Sourcing quality images for framing and selling on.

[Mr Noble]

I plan to produce some lovely framed wall art to sell to the furniture and furnishing shops that I already supply with other furniture and furnishings for my job. (I'm a retail supply agent)

I have a friendly picture framer who is keen to set up a small ongoing contract with me.

I understand that some sources like NASA galleries, for example, are public domain and allow some images to be reproduced without copyright issues. Not yet sure if this is only for personal use and whether I'd be breaking the rules if I resell.

I wonder if there are other places that I can source quality images?

I'd be happy to pay for the rights too. Adobe Stock might be an idea. iStock Photo and ShutterStock?

Also, maybe some of you on here would be happy to "sell" me the rights to some of your photographs. I know Rob Dickinson sells his work, but would things change if I planned to buy them to resell?

I'm only thinking of selling maybe 10 to 20 framed prints a month for between £50 and £150 a pop. (Retailing at just over double that...)

Any tips, suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Edited by Mr Noble on Tuesday 4th July 09:21

[thebraketester]

So your gonna take a photo off the webnet, stick it in a frame and sell it for 150 bucks?

Erm. Wish I had thought of it.

[RobDickinson]

You can just 'buy' an image - aka licence it and do this.

But you would have to make sure the license covered the use and for the time period you wanted.

Its nothing different to what i do with some images, licensed out for calendars, postcards or art prints.

I do all that direct with the companies rather than through an image library so not quite sure which ones and which licences you would need to look at.

[Mr Noble]

thebraketester said:

So your gonna take a photo off the webnet, stick it in a frame and sell it for 150 bucks?

Erm. Wish I had thought of it.

You make it sound so simple! But yes, that's right. Exactly like many other companies do. Doing it myself with a super quality framer, I'll be cheaper than the big companies who supply all the shops I already deal with. Most of their decent framed art retails for between £200 and £700 a pop, and they're all just licensed images that are beautifully framed.

My job, of 18 years, is selling furniture and furnishings from manufacturers to retail shops, so it's not some kind of hair brained get rich quick scheme! I've been selling all sorts of things to the furniture industry for years. I'm just checking the rules on copyright law and potential licensing issues out before getting my wrists slapped.


These guys are quite a big supplier to the industry.

http://www.shhinteriors.co.uk


And an example of the kind of thing they supply........

https://www.fishpools.co.uk/cloud-nine/p44112

[Mr Noble]

RobDickinson said:

You can just 'buy' an image - aka licence it and do this.

But you would have to make sure the license covered the use and for the time period you wanted.

Its nothing different to what i do with some images, licensed out for calendars, postcards or art prints.

I do all that direct with the companies rather than through an image library so not quite sure which ones and which licences you would need to look at.

Thanks Rob. I've been reading the licensing rules on NASA's website and on ShutterStock and iStockPhoto.

The rules on reselling seem different between all three. If you pay a monthly or fixed fee for the "enhanced" package, iStock allow you to use their art for printing wall art and reselling. But, ShutterStock do not, without special permission.

https://www.shutterstock.com/license

NASA allow the reproduction and use of their images as long as they're produced by NASA and not third parties, but, you have to get a letter allowing you to use them for re-selling, from their head of imagery. That might work...

[singlecoil]

Mr Noble said:

thebraketester said:

So your gonna take a photo off the webnet, stick it in a frame and sell it for 150 bucks?

Erm. Wish I had thought of it.

You make it sound so simple...

I think he was just having a bad night. I didn't read your first post that way at all.

[Simpo Two]

What sort of wallart photos do you want? I have lots available which are not just landscapes.

[Mr Noble]

Simpo Two said:

What sort of wallart photos do you want? I have lots available which are not just landscapes.

Thanks Simpo. Hope you're well Sir!

Are they shown on your Block with camera website? I've had a peep, nice stuff!!

The easy bit is getting the media, printing, framing and getting it in front of buyers. The tricky bit is choosing what that media should be!! Knowing what is commercial and what isn't is the key.

A lot of the stuff my customers tell me is selling right now are flashy pictures of cityscapes and vintage celebrities, where the glass of the frame is embellished with glitter and gel coat paints to make it all glitxy and snazzy. Not my cup of tea, but if that's what's selling.......

One of the current faves are of celebs like Bridget Bardot and Marilyn Monroe embellished with tattoos and piercings!! Hmmmmm.

Edited by Mr Noble on Tuesday 4th July 16:27

[Simpo Two]

Mr Noble said:

Thanks Simpo. Hope you're well Sir!

Are they shown on your Block with camera website? I've had a peep, nice stuff!!

Nobody's called me a Block before! Life is decent thankyou, and I don't miss the wedding scene at all.

There are some other wallart photos not on the site. Anyway, if any take your fancy, let me know.

As for glittery pictures of Marilyn Monroe, you can get that sort of tat in The Range. Hopefully you'll go for something classier!