Gilbert has also tried joint exhibitions with fellow photographer, but warns you must have a special idea to make it work.
“I did an exhibition with two friends who are also Peak District photographers. One lives in the northern part of the Peaks and one lives in the southern part, and I live in the middle. We set up the exhibition from three different perspectives, from three geographical locations. We chose the venue in my local village. If we’d gone to somewhere like Bakewell it would have cost a fortune and we would have had tonnes of people coming in but not buying anything. Instead we had a smaller number of people who were all purely interested in the photography.
“Over the two days the exhibition was on, we sold a lot of work. So the actual revenue per head was very high. I take that as a marketing success, that we actually pitched the exhibition correctly.”
Marketing and advertising are crucial for a good turn out at an exhibition, as Gilbert well knows.
“We all advertised on our own websites, but also went into the local press. We managed to organise a freebie radio advert, as it was a favour being returned. But it paid dividends because there were quite a few people that came to see us from a fair distance. We ran a two-column colour advert, which was the same as the posters we displayed in local shops. Overall the marketing budget came in at under £200, but you’ve got to be so careful as you can spend a fortune on advertising and not get the money back.”
Gilbert has another show coming up in Castleton (a popular area for tourists) in August, again with fellow Peak District photographers. Although he would rather go it alone, Gilbert knows he will benefit from sharing the costs, and having extra work to display too. “If people are making the effort to come and see your work then you’ve got to impress them. There’s no point in sticking half a dozen pieces of work on the wall.”
Gilbert comments that they received a lot of positive feedback about the joint show, because there was so much to see, and it was well presented. “I try to make the show itself look like a work of art. I can’t stand the idea of people just coming and hanging stuff on the wall.”
If, unlike Gilbert, you haven’t quite found your business head yet and all this is sounding a bit complicated, then why not try a festival? That way all the advertising is done for you. You just pay a small fee and wait for the crowds to roll on up. Gilbert is a real fan of arts festivals and has had great success at them over the past few years.
“I’ve displayed at the Wirksworth festival for the last four or five years,” he says. “It’s probably the biggest arts festival in the area. You approach them, fill in the application form, and they’ll either accept your work or they won’t. Reassuringly, I haven’t been turned down yet!”
The sale of one print can cover the cost of registering with a festival. And with commission fees from traditional galleries being anywhere from 10 to 50 per cent there really is a lot to be said for festivals as inexpensive exhibition venues.
Even if you don’t make many print sales from your first exhibition you may be surprised by the interest it can generate at a later date.
“You rarely make a profit just from an exhibition – you have to view it as a profile raising exercise,” Steve Gosling explains. “I find I rarely cover my costs from initial print sales, but I do get people who come back to me 12 months later and want to buy a print or book a workshop.”
If you’re still worried about generating unsavoury costs there are always ways to shave valuable pounds off the production process. Both Gosling and Gilbert have regular mounting and framing services local to them, and believe that staying loyal to these companies can drastically reduce costs incurred whilst ensuring their prints look the best they can on the wall.
Gosling says: “I get my prints done at a local firm and use another local organisation for my framing.
I think the general advice I’d give anyone when organising their first exhibition is to get both the mounting and framing done professionally, because if they aren’t done properly it reflects badly on your photography. I think a professional framer adds to the quality of the work.
“When I have advised first-timers to get it done professionally they often worry that it’s going to be expensive, but it’s an investment worth making. I think nothing looks worse at an exhibition than mounting that isn’t cut professionally and frames that aren’t high quality.”
That’s not the only gem of advice Steve has to pass on to first-timers, and established exhibitioners alike.
“I find it can really help if you seek sponsorship,” he explains. “Suppliers might give you a special price if you advertise their services your publicity or even at the exhibition itself. People are often reluctant to ask, but in my experience it’s always worth it. People can only say no, they’re not going to kill you!”
If you’ve got the itch to get your images on the wall and in the public eye, then there really are no excuses. Get focused, get organised, and you could see your images successfully exhibited by the end of the year. Keep in mind those key areas to success and you could be on to a winner. But remember, in the words of Mr Gosling, “as a photographer, you are only as good as your worst print.” So just make sure they are all flippin’ fantastic!
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“I did an exhibition with two friends who are also Peak District photographers. One lives in the northern part of the Peaks and one lives in the southern part, and I live in the middle. We set up the exhibition from three different perspectives, from three geographical locations. We chose the venue in my local village. If we’d gone to somewhere like Bakewell it would have cost a fortune and we would have had tonnes of people coming in but not buying anything. Instead we had a smaller number of people who were all purely interested in the photography.
“Over the two days the exhibition was on, we sold a lot of work. So the actual revenue per head was very high. I take that as a marketing success, that we actually pitched the exhibition correctly.”
“We all advertised on our own websites, but also went into the local press. We managed to organise a freebie radio advert, as it was a favour being returned. But it paid dividends because there were quite a few people that came to see us from a fair distance. We ran a two-column colour advert, which was the same as the posters we displayed in local shops. Overall the marketing budget came in at under £200, but you’ve got to be so careful as you can spend a fortune on advertising and not get the money back.”
Gilbert comments that they received a lot of positive feedback about the joint show, because there was so much to see, and it was well presented. “I try to make the show itself look like a work of art. I can’t stand the idea of people just coming and hanging stuff on the wall.”
The sale of one print can cover the cost of registering with a festival. And with commission fees from traditional galleries being anywhere from 10 to 50 per cent there really is a lot to be said for festivals as inexpensive exhibition venues.
“You rarely make a profit just from an exhibition – you have to view it as a profile raising exercise,” Steve Gosling explains. “I find I rarely cover my costs from initial print sales, but I do get people who come back to me 12 months later and want to buy a print or book a workshop.”
If you’re still worried about generating unsavoury costs there are always ways to shave valuable pounds off the production process. Both Gosling and Gilbert have regular mounting and framing services local to them, and believe that staying loyal to these companies can drastically reduce costs incurred whilst ensuring their prints look the best they can on the wall.
I think the general advice I’d give anyone when organising their first exhibition is to get both the mounting and framing done professionally, because if they aren’t done properly it reflects badly on your photography. I think a professional framer adds to the quality of the work.
“When I have advised first-timers to get it done professionally they often worry that it’s going to be expensive, but it’s an investment worth making. I think nothing looks worse at an exhibition than mounting that isn’t cut professionally and frames that aren’t high quality.”
“I find it can really help if you seek sponsorship,” he explains. “Suppliers might give you a special price if you advertise their services your publicity or even at the exhibition itself. People are often reluctant to ask, but in my experience it’s always worth it. People can only say no, they’re not going to kill you!”
If you’ve got the itch to get your images on the wall and in the public eye, then there really are no excuses. Get focused, get organised, and you could see your images successfully exhibited by the end of the year. Keep in mind those key areas to success and you could be on to a winner. But remember, in the words of Mr Gosling, “as a photographer, you are only as good as your worst print.” So just make sure they are all flippin’ fantastic!
