Leigh@CAC Posted April 13, 2010 Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 Hello All! My name is Leigh Taylor Mickelson and I have been asked to moderate the business forum! While I have 12+ years of experience as an arts administrator (9 years at Baltimore Clayworks and 3+ years as Program Director at Clay Art Center in Port Chester, NY), this is my first time moderating a forum. Actually, it's my first time participating in one. So I thought this would be a fun new challenge, and perhaps I can help answer some questions out there. Be patient with me as I learn how to post and comment!! So for the past 12 years, I have run exhibitions, workshops and other educational programs for two highly esteemed ceramic art centers. I learned on the job and I can honestly say now that I have a very good sense of how things work out there. I have played a large role in helping young (and not so young) artists establish their careers, and that has been the most rewarding part of my job. Being at a ceramic art center that offers classes for beginners as well as workshops for pre-professional and working artists, I find great joys in helping aspiring artists work to make their mark on an ever growing field. And the first lesson in Polishing Your Image, in order to get those beautiful works of yours out there into the clay world, is to GET GOOD IMAGES. If you look, you will see that everyone's career as a clay artist - out there in the world of galleries and juried shows - starts with good images. This does not mean setting up a sheet in your living room, placing your pot on your couch and taking a few good shots... Or placing your beatiful shino vase just out of the kiln into the newly cut grass... (yes, I still get these!) This means that if you don't happen have any background photography knowledge (I definitely don't), you will need to hire a professional photographer who has a studio and fork out some significant dough, and get quality high resolution digital images of your works. Take a Ceramics Monthly magazine with you, and show your photographer what you want your images to look like -- you only see the best images in there.... So, if you are in a place in your growth as an artist that you feel your work can compete for juried exhibitions, then you owe it to yourself to take this step. And if you are not sure your work is ready for this step, then ask someone who is further on in their career for an honest critique. We are always glad to help. I can say for sure, that when I spent those extra dollars to get a better photograper for my own work, I all of the sudden started getting accepted into juried shows. Believe me, this helps A LOT. Yes, the work has to be evolved as well, but a good image makes a big difference. OK - so that is my first bit. I will look forward to chatting with you all out there. Leigh Taylor Mickelson Program Director Clay Art Center www.clayartcenter.org www.leightaylormickelson.org (my brand new website that I just launched - finally taking my own advice and got myself my own website. I think I am often better at promoting other artists than I am promoting myself!! Tell me what you think!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Jennifer Harnetty Posted April 23, 2010 Administrators Report Share Posted April 23, 2010 Excellent tips, Leigh. I can attest to the importance of great images, speaking from the publications perspective! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
storieteller Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 hello in reply to the photo angle...with these wonderful new cameras of which most of them now have a built in macro lens, and a self made light light box. taking pictures and learning how to do it yourself is a good thing to learn. If you can make a beautiful pot you can take a beautiful picture. Practice using the correct lighting, simple non distracting background and a little help and encouragement.from experianced friends goes a long way. We all have them. With an I can do it attitude and a little time and a never give up mentality, your pictures will be beautiful,,just like your pots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roz potz Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Thank you for the article. I have done both and I can say a professional photographer is great and expensive. Depending on what I need will depend on how I go about getting pictures. I am working on learning how to take my own. I will be at the Clay Art Center the 1st week in August for a workshop, hope to see you then/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leigh@CAC Posted July 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2010 Hello again If you are in a community of artists wherever it is that you live, here is a great way to save some money on photography, and our artists and students here at CAC do it often. Most professional photographers have a "set up fee" which covers the time to set up the equipment required for the work, whether it is at the photographers studio, or at another location, plus an hourly rate. And now adays, there is a fee for the digital post work - converting files from RAW to high and low res digital jpegs. The set up fee can range in price, but it's usually expensive. What some of our artists do here is they get the photographer scheduled, and then several artists bring in their work to be photographed. This way the set up fee is shared among the artists, and then each individual artist pays according to how much time the photographer spent with their work. And, if you have photoshop on your computer, and know how to resize images, etc, then you can always ask for the RAW files on CD, which cuts out that post work, which saves even more money. This shared session works especially well if all the artists involved have work that is all similarlly sized, because then the photographer doesn't have to take a lot of time readjusting the lights, etc. Every penny counts with professional photography! Just a thought. All it takes is someone to schedule the photograher, then to send out an email to artists that you have a photographer coming or scheduled (somewhere), and invite them to join in the shoot to share costs. It is a win win if you don't have a photo booth as part of your studio set up. I guess this is Part 2 of Polishing your Image Leigh Taylor Mickelson Program Director Clay Art Center Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sherman Posted July 23, 2010 Report Share Posted July 23, 2010 Leigh, I think everyone should learn to take photographs of their own work---but not everyone should actually do it for professional purposes. I see a lot of images that are "good enough," and I understand the cost of professional photography can seem prohibitive, but sometimes you just need to realize that cost is not the only (or even the biggest) factor. My standard advice is that your images can be good, fast, or cheap; pick two of those. It really is a personal choice in terms of how you want to spend your time, money, and energy. If you pick good and fast (professional photographer--not cheap) then you still need to make sure they are qualified and experienced in the type of photography we're talking about, which is product photography when it comes right down to it. You have to let them know if your work is glossy, and check out his or her portfolio to see if work like yours is familiar to them. My other standard advice is to remember that photographers vary in their talents and areas of focus as much as potters, so do your homework, ask questions, make sure communication is clear. Then, when you find someone you can work with, from whom you get good results, pay them and keep them happy---then send those images to Ceramics Monthly. Sherman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bevm Posted September 27, 2010 Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 So, after reading this I know I need a good photograper. Do I need one who specializes in ceramics photography? What kind of questions should I be asking? How do I find one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasoned Warrior Posted September 28, 2010 Report Share Posted September 28, 2010 I think that most anyone can get good images if they take into consideration some of the basics of industrial photography. Today with the excellent digital cameras and processing software anyone should be able to get great photos of their wares. One of my favorite systems is to use a tent to get diffuse light on your wares. many people ruin an otherwise excellent piece of art by point reflections and poor backgrounds adn light with the wrong temperature. There are excellent articles online regarding the use of tents to provide diffuse lighting and seamless backgrounds. Do a Google search on lighting tents, search out photo techniques. It is easy to make a simple cube of old bedsheets that serves well as a tent and use readily available lighting from the Home Depot to get excellent photographs. As for me I eschew juried shows. I believe that my audience is my jury. I find frequently that juries are an excuse for organizations to get more income by charging for evaluating aspiring artists' work. It has been my experience that many of the juries still exclude otherwise excelent artists in favor of their regulars: one of the national publications recently alluded to just this prolbem. There are many techniques to get your work out there that do not rely on shows and perhaps one should start exploring those avenues, I am asked to participate in shows because I bring an audience. The unfortunate result I find with juries is that you start working for the jury and your muse is ignored to your own detriment. I realize that this flies in the face of convention but I travel the road less traveled, of course I also have the luxury to do that which may not be available to others. Your mileage may vary. Best regards, Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasoned Warrior Posted September 28, 2010 Report Share Posted September 28, 2010 Here is a link for a very reasonably priced table top lighting system to get you started taking your own photographs: http://www.cowboystudio.com/product/c10/p10-06.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Campbell Posted September 28, 2010 Report Share Posted September 28, 2010 I agree with you about some of the juried shows having the same old faces. Really, how tough is it to jury in a famous, well known potter? Keep you up all night wondering if it will work? High risk? Yes, there is a fine balance between having a known name that will attract your audience and new faces to inspire others. From my workshop teaching experience, I know there are extremely talented potters all over this country that no one knows. Their work could hold up in any show ... which is why I encourage them to join Potters Council and submit a piece for our annual juried show of Members work. Every Member gets an equal shot at being in this premier show at a major pottery event ...NCECA. We will be announcing the winning entries for Tampa soon and starting our competition for Seattle 2012. Hope anyone reading this considers submitting an entry ... The more we get, the better the show! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.