What are astrophotographers actually charging for hotel/lobby prints in LA?
Got approached by a boutique hotel near the DTLA Arts District wanting a large format print of one of my Joshua Tree night sky pieces for their lobby. They pitched it as "great exposure" and offered a consignment deal where I provide the print at cost and get a cut if guests ask about purchasing copies.
I've done enough 3 a.m. drives to dark sky sites and enough hours of stacking exposures to know this work isn't free. But I also don't have a great read on what photographers in LA are actually commanding for this kind of placement. Large format, archival print, licensed for permanent display in a commercial space.
For those of you who've sold or licensed work to hotels, restaurants, or designers here, what did the deal look like? Flat fee for the print plus a licensing agreement? Or did you go with consignment and it actually worked out? I want to counter with a real number, not just a gut feeling. What's the going rate in this market?
Hey Kristofer! The fact that you're questioning the "exposure" pitch instead of just handing over a print at cost tells me you already know the answer here.
For a large format astrophotography print in an LA boutique hotel lobby, here's where the numbers actually land:
- A permanent lobby installation (not consignment, not "we'll see") should be a flat licensing or purchase deal. For a 40x60 or larger night sky piece in a boutique hotel, $1,500 to $4,000 for the print sale is a reasonable range depending on size, substrate, and whether you retain reproduction rights. That's the print plus your licensing fee for commercial display, not just your cost of goods.
- If they insist on consignment, flip the structure: you own the print, they pay a monthly display licensing fee ($150 to $300/month is common for boutique hotels in DTLA), and if a guest wants to purchase a copy, that's a separate sale at your full retail price with zero commission to the hotel. The monthly fee is what they pay for the decor. The guest sales are yours.
- The "exposure" framing is a tell. Hotels that actually sell art through their lobbies (places like The LINE or Freehand have proper art programs) pay the artist or split at 70/30 artist-favored minimum, and they actively promote. Ask this hotel directly: how many pieces have you sold for artists in the last 12 months? If the answer is vague or zero, the exposure is worth zero and you should price accordingly.
- Your cost floor before any margin: print production on a large format metallic or acrylic (which night sky work looks incredible on) runs $300 to $800 depending on size and substrate, plus your shooting costs. Three a.m. drives to dark sky sites, hours of stacking, post-processing. A reasonable minimum multiplier is 4x your total cost of goods and time.
The strongest move is to counter their consignment offer with a flat purchase price. "I'd love to have this piece in your lobby. The price for a 48x72 on aluminum is $2,800, which includes a limited commercial display license. I handle production and delivery." Clean, professional, and it reframes you as a vendor they're buying from, not a hopeful artist they're doing a favor for.
Want help putting together the actual counter-proposal email to send them? I can draft it for you
Other resources you might find helpful:
- What are astrophotographers actually getting for hotel/lobby prints in LA? — Real photographer shares identical hotel negotiation scenario with pricing breakdown and validation that exposure-only offers undervalue professional astrophotography work.
- What are you charging for prints sold through hotel or restaurant consignment in LA? — Real astrophotographer navigates same hotel consignment negotiation in same LA area, modeling pricing strategy and industry norms.
- What are astrophotographers charging for hotel/lobby prints in LA? — Direct discussion of hotel consignment rates and negotiation strategies for astrophotography prints in LA hospitality settings.
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