Perfectly developed and strictly limited photography comes with a price – there is no question about it.
Aside from the effort that goes into finding a suitable motif, and copying and developing it perfectly, there are a wide range of factors that also have an effect on the price and therefore the value of a photograph. Allow us to briefly describe these below:
1. The technical prerequisites
In order to produce a photograph with a higher than average picture size or in large format with side lengths of over 1m, a high-resolution camera is needed first of all as well as fitting, high-quality lenses. For Inside-Gallery, we use our own cameras with a resolution starting from 42 megapixels and professional fixed focal lengths, tripods and a high-performance graphics computer with corresponding storage systems and comprehensive software for image processing. The total investments generally start at 20,000 euros per photograph or piece of equipment.
2. Qualification/reputation of the photographers
People are not born photographers, nor do they fall from the sky. Even with solid training, photographers need years of experience and lots of practice, good motifs and an ability to recognise the perfect surroundings for them, in order to take the picture at the right moment.
3. The photograph design
Every photographer, whether they are a professional, amateur or hobby photographer, knows it: the tedious search for a motif.
Once the right place has been found, the light and environment must be assessed. Often, motifs are observed over months and only photographed at the right time of year and day AND in the right atmosphere (sky and clouds). Other factors also often play a role, e.g. when photographing in towns, traffic and pedestrian movement must be frequently observed. Photographs can often only be taken early in the morning or in the evening.
Travel costs, expenses for the team of photographers and assistants, etc. must also be included in the calculations. Once the right photograph is taken, it must then be developed.
4. Development
In professional photography, only the camera’s raw data is processed. Unlike amateur cameras that save images in jpg format, professional photographers always photograph in raw image format. This enables a digital photo to be developed on a computer without any losses and the colour can be adjusted perfectly. Individual image files are often several hundred megabytes in size, and the optimisation and retouching stages can often take several days.
5. Print/exposure of the photography
Depending on motif and print size, the finished file can now be printed out. Inside-Gallery uses certified processes that are used, for example, in art museums and for manufacturing work, that are required because of the customer’s individuality and the individuality of the work. As well as guaranteed colour fidelity, the exposures/fine art-prints or output methods are correspondingly certified and guarantee 100% colour fidelity for at least 75 years. For black and white pictures, over 100 years of colour fidelity is guaranteed – as long as the handling advice or value preservation advice is followed.
Only fine art paper and pigment tones are used for printing. For landscape photographs and atmospheres, we often use classical photograph paper. The exposure is carried out using special large-format exposure devices that use lasers on the paper, pixel for pixel. The paper is developed manually, just like the cutting and further processing.
The costs for distributing the exclusive photography often add up to several hundred euros per square metre.
6. Lamination, refinement/framing for photography
The finished picture is now stabilised by raising it on a museum acrylic plate, depending on the further processing stage. This is necessary in order to ensure that the large photograph, measuring several square metres, does not bend or break.
To protect the surface, either an artificial resin layer is now infused. This type of refinement is called Liquid Gloss and is a patented process from a Dutch company. A resin layer is applied under clean room conditions giving the design a very deep, plastic and almost multidimensional effect. The edges are rounded slightly by the resin surface on the sides, which provides a high-quality optical finish.
When ordering a museum acrylic, the front side is sealed with a high-quality, 3mm-thick acrylic plate that is suitable for exclusive fine art-photography. Museum acrylic has special characteristics that usual acrylic plates don’t have. It will protect your photograph from UV light and is also extremely visually transparent, which allows it to rest over your design in a clear, glossy and protective manner.
If you have selected a frame (with or without a profile passe-partout), this will be handcrafted in our frame manufacturing process. The 1cm-thick profile passe-partout that is exclusively manufactured for Inside-Gallery is also the result of manual or manufacturing work, as most editions consist of a maximum of 25 items with different configurations (picture size, frame, etc.)
Lastly, the photography is provided with background stabilisation that also contains the hanging frame for stable wall mounting.
Stable packaging (from 120x180cm in wood) protects your work perfectly during transit to wherever in the world it is destined. Inside-Gallery has different payment options for your exclusive photography, up to 0% financing and a mounting service, which can be directly selected during the order process at a fixed price.
All the criteria described go into the amount charged for an Inside-Gallery photograph. As well as the technical prerequisites and the extensively conducted manufacturing processes, the amount of items in the edition is always the most decisive element in the pricing. This is because the cost of each design must be included in the edition. If the edition is only very small, the cost allocation increases accordingly, along with the value of the individual photographs. This is the Inside-Gallery concept.
Inside-Gallery – timeless and exclusive photographic art in large format,
for the highest standards and permanent value.