Digital BW, The Print

Hello Matthew,

> What does everyone think about this?

One of the original arguments against photography being accepted as a
fine art was its reproducibility, but it finally overcame that and was
accepted.  I believe the same will happen again.  

More important, I think, is the attitude of the photographer.  I have
always felt that if we value them equally we should price our carbon
and silver prints equally.  Otherwise we help perpetuate the myth that
they are of lesser value.  But is it a myth?

I had an extended discussion on this with someone who actively shows
and sells both.  He was putting lower prices on the carbon prints, and
I was continually taking him to task about it.  His stated reason was
that he was responding to the realities of the marketplace.  One day
when I held his feet to the fire he admitted that he didn't value them
as highly in his own mind.  At that point I felt his pricing was
honest.  Up until then he had been unwilling to admit that.

That was also about a year ago when we were all still struggling with
which ink faded and color-shifted and so on.  He felt that he wasn't
delivering as good a value to the customer because he knew his prints
would change.  With today's new inks we are much further down the road
to being able to sell prints with confidence in their longevity.

So I think the crux of the matter of pricing is whether the
photographer himself values them equally.  

As for the size of the edition, some people feel that limited editions
are important and help support acceptance in the fine art world,
others don't.  Given the former, I think the choice of edition size
has always been based on what the photographer thinks the market will
bear, not on the time required to make a print.  If he/she could sell
another print, the photographer has always been willing to do the
work.  

Perhaps the real question is will the marketplace change?  Maybe
edition size will become a more important issue.


Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm