2025 12 18

Havana Cruise. Havana, Cuba. December, 2016. © Clayton Hauck

After neglecting my print-selling side hustle for a full year, I got excited about offering my work again a few weeks back in the run up to the holiday market I organized at my studio building. In addition to my own prints, we’re planning to begin selling photography prints in our Realm Books shop sometime next year… and in addition to that, I’ve been working with Maddy at the Kimball Arts Center to set up a print shop for the various artists-in-residence who have shown work over the last few years. So, yeah, I have printing on my mind.

I bring all of this up today because this image, made back in 2016 on my first and only trip to Cuba, has been released as the 17th title in my limited edition series The Camera You Have. You can view the series (and perhaps purchase a print or two) over here. I don’t recall selling a single print from a web visit, but have done a solid amount of sales from in-person events and shows. This traction is what has kept me going, despite the challenges involved in selling art.

Without getting into all of the detail here, I will briefly discuss a few learnings from the couple two-tree years I’ve been offering my work available for sale:

1) It’s hard. It’s at times demoralizing but at other times really rewarding!

2) You have to control your costs. When I first ventured down this path, I was paying a (really good) print shop to make all of the prints for me. Because of this, they were really nice but also I had to price them quite high in order to make the whole operation make any financial sense. I loved the aluminum panel backing we ended up mounting the pieces to, but have since scrapped that idea in order to simplify things and control costs. Also, that print shop has also since closed, forcing me to do everything myself. This has been a learning experience but one I’ve been really enjoying, plus it’s now allowing me to produce works that I can price lower and still make a reasonable profit on.

3) Everyone is price sensitive. I made the decision to lower my price points after experiencing the friction of asking $99 for an 8x10” signed & limited print. I’ve also decided to simplify my pricing across all images and now offer three sizes: (S) 8x10 for $49; (M) 11x14 for $99; (L) 16x20 for $129. The prints are no longer mounted but I’m not cutting corners on the paper and only use the best stuff — Hahnemuhle.

My hope is to continue offering new print editions as I have time to do so, but also really want to sell out of some of my older works so I’m not sitting on huge piles of inventory. If you’re previously considered buy one, perhaps now is the time!

-Clayton

2025 11 05

A picture of my picture. December, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

It’s been too long since I put out a new image in my The Camera You Have series. Mostly, I’m just distracted with a million other things. But of course, the demoralizing reality of nobody buying your prints is also a factor. I picked this image to include in the series largely because I suspected it would move some units, but then promptly sold zero copies. Then I gave up, altogether. That’s a harsh take, of course, but it’s true that the difficult reality of selling artwork has put a damper on my ambitions. With the holidays coming up, I need to dust off this project, turn my frown upside-down, and put out a new piece or two! I still get excited looking at the images and that, I think, is the most important thing.

You can view the entire series here, and maybe consider purchasing a limited edition print while you’re at it!

-Clayton

2025 01 27

Sixteen of my limited edition prints. See You Soon. Chicago, Illinois. November, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

I’ve been printing a ton lately! Above are sixteen of my own images that I am offering for sale, reasonably-priced, to anyone looking to add a little joy to their walls. You can check out the whole series and place an order if so inclined here! These prints were all made by myself, using high quality paper and archival ink, in my secret print shop at the studio, for a show that just wrapped up in the lobby of my studio’s building (the Kimball Arts Center). While I have been printing a lot, I haven’t been selling nearly as much. It’s a goal this year to get better about selling (or giving away!) what I print before continuing to stockpile what I’ve already made. Everything is a process. One step at a time.

I’m also currently working on a large print order (not my images) which paid enough for me to buy a bunch of new paper that I plan to use making zines and more postcards. None of this is really making me money (yet?), but it’s been a fun new hobby and I can see myself doing lots more printing in the coming years, perhaps even making it more of a focus of my photography practice in one way or another (no shortage of ideas!).

So yeah, if you’re a local photographer looking to print some of your work, reach out! Or, check out the website I put together to sell my own prints and pass me your email to be entered to win a free future print drop. I’d love to keep releasing new images but I need to discontinue or sell out a few of the previous releases first!

-Clayton