I mentioned on Sunday that I was reviewing photo portfolio’s for Festival X’s Look fest.

I finished the session late this afternoon and my head was spinning – there were a lot of photos and discussions on style, technical info and photo careers.

The Portfolios
There were many fine portfolios. One photographer that really stood out for me was that of Anyse Ducharme. Why? Her work was dramatically different from anything else at the event. She “has been working on the deconstruction and re-construction of the numeric photographic image, text and sound, by means of code corruption processes and abstraction.” (taken from her website)

Very different – very fun from an art perspective.

There was much traditional work there – some of exceptional quality.

Career in Photography?
When reviewing work I asked most people “What do you want to do with this work?” ie career, hobby, etc. Many wanted to make a career of photography but I was surprised that many did not have a real plan to bring in patrons, clients or $dollars.

I get a bit in a tizzy over this. Many new photographers / photo schools / photo classes invest heavily in the craft of producing excellent photography but spend little time learning how to make photography into a sustainable career.

SIgh.

Business vs Art
‘Business’ has developed a bad connotation in art circles yet any self employed artist must deal with the basics of business or end up poor and/or working at minimum wage. The basics of business include:

• production (producing art / photography)
• finding clients (developing patrons)
• making sales (selling photography / photo services)
• writing proposals (writing to promote work, get grants / media attention, deveop artist’s statements)

For years we have run photo classes to help address this gap. The Creative Business Seminar Series usually comes around in the fall.

This Tuesday evening we offer a photo class on Effective Selling for Creative Businesses. We’ve brought in a veteran salesman to help photographers (and others in creative fields) develop skills to bring in $dollars from their photography and artwork.

photo class

For many wanting to start a creative business the ‘creative’ is easy, the ‘business’ is hard. And don’t get me wrong! The creative part is NOT easy, just easier than the business of photography.

 Ok, rant is done!

Thanks to all the photographers, reviewers and organizers at Festival X. I wish everyone good luck!!