Returns

what image was it? maybe we can guess. i would like to have the reason too. some are returned on the very last day. like they were borrowing it for a party or something. i think it should be a requirement to be able to return it... there is a suggestion list you can add this too.

---Mike Savad

Hey Mike
Thanks for the reply :-)
it was this one
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/brilliant-but-hazy-manhattan-day-john-farnan.html
I didn't know there was a suggestion list but i reckon this if you sell regularly is a reasonable request.
It might save money if its a particular problem that keeps coming up with the same image.
John

It's very grainy, which could be a problem if printed large. That's all I can see.

It is very grainy at 100%, especially in the sky. A small size should not be an issue but as Murray said, it might be an issue if a large print was ordered.

I agree with the returns - it should be required for the customer to state the reason for the return. It would save money for FAA and we would know the reason and make any corrections, if needed, to the photo to prevent returns in the future.

It is grainy but if printed large it and all other images should be sent with a warning that its not meant to be viewed from 1 foot away it will look rather nice on a wall from a reasonable viewing distance ;-)
This image has been through the FAA quality checking many times. I know they do it cause i have had a couple of queries on other images in the past before they get sent out.

It would be nice to know :-)

it looks kind of dark and muddy looking and it's very noisy up close, i'm actually surprised they printed it at all. it also looks a bit overlapped in spots. it really depends how large it was when they printed it. if it was really large, they wouldn't have printed it. so it must have been small. and from a distance i would guess due to the coloring that it would look like a brown thing on the wall.

i've been able to guess at a couple of mine, and i think it was the color. but knowing the reason would help a lot, and i think it would keep returns down if they had to tell you the real reason.

---Mike Savad

"This image has been through the FAA quality checking many times. I know they do it cause i have had a couple of queries on other images in the past before they get sent out."

But you already said the customer has spoken as well with their returns. Now multiple people are telling yu of issues they see with it. I would not be confident if that was my image quality.

The shot, composition wise, color-wise, etc. looks really good though.

i'm just confused though. i've had images that had less noise than this and it had to be fixed. i wonder why this one was able to go through that many times. sometimes that dept totally confuses me. every time i thought i figured it out, something new is added. even so i would fix the noise.


---Mike Savad

@joseph
this one has not been stopped/queried by the team for noise etc
Other images have, ones with far far less noise and sell in even larger numbers
Am confident it looks good large but with all large images it has to be viewed from a distance not pixel peeped, so genuine reasons for return would be great
noise i can fix if its needed ;-)
it is an older HDR on an entry level DSLR so is subject to noise unfortunately

I'm confused. You asked about why an image keeps getting returned, then when someone asked which one it was, you linked to this one and people told you the issues they saw with it.

Am Not sure what you are confused over
I never asked you guys why it was getting returned i just replied to a reply asking which one was getting returns
i am interested in what the punters are returning it for

As artists we look at images from a different criteria set. We see noise where as they may just not like the colours
I know the image is noisy but if thats all its got going for it then its a very poor image indeed.

Thats why i though it would be good to have a returns reason explained to the artist for each image returned irrespective of which one it was.

That way we can make the call on whether to pull the image or clean it up :-)

Most programs have the ability to remove/reduce the noise. Wouldn't hurt to work on that and maybe lighten it a few shades. Depending on what the print is on it can print much darker.
It is a very beautiful image!

@christine
thanks for the input :-)
i hear you
though it was brightened a year or so back as the original was darker
but it would be more insightful to know the exact reason for all returns before making un needed changes :-)
Looking at it now
i would hit it hard with the NR software but that would take away a lot of the character possibly

John - I think you are asking the wrong people (us) - the answer will have to come from the "printing" and returns department. I like the color and the composition of your image -

the best we can assume, its either noise, or brightness. i vote on 1 more than 2, but it wouldn't hurt to make it pop more. beyond that there is no way to know. i've been wondering myself. i'll never know the real reason.


---Mike Savad

I'll make a guess, too.
When it's rolled in a tube it's often so tight that the customer damages the print when he takes it out of the tube.
And there we have our reason for return.

but the same image 3 times? must be sticky ink.


---Mike Savad

Customers are not required to give reasoning when returning products.

We know they are not but it would be really helpful if they were asked.
:-)

I have never had a return yet but that is probably due to the fact that I have never had a sale.
It would be good to get feedback for the reason for the return so that it can be avoided or rectified.That would be good for the customer,the artist and FAA

Personally I don't feel the need to know why something was returned, unless it is a case like this. Same image returned multiple times.

The buildings themselves are amazing. But I wonder if it's not just the noise but the haloing effect. Printed large that might be disconcerting to look at.

There's a variable that cannot be rectified....that being, not everyone has their monitors calibrated exactly the same....A customer 'sees' an image, loves it on his monitor and then gets the real thing... even if the print comes out exactly as you had determined, there's no controlling what the customer saw on his monitor and envisioned for his walls.

John, I agree with you, I think if an image is returned it would be really helpful to know the reason.

I think this is a fabulous image and I also agree that large printed images aren't really meant to be examined up close, they look better from a distance.

Give it time and most/all the noise issues in digital cameras will be resolved and somewhere in the distant future artists will be relying on Photoshop actions or some such to put noise back in the image to replicate the look of images of the earlier digital era. Just like we can now add light leaks and dust specks etc lol - it's a funny ol' world isn't it :)

Bingo - Marlene is right on the money. We have no control over what the customer saw when they looked at it.

The fact that FAA takes it back with no questions is a selling point for customers taking a chance on buying something they have not seen in person.

I wouldn't want multiple returns of the same image, but if it were a quality control issue, it would be up to to FAA to determine that and notify the artist. After all, they are the ones taking the gamble on continuing to print it and taking future returns.

i think its always that variable of the customer having monitors brighter than the surface of the sun
I have seen the image printed large and it looks just fine I know i am biased but i have also contacted people who have bought it directly via smug mug and they have similarly been happy with the prints.

Its an odd one with many reasons for possible returns and each of them on here are perfectly valid. It would just be good to know to possibly cut down on the wastage
The returns have been over 2 - 3 years so maybe i am just being a bit.....
It has sold many times across all my channels in that time but only on here has there been the returns...
Am sure its not printing as the quality on here is as good as the rest.

Am just curious

thanks everyone for the replies
Ta
John