How do you price a photograph

I would start by saying that this is only my personal opinion, which I expect many people will disagree with and hopefully a few of you will be with me.

I was an antique dealer for many years selling the finest antiques and works of art, including oil and watercolour paintings for many thousands of pounds and I could never understand (or I should say accept) how they were priced.

You could have similar quality paintings of the same subject and skill. One would be worth many thousands, the other, next to nothing. The only difference would be the signature on them. Well known, expensive, unknown, hardly anything.

This brought it home that you are really buying the signature, not the painting.

I think the forgers confirmed this for me. A painting, say by Degas, was worth hundreds of thousands and everyone admired it and said what an amazing painting it was. It then turned out to be forged. The next day it was worthless. But why, it was still the same painting. It wasn't the painting that was worth the money, it was the name.

Every day I see hundreds of photographs on social media from fantastic photographers, some are just for show, some are trying to sell their works, for what I consider to be a fair price.

But how do you price a photograph. If you show someone a good photograph, one of the first comments is usually, I could have taken that. Straight away that lowers the value in the persons head.

I believe if you took two photographers, one famous and one not, put them side by side and let them take the same photograph, of the same quality and produced exactly the same. Then the famous photographer could sell his example for many hundreds or thousands, The other, would struggle to sell at, even at a much lower price. So again, the name sells, not the image.

There are many professional photographers out there who produce excellent work and charge what I consider to be a fair price, reflecting their skill and knowledge and I have no problem with their pricing. Many of them spend huge amounts of money and time travelling to the ends of the earth to capture these amazing photographs and again this has to be reflected in their pricing. 

Anyway, having thought about this, I have decided that for my own images, I am going to sell them at near cost. I would love to sell thousands of my photographs (I don't think that's going to happen by the way). In the hundreds (probably not), possibly in the 10's, but who knows.

Cost will include the printing, the plastic bags and backing board so it doesn't get bent, a small contribution to the website costs and then a £1 for me to put towards my next camera (second hand) if I sell enough.

I hope you think this is fair and that it tempts you to make a purchase of some of my work.