"Editions": A way to limit yourself and your overall marketability in general?

[Shen45]

Changed my mind. Will have another coffee and consider the topic.

[Jeff Dexheimer]

Once again, I am about to go against the grain. I edition my wet prints to 10. I decided that while working on a series of photographs that became my first show. After making 5 prints of the same negative I found myself bored of the negative and not wanting to print it further. I decided to double that number and arrived at 10. I don't know if this practice will continue into the future, but at least for now, the 12 wet prints I have on display are limited. If they start selling like mad, I will simply raise the price future sales.

I also sell inkjet prints. They are all open edition. So I end up adopting both methods.

[BrianShaw]

Working both ends of the market, Jeff. Great way to do business!

[Toyon]

I agree with DrTang. Editions in lithography or etching make sense, since the plates degrade each time they are used. Editions in photogaphy is a gallery-driven marketing gimmick. Anyone that uses the technique is kind of an photography sell-out in my opinion.

[Daniel Stone]

Once again, I am about to go against the grain. I edition my wet prints to 10. I decided that while working on a series of photographs that became my first show. After making 5 prints of the same negative I found myself bored of the negative and not wanting to print it further. I decided to double that number and arrived at 10. I don't know if this practice will continue into the future, but at least for now, the 12 wet prints I have on display are limited. If they start selling like mad, I will simply raise the price future sales.

I also sell inkjet prints. They are all open edition. So I end up adopting both methods.

Well that's an interesting approach, Jeff. Thank you for sharing your experience!

I have to be in the "right" mood for making good prints in the darkroom. I've found that for me, if I like a print and know that I would like to sell it one day, I will spend the extra time to make a few extra, identical copies for storage until that time comes. The original master print, with printing notations, will get filed, and the spare prints will get stored into another, separate archival box. I leave them untrimmed, but ready to go, when that day comes that they get a new home. Fully toned, maybe just a light spotting required(in case of b/w fiber prints) to minimize the chances of smearing during storage. For anything larger, down the line, this could become a storage issue space-wise, but in a few years, I hope to be in a space that's more accommodating to a workflow, the way I want to have it going forward and allowing for more print storage space that doesn't involve storing in a place that's not under my control(aka a climate controlled storage unit, currently).

-Dan

[bob carnie]

I edition in 10 silver gelatin and 7 in tri color on pd.

I make one or two and live with them and try to sell them.. I work with a lot of source images so some are more popular than others.

When I have time and inclination and feel that the print is as good a I can make it, then I print out the edition.. I do not destroy the negative ..

[neil poulsen]

It depends on if it is a limited-edition Rolls or a regular Rolls.

[neil poulsen]

I can see why galleries might like the idea of editions. It's an encouragement they can ply to their customers. But as I understand it, the era of the galleries is fading. There are too many other venues of display.

I remember reading in Ansel Adams autobiography that he experimented with editions by scraping a small "x" in a corner of each negative in of one of his portfolios. (OUCH!) But, it sounds like he discarded the idea. I'm probably not familiar with all the details, but I recall that he announced he would retire from print making (except for museums, etc.) at such and such a date. But up to that date, he would take orders for any print at $900 each and (eventually) fulfill all orders. So, no limits on the number of prints. I think this occurred in the mid-seventies. I thought about ordering a Moonrise, but for a graduate student at the time, $900 was a lot of money.

I'm in the "enrich the lives of others" camp. But, one needs to meet financial needs. The marketing strategy that I find most appealing is to begin each print at such and such a price, and then to increase the price as the image sells in greater numbers. This encourages people to purchase interesting prints early. It also does a better job of getting prints out there to be seen, which in turn helps prints become better known. So, no limits on production, but prints with true artistic merit bring improved financial benefits to the photographer.

[Drew Wiley]

There is a minor debate about just exactly how many "Moonrise" prints were made, but it was ballpark around 350 of them - hardly a "limited" number. But since
only less than a dozen very well-known images were the real money-makers of his entire career, and then only quite late in life, it's understandable that so many were printed. Of course, it's largely savvy dealers and heirs that made the big bucks, as usual. And sometimes the less iconic earlier version, prior to the neg being enhanced, seem to be the most coveted. A few years before he died, you could pick up a spectacular classic "Moonrise" from a retail gallery for 16K. Then immediately after his death the auctions went briefly nuts, with a couple Moonrise going for around 45K. Word of this got out, and naturally a lot of prints came out of the woodwork, and the prices dropped right back down to 16K. In the meantime, scarcity has developed again, and prints are going well into six figures. It's all supply and demand. I wonder what kind of tug of war will ensue when two bums are digging thru a dumpster at the same time right after I croak,
and find a big pile of prints. Might be better tasting than the average pizza crust around here!

[Daniel Stone]

Drew,
You can always leave me in your will, if you have no one interested in your family interested in your work

-Dan