I Couldn’t Understand Why A Print Hadn’t Sold

But I was so glad it hadn’t. Trust can take years to build, but can be lost in an instant.

The reprocessed, ‘Docklands from the Regent’s Canal’, by the author

Some of you, my Newsletter readers, will have been following my Notes on the Regent’s Canal Walk. It was actually achieved over two days some months apart. Some of the photographs from the walk became London’s Waterways, Limited Edition prints.

A product that doesn’t sell is a waste of space. Quite literally, when it’s on your website. It has taken your time preparing it, producing it, checking it, describing it, marketing it. So if it doesn’t sell, it not only cost you money in the first place, but it then continues to do so.

This had happened to one of my special London’s Waterways, Limited Edition prints. I particularly like it and so do others. But it was not selling. When I was recently asked about providing the wall art for a new, serviced office building, this piece was specifically asked for. 

My special prints are printed large on fine art paper by a printing house with worldwide reach. I was going to print a normal sized print myself using a different paper for a client display sample.

I use profiles matched to the paper for my printer. Then I can achieve consistent, high quality across the range of my prints. The change of paper and using my printer required adjusting the computer, soft proofing, small test prints and a final large print.

It was a black and white print. I like black and white prints to have good contrast with defined blacks and whites. Sometimes my process of turning a picture into black and white causes shapes and textures to be seen, that weren’t noticed before.

When processing my photos I look for obvious blemishes on the unprocessed RAW file. Ideally there are no dust spots on the sensor or on the lens/ filters. Sometimes however when out and about in the wind and rain showers, specks of dirt or water droplets, get on the lens just as the shot is taken.

I often have my camera with me when out and about with friends or family. Great moments can be found this way but there is less time for ‘the perfect shot’. Non-photographers don’t like to be kept waiting whilst we fiddle about. Tripods are out of the question and even pausing to clean the lens/ filter is a no no.

Hence back on my computer cropping, horizon levelling and blemish removal is usually required somewhere in a set. It sounds onerous but the rewards of spontaneity can be immense. I try to follow the mantra of, ‘photograph like a documentarian, print like an artist’.

Such was the case with my picture. What I had missed were the dust and water spots on the lens filter. I expand the RAW image on the screen and go through it section by section looking for issues. Then remove them, process the image and print it myself. Then I get test strips printed by my drop shipping print house.

Unfortunately removing spots and blotches isn’t always perfect. The replacement patch isn’t always perfect. It looks good unprocessed but really stands out after processing. Any slight discrepancies, initially unseen, are them amplified by the processing software and become more pronounced. These imperfections then need to be re-processed. Unfortunately this can cause its own issues as each level of processing can take these parts of the image further away from the original.

The picture in question was a black and white, urban landscape. Originally shot in RAW and therefore in colour and converted to black and white. The three mid-toned blemishes did not show up in my checks on the original,  colour, RAW image. 

Only when converted to black and white with boosted contrast and a little added grain, did the faults become visible.

The real question though was why had I let the print get set up for release through my print house with those faults? I had checked all my pictures on my large, high resolution, calibrated monitor. 

Well I had made two basic errors. For some reason, on that print I hadn’t done what I was supposed to.

Essentially I hadn’t followed my own advice. Printing is one of the best ways to improve you photography. When you live with a print for a while you see its flaws and can correct them. 

To do this properly first do some small test prints to get the expressive feel you want in your work. Then print as large as you can so any problems become more apparent. Printing a large test print is especially important if you intend the final result to be printed even larger.

Thinking back, I realised I hadn’t done any prints of this image. Odd as I really like it. I hadn’t even got my print house to do a test strip to check the sharpness and tone across a key part of the print. So what have I learned from this?

1. More haste less speed

2. Fully check every image, not just a sample from a set.

3. Make test prints for every image, both small for initial, basic checks and as large as possible.

4. Get test strips done for every image

5. Clean the lens as often as possible when out and about

6. Check and re-check everything before publishing to clients.

This could have been an embarrassing disaster. It’s important to build trust. I believed I was giving high quality and great service. Clearly I wasn’t. It would have been much more of a problem than the loss of one sale and a refund to a customer. They might have wanted it for a special occasion, a present for a loved one. A lot of money could have been paid to me (and refunded) but they could have had it framed, presented and hung before the faults were noticed. faults are often noticed by others and that would have embarrassed my client.

Fortunately my own printing for a different display had revealed the problem. I am so glad it hadn’t sold. It’s a great print and will now be greater. It’s also now being offered as a special, self-printed, Limited Edition, framed print for local sales.

Not all issues would be noticed by the buyer but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t there, nor does it mean that they are acceptable. All my work must be produced as intended and this wake up call will ensure that it is.

Always give your best in your work, check and check again. I always try to but on this occasion I was not successful. Lesson learned, check even more carefully and print as large as possible at home to check. Basically, in spite of my knowledge and years of experience I had committed what my generation used to refer to as, “a schoolboy error”.

Since reprocessing the picture, the London’s Waterways, Limited Edition print, ‘Docklands from the Regent’s Canal’ has started selling. 

I am keeping all my posts free for everyone. If you’ve found this post interesting or helpful then using the ‘Buy me a coffee button to help me, will be greatly appreciated.

Graham