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Thread: Rules of Professional Art Photography

  1. #21
    Founder QT Luong's Avatar
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    Rules of Professional Art Photography

    Of course, operating a gallery is a full time job. But nobody said that the photographer should be
    the one operating it. I tend to agree that many photographers that are very successful at selling prints
    as "decorative art" to the general public seem to do so through their own galleries. However, in general, this is not the case of "art photographers", who require a more, shall we say "connected" means of representation.

  2. #22
    Abuser of God's Sunlight
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    Rules of Professional Art Photography

    That's a good distinction, QT.

  3. #23

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    Rules of Professional Art Photography

    Hi Paulr,

    You stated "Opening any gallery is a risk. It's also a full time job." I thought the question was referring to "Professional Art Photography", implying the photographer should be making a living from selling his/her art. A full time job is the point of using the word "professional". But as QT so rightly points out, nobody said the photographer must man his own gallery - he or she can employ somebody to do that while they do what they are good at - making photographs.

    You also stated "A gallery isn't a store; it's a private dealership that happens to have a storefront." Maybe that's why many of the galleries you know of aren't profitable: they are not selling anything. A store is a place where people go to buy things, however the common perception of a gallery is a place to visit to admire art. When I use the word "gallery" to describe my operation, I am perhaps being misleading: it really is a store, because I'm set up in a retail area (surrounded by other shops) and I'm actively selling a product.

    "The lifeblood of a gallery is the very long list of collectors that make up the clientelle, and that the owner has worked like crazy to cultivate relationships with." That may be the case in your area: my experience says the lifeblood of my business are the people walking in off the street who love my work, often buying on the spot (or returning later when they need one of my prints). I don't run my gallery like other galleries I've seen - mine is a retail outlet for my own work, and I treat it as such. Yes, it is as much work as "being a photographer" (in fact it's much more work than making the photos), but that's how it is in most professional photography fields - the business of photography takes twice as much time as the fun bits do. I am talking about professional art photography, not part time photographers who display their work in galleries or on the internet, hoping a picture will sell itself.

    If you would like to see an example of a person who is extremely successful at selling their own art work, look up Ken Duncan (www.kenduncan.com). He employs more than 50 people to sell his work and run the various aspects of his business. He started out with a gallery of his own. He has a seven figure personal income. He sells his own art.

    PS - I don't frame my work: a nearby framing shop does that for me (I don't have the time).

    Cheers,

  4. #24
    Founder QT Luong's Avatar
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    Rules of Professional Art Photography

    Graeme, I am curious if you know of other very successful photographers in the same category. In the US,
    Tom Mangelsen comes to mind, as well as Peter Lik (who is Australian). Interestingly, they all use 6x17 for their landscapes.

  5. #25
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    Rules of Professional Art Photography

    Graeme, I think the confusion is over the distinction that QT made a few posts up. There are different markets that call themselves "art." This is a point that could spawn a lot of threads and debates, but the basics of it are fairly simple. Someone like Ken Duncan is serving a market that does indeed walk in off the street, say "oh, that would be pretty up above the couch," and buy it. This is a decorative art market--people buying things they like to decorate their homes and offices with. It's an almost completely different clientelle than what gets called the fine art market, which is populated by collectors (who tend to have more specific and more educated tastes).

    In that market, all succesful galleries that I've ever heard of operate as described above: as private dealerships that happen to have a storefront. This is not because they don't know how to sell. It's because decades of experience has taught them exactly how to sell. Specifically, they know that their market is not comprised of people wandering the web or wandering in off the street and buying something they think is pretty, on impulse. This does happen from time to time, but it doesn't pay the rent.

    I certainly agree with you that the business side of photography can take more time than the fun part. I also know that someone in my shoes wouldn't have a prayer of sustaining sales to my particular market without excellent representation. Because I have spent my years developing my work, not developing relationships with collectors internationally. I have to work hard at finding representation and finding shows and finding curators who want to show my work, but once I find them, I can rely on their professional experience.

    A lot of this is because I do not do work that is going to bring someone off the street who wants to hang it above the couch. With a very small number of exceptions (friends and family, and someone who bought something online once) everything I've sold has been to a private or public or corporate collection. This is who galleries in the fine art market are selling to also, an overwhelming amount of the time.

    To get a look at the fine art market in photography, check out photography-guide.com (formerly Photography in New York) and also photoshow.com (association of international photography art dealers).

  6. #26

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    Rules of Professional Art Photography

    QTL, there are a few other Aussies doing what I do, and as you have noted, they are mostly using the 6x17 format cameras. Gimmick? Who knows ...

    Some others:

    Christian Fletcher is a fellow Western Australian with three galleries in the SW of the state. (http://www.christianfletcher.com.au/)
    Damon Smith: http://www.damonsmith.com/
    Alex Bond - another Western Australian running a gallery in WA. He uses a real LF camera. (http://www.alexbond.com.au/)
    Nick Rains is a NSW photographer. (http://www.genesisfineart.com.au/)

    These guys and others are selling their own work. There are too many for me to find all of them, but it seems this market works in Australia.

    Cheers,

  7. #27

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    Rules of Professional Art Photography

    Paulr,

    True, we should not get into a debate about what constitutes the distinction between "fine art" and "art" - that's been done elsewhere with no side winning the debate .....

    I was not trying to make any distinction in the various art market segments myself - I was simply putting forward my own views on a particular model of the "art photography" business. My model allows me to work as a professional art photographer. My sales do sustain my work, and I will leave it up to others to call my work "art" if they want to (I call them "over-sized postcards" ....)

    The market for "fine art photography" in Australia is way too small to make a living solely making fine art photographs. Something to do with a population of only 20 million people, I suppose. But I see no reason why the model I use would not work in the States, given a smart business person who runs the "gallery". (QT's example of Peter Lik is the perfect one - he is an Aussie with 2 galleries in Oz, and one in LA.)

    Cheers,

  8. #28
    Abuser of God's Sunlight
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    Rules of Professional Art Photography

    Graeme, my only point in making the distinction is that you have to know what the market is for your type of work. The work that the market calls "fine art" isn't necessarily more fine than anything else ... but that's the name we're all stuck with for now.

    I don't see why someone couldn't do what you're doing in the States. But they would have to be doing work that is saleable to the market shops for art that way. Not that many people stop by a storefront gallery and walk out with just the perfect Joel Peter Witkin print for their office waiting room ...

    There's also no reason why someone in Australia couldn't sell work that's geared toward the fine art market in galleries in Tokyo, Paris, London, or New York. Where you live is more important to where you do your work than to where you sell it. As Lik demonstrates.

  9. #29
    Format Omnivore Brian C. Miller's Avatar
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    Rules of Professional Art Photography

    Let's take a quick look at economics. A fine art web site lists B&W quadtone inkjet prints for $400. Nick Djordjevic sells his prints ready to frame for $40AU ($30US). This means that Nick Djordjevic needs to sell 14 prints to have the same income as the fine art site. Now, how many "oh, that would be pretty up above the couch" people are there compared to the number of collectors buying the fine art? 10 to 1? 20 to 1? 40 to 1? More?

    The scale of the market more than makes up for the price difference.
    "It's the way to educate your eyes. Stare. Pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long." - Walker Evans

  10. #30
    Founder QT Luong's Avatar
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    Rules of Professional Art Photography

    If your work doesn't appeal to a wide audience, then it's clear that in general you need (a) to find more connected people that can find an audience for your work, (b) price higher to account for smaller sales and higher commissions. Note however, that some of the "decorative art prints" fetch quite respectable prices.

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