Fine Art America

[SFL]

Hi

 

I am aware that a number of people in this forum sell prints via FAA.

 

Can I please ask if you upload images sharpened or unsharpened?

 

I asked the question to FAA but the reply was not helpful.

 

Many thanks

 

Sung

[John Mitchell]

I always leave mine unsharpened (for FAA and Alamy) on the assumption that the printer will do some sharpening if necessary. This hopefully avoids a possible double dose of sharpening that would degrade the image.

[Craig Yates]

No sharpening for Alamy submissions, but do add some sharpening for FAA submissions on the basis that it should be in a final ready to print state, assuming that the print process is to a degree automated.

it's an interesting question. What was the reply from FAA?. Many of the images for sale look sharpened to me.

 

 

Regards

Craig

[John Gaffen]

I also apply some moderate sharpening to my images on FAA, for the same reasons as given by Craig. In addition, I prefer that my potential customers are able to see a  sharp image when they use the 100% preview function.

[Photoguy]

I haven't sharpened images sent to FAA, but It's something I'll consider in the future. 

[David Davies]

I do a small amount of sharpening on my submissions, keeping it low as there is no way to tell whether a customer is going to order a postcard or a 30"x40" print!

As for Jeff's question, there is no way to upload more than 5 images as far as I know!

 

PS. To date I have sold 1 postcard with them (in 6 months), that was probably scanned afterwards, who knows?

[SFL]

I sent emails with a few questions to FAA twice including sharpening.

 

The first time FAA answered the questions except sharpening. 

 

The second time, the answer (regarding sharpening) was 'Your images should be ready for printing.'  It didn't tell me much.

 

I assume they don't apply sharpening prior to printing and I can't apply final output sharpening not knowing what sizes of prints will be ordered by buyers.

 

I therefore will just to have to apply capture sharpening prior to submitting.

 

Thank you everyone for the replies.

 

Sung

[John Mitchell]

Related:

 

Is there way to upload more than (5) images at a time?

No FAA response to my email inquiry on this...

 

Don't think so.

92,906 / 5 = 18,518.2 uploading sessions.

Have fun!

[John Mitchell]

I sent emails with a few questions to FAA twice including sharpening.

 

The first time FAA answered the questions except sharpening. 

 

The second time, the answer (regarding sharpening) was 'Your images should be ready for printing.'  It didn't tell me much.

 

I assume they don't apply sharpening prior to printing and I can't apply final output sharpening not knowing what sizes of prints will be ordered by buyers.

 

I therefore will just to have to apply capture sharpening prior to submitting.

 

Thank you everyone for the replies.

 

Sung

 

Good point about not knowing the output size. My experience with FAA is that the people who answer e-mailed questions don't know much about the printing end of the business -- i.e. there doesn't seem to be much communication between those who run the FAA website and whoever does the actual printing. FAA doesn't even have a proper set of submission guidelines posted on their website. As mentioned, I don't apply sharpening, and I've only had one sale refunded. No reason was given; however, it was a small print, and I suspect that someone might have bought it to scan. FAA has a 30-day return policy.

[Richard Coombs]

I apply a very small amount of sharpening, if you don't know what the output is, how can you judge?

 

Don't bother asking FAA about technicalities, they know "jack" about it from my experience. Just take a guess and go with it.

[Ed Rooney]

I apply a very small amount of sharpening, if you don't know what the output is, how can you judge?

 

Don't bother asking FAA about technicalities, they know "jack" about it from my experience. Just take a guess and go with it.

 

I do the same small amount of sharpening. I have made occasional sales with both FAA and ARTFLAKES. 

 

The people who answer the mail are not techies, and the techies do not answer mail. 

[John Mitchell]

 

I apply a very small amount of sharpening, if you don't know what the output is, how can you judge?

 

Don't bother asking FAA about technicalities, they know "jack" about it from my experience. Just take a guess and go with it.

 

I do the same small amount of sharpening. I have made occasional sales with both FAA and ARTFLAKES. 

 

The people who answer the mail are not techies, and the techies do not answer mail. 

 

Glad to hear you're making some print sales, Ed. I've made a few this year thru FAA. Never had any luck at all with ARTFLAKES.

 

You would think that the non-techies at FAA could ask the techies to put together some decent submission guidelines that the non-techies could then share with the rest of us. This never seems to happen though. I guess the non-techies like to keep not-answering the same questions over and over again. It probably helps them justify their paychecks.

[John Mitchell]

No sharpening for Alamy submissions, but do add some sharpening for FAA submissions on the basis that it should be in a final ready to print state, assuming that the print process is to a degree automated.

it's an interesting question. What was the reply from FAA?. Many of the images for sale look sharpened to me.

 

 

Regards

Craig

 

Perhaps FAA's resizing software automatically adds a bit of sharpening to thumbs and previews.

[Baarney]

I sold a print which was taken at night, hand held, using Tri- X film.  It was a shot of the Cathedral of Mexico at the Zocolo in Mexico City which was dramatically lit. FAA got back to me after notifying me of the sale saying it wasn't sharp enough for the large print ordered.  I told them I could sharpen it and they said they don't accept "digital sharpening"!  I did it anyway and resubmitted.  They reluctantly accepted it and I made the sale.

[John Mitchell]

I sold a print which was taken at night, hand held, using Tri- X film.  It was a shot of the Cathedral of Mexico at the Zocolo in Mexico City which was dramatically lit. FAA got back to me after notifying me of the sale saying it wasn't sharp enough for the large print ordered.  I told them I could sharpen it and they said they don't accept "digital sharpening"!  I did it anyway and resubmitted.  They reluctantly accepted it and I made the sale.

 

Interesting. Thanks for telling us about this. So I guess that "Your images should be ready for printing" means that they shouldn't be sharpened.

 

Personally, I think that content is much more important than super-sharpness to most people buying prints. Your making the sale seems to support that.

[Baarney]

 

I sold a print which was taken at night, hand held, using Tri- X film.  It was a shot of the Cathedral of Mexico at the Zocolo in Mexico City which was dramatically lit. FAA got back to me after notifying me of the sale saying it wasn't sharp enough for the large print ordered.  I told them I could sharpen it and they said they don't accept "digital sharpening"!  I did it anyway and resubmitted.  They reluctantly accepted it and I made the sale.

 

Interesting. Thanks for telling us about this. So I guess that "Your images should be ready for printing" means that they shouldn't be sharpened.

 

Personally, I think that content is much more important than super-sharpness to most people buying prints. Your making the sale seems to support that.

Digital images don't require sharpening usually, although I do a little when I print myself to allow for dot gain.  Scanned film images, especially 35 mm, do require it and, after my experience, I now do it as a matter of course on FAA submissions.

[John Mitchell]

 

 

I sold a print which was taken at night, hand held, using Tri- X film.  It was a shot of the Cathedral of Mexico at the Zocolo in Mexico City which was dramatically lit. FAA got back to me after notifying me of the sale saying it wasn't sharp enough for the large print ordered.  I told them I could sharpen it and they said they don't accept "digital sharpening"!  I did it anyway and resubmitted.  They reluctantly accepted it and I made the sale.

 

Interesting. Thanks for telling us about this. So I guess that "Your images should be ready for printing" means that they shouldn't be sharpened.

 

Personally, I think that content is much more important than super-sharpness to most people buying prints. Your making the sale seems to support that.

Digital images don't require sharpening usually, although I do a little when I print myself to allow for dot gain.  Scanned film images, especially 35 mm, do require it and, after my experience, I now do it as a matter of course on FAA submissions.

 

True, scans are generally not nearly as sharp as digital images. Interestingly enough, though, almost all my FAA sales so far have been unsharpened scans of 35mm slides. Also, my only image to have sold twice on FAA (20'' prints both times) is one that would never have passed Alamy's QC.

[Rosemary Hawkins]

I've just been looking over my FAA sales, John, and they are about 50/50 digital and medium format film.  I never sharpened the scans, and the digital were just taken with whatever default sharpening is in the camera.  Fortunately I've haven't had a return on them.

[John Mitchell]

I've just been looking over my FAA sales, John, and they are about 50/50 digital and medium format film.  I never sharpened the scans, and the digital were just taken with whatever default sharpening is in the camera.  Fortunately I've haven't had a return on them.

 

That's encouraging to hear, Rosemary. The thought of going back sharpening several hundred images doesn't exactly thrill me. Think I'll just leave things the way they are and hope for the best.

[John Mitchell]

If willing to say, is anyone NETTING over $5K/yr via FAA?  $10K/yr?

 

Jeff, I don't think that you will get any replies to this question. FAA is basically a place to try selling some of those "artier" shots that might not do so well on Alamy. Best to upload selectively to FAA and not expect big returns. I think that most photographers only make the occasional sale on FAA. That's certainly the case with me. However, there are no doubt notable exceptions. Nature/landscape specialists seem to do well.

[Ed Rooney]

"Nature/landscape specialists seem to do well" is right. The target audience seems to be lower-middle class Americans who want to put something pretty and unthreatening on the wall. I guess I've sold my stuff to the two or three people who do not fit that profile. And that quid pro quo business of "Likes" is enough to turn your stomach. I've stopped doing that. 

 

[John Mitchell]

"Nature/landscape specialists seem to do well" is right. The target audience seems to be lower-middle class Americans who want to put something pretty and unthreatening on the wall. I guess I've sold my stuff to the two or three people who do not fit that profile. And that quid pro quo business of "Likes" is enough to turn your stomach. I've stopped doing that. 

 

 

Yes, horses, flowers, and cute pets also seem to be big sellers. Nothing wrong with that, of course. They are all legitimate photographic subjects. Many of the paintings for sale on FAA look godawful to me.

 

I too never got into the "liking" thing on FAA. Facebook is bad enough. Still, I've sold images on FAA that I haven't managed to sell anywhere else. Also, at only $30/year the FAA website is a sweet deal IMO. 

[Sheila Smart]

Abstract and mono also are quite popular with buyers.  Geographically, over the past years, 66% of my sales are to the US and the rest are spread between UK, Canada, Australia and Bahrain.  

 

Sheila

[John Mitchell]

Abstract and mono also are quite popular with buyers.  Geographically, over the past years, 66% of my sales are to the US and the rest are spread between UK, Canada, Australia and Bahrain.  

 

Sheila

 

All my sales -- such as they are --  have been in the US. The big challenge on FAA, I find, is getting your work noticed -- i.e. attracting visitors who actually might buy a print. I've yet to figure that one out. The FAA search engine is pretty basic, so I assume that most potential customers arrive via Google image searches. But who knows?

[Lynn Palmer]

I've been on FAA for just over a year.  General advice I've seen posted repeatedly by FAA moderators and experienced sellers is, that if your image needs some sharpening to make it printer ready then you should apply it (but don't overdo it).  Keep in mind that FAA adds sharpening for thumbnail images and the green zoom box so if you sharpen too much they may look "crispy" when the client zooms in to see detail.

 

Also, there is now an additional FAA moderator who is a photographer so you should be able to get decent advice regarding technical issues if you ask him.