This thread is prompted by a decision process that I am wrestling with that appears to be timeless - how to get the biggest bang for the buck, without compromising your aspirations. I need to upgrade a "giclee" (chortle!) printer and I'm faced with the inevitable question of what to buy, given the ongoing "starving artist" syndrome that appears to be my true destiny.
From the perspective of saleable prints (as opposed to media sales) does size matter? In the overall big picture of producing "photographs as art", does the size of the image actually drive the saleability of prints in a meaningful way? All of us have seen beautiful miniatures that are exquisite in their delicacy, likewise magnificent "poster" art that seemingly only can be appreciated in an amphitheatre. But on balance, do large format prints have more appeal in the marketplace because they are presented as large images, or is more the intrinsic clarity the medium affords? Every photo artist looks to find a niche or vision that promotes his craft - some do it big, some contacts, some, I presume, do it small. But, overall, which carries the day in merchantability? Big, or not so big?
I'm regularly reminded of an experience in the '60s when I first started to get "serious" about photography - I had spent hours and hours in the darkroom, perfecting 16x20s from 35mm with Tri-X and Microdol, yielding very very fine even grain and smooth tones, and being quite successful with it... I attended a showing at a local gallery at about the same time featuring a "well-known" photographer's travelling exhibit (whose name I can no longer recall, itself perhaps instructive). None of the mounted photos were bigger than about 4x6 - they might have been 4x5 contacts, even. But, they were remarkable in their clarity (of course) and tonality, and I walked away wondering whether I had gone off entirely on the wrong track. I never quite got over that experience (which probably explains the "starving artist syndrome").
How are those of you who sell an eclectic mix fairing, with regard to image size?
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