Hi everybody. My name is Tom Clements and this is my second season on the show circuit. Last year was total blast! Coming from the small business corporate world to the art show world has been a much appreciated change:) I did 11 shows last year and learned that I have a lot to learn! This year I have hopes of doing around 20 shows however as the rejection letters are showing up I'm wondering if I need to improve my booth shot? Give it a look and tell me what you think. I'm open to any and all feed back.
Thanks for your help.
Tom
Replies
Depending on what tier shows you are applying to, you may want to display more of a cohesive style in your work. The back wall contrasts quite a bit with the over-saturated look of the front gallery wraps, specifically the two on the bottom left and the lighthouse and boat images at the bottom right. It looks as if you have a broad mix of black and white/unsaturated images coupled with brightly oversaturated images -- sometimes it works better to hang color on one side and b&w on the other side. Then again, color mixed with black & white tends to confuse juries.
The most important thing about the juror images and the booth is to illustrate a cohesive body of work, that shows your technical skills, your range of composition skills, and your creativity in your medium. While waterfalls, lighthouses and beach scenes may sell well, they tend to be overworked and underappreciated by jurors. Depending on the level of shows you are seeking entrance to, this may not matter. But it definitely matters in the top shows like Lakefront in Milwaukee, Des Moines, Madison...
The booth shot is pretty good, technically. The black wall versus white wall didn't really bother me that much. The images on the black wall seem much more sophisticated than the sidewalls. It's tough to show everything on the walls in a booth shot, especially if the images are subtle. If you are planning to have a browse bin, some shows will require that you show it.
Jim, thanks so much for your input. You touched on a lot of really good points. I do have hopes of doing top tier shows (ok.. maybe dreams), so I will take what you suggest to heart. I made a comment in my opening post about being glad to leave the corporate world and join the art fair world, this is a clear example of the reason why.. the fact that fellow experienced photographers are giving positive helpful critiques is awesome!! Thanks again.:)
I see that you're doing a lot of HDR. Make sure that the images you use for jurying are more about the composition than the technique. Especially important if there's a photographer on the jury.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
Wow Larry, Thanks so much for your direction. In my zeal to learn all I can about my discipline, it's a good reminder to let my eye be the thing that speaks to the Jury instead of the technique. Very good point!
Makes me wonder why the back panels are black and the side panels white. Not something you want to waste the jurors time thinking about. And from this angle you might get away with removing the center vertical rows on each side because the frames are touching from the camera angle and it makes the work look too crowded.
Other than that, the booth looks good.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
Larry, I agree. The next thing on my list of purchases is a set of black pro panels. Also after looking again I think it does look crowded. Thanks for your input!