Lets face it there are a ton of opportunities for emerging photographer/artists. I used to think that living in Cleveland would make it all but impossible to gain any recognition as an artist. Lately, I have been feeling a little different. The accessibility to like minded people and the digital studio space of a personal website opens up the art world to people living in even the most remote areas. With that in mind I found a nice list of things an artist working in the medium of photography can do to make advancements in his/her career. It’s a extremely generous article from Amani Olu the director of the Humble Arts Foundation, an equally generous organization that offers grants to artists twice a year based on the strength of the individuals proposals. It too is a wonderful opportunity and venue to see and get involved in the fine art photography world. The article is published here @ artlog.com
Twelve Ways to Gain Visibility in the Fine Art Photography World
Amani Olu presents Twelve Ways to Gain Visibility in the Fine Art Photography World. Mr. Olu is a private dealer, curator, and the founder and executive director of Humble Arts Foundation.
Amani Olu presents Twelve Ways to Gain Visibility in the Fine Art Photography World. Mr. Olu is a private dealer, curator, and the founder and executive director of Humble Arts Foundation.
1. Believe in yourself If you don’t believe in yourself and your ability to succeed, then no one will believe in you. I know it’s a cliché, but it’s true. Never doubt yourself. Take your work serious, be strong and be confident.
2. Have a well-organized portfolio Your edit should consist of no more than 12 images per body of work, 15 images max. No matter how great you believe your work to be, no busy person wants to look at 30 images. Showing fewer images give you the opportunity to show more, if requested.
If you are doing a studio visit, try not to talk too much about your work. Select no more than three pictures that have an interesting story. This allows the viewer to draw his or her own conclusions about the work. If they want to know your life story, they will ask.
For a solid, custom portfolio, I recommend House of Portfolios (houseofportfolios.com) for those living in NYC.
3. Print business/promotional cards The fastest way to look like a freshman is to not have a business/promo card. If someone is interested in your work and you don’t have a card, they are going to forget about you or call the photographer with a card. Don’t get caught out there. For cards, I suggest Modern Postcards (modernpostcards.com). They do great fine art printing, the best in the industry. There is also moo.com, which I hear is a good too.
4. Build a professional website I cannot stress this enough. It is important that you have a nicely, easily navigable website. Resist the temptation to go overboard. Less is always more. Facebook and Flickr do not count as professional portfolio websites. Again, take your work serious, and build a good website so people can find you and your work.
5. Find the best venues for your work Submitting blindly to websites, blogs, print publications, galleries, museums, etc is not a strategy. Locate the best venues for your work and find out how and if they accept submissions. This will increase your chances of being shown in places that are right for you.
6. Attend portfolio reviews/apply for contests/grants Every year there are a number of portfolio reviews. Portfolio reviews and contests/grants, which can be expensive, help to get your work in front of established museum curators, gallery directors and photo editors. Here are some I recommend:
Portfolio Reviews Center formerly Santa Fe (visitcenter.org/programs.cfm?p=Review) Powerhouse (powerhousebooks.com/portfolioreview09) Critical Mass (photolucida.org/current.php)
Contests/Grants Aperture Prize (aperture.org/apertureprize) Humble Arts Foundation’s GEP (humbleartsfoundation.org/grant/guidelines.html)
7. Subscribe to photography blogs It is a good idea to subscribe to as many photo blogs as possible. This will help you to stay in the loop. Blogs I recommend are:
I Heart Photo iheartphotograph.blogspot.com
The Exposure Project theexposureproject.blogspot.com
Women in Photography wipnyc.org
Shane Lavalette’s Journal shanelavalette.com/journal/
We Can’t Paint wecantpaint.com/log/
Ground Glass caraphillips.wordpress.com/
Amy Stein’s Blog amysteinphoto.blogspot.com/
To find more blogs, visit these sites and take a look at their links.
8. Be active in the art community It is always a good idea to attend art fairs, openings, etc in your town. If you live in NYC, then you should be seeing art in all five boroughs, not just Chelsea or the Lower East Side. Be sure to have cards. Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to people you want to meet. Just picture the person naked and go for it.
9. Start/join a critique group There are numerous advantages to participating in a critique group. Crit groups can help you better articulate your ideas, obtain consistent feedback and allow you to further integrate yourself in the photo community. If you don’t know of a group, start one with your photographer friends.
10. Accept rejection It will happen, and a lot. Sometimes your work is not a good fit. Sometimes the curator, director, or whoever, just doesn’t like your work. It can be a number of reasons. Grow thick skin, don’t take it personal and move on to the next opportunity.
11. Be patient If you want success, you’ll find success. If you want money, you’ll make money. It’s really that simple, but please don’t expect it to happen overnight. It will happen; just stay in the race and one day you’ll have more opportunities than you can count.
12. Keep taking pictures Never stop making work. Never.
Well, friends, I hope this helps. At the end of the day, you have to do what is best for you. Good luck.
About the author amani olu (b. 1980) is a private dealer, curator, and the founder and executive director of Humble Arts Foundation, a non-profit that works to advance the careers of emerging fine art photographers. He recently produced and designed The Collector’s Guide to Emerging Art Photography, published by Humble Arts Foundation. His most recent exhibitions include the group show Revisiting America and solo exhibition Home Theater, photographs by Bradley Peters. In March 2009 he participated as a private dealer at SCOPE Art Fair. He lives and works in Brooklyn.
Good overall site enjoyed reading will def bookmark.
Thank you for the generous, insightful and on target Twelve Ways to Gain Visibility in the Fine Art Photography World. You have presented some invaluable information that will take us all a long way forward, thank you for sharing so much important information. You set things straight here with helpful info providing orientation, focus and direction in many ways one does not consider. You are generous and kind, Omani Olu, to share so freely with us all. Thank you again!