Artists are known for living poor lives... maybe I'm on the right trail. But I will definitely keep my ear.
Artists are known for living poor lives... maybe I'm on the right trail. But I will definitely keep my ear.
Tuan: Thanks for the book list. Among those in the list are Jack Dykinga's nature photography. Jack has earned much acclaim, what seems to have gone unnoticed is that his style is so much copy cat Muench; Nothing that I have seen of Dykinga strikes me as new original work that I already did not see in Muench, although Dykinga as far as I know never awknowledged the favor. Nonetheless, I must say I like his work. The public always seems to need the stamp of approval that smart marketing confers on artists and Dykinga has benefited from that. But if what you want is image poetry that goes straight to the heart one should look beyond the list, in Paul Schilliger's work. In my opinion Paul is one of the finest landscape artits alive and we should not wait until history tells us so.
Just to add to Julio’s thoughts this is what I said earlier;
“Why are ya’ll so surprised that someone living today can be as good or better than a Master of the Past? Hmmm? ”
It is amusing that anything from the past is great, but anything great in the present we don’t seem to notice!?!
Paul, I think that your colleagues are hitting on something with the web marketing. I would like to recommend a product called Web Position Gold. You can probably find a trial version for free. This product can help you to not only improve your website hits but also register with search engines. There are quite a few products available that can help you get more traffic. Good luck. Beautiful images...
As I have a chance to discuss this matter with experienced and self supported photographers, would others share on what impact has a website had on the developpment of their sales? My opinion is that a website alone does not make sales, unless there is another structure such as a self-owned gallery or galleries representations. People who buy photographs do not buy a photograph, they buy an association of things that are reminders of a special time they have had in their life. For instance, a trip to some place where they visited the gallery, or a reminder of their homeland when they are abroad. They also buy a fame when the photographer is famous. My website has up to 7500 visitors a months which is not much but fair, and although I received many compliments, I must say that it never made a sale in the two years it has been on. I had a price list and contact address. Maybe the kind of subjects matters too... And the tone of the website. Some websites are very commercial oriented, mine is not the least. You won't even find a contact address now! This is because I was involved in a full time job and had no time for developping that aspect. But things might change for I am considering getting into photography more seriously. Tips and shared experience are appreciated! (I'll be away for two days)
Paul, I've had a website since 1995 and now have several different websites for different aspects of my business. I hardly ever get jobs from random website visits - and I would be cautious of the random inquiries I do get. Instead, the website functions as a portfolio for people that I approach, or ayou are pointed to it by other happy clients, etc.
I think if you advertised and promoted yourself in the right places, the website is invaluable. But to simply post even the finest website and expect new business from it - well, it won't happen.
Anybody know what happened to Paul? Is he still taking pictures? He kinda just dropped off the map. I would have never gotten a large format camera if it wasn't for his pictures, so I'd be kind of sad if he lost interest in this stuff.
I continue to see people pouring considerable amounts of financial resources into their photography to pursue their craft completely devoid of the equally necessary business acumen and dedication necessary to succeed in this regard. You can make the most beautiful photographs in the world but without a well thought out business plan all you have are beautiful prints. For many this is all that they want to accomplish and are happy satisfying their own personal desire to make the best photographs that they possibly can. The sad part somes from the struggle that usually arises from an investment in materials, equipment and time with the expectation of income that just never materializes. No matter how you slice it selling photographs is a business and business is hell.
Several folks that I have seen successfully sell fine art photographs readily admit that they have spend as much as 90% of their time in self promotion, marketing and selling and about 10% of their time making photographs. This is where the problem arises. Most photographers just want to make photographs and inherently have less than zero interest in business let along continuous self promotion.
I remember reading an article about Gordon Hutchings saying that his good friend Morley Bauer used to tell him that you need to immerse yourself in the business of photography good bad or indifferent to be a "real" photographer. Gordon decided that he wanted to photograph what he wanted when he wanted and opted for a day job with the State of California for his base income. He retired early with a pension to enjoy photography completely devoid of any stressful iterations involving generating income from photography.
I have opted for Gordon's approach to participating in this art form. In the long run I feel that managing stress is the most important component to surviving in this fast paced thing we call life. When I make photographs the last thing I think about is the daily grind and that is a good part of what I find so appealing about the anolog process. Whatever works.
Cheers!
He's doing well, but has his own reasons not to figure in this forum, as far as i know. I wish him well.Originally Posted by Rory_5244
Okay. I'm happy to hear he's well. I haven't a clue about the business side of photography, but I have heard lots about it. I guess being an amateur has its advantages.
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