How to Create a Photo Print Collection

As a photographer, having the chance to sell prints of your work is very exciting. Imagine, hundreds of people could hang your art on their walls! Surely, this is a great achievement and an amazing project for any photographer.

To execute this one properly, I'm sharing my tips on the process and some tricks to build your photo print collection from scratch.

To begin, you must find and gather the photographs that will constitute your collection. There are several paths you can take here. Do you want to show your best work over the years? Would you rather sell images from your last trip? All options are good, but think about offering diversity to your future clients.

Next, you need to decide how many photos will be in your online store. 10, 20, 50? My advice is to keep this number as low as possible, while thinking "diversity." Too many choices would complicate the shopping experience and lead your customer to leave your website thinking that they will come back later to make their decision. But, most of the time, they would forget and never come back.

When you have chosen your photos and they are edited to your liking, it's time to do some test prints. They are important to see if the colours of the image match what you see on your screen. Also, it's time to try different types of paper.

If you live near a Gosselin Photo Vidéo store, I strongly suggest you do business with them. Their service is fast and they offer home delivery. You can go directly through their online printing portal to order your tests.

You could also choose to do them on multiple papers to see how they look. The glossy one will look much brighter than the matte. Ultimately, it's a personal choice, so go with the product that best serves your images.

So you've chosen your images, done some test prints and you're happy with the results. Now you want to sell them. It's time to create your online store! I suggest you use Squarespace or Shopify. Both options offer you to build a simple and efficient online boutique. You will be able to integrate your photographs, the selling price, the delivery, etc. 

In order to drive people to your store, it's important to use your social networks to inform your customers about your services. With Instagram, you can use the Stories to talk about it frequently. Don't hesitate to make a post and display your available pieces.

Example of an online store

Example of a product sheet on Kam Vachon's store

When your first customer buys a print, it's time to send it to him or her. Personally, I do this entire process myself. When I receive an order, I submit it to Gosselin, who in turn forwards it back to me in about 2 days by mail. When I receive it, I make sure that the quality is impeccable, sign it and put it in a delivery tube. I buy all my delivery material from Uline, a Canadian web platform that has a huge selection of supplies. There are also companies that offer to take care of the whole process for you, but I find that very impersonal and prefer to make ensure my prints are high quality. 

I hope these tips will help you create your own photo collection and make it accessible to the world! If you have any questions, feel free to contact me on Instagram!