photo exposition advise

[Alexandra]

I have been invited to exhibit some photographs at a charity art exposition... which is cool... But i have no idea about what to do. The lady that organises it said that its up to me what photos i want to exhibit (4-8 photos).

I have portraits, still life, landscapes, flowers... What should i exhibit? Couple of each, or only one style?

Im still relatively new at photography and i didnt make my mind yet what area i want to focus on.

Also, what size should the photographs be printed? I did shot in Raw and have a 10 megapixels camera so the photos are quite big...

To make things worse, while i was pleased with some of my work before, after this invitation i feel im just not good enough... Or i became so critical that im close to hating all my work

Can you please give me some advise? Im really confused.

Thank you.

[karwash]

Hello Alexandra,

First up: I'm by no means an expert, but have participated in an arts exhibition myself last month. I know exactly what you're talking about. I also had my doubts on whether or not my pictures would be good enough. And you'll probably get mixed responses. Cherrish the nice comments and learn from not-so-nice comments, that would be my advise. And most of all: have fun!

Technically speaking... From the little experience I have I would say:
- Depending on the size of the area you'll be exhibiting at, look at prints of at least 30x40cm (sorry for the metric size - that's the part world I live in). That size will work for most people, even if they've forgotten their glasses. And make sure you use a printer that provides high quality prints. Some of the cheap printers will even mess up 10MP.
- Either have the prints matted, or put them behind matted glass. Even in official exhibition halls, lighting may not be optimal and may reflect off a shiny surface. I had my matted prints glued onto foam board. You can stick those almost anywhere with Velcro.
- Have some business cards printed, just in case (even cheap ones from VistaPrint or so). I'm still getting feedback through those!
- Prepare for the question "how much do they cost"? There's loads of good info on determining pricing on this forum, so I will leave that up to the experts. I know I wasn't planning on selling anything. I didn't think anyone would be interested. But so far I've sold three of the eight pictures I had on display. It helps if you've thought of this upfront. If it feels too funny, at least sell at cost. No need to take a loss!

As for what would you exhibit.. I had the opportunity to show both landscapes as well as "odd stuff" (for examples, see Flickr: karwash's Photostream). It's nice if there is a common theme, but you can achieve that too by using the same frames or same sizes in print.
My landscapes attracted a somewhat older audience. But they also got comments like: "But anyone who is at the right place at the right time could have taken that shot" - which is true. For the odd stuff, especially the downhill race car, I got loads of questions on how I did the lighting. The picture may not be to everyone's liking, but it did give a nice starting point for a conversation.

Hope this helps. Whatever happens, make sure you enjoy the exhibit. You'll do just fine if you appear there with a big smile on your face. Good luck!

[Alexandra]

Thank you so so much for your advice and shared experience!

Im really nervous... But i guess that it is good because now i became into the habit of not going anywhere without my camera.

You have some really great photos by the way! And love the landscapes.

Alex

[karwash]

Thanks Alexandra,

I'm sure you'll do great. Think of the many people who still manage to cut the top of people's head off in a group shot... The fact that you were asked should already boost your confidence! And perhaps there are fellow DPS members in the area who can come by and say "hi". Which reminds me: make sure you invite friends and family. It'll help to see a familiar face in the crowd every now and then.

There's no telling what would happen. The first picture I managed to sell was this one:

OK, the lighting helps, but it's just a kitchen utensil...

Let me know how it works out. Good luck once again! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

[disappearingmist]

Karwash, that's great! I think it's often the photos we don't think will sell do!

I've thought about this recently. When I started to doubt my work, I read articles and practiced and honestly, just got out there and shot. I feel like each shoot I do improves my work and improves my portfolio (mostly, anyway!) If you have a bit of time before this exposition, that is what I would recommend. Work on getting some outstanding shots that may sell!

[OsmosisStudios]

My big question is whether you're looking to SELL the images that youre exposing or to just show what you can do.

If its the former, I'd stay away from portraits: people dont generally want other people's portraits in their homes, though there are always exceptions.
If it's the latter: throw everything, regardless of subject, as long as its your BEST.

[Alexandra]

Thank you so much for all your advice! I do take photos everyday, maybe even more so now as i want to really try and see if i can come up with something better then what i did before. I agree that the more you photograph the better you become as generally speaking i see improvement in my work from one week to another.

To be honest i didnt really think about selling... I dont really want to put y hopes up from that point of view. I just thought that its a god opportunity to show off examples of my work hoping that i will find some clients or recommendations.

Karwash, the kitchen utensil photo is really great. And i agree with you that lighting has a lot to do with making or breaking a photo, on top of composition. I have some shots with jewelery boxes and are just boxes, but the lighting and a slightly reflective surface underneath makes all the photo.

By the way, i was thinking maybe to combine all those boxes shots into a collage... Is that a good idea for an exposition or better to just choose the best one separately?

[karwash]

Originally Posted by disappearingmist

Karwash, that's great! I think it's often the photos we don't think will sell do!

I've thought about this recently. When I started to doubt my work, I read articles and practiced and honestly, just got out there and shot. I feel like each shoot I do improves my work and improves my portfolio (mostly, anyway!) If you have a bit of time before this exposition, that is what I would recommend. Work on getting some outstanding shots that may sell!

You're so right, disappearingmist. In both comments! Also in photography it's practice that makes perfect - and I know I have still a lot of practicing to do...!

[karwash]

Hi Alexandra,

Sorry for the slow reply. Real work got in the way

From your first post it sounded like you have full freedom to exhibit whatever you'd like. You could turn the boxes into a series if you want to, or stitch them together into an x-tych. Totally up to you as the artist!
At the exhibition I participated in there were a few other photographers. One only showed stitched photos, for example taken from the top of a tower looking down, 50 or more pictures stitched together. It made some people dizzy! Another person only had photos on display with loads of post-processing. I have heard quite a few people mention that they didn't like that level of PP as they perceived it as "gone too far, but not far enough to be art". If you are planning to do PP, I would keep it subtle or take it to the other extreme. 8 HDR shots will probably not be to everyone's liking, but one or two for those that appreciate the art of HDR might be nice.

Another thing I've been thinking about as a way to keep some sort of common theme is to have a "rainbow" of pictures. Even if the pictures have nothing in common, you could hang them in a rainbow order.

If you have the opportunity to go out and specifically shoot for the exposition, that's great. Alternatively, you could try to participate in the weekly assignments from DPS. I find them very good to push my imagination just that little bit further. And you can always browse through some of the old assignments for inspiration. If you want me to look through some of your pictures, feel free to send me a private message, if you don't want to share a URL out with the rest of the DPS folks.

Last... if you weren't planning to sell, that shouldn't be a proble either. I just mentioned it as my "neighbour" at the exposition was caught totally off guard when she was approached by a potential buyer. Later on she told me that she wished she had prepared for that question, even if it was just to say "no, it's not for sale".

Once again: Good luck!

[Alexandra]

Hi Karwash,

Yes, i do have free hand at choosing what i want to exhibit and the number of photos (between 4 to 8).

Im not a very big fan of stitching photos together. It is visually interesting at times, but generally i get distracted. As for PP, i do work out 90% of my photos, but most times it is just for contrast and balancing. Lately i did play with the photo filters in phooshop as well, but i like my pictures looking somehow naturally or black and whites. I must admit, if it would be entirely up to my head, most of my pics would be black and white...

Ill link my photo stream from flickr and if you have the time i would appreciate some advise... And i can easily take critique. Im still very new to photography (my background is in painting, graphic and web design) so i still have a very very long road to go before i can call myself a photographer.

Flickr: Alexandra Dogariu's Photostream

Some of the photos are not really that good, but somehow told a story for me so i uploaded it there. And im sure i have some pics that technically might be better, but said nothing to me emotionally so i could not be bothered to upload...

Thank you so so much for your help.

Alexandra