A friend called in a panic this morning.
She's taking the next big step in her craft career--applying to bigger, better juried shows. She'd taken my advice and arranged to have her beautiful new work professionally photographed.
She just got the bill for her first product shoot from the photographer I'd recommended. "I know it's a good thing, but remind me WHY!" she begged.
Happy to! I even laid it out in outline form. Get out your pencils.
1. The minute you cannot get your actual work physically in front of your audience, your photography matters. It is the first and best ambassador for your actual work.
You will use your images for publicity (press releases, feature articles) and marketing (advertising, postcards, business cards.)
You will need them for posters in your booth, especially if your work is small or intimate. Then customers can see your work from the aisles even if they can't see the actual work.
If your booth is packed with customers, you need posters even more--because those customers may be blocking the view of your work from MORE customers. (What a good problem to have!)
And when you apply to juried shows, you want the absolute best images of your work you can get. There are a jillion other craft artists out there, all competing for those best shows. Bad photography will ensure you will not even make it past the first round of jurying. Good photography will keep you in the running. Superb photography will take you even further by giving your work the competitive edge you need.
2. I said in point #1 that you need good images when your work is NOT actually in front of of your customers. Actually, you need good images even if your work IS directly in front of your customers. Because before and after the show, nothing will remind them more strongly of your work than an actual image of the work.
I did this experiment years ago when I first visited the American Craft Council fine craft show in Baltimore MD.
I walked the entire show (several hundred artists at the time), taking business cards or postcards ONLY from artists whose work was so distinctive and amazing, I was sure I would never forget it.
If they had a text-only card, I made detailed notes on the back, describing the work I saw, the artist, what we talked about, etc.
When I got home, I went through my collection of cards, about two dozen. (Remember, this was out of a show of several HUNDRED artists, and ONLY taking cards from those who had what I considered UNFORGETTABLE work.)
I could not remember a single artist, nor the work I'd been so impressed with.
My friends remembered a few of them, jogging my memory. But most of them were a blur.
The ones we remembered with crystal clarity were the artists whose cards featured photographic images of their work. In fact, one is still on my bulletin board.
3. Even big photography invoices can be a bargain. Do the math.
The photographer I recommended (Jeff Baird of Brattleboro VT) charges by the hour rather than by the slide, plus film costs. This means once he is familiar with your work, he can potentially shoot 6-10 items in an hour, averaging out to $10 or so per image.
Compare this to $50-100 PER IMAGE some photographers charge.
Although digital images are the most versatile, some shows still require actual slides. Jeff will shoot as many ORIGINAL SLIDES as you want. You can have an entire roll of film used for one item, if you want, giving you (24-36?? can't remember!) original slides at $20 a roll.
Again, compare this to the $50-$100 PER SLIDE some photographers charge. AND you now have just one MASTER slide. You now have to order duplicate slides for your use.
Duplicating slides is tricky. There can be huge quality control issues. After many attempts to have them done locally, I now rely on my photographer's acccess to a professional slide duplication service, which costs a buck or two a slide. That can add up quickly.
With the photographer I use, I the artist hold the copyright. I am free to use the images for whatever I want, whenever I want. Photographers who hold the copyright need to be paid every time you use the image, unless you have made specific arrangements with them.
4. So we all agree photography is important. But is PROFESSIONAL photography important?
Oh my, yes.
I've sat in on Bruce Baker's seminars a dozen times. He mentions that at some point, it is impossible for artists to do it all themselves. And the first thing he recommends they let go of is the photography.
At this point in the audience, someone (usually a guy, I'm afraid) always, ALWAYS raises their hand to argue with him. They feel their own photography is just as good as any professional photographer's. So why should they pay the big bucks?
Now that I give workshops on professional development, I run across the same reaction. And now I can personally vouch for what Bruce says about do-it-yourself photography:
You can always tell.
I don't have a good "eye" for photographs, yet even I can usually tell when someone is shooting their own work.
And I've known craftspeople who used to do photography as a hobby, who still know their own skills are not up to the task. In fact, two such people were the first ones to urge me to find a professional photographer--which is how I found Jeff. (Thank you, Sandra McCaw!)
It's true that some artists will get "good enough" doing their own photography.
But in today's HIGHLY COMPETITIVE craft market, "good enough" is simply no longer good enough.
You need to have the best images possible to even get your foot in the door.
And not all professional photographers are equal.
As mentioned earlier, some are good but extremely expensive. Some are not that good--and still extremely expensive. Some do very well with some media, but not other media.
Some are difficult to work with.
Some have no idea how the art and craft industry works. They don't "get" the jury slide thing. Or they are great at jury slides, but don't get the difference between jury shots and marketing shots, advertising shots and catalog shots. You will either need a strong idea of your photography needs and give plenty of direction, or find someone who DOES understand the difference.
So how do you find a good photographer?
Oh, come on. What do I always say??
Ask.
Ask your fellow craftspeople. Go to art or craft forums, and ask there.
Look at show ads in trade magazines--whose work did the show organizers select for their ad? Ask that artist who did their photography. Often the image will even provide the credit. Google that person!
(Which brings me to a side point: If you have GREAT slides, and get into a show with them, there's the possibility the PR people will pick YOUR images to feature in the show advertising. It's happened to me a few times. It is very, very cool when it happens.)
You don't even have to use someone nearby. Most photographers will be happy to shoot work that's shipped to them, and send it back to you when they're done. It's a little trickier if you've never worked with them before, or aren't sure what you want. But it's workable.
Above all, don't let costs frighten you into doing nothing. If all you can afford is one great image by an expensive photographer, go for it!
First, because I believe you always need to start where you are. If all you can do is one, then do one.
Second, one great image is enough to use for your postcard, your business card, a poster, ads, publicity, etc.
When you CAN do better, then do better.
Finally, I'm afraid I'm not always as altruistic as I appear to be.
If, after all the reasons I've outlined, you STILL don't think you should have your work professionally photographed, then by all means, don't do it.
Why?
Because YOUR work won't get into the amazing show we're both applying to.
And MY chances to get in will be better.
(sorry....)
