Photography Exhibitions Can Get Expensive!

I’ve kinda fallen off the face of the Earth the past 6 months in regards to photography. I have a show coming up in a couple weeks, and I haven’t had one, a major one at least, since June in Philly. Doing any art exhibition is hard, even photography exhibitions. Prep is hard, it hurts your pocket, and your ego.

I did a show in Philadelphia and I was really excited to expand my horizons, gain admirers of my work, and maybe sell something while I was at it. Nope, wrong. Not happening. The whole experience has left a bad taste in my mouth. I lost money, (We’ll get into costs a little later) wasted my time, and left with a “F*&% doing Photography” attitude. I was definitely defeated. I just didn’t want to keep going at something I don’t think I’m great at. I guess I have that I-dont-think-I-do-anything-great-Syndrome.

I honestly love doing photography, and absolutely love the prints and pieces I produce. It’s a whole process ya know. You have to figure out how big you want to print. What company you want to print your work. The framing. How thick? What style/color? Matting. Are you going to have mats, if so what color, and how thick? Once that’s all done you have to figure out how to best present a number of pieces together. Sometimes certain pieces don’t go well with others, and then there are pieces that look great next to each other. Didn’t even mention the process to chose which image to put in the show – Thats half the battle!

Fortunately, I didn’t have any vender fees for the Philly show. I guess you can categorize it as a learning experience. Audience is everything too. Crowds are all different in how they respond to certain artwork. I got some good feedback, but didn’t sell. To me when I actually sell a piece it’s the ultimate gratification. Someone will hang my work in their house! its always crazy for me to think about that happening.

I’ve had a few pieces in some Salmagundi themed shows here and there since the show in June. Nothing too major. My next show coming up is good because I know I have more physical space available. So, with that in mind I printed huge. In my group I’m one of maybe a handful of photographers. I’m always a little envious of the painters in the group. They have these huge pieces. I get all ‘Why not me?!” Well, there is no reason I can’t print big. I just have to figure out how to do it, and this time, I did!

I had some success printing one of my biggest pieces ‘Nails’ People love this one! I love it too! I almost don’t ever want to sell it because I love the print… and the frame for that matter. I’d like to keep it on MY wall. I won a small award for it the first time I showed it in an exhibition.

I wanted to go BIGGER! So, I did just that. I ordered my prints yesterday. I got the frames today, and now I’m waiting for the prints to come in!! There’s just something about seeing work printed. It’s also another when you see it up on the wall too! We live in a digital age, but the hard copy print can just make you feel magical. I don’t know… I guess I’m weird. Printing can make or break a great photo. I swear by that.

I’m using a new printer, so wish me luck!! I hope it’s worth it. I didn’t spend too much for printing and framing. I was thinking about trying to get costs down for my potential buyer. These pieces in my next show won’t be expensive…for the size they are. No more then $200. My ‘Nails’ piece is so expensive because a huge chuck of that covers the cost of the frame. It’s a damn good frame though.

I’ve only been doing this for a few years and I am learning a lot and continue to. It’s tough when it costs so much just to show your work, but I think in the end it is worth it. You never know what can come of it.