My Art Show Application Experience: The Booth Photo

Hello everyone! I'm back with more insight on the whole concept of applying to art shows. Previously, I've written about planning, paperwork and jury slides. This time I'd like to share a little on the topic of representing the look of your display to jurors (or judges) through top-quality booth photos.

This happens to be the first year that I've applied to a show that requires a booth shot because a) I don't really have a good one yet and b) it was another requirement that made me nervous and self-eliminate before even applying. But this year, I was determined to face new things head-on and stop being a whimp!

I edited a photo that I took of my booth a few years ago and came up with what you see in this post. A few weeks ago I attended a jury showing and saw hundreds of booth examples. My photo would not be considered the best (by a long shot). It would also not be the worst either.

I met with, Larry Sanders, expert craft photographer and one of the show's judges and asked him what is the purpose of the booth photo and what makes one better than another. He said that the purpose of a booth photo is for the jurors to see:

1. The scale of the work that is being shown. It is often difficult to know the size of a piece and it could be a determining factor for an artist. This is not the case for jewelry however as the size of the jewelry most often can't be determined.


2. It shows the jurors that the person applying has more than the 3-6 pieces that are usually required for jury slides. Some artists will make a few nice pieces to get into a show without adequate inventory to sell. This is bad for a show.


3. It shows the professionalism of the display. In other words, orange crates are not very appreciated these days at shows. Nice display cases, nice shelving, nice walls are always a bonus. Curtains that cover the harsh white walls of a tent are a big help.


4. It can be a tie-breaker between two or more equally talented artists. Favor would be given to the one with the better looking display.


5. Some shows will actually give the booth a score that is added to the score for ranking artists.

A Few More Tips from Mama...

• When taking your own photos, keep people and anything that identifies who you are out of the image. If I knew more about photo editing, I'd have taken the man in the yellow shirt out of my image. Dropping the sides of my tent would have also helped.


• I recommend using iprintfromhome.com for turning your digital images into slides. They are very cheap, easy and fast!


• Use a professional if possible. Like I said about jury slides, why take chances when the only representation you have of yourself are a few images. I'll be giving Larry a call when I'm ready for my next one.

My Art Show Application Experience: Jury Slides

I'm back with another article on my experiences in applying to art shows. I want to remind everyone that these are just my thoughts on how the whole process works. I've been applying to shows since 2005 and have been accepted to all of them, but I am in no way an expert. But I have learned a lot in these few years and I'm willing to share it with those just starting out. If you missed my first two articles on planning and paperwork, be sure to check them out.

Now, who wants to talk about jury slides??? I must admit that when I first started out, this was a fearful topic! Not only do I hate taking pictures of my work, but knowing that those images would affect my chances of getting into decent shows really had me shakin' in my boots. Actually, for my first round of shows, I intentionally refrained from applying to any that required slides. Then I began to realize that if I was going to be a serious artist doing serious shows, I had to get over it... and fast!

I began to research the topic a little and found out that the images submitted for jury are nothing like the ones you see of pretty objects in catalogs or online shops. In those photographs, items are displayed with colorful backgrounds, props, and "in action" showing suggested use. In photographs used for juried competition, objects are to be the one and only focus in the image. Backgrounds are minimal and drab; lighting, and therefore positioning, is key; and clear, sharp images that make sense are necessary. In my images shown here, it is obvious which of my pieces are pendants because a little of the chain has been kept in the photo.

In a future post, I will be walking you through an actual jury procedure, but for now it is important to know that typically a jury, or panel of judges, will see your images blown up as big as 3-feet wide. Keep that in mind! The smallest flaw on a piece might become very obvious when viewed at that size.

If you've read this far in what has turned out to be a very long post, here is just a little more to keep you busy...

Mama's tips on submitting great jury slides...

• Ask another artist to select items from your body of work to be photographed. When we create our own work, we tend to be biased and think that every piece is the best. Get a fresh pair of eyes to help you select work from a judge's perspective.
  
• Be sure to label your slides according to the shows specifications, making sure to clearly identify your name and the images proper orientation. It would really stink if you had a great slide that was shown upside down!


• Use a professional photographer, and not your cousin who takes great wedding photos. I am convinced that some things are best done by others. So if you think that I created my own jury images, you are CRAZY. They were taken by the extremely talented Larry Sanders, who is based in Milwaukee, WI.


• Update your images every few years or when your body of work changes significantly. Some shows are now indicating that they will check your booth to make sure that you didn't turn in images of your only five things that actually turned out.

Lastly, start where you are and do what you can. Use the jury process as a learning experience and never stop reaching higher and higher!

P.S. Shown are all of my jury images. Soon I will post about booth shots, the jury process and more!

My Art Show Application Experience: Planning

February is not just the time to celebrate love, remember dead presidents and get very mad at a woodchuck. No, not if you are an artist who practices procrastination. Then February becomes a time to pound out art show applications in order to meet fast approaching deadlines.

Application time is not one of my favorite times of the year and I put it off like paying taxes. But it is extremely necessary in developing an art business. It gives me great anxiety when I think about being judged on a few slides and a short blurb about my work. Not only that, but every year I apply to higher level shows that have higher hurdles and I sit on more pins and needles waiting for the verdicts.

Last week, I identified five shows that would be the best fit for me at this time. I found some of them by visiting the Wisconsin Art & Craft Fair Directory produced by the Wisconsin Arts Board. I look for shows that seem to be the most selective and draw big crowds of my target market. I have the best luck with shows that have been recommended to me by other artists. As a relatively new kid on the block I love meeting seasoned artists at shows and learning from their successes (and mistakes).

I have already been accepted to a wearable art show in April and five more (if accepted) would give me one show per month until September. That is the most I can do this show season with two little kids, limited production time and a very limited application fee budget. I also plan to do two shows during the next holiday show season, but fortunately those applications won't be due until the summer and I can put them off for now!