20.2 Your Biography; 20.3 Your Artist Statement; 20.4 Skill Enhancement Exercises; Chapter 21: Warranties and Unique Selling Points; 21.1 The Importance of a Warranty; 21.2 Unique Selling Points (USP); 21.3 Skill Enhancement Exercises; Conclusion; Less is More; Art is Not a Commodity; Art and Business; Start Slow; Multitude and Quality; What Comes Next?; Alain Briot Workshops, Tutorials, and Mentoring; Appendices; Appendix A - Art Questionnaire; The Questionnaire; Appendix B - Resources and Materials;