Gallery Shows: What I Learned
As you are probably aware by now, I had my first gallery show on Friday night. Overall, it was a huge success and was an incredible experience for someone like me who has never had their work displayed publicly before…
But now that I’ve had some time to reflect on the opening night’s festivities, I wanted to share some of my thoughts on the event… What I think I did right and would do again, as well as, things I wish I would have done or should have done differently…
Things I Wish I Had Done Differently
Mingle
This is my number one regret. I was really looking forward to meeting a few Flickr friends at the show. Unfortunately, between the packed gallery, the heat, and making sure I got to spend time with my friends and family, I really didn’t get to meet anyone at all. On top of that, I have a tendency to be shy. I’m hoping that the upcoming Emerge Exposed event will be a little less hectic and crowded so I can take the time to meet more of my fellow photographers.
Postcards
One of the photos on display at the show (moo by static-photo) was a photo of a cow’s nose sticking through a fence. It was definitely one of my favorites and, judging by the reaction of others, it was a favorite of many others. Toward the end of the show, though, static-photo placed what looked like small postcards of the image on top of the hanging photo. I didn’t get a chance to wade through the crowd to grab one but I can imagine that, on the back there could be contact information on how to buy more prints. What a great idea! Even though I had my business cards available on top of my frames, who knows if anyone would remember which photo they were associated with after going through a gallery of so many talented photographers? The postcard solves that problem. Anyone who picks one up will easily remember what photo compelled them to grab the postcard. Make sure you know whether or not you’re allowed to put something on top of the hanging photos… There may be rules prohibiting you from doing so.
Dress Appropriately
This little bit may be more specific to this particular show but worth mentioning all the same… This show was packed. The gallery itself was so full that it was difficult to move. And, of course, with a small room packed with people comes heat! It was pretty hot in there. So much so that, after about 15 or 20 minutes, I had to step out to cool down. I wanted to look nice so I wore a pair of khakis and a decent button-down shirt. If I had to do it over again, I would have worn (maybe) nice jeans, and a polo shirt. Hell, you could have had on a T-shirt and jeans and you wouldn’t have looked out of place. Keep that in mind if you ever show your work in a gallery… Hopefully, it will be as crowded as this one was and, if it is, you’ll be happy to left the sweater and jacket at home.
Things I Would Do Again
Preparation
What if your photo completely blows away the crowd? Are you ready to handle the increased interest in your work? I would highly recommend putting up some sort of website where people can buy your photos. I know most of you have blogs but are you ready to sell your work? Or, at the very least, have somewhere online specifically carved out for the prints that were on display at the show. I decided to set up a SmugMug Pro account, a Current Limited Editions page, and a post that was specifically scheduled to be published at 7pm Friday night to coincide with the start of the opening night’s reception.
Pricing
Again, this was not about the money. Sure, we all would love to make thousands of dollars off our work (work that has probably already cost some of us thousands of dollars), but this is about the exposure and sharing your work with the general public. If you sell a print or two, that’s wonderful! But going into this by only thinking of the potential financial reward is the wrong way to go. Having said that, based on the recommendations of my fellow photographers and event organizers, I priced both of my photos at $100. Being a new photographer who had never sold a photo before, at first I thought this seemed high. After all, it certainly wasn’t difficult! I love taking photos and take thousands of them for free! But, after I thought about it a bit, $100 seemed very reasonable. After all, I was offering something unique. And, while I didn’t spend a lot of time post-processing either of the pieces, I still spent the time to take each photo. For example, for the Air Force Memorial photo, I spent two hours in the middle of the night in the cold to get that shot. Plus, you have a special talent or eye that not everyone has. If you didn’t, your work wouldn’t be on display! How much is that worth? Think about it and don’t sell yourself short.
Limited Editions
Many people believe that the concept of “limited edition” prints is meaningless in the digital world. Perhaps. But, again, based on the recommendations of previous gallery photographers, I decided to run both of my prints in limited editions of 25. That means after I’ve sold 25 of them, I will no longer sell that print. Ever. I think this gives each print some added value to a potential buyer. I’m new to the art world myself, but I know I’d be willing to pay a little more for a nice photo if I knew I could have one of only 10 that ever existed. As to what constitutes a print, there is some discussion… Does a new crop or new post-processing make it a new print? What about a new size? Technically, I guess. But if I were to buy a limited edition print only to find out that the photographer simply re-cropped or added some post-processing and sold it again, I’d be a little put off. Decide what “limited” means for you and stick to it.
Business Cards
First and foremost, when you drop your prints off at the gallery to be hung, include a card with each one. This way, my card was hung up on the wall underneath my print and title card. That way anyone viewing the print can find out immediately where they can go to see more of my work. At the show itself, bring business cards! A lot of them! Before the show, I had a whole box of 100 Moo cards. Now, I only have about 20 left. What did I do with them? Well, I gave some out to people attending the show when they approached me about my photos. But I also left a small stack at the tiny table in the back for anyone to take. Finally, about halfway through the show, I saw someone leave a small stack on top of their framed, hanging print. I decided to follow suit. Since people couldn’t really take the one hanging on the wall, this gave them the option of taking a card home for themselves so they wouldn’t have to remember my website or write it down.
Bring The Camera
I debated back and forth with myself on whether or not to bring my camera to the show up until I actually walked out my door with it. I could go either way on this one as far as recommending it to others. On the one hand, you’re a photographer and this is a significant event! On the other hand, you will have to carry it all night and, if you’ve got gear like mine, that’s a 10 or 11 pound weight you have to lug around. If I had to do it again, I’d still bring it.
Thank the Organizers!
Last, but certainly not least, be sure to thank the people who organized the show! The show appeared to go off without a hitch… And I can’t imagine the amount of time and effort that went into planning something like this. So, from the bottom of your heart, thank the gallery organizers!
Here are a couple other related articles from the web:
Showing Your Photos in Art Galleries via Photopreneur
Your Photos in a Photo Gallery via Photocritic.org
Have any tips on showing your work in a gallery? Any other photographers from DCist Exposed wanna share their thoughts and experiences? Feel free to leave them in the comments!
Tags: dcist, exhibit, exposed, gallery, tips
