My partner and I have decided to exhibit at a few art shows this year to sell some of my work. We have decided to apply to high-end festivals thought out the west in hopes of being more profitable. We are aware it will be very difficult to get accepted to the more popular shows. To increase our chances we intend to apply to 10 to 15 shows hoping that we will be accepted to 2 or 3 of them for our first year.
To provide you with a little background, I do representational color landscape photography. I can make prints up to 30x40 and 20x50 in my own darkroom.
We have zero experience with art shows, and so I am hoping to draw on your experiences to better our chances of success. Any considerations would be greatly appreciated.
Here are some of the questions I can think of, but I am sure there are other issues that I have not considered.
1. What sizes and formats seem to sell best? I have a 4x10 camera, and I can print 16x40s and 20x50s with this format. I also have a 4x5 and a 5x7.
2. What price ranges should I use to generated sales and be profitable?
3. How many prints should I bring? Some for display and some in reserve?
4. Should I accept credit cards? If so what do I need to facilitate this? Do you accept personal checks?
5. Do the organizers generally provide power?
7. Do I need to bring a canopy, or do the organizers provide them?
8. How do I transport my photographs?
9. Most art shows last for several days? How do I secure my prints each night? Do the organizers provide security for you?
10. What do you do for meals and lodging? This can get expensive.
11. What tools and techniques do you use to enhance sales?
12. How do you display your work? Do you use easels?
13. For those of you who do landscape photography, are there certain types of images that seem to sell better than others?
Again thanks for any considerations?
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