Update on APE's free promo

Rob Haggart has been making some improvements to his free promo, which includes the new name foliobrowser.com, the name of the photographer and links that go directly to the photographer's site.

Promotion: Advice from an Art Buyer

Heather Morton, an Art Buyer in Toronto, has good advice about how photographers should promote themselves. She talks about emails, mailed promos, websites, meetings and what to show in your book.

Tracking movements on your website

Yesterday Rob Haggart wrote about how annoyed he was by a photographer who had tracked him from an email promo. He writes, "I think my enthusiasm for email promos and links to work on photographers websites was completely cut in half the day someone emailed me and said “I see you’ve been checking out my book” I actually looked for a portfolio in my office because I didn’t recognize the photographers name, “I just wanted to see if I can show you some more work or shoot an assignment for you.”

Then I realized they had tracked me from an email promo I clicked on and suddenly I felt duped. Are all the photographers secretly tracking my movements to see when I click on a link or how much time I spend on their website. Man, that sucks."

Photo Business News & Forum followed up with this post about email tracking.

A photo editor comments on the APE promo

Over at WhatsTheJackanory, Andrew has an interview with Brenda Mills, photo editor at Men's Health magazine, for her take on the APE promo slideshow.

Some excerpts:
"WTJ: What do you think about the APE promo slideshow / idea ?

BM: I think that it is a great resource for photo editors, yeah... as Rob says, it is a nice SUPPLEMENT to the other ways we PE's find photographers--nice way to find more people and remind ourselves who we've always liked.

As for slideshow itself-there's one big weakness (besides tiny thumbnails which I mention later): The photogs who are deep in the slideshow are at a definite disadvantage because those who will get the most exposure/seen the most are the ones with images towards the beginning. I'm sure it's something Rob has thought of and will rectify/fix in slideshows to come.

*I'd very much like to know how Rob decided to put these images in order because there are some very established photog's right up front-not having had time to look at all 297 images yet, I wonder if that continues throughout ?...don't recall seeing that info in his text/blog. random ? by preference ??

*I really like that Rob doesn't list the names of photogs upfront (at first I thought that would be dreadful, but I was soon won over!)---makes you actually look at the darn image without reading the name and therefore reading your own preconceived notions about the photographer into what you are seeing--good move, Mr. Haggart."

"WTJ: So you didn't look at all 297 photographers images ?

BM: Not yet and THAT is exactly the problem. While I PLAN to go back and look lots more, with the way a photo editor's day works---lots and lots of crises and interruptions of all sorts throughout--once you stop looking, you don't know when or even if you'll have time/focus to go back. I DO PLAN to go back.

I think I got through 35 or 40--it takes quite a bit of time, actually, because I am seeing lots of pictures I like and then I check the name and then I go to the individual website if I don't know the photog. and then I take time on their website.

So ultimately it will be a very time-consuming yet extremely valuable tool.

WTJ: Were you surprised to see some big names in the mix ?

BM: A bit, yes. But I reckon that's a tribute to APE's appeal / influence / reach in photo community"

Made the cut

Rob Haggart's free promo slideshow is now posted. You can view the full-screen version at ILikeThesePhotos. I'm very excited to be included among such talented photographers and frankly, rather surprised. My understanding was that Rob would choose more "commercial" images, whatever that means, but I decided to take a risk and send him photos from a personal project art project about female nudes in domestic interiors. Who knew? My thanks to Rob for his continued dedication to photographers.

The Business of Art Photography

This Thursday, on April 17, ASMP will host a seminar on The Business of Fine Art Photography presented by New York gallery owner and art professor Thomas Werner.

"This seminar will explain how to edit and market your photographs for the Fine Art market — how to present your work, how to build a relationship with a gallery, what to expect of an exhibition, and so on.

The world of Fine Art Photography is changing as rapidly as the commercial market place. During this time of change, it is important to develop multiple revenue streams to support your business. It is also important to keep your vision fresh and alive. In this seminar, Thomas Werner explains how creating and properly marketing a body of fine art work will help you achieve these goals."

APA discussion on websites

Rob Haggart sat on a panel discussion on websites for the APA San Francisco and posted his observations here.

Free Promotion APE-style

Rob Haggart has posted an interesting offer for all of us:

"I’ve wanted to do this for awhile and my thinking on the future of photography and photo contests and other things I’m cooking up has gotten me inspired to offer everyone the chance to promote your best work for free by submitting a couple images for a slide show. There’s plenty of photo editors and art buyers who are readers and I know they will find it extremely beneficial to view a quick slide show with hundreds of different photographers featuring their best work and I can’t think of any other examples where this exists, so here we go.

There will be a bar for entry and I will edit out any photographs that are a waste of time for potential buyers to look at. I know there are a lot of top shooters who may be wary of submitting their photographs so I’m going to make sure all the work displayed is top notch. You can also remove your images at any time if you don’t think I’ve done a good enough job.

The purpose of this is to connect photographers with buyers for FREE. That’s it. No bullshit. If that doesn’t happen to anyone then the project has failed."

The (edited) images will be posted on flickr. The deadline is March 31st.

Branding

There's a helpful article called 7 Tips for Successful Branding from PDNonline.

Some advice from a photo consultant:
"Ideally, your brand should reflect your unique personal identity—something that arises from your DNA that nobody else can appropriate, explains photo consultant Allegra Wilde. Figuring out what that is, exactly, may call for intensive self-reflection. "

"So many photographers lack distinction—and compete with each other—because they try to appeal to particular markets. That sounds logical, but it’s backward, Allegra Wilde argues. Instead of thinking, “I’ll shoot some beauty images and go after cosmetic clients,” she suggests, figure out instead what interests you, and what you know intimately (your hobbies are a good place to start) and shoot those subjects. You’ll have intimate knowledge of the subjects closest to you that other photographers won’t have, and that will be conveyed in your pictures like some secret insider’s language to others who share your knowledge. "

"Market aggressively and position your portfolio in such a way that speaks to the smartest people out there who are just like you. Most photographers do it the other way around—they go after the most literal thing, and what they’re forgetting is, so is everyone else!"

"From the minute your first promotion is in their hand, until you send the final invoice for the job, everything should be consistent, and clean, and readable,” Wilde says. The reason is because your graphical look builds what she calls “visual equity.” She explains, “With enough broadcasting, enough promotion, [your graphic identity] becomes attached to your images—so that eventually people are going to be able to look at your typography and conjure your imagery. They’ll be able to [imagine] your images before their eyes even if they only see a tag on a portfolio.""

In slowly building a commercial portfolio this is something I've been struggling with. Should I do a quick visual survey of what images are commercially viable and try to emulate that? Or do I pursue a personal vision and hope that it will speak to a small but dedicated audience? So far I've opted for the latter and continue to shoot a personal project that may, or may not, be "suitable" for a commercial portfolio.

Art directing your website

Recently I was speaking with a friend who is a former art director-turned-photographer and the topic of websites came up. Her own website had just been completed and she was working on the few remaining details. One comment she made that struck me was that, in her experience, many novice photographers make the mistake of not art directing their website. This just refers to designing your website so it best communicates what you want to communicate to your audience. As a photographer, you have so little time to make a positive impression that if you're website is difficult to navigate or confusing, potential clients are likely to get frustrated and move on.

Her advice is to "organize your thoughts with the same care you use when you organize your physical portfolio, but remember the viewer has about a tenth of the time/patience to look when online. Know your audience. Know who you want to look at your site or get jobs from. How do they like to view work? Generally, edit your content and organize with simple titles and brief descriptions (if at all). Make sure your contact information is easy to read."

This post has some great points about how not to display your artwork on the web.