Sorry if this has been discussed. If it has been I can't find it anywhere.
What are your opinions of having photos of 3D work in a booth? I would like to use them to cover some of the bare walls. I know jewelers do it all the time, but what about larger work? I do not plan to have any business name attached to any of them, so I won't have to blur anything out in the booth shot.
I've had it recommended to me to use photos of myself creating the work instead of the finished pieces, but frankly I'm not that photogenic, and I sure don't want to stare at myself all day.
Thanks.
Replies
I think photos of your work is a great idea. You are creating an environment of excitement. I, also, like Larry's idea of having photos of the work displayed in the place where they may be displayed is good business. I've had the same idea but never acted on it. One thing I've thought of and never had the opportunity to do, is to create a room with couches. tables, etc. and have my pieces displayed on the furniture. It would be a little hard to do in an outside space because of the weather and having a big enough vehicle is a problem that I would have.
Have seen this done, and it was VERY effective. Very southern with antiqued white furniture and lots of lace and flowers for a Mother's Day weekend show. The booth was constantly crowded. Looked like a magazine layout.
Striking photos of your work hung along the inside of your booth can work really well to bring people inside to see the real thing. As people walk by, the photos will serve to grab their attention. Also, if there is a crowd blocking the view in your booth, the photos will show people what all the fuss is about.
I've also seen artists with slideshows of their work playing on digital photo frames. That's where I would put photos of your pieces displayed in people's homes. You could also put together slideshows of your pieces in production from materials to final product. That could be really interesting and show how much skill & effort goes into your creation process.
Robin Ragsdale
www.evenbetterimages.com
I think photos of your work on display in customer homes would work because it would give people ideas on how the work can be displayed.
You might even want to start a portfolio of 8x10 prints of your work in home settings.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
Thanks, Larry. What I'm really getting at here is not how to set up my booth for sales, but rather how to set it up for a jury photo. Would it be looked at negatively if I had photos of my ceramic art on the walls of the booth? The same photos would probably be submitted on their own. Would this look strange or be considered incorrect somehow?
In general it wouldn't have an adverse effect for jurying. Having a picture of you working would have to be taken down for the booth picture because it breaks the anonymous rule. But having an extra picture of your work does show the jurors more than what they see in the few jury slides. So if you decide to add pictures, make them different than the pictures that you use for jurying.
I worked with a clothing designer who filled her booth with 30x40 pictures of her designs that hung over the racks of clothes in her booth picture. And besides the jewelers, I've seen a few artists in other mediums have pictures in their booth.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100