This process often takes days or even weeks to complete. As you look at great photographs again and again in museums and galleries, you will begin to see the subtle characteristics that make certain photographs great works of art. There are many factors that contribute to real limits in the total quantity of photographs produced from a particular negative. A photographer can only produce so many unique photographs in a given year. Most of them are busy with new work and do not have time or desire to constantly reprint their older photographs in the darkroom.
Photographers have a strong desire to produce a limited quantity of their important photographs.
Purchasing a great photograph involves an appreciation of artistic integrity. The popularity of collecting photographs is a recent development. Therefore, most of the great masters passed away without producing numerous prints of their best known photographs. Experienced collectors of photography know that the quantities of 19 th and 20 th century photographs actually completed are quite low. This gives each photograph an individual personality, since photographic chemicals, papers, and the artist's interpretation change during their lifetime.