Usage of Lake Placid image as a Post Card

[naturephoto1]

I was just approached a few days ago by a New Hampshire based Postcard company looking to expand into the Adirondacks to use my Lake Placid photo for a Postcard. They offer $100 which is not much money. I have only used photos in the past for promotional invitations for my 10 solo exhibits including 2 in NYC. I have never really considered selling postcards since the photographer does not make much money on them.

I have been participating in Fine Art Shows for the past 11 years; I have cut back on my Art shows and am in the process of looking for gallery representation for my work. The Lake Placid photo is one of a series of 3 images that I sell as fine art. The 3 are shown below (the Lake Placid photo is the 2nd image). These images are the 3rd, 6th, and about the 10th (shown in order below) most successful images that I have. These images have resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in sales of fine art photographs.

I also supply stock images, which I do not push and have had only a small amount of success.

My photos have been used as stock in Hong Kong and Czechoslovakia. Additionally my work has been used (including for stock) by Leica Camera USA; Bogen Photo/Gitzo (images in their corporate offices); Microsoft; Cymbolic Sciences (maker of the LightJet); Sierra Club; Ever Color Fine Art; and Laser Light Photographics. Additionally, over the years, Fuji Film USA has expressed interest in using several of my images.

In any case, I would appreciate any comments about having this or perhaps several of my Adirondack photos used as Postcards. Do you think that this would damage the sale of my fine art images or do you think that having images that were turned into postcards would be of enough promotional value to aid in further business success.

Thanks for any comments and suggestions.

Rich

[Scott Kathe]

Hi Rich,

I'd pass on the $100, your images are worth a LOT more than that.

I would put together a submission for Adirondack Life magazine. I won their photo contest several years ago and that gave me the confidence I needed to write a proposal to do an article on carnivorous plants in the area with some of my images. The article was published a couple of years ago. Put together a nice submission for their wall calender and if you can come up with a story to tie some of you images together do that and write a query letter to see if they would be interested in publishing it. It's going to pay a lot more than $100 and get your name out there.

Good luck,

Scott Kathe

[Charles Carstensen]

Rich, your work is wonderful. I feel you would diminish the quality by licensing to a third party publishing postcards.

[Gordon Moat]

Take a look at pricing for similar images at Getty Images, or Corbis. If they cannot price above what stock images normally run, then they should not get your custom image for less. Rather than flat reject their offer, go back to them and ask what you really would be willing to take for that image. Be sure to watch, or control, any wording of usage or licensing. You might also want to try posting your question on PDN Forums, and probably get a more realistic idea, plus learn more in the process. Best of luck on this, and don't sell your work short.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio

[Donald Miller]

Quote: "The Lake Placid photo is one of a series of 3 images that I sell as fine art. The 3 are shown below (the Lake Placid photo is the 2nd image). These images are the 3rd, 6th, and about the 10th (shown in order below) most successful images that I have. These images have resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in sales of fine art photographs."

How can you even give this offer any credibility given the information that you have provided? My math indicates quite a gap between $100 and hundreds of thousands of dollars. I wonder at your motivation in posing this question to us.

[naturephoto1]

Hi Donald,

If I accepted the offer for the usage of the image as a postcard, I never intended to not continue to sell the images as fine art both through direct sales and galleries. I was only asking whether: 1) it would basically cheapen my work and lessen the value of the image, or 2) would there be sufficient benefit from added exposure via the postcard for enough promotional value to aid in further business success.

Rich

[Frank Petronio]

That is the going rate for postcards actually. And that is why most postcards are mediocre.

It's hard to make money from postcards. Some of the company's are owned by people who started out as photographers actually. They have to do a lot of cards to make a living.

[mtomalty]

Richard

I earn most of my income from licensing my images as stock through various
agencies.
Postcards/greeting cards normally are licensed for between $125-$150 per image
so if your quote is meant to include all three images then it is a bad deal.
As to whether postcard use devalues your work I think only you can determine that but,in my opinion,it does not and with proper credit,etc provides a little promotional
exposure.

Mark

[Brian Vuillemenot]

I don't think selling it for a postcard would cheapen your fine art images, or erode into their value. If anything, the credit you would get on the back of the postcard would promote your work, and it's an extra $100 in your pocket. I'm not sure why the term "post-card image" has taken on such a negative connotation in the last few years- there are plenty of great images on postcards (as well as crappy ones, at that). I bought a post card of Ansel's "Moonrise Hernandez" at the Ansel Adams Gallery for 75 cents since I can't afford 60 grand for a real one. Does that cheapen that value of the originals? Why are so many photographers (many of whom aren't selling anything) so critical of post card photography?

[Greg Lockrey]

I'd do it just for the extra exposure. (Excuse the pun.) If you are already making good $$$ for these images, so what if they are on post cards. AA, Edward Weston et al have pictures are on postcards and doesn't hurt their sales. Think of it as advertising. Just make sure that your name is mentioned that's all. When I make art cards for my clients I give them half off normal printing rate so that I can put my logo on the back. It get's me some new sales. So it's worth it. This notion that it's beneath your talents is what keeps good photographers from making a buck. Your'e getting basically a $100 for letting them use your image that's already been made and they do all the printing and marketing. Like you said, there is no real profit in it. You will become known to more people and you don't have to pay for it either. Sometimes you will put your foot in a door that you never knew before was there in the first place.