The Numbers Game – Revisited

I am raising the white flag!  Okay Art shows, you have me beat.  I cannot win.  I must bend to your numbering will.

I recently wrote a post about how most big art markets require print makers (including photographers) to only sell limited editions or they are excluded from the show.  I need to get into these big shows.  That’s where the big, art-collecting crowds are.  I have decided to begin producing limited editions on my Decor 11×14 Edition and larger.  I will probably keep my 8×10’s open.

It’s not all bad though.  A lady at my booth last night asked me outright if my work was numbered and limited.  I replied it is not and she expressed her appeal to a limited edition.  That was the first time I believe anyone has brought it up to me.  I can see the appeal in it as well.  A number gives the piece an identity.  You can say “I own #47 of such-and-such, and noone else owns #47.  And no more than 200 people own such-and-such.”  Or something like that.  It makes the piece unique and somewhat rare.

It also gives me additional incentive to get out and create new work, which benefits my collectors, and I must admit, it is nice having new prints to work with.  It would be easy to just fill my booth with 12 best sellers and never create another piece, but that would quickly become a grind I think.  Thoughts?

How to shoot better Christmas lights!

It’s that time of the year again where everyone posts their mediocre Christmas light shots!  Why is it that our photos just don’t do justice to all the light stringing, ladder climbing, and getting jabbed in the face by pointy branches?  Here are some quick tips to help you out!

1.  Shoot earlier!  You do not want the sky to be completely black.  Shoot 15 to 30 minutes after sunset to get some light in the sky, but not so much that it’s overwhelming your teeny-tiny lights.

2.  Turn off your flash!  You spent all that time putting them up, why blow them away with nasty on-camera flash?  On-camera flash is usually a bad thing, but it’s downright detestable here.

3.  Use a tripod!  It’s dark, the exposure time will be long, perhaps even as long as 30 seconds.  You must use a tripod.  If you don’t have one, try leaning against something sturdy.  It’s better than nothing!

4.  Avoid extemporaneous objects!  You do not need your neighbors house in the shot, or that car, or that southwest airliner coming in for a landing.  You might find that backing up and zooming in helps to eliminate your neighbors.  Do everything you can to avoid the clutter!

5.  Finally, if you’re trying to shoot a portrait and you want the typically-desired out-of-focus lights behind your victim subject, zoom in all the way and use your feet to back up to frame the shot.  This will make those lights large and beautiful!

Are you having a specific issue with a photo and need some input?  Let me know!

The Numbers Game

I received a call to artists to apply for the fall Bayou City Art Festival in Memorial Park.  As usual, I read through the list of requirements and regulations.  I came to the one requirement that I feared to see at a real classy show such as this…

“Prints exhibited by artists accepted in the graphics/printmaking category must be limited editions and properly signed and numbered.”

To clarify, all photographers are print makers.  Therefore, for a photographer to attend the show, they must show only limited editions.  I do not have limited editions.  Should I convert all of my work to limited editions so I can attend possibly the most lucrative show in Houston (and possibly others)?

After some reading and some contemplating, I have decided that in the long run, it is not in my interest to do so.  I can always change my mind and start creating limited editions.  But once I create a set of photographs to limited edition, I can never revert them.  If I happen to have a best selling image in that set, then I am artificially limiting the profit I can make on it.

Short term gain is that because there are fewer available to purchase and own, I can charge a higher price.  Not because it’s a better art piece, but because I have decided to only sell some completely arbitrary number of them.

The pro’s for limited edition:
Higher Prices
Entry into some shows
Ensures that I won’t be creating that print for the rest of my life (or I could just stop creating it without announcing it to the world)

Cons:
Must keep very detailed records of every piece created and every piece sold.
Can only sell a limited number which might hinder long term sales.
Would either have to convert my current collection to limited edition and count the ones I’ve already sold in that edition but not have them numbered, or apply it only to new works.

I’ll admit it, even as a prospective art buyer, there is something attractive about owning a numbered limited edition, so I can respect the reasoning behind being able to charge more.  But I suspect that most of my customers, at least at this point, are purchasing my work because they find it pleasing to look at, not because of it’s rarity.  I mean, technically, the pieces that I haven’t sold yet are technically one of a kind, although not limited.  But that doesn’t make them more valuable.  I would argue that makes them less valuable.

An excellent example: Abbie and I were at a small market on Saturday which I was scoping out because they require limited editions.  I wanted to see what I was missing out on.  Fortunately, it was a disappointing market and I’m not missing out on anything.  However, one of the photographers there had his limited editions hanging and all but one of them were marked 1/250.  The most attractive one was 3/250.  How did this affect my view of this artist?  I felt like his work was not desireable.  I knew that either this was his first day, or noone was buying. 

To be fair, my booth wouldn’t be much different.  I haven’t sold more than single digits of any and maybe half of them are still on #1.  I don’t want people to walk into my booth and see a bunch of 1’s, 2’s, and 3’s and get the impression that my work isn’t desireable.  That’s a number’s game.  The number becomes more meaningful than the art.

But I’m giving up some higher classed shows.  I’ve come to terms with that.  Fortunately, the Bayou City fest is the only show that I’m being restricted from based upon my marketing decisions.  It’s disappointing really.  The largest art market in Houston (that I am aware of) is discriminating against print makers based upon a marketing decision and not on their skill as an artist.

However, I am strongly considering converting my current work to numbered open editions.  This will be beneficial to my customers because they will have an identifiably unique piece that doesn’t cost any extra.  The downside is that I will need to re-work my labels and the pieces that I have already sold will be counted, but un-numbered.  It will also be more work for me to keep track of the numbering.  I think my labels need to be re-designed anyway to include more information for the customer, and it wouldn’t be much more work to add a unique number to each.

I expect I will soon be converting my entire collection to numbered open editions, but, to me, creating limited editions of digital prints just to be allowed into a show is the wrong decision.

Focal Length: NOT for “Getting Closer”

I remember when I received my first DSLR my senior year of high school from my Mom as a graduation present.  Not satisfied with the stock 18-55mm zoom that came with it, I purchased a 70-200mm zoom so I could get close to the action and feel like an FBI agent on a stakeout.  That’s what long focal lengths like 200mm are for, right?

Well, if you’re shooting wildlife or sports, where you can’t physically get closer but you need that tight crop, then yes.  However, in most types of photography, you are not limited by sidelines.  Why not get closer with your feet and shoot wider? 

“But Tim, what’s the difference?  If I can save time by just turning the zoom ring, that’s faster and easier!”

Here’s a little exercise to try out.  Get a friend.  Take your camera and use the widest angle you have available to you (zoom all the way out if using a point-and-shoot) and take a head/shoulders portrait of your friend.  Now, use the longest focal length available to you (zoom all the way in if using a point-and-shoot) and take another head/shoulders portrait.  You will be forced to move significantly further away for this one to crop correctly.

Now, switch repeatedly between the two photos.  You should notice that on the first one, your friends face appears to be longer and their ears may even disappear behind their cheeks.  The second photo will appear to be more how you are used to seeing them.

So what causes this?  The technical term is perspective distortion.  Your viewpoint creates distortions which are related to the ratios of how far away things are to your eye (or your camera).  Things closer appear larger than things further away.  Our brain compensates for this so if you put your eye in front of someone’s nose (preferably someone you know), you won’t notice this elongation nearly as much as a camera will portray it.

It’s often thought that the focal length is responsible for this effect.  It is not.  To prove it, take a picture of a your friends face while zoomed all the way out, but standing from the same spot you shot with your longest focal length.  Switch between the photos.  The ONLY two things that change is the way the photo is cropped and the depth of field (not related to this discussion).  The perspective does not change at all.  Your friend simply appears smaller.

So what do you do with this info?  The method that I use the most is to first choose my camera position which affects perspective distortion and the amount of background I want to include, THEN I choose my focal length to crop the image how I would like it.  Use this, and I believe you will find yourself with much more control over your image creation process.

Quality over Cheap

I’ve made a lot of choices over the past few months.  Choices about which vendors to purchase from, what model of frame to use, what print sizes to offer, what brand of paper to print on, etc.  My choices were mostly based upon two options… buy cheap and save money (at least, in the short term), or buy quality and have a product that I can take pride in, and be confident in signing my name on.

I put thought, time, and effort into each photograph as I capture them, I put more thought, time, and effort into processing them to match my vision.  Why would I not choose the best possible printer and inks to print them with, the best fine art paper to print them on, and the best quality mat board, mount board, and frames to display them in?  Why go through all that effort just to compromise the final product to save a few dollars, or even a few thousand dollars?  If my business is to succeed, this won’t amount to anything in the long run.

It’s why I purchased an Epson 4900 pigment inkjet printer instead of “making do” with my Canon 9000 with it’s dye based ink.  It’s why I chose Museo Portfoleo Rag paper instead of a cheaper grade Epson or Kodak paper.  It’s why I chose Bainbridge 4-ply mat over the Hobby Lobby no-name brand that might discolor after a few years.

The downside is that I have to make a much greater initial investment in my business.  This is fine with me.  Fortunately, I can afford it and have not had to borrow the money at interest.  Sure, the amount my business owes myself is pretty intimidating, but I plan to succeed.  If I succeed, this initial investment won’t take long to pay back.  If I fail, I’m stuck with some really awsome art pieces that I would be happy to have for my home and office.

A Plug for Lynda

Over the past year, I’ve spent a LOT of time at Lynda.com and I cannot recommend this valuable resource enough.  If you’re not familiar with Lynda.com, it is a library of video tutorials that focuses on software education, but also ventures out into other topics such as photography. 

For example, If you want to really learn Photoshop (any version), I cannot stress enough that you should check out Deke McClelland’s series on whatever version you have.  If you want to learn the fundamentals of photography, or perhaps freshen up on a few concepts in composition, Ben Long has several excellent videos.  I highly recommend his Black and White series.

At $25 a month, it’s well worth it if you have the time to put into it.  And you’ll need lots of time.  One of Deke’s series on masking is twenty five hours worth of adjustment layer goodness.  And yes, I have watched it in its entirety, along with many of his other tutorials.

PHP, Microsoft Office, Windows 7, and Quickbooks are just a sampling of things that you can learn through Lynda.com.  I highly recommend.

Diving In

You can have all the greatest ideas and the best plans in the world, but until you act on them, they’ll never amount to anything.  As I was reading Alain Briot’s “Marketing Fine Art Photography” this past December, I decided to take action.  I have been studying photography for two years and have decided that I would like to expand my audience.  More than that, I would like to make an income from what has been a very expensive hobby.  “It’s time”, I decided.

So on January 14th of 2012, I registered Herschbach Photography LLC and have spent the past few months putting my ducks in a row.  Ordering supplies, building a website, gettings business insurance and sales tax registration, etc.  It’s a lot of work considering I also work a full time job.   I still have several things on my “to-do” list, including creating this blog which I am now writing, but each week I do something to progress my business.

To be honest, I don’t know which direction I will be taking this blog.  I like to consider this being “flexible” instead of “indecisive”.  I hope to post updates concerning my business as well as content concerning photography.  I hope that you will follow along as I take the plunge.