Help with craft fair display please!

[mandyatm]

Hi all,

I am entering a craft fair next month (my first one), and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for displays. I am not trying to sell photographs. I just want to display samples of my work and pass out business cards to get my name out. Does anyone have any links or pictures of their craft booth displays? Have you gotten clients from this sort of advertising?

Also, I was thinking of having a jar to put your name in to win a free session. I would have a lot of contact info form the entries, but is it bad practice to contact people from this information? I don't want to be a spammer.

I also considered having a small backdrop to take pictures and send them a free 5x7 or something.

Thank you!

[Jill H]

I don't do portrait photography - other than family pics - so as an outsider I think having a display with some of your best work up would draw people in and a great way to promote yourself. Also the competition - a local photographer here does that regularly in a shopping centre near me.

I also think the idea of setting up a small studio at the fair is a great one. You could actually get some work there and then for a quickie photo session, and then hopefully they will book you later for a proper portrait session.

I think you should sell them the quickie session at the fair - not give it away - this would mean you would make some money for your time there, but make it cheap enough to draw them in, and then at the same time promote your work and hopefully get them to book a proper session with you. I think as a passer by the attraction of having a quick portrait done at the fair would be enough to draw me in. If you do it for free you are giving your work away and they might not necessarily mean they will book a proper session with you.

Can you have someone there to help you? So they can be talking to people while you do the quick portraits?

Hope this helps!

[m.c.adams]

To display your work, what I did, was go to the local craft store and bought a couple of cheap easels. You can get them fairly cheap and they really look good with your work on them.
Mark

[Sterling]

Also, I was thinking of having a jar to put your name in to win a free session. I would have a lot of contact info form the entries, but is it bad practice to contact people from this information? I don't want to be a spammer.

Lots of jurisdictions have privacy laws that require you to disclose the reason you are collecting their information. I know here in Alberta, there are laws prohibiting collecting names for marketing by holding contests (unless the contest form makes it clear that the info given will be used for marketing).

[mandyatm]

Thanks for the replies! I do plan to have someone there to help me. I figured that if they could at least keep me company if no one comes by! It hadn't even occurred to me to charge a small fee for the quick pictures, that is a good idea! Maybe that would at least cover the some of the costs of setting up the booth.

The craft fair is outdoors and not every booth will have power, so I will likely have to do the sessions with natural light. I guess if I am under a tent it should be okay.

I have one easel that stands on the floor. I guess I could get a couple more table easels as well. I don't know if I should have walls up with artwork on them or if just a table with frames and easels is good enough. I want to draw attention, but some of those walls are so expensive.

I will have to check on the privacy laws. I know people do it here all the time, but I have never paid attention if they disclose it or not.

[Jill H]

Also to look like you have interested customers, you could arrange to have friends come by and sit for you - there is nothing like having something actually happening to make people stop and look. Your friends wouldn't be paying, but the people walking by wouldn't know that!
The friends help you out and you could give them the photo in exchange.

Yes, charging a small cost will help with the cost of the site, and the cost of the photos you give them - you will need to get their address to mail the photos to them after they are printed? If so there will also be postage costs you need to factor in.

If they come for a sitting, perhaps you could credit the small fee you charged at the fair for the quick sitting.

As to the walls for pinning up work - do you have work you have permission to show?
Whether you buy walls will eally depend on whether you intend to do this regularly. Perhaps you could borrow pin up board from somwhere......

Good luck with it - I will look forward to hearing how you go.

[mandyatm]

Yes I usually get them to sign a model release form saying I may use the pictures for advertising purposes. Do I need to get permission every time I plan to show their pictures? They are already on my website and blog.

[Jill H]

You would have to check - but I am fairly sure what you have already had signed will suffice.

By the way - I just had a look at some of your portrait work in your threads - and with the quality of your work think you will do well!

[debikay]

I would say instead of just having an "Enter to Win!" jar, write something like "Sign up for my mailing list for a chance to win a free session!" or something like that. That way they understand that they are giving you information for a purpose other than just the contest.

[mandyatm]

Ahhhh, good idea! Why didn't I think of that?! Or have them become a facebook fan for a chance to win.

And thank you so much Jill. You have no idea how much that means, especially since most of my posts are pictures that I am really unsure of. I have been wanting to post my website/blog in my signature for some time now, but haven't felt "qualified."