Great Escape Publishing

Posted April 20th, 2010 by The Photographer's Life & filed under Travel Photography.

Today at the 2010 Ultimate Photo Profits Workshop in Nashville, I gave a presentation about my experience with selling my photography off the wall in coffee shops and restaurants. The session was standing room only, as this is something anyone with a few nice photos can do. No tricks of the computer involved, and no experience necessary. So Lori asked me to share a couple of tips with you on how to cash in on coffee shop photography… *** TIP #1: Save time and money: Print online and buy pre-cut mats I started showing my work on coffee shop walls about 15 years ago. At that time — back in the film days — you either had to do everything yourself, or pay someone to do the work for you. Now, in the digital photography age, you can get professional printing online for as little as $3 for an 11″x14″ print. And you can buy pre-cut mats in sizes that will fit a standard frame. Using pre-cut white or off-white, acid-free mats to display your work will save you a lot of time and money. (Note: Professional photographers sign the mat on each of their prints and they use pencil, not pen.) *** TIP #2: Price your photos according to value, not cost. When I first started out, I was flat broke and really needed to earn money from my fine art photography shows. So, I figured I’d just see how much money each photo cost me to print and mat, then double it. I had about $17 in each 11”x14” print once I had mounted and matted them myself. So, I sold them for $35 each. (Remember, 15 years ago things were a lot tougher than they are today. My $17 investment per photo will likely only cost you $6 today.) They flew off the walls — I was getting behind in matting all the photos and delivering them to customers. So I bumped the price up to $75, and then again to $200. And though I was selling fewer photos at higher prices, I was making more money. I could sell one photo for $200 and, factoring in expenses, that would still be more net profit than selling 10 prints at $35. And it took considerably less time to fulfill one order as opposed to 10! My advice today: Don’t sell any print for less than $100. Base your prices on the value of the work, not the cost involved in creating it. *** Showing your work on coffee shop walls is extremely gratifying. Coffee shop photography also one of the easiest ways to get started making money from your snapshots and doesn’t require any technical know-how. One attendee stood up at the front of the class today and told us how his daughter let him hang his photos in her furniture store. He’s already sold 20 prints that way. I don’t mean to sound conceited when I say that the recordings of this session alone are worth the entire cost of your Workshop-at-Home Package. But it is when you consider that you could easily earn every penny back from your investment in the program *plus* walk home with a pocket full of cash after your first show. And if you already have some good shots, you could have your own coffee shop photography show up as soon as next month when you allow 1-2 weeks for delivery of your prints online. (Note: Online printer recommendations and pre-cut mat sites are available in the recordings of this session.) It’s fun, it’s easy, and the Workshop-at-Home package tells you exactly how to do it, step-by-step. There’s no guesswork involved — I’ve already made the costly mistakes beginners almost always make, so you won’t have to. Follow along, have fun, and turn a profit. Looking forward to next time, and thanks for reading! From Nashville, David Morgan [Editor’s Note: Learn more about how you can turn your pictures into cash in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel. Sign up here today and we’ll send you a new report, Selling Photos for Cash: A Quick-Start Guide, completely FREE.]