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Additional Materials to Attract Clients

Lesson 23 from: Fine Art Photography: The Complete Guide

Brooke Shaden

Additional Materials to Attract Clients

Lesson 23 from: Fine Art Photography: The Complete Guide

Brooke Shaden

photo & video

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Lesson Info

23. Additional Materials to Attract Clients

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Next Lesson: Which Social Media Platforms Will be Useful?

Lessons

Class Trailer

Yours is a Story Worth Telling

02:09

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Lesson Info

Additional Materials to Attract Clients

Shifting gears slightly here, in your ideal world, if you could just make your own perfect world, where to you want your images to end up? Really, I mean, they could go anywhere. Right? You could be like, you know what? I want my images to end up on this wall at Creative Live. Well, how can we make that happen? It doesn't have to be something that's already been done. It can be something totally new, something unique, something that you've just thought of. And oftentimes those are the best ways to work, aren't they? Because you're not trying to do what other people have done. You're just going out there and making it up. So what's going to attract that client? What is it that's going to attract the person that is going to put your work where you need it to go? I mean, aside from being a street artist, and you go out there and you just put your prints wherever you want them on the sides of buildings. Who is going to help you do this? What is attracting that particular client? I want to ...

talk about ways that you can attract that client. So, very specifically, what is that client interested in? Exactly what are they looking for? Put yourself in their shoes. And how do you want to reach them? What is authentic to you? We'll talk about that in just a moment. This is a question that I think we don't ask ourselves enough. Is your art actually a good fit for that client? Or are you forcing something that just doesn't quite fit? It's like Cinderella, with the shoe? And you've got this glass slipper, and all the step sisters are trying to slam their foot into it, and its just not made for them. Because their foot doesn't fit the shoe. So they have to either make a different shoe, or move on. And that's what we have to do as artists. If our work doesn't fit a specific medium, my work is terrible for book covers. Let's say that they were super crowded and distracting to look at and didn't have enough room for text and were not croppable, but I was like, dernit, I'm gonna get my work on a book cover. Then I either need to redesign how book covers are designed, by maybe not doing anything to the picture and just adding a solid space for text above, or I need to move on and say, okay my images just don't fit on book covers. So I need to find a different way of achieving my goal, which is to could be anything. Could be to have your work associated with stories, it could be to license your work. But maybe it just fits in a different format. So always think, is your art actually a good choice for that client? And what makes it a good choice? How do you know, exactly, if its going to work out? Of course one is, yes you can always just try. You can always just try and see if they like it, see if it works, and I would never discourage that, ever in a million years. That's why I have a career, cause I just started emailing people and hoping that it worked. But it doesn't always work. So how can you start to tune into when something is going to fit? I would argue that, for example, resolution is something to consider. Literal resolution of your images. If you want billboards in Times Square, is your art good enough? Is your art literally big enough to put on a billboard? Maybe yes, maybe no. Maybe you start to create for that particular thing. Sometimes smaller works are better. I've been into galleries that only show teensy tiny little prints. I even went to one gallery where they had magnifying glasses hanging next to each one. That's their thing. Their thing is you take the magnifying glass and you look at the work, and that's what they sell. Would your photos work for that? Could you be in that gallery that only shows tiny little works? Does it fit, does it work? Maybe yes, maybe no. Text placement, et cetera, we've talked about that a bit already. Then we've got what additional materials would your client be interested in. Maybe they would wanna see behind the scenes things. Maybe they would wanna see, gosh what else is there? Videos of your process. Maybe they would wanna see an artist statement. Maybe they would wanna see poetry. What else could they be interested in? What would they wanna see? This is about diversifying your content. Really taking what you do and saying, okay, yes I create art. And some people will stop there, and that's okay. Some people will say, you know what? I'm an artist. And to me that means I just do what I want. I'm not interested in diversifying my content. Fine. Because there are plenty of people who have put their work out there without any explanation, no words to accompany it, no videos of how they did it, nothing. And they go to amazing places with their art. But then there are others of us who that has not happened to. Where we didn't just put our work on Facebook and suddenly we're millionaires. (laughs) Unless, did that happen to you guys? Oh, me neither. So okay, I get it. So diversifying your content can be super important. So like I said: artist statement, showing your props in wardrobe, for example. This is an interesting one. Sometimes when I have exhibitions, if I've used an interesting wardrobe or prop, sometimes I'll actually put that in the gallery space and show people and say, Look! We created this dress, and it was really hard. And this is what came of it. And here's the picture that it was in. And don't you think that' more immersive of an experience for people? When they can be like, oh wow! That's the actual dress that's in that photo! I have been to so many exhibition openings where I've said to people, Oh yeah, I'm the person in that photo. And they're like, whoa! They can't believe it. And then they're so much more likely to engage with that image. Once they think that something is really interesting about it that they didn't know before. These are just a couple of examples of my personal ways of having accompanying materials for my art. So if somebody were to contact me and say, hey, I'm interested in a photo of yours. I would love to know more about your prints. Well, boom! I've got this graphic that I can send them that tells them about my prints. So I have pretty much all the essential information: what type of a print it is, what paper it's on, what sizes, additions and prices, where its signed, things like that. So they know. They know all the information. And its just a really quick, simple way of sharing that. Then I've got this one where if somebody contacts me and they're like, Brook, I'd love for you to speak at this event! Boom! I've got this graphic. Which this one doesn't actually say much of anything. But there are a lot more pages to it, I promise. I've got graphics, and I think its really good to have these things prepared. Even if you're sitting there, like, I've never even had a client. I don't even need these things, because who am I gonna send it to? Well trust me, its really good to have, really good to advertise with, and it makes you look so professional, right? If a gallery comes to me, and I send them this, if they're like, hey, I'm interested in showing your work. And I'm like, Boom! I've already got this made. And here it is. And I'm responding one minute after you've sent that email. Well, I love doing that. But people think I'm crazy. People always write back like, you have time to write to my email? And I'm like, oh no. That was a mistake. Have you ever done that? I don't know. So anyways, its really good to have things like this that you can send to people. And I highly recommend it.

Class Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

Guided Daydream & Writing Exercises Workbook (Lessons 1-11)

Creating an Original Narrative Workbook (Lessons 12-18)

Finding Your Target Audience Workbook (Lessons 19-27)

Planning Your Series Workbook (Lessons 28-34)

Set Design Workbook (Lessons 35-41)

Compositing Workflow Checklist (Lessons 42-49)

Editing Workflow Checklist (Lessons 50-55)

Location Scouting Workbook (Lessons 56-60)

Stock Image Downloads for Practice (Lessons 61-72)

Organizing Your Portfolio Workbook (Lessons 77-81)

Pricing & Editioning Your Work Workbook (Lessons 82-89)

Writing Contracts & Licensing Images Workbook (Lessons 90-98)

Gallery Best Practices (Lessons 99-106)

Pitch Package Workbook (Lessons 107-111)

Writing Your Brand Workbook (Lessons 112-117)

Marketing Workbook (Lessons 118-122)

Social Media Workbook (Lessons 123-127)

Printing Methods Checklist (Lessons 128-133)

Self Critique Workbook (Lessons 134-137)

Bonus Materials Guide

Syllabus

Image Edit Videos

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Brooke Shaden

Brooke explores the darkness and light in people, and her work looks at that juxtaposition. As a self-portrait artist, she photographs herself and becomes the characters of dreams inspired by a childhood of intense imagination and fear.

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topics covered in this class

Fine Art Digital Photography

Ratings and Reviews

April S.

I tuned in for most of Brooke's lessons in this course and watched some of them more than once as they were rebroadcast. First I want to say that Brooke is a very good instructor. Her easy-going, friendly, down-to-earth, somewhat quirky manner cannot be mistaken for unprofessional. She is very prepared, she speaks well (not a bunch of hemming and hawing), she is thoughtful, she is thorough, she is very relatable and at ease, and she is definitely professional in her presentation. I really thought when I first tuned in that it would mostly be background noise while I was at work, sound to keep me company. Not because I didn't like Brooke but I really didn't think I was into fine art photography nor did I think I cared about the business side of things much. Not now anyhow. I was really wrong. Brooke sparked a deep interest in me to delve into fine art photography, to consider creating images for myself, from my imagination. In fact, I realized that this was something I'd been thinking about for a couple of years though I hadn't put a name to it (the idea of creating pre-conceived images based on my own creative goals). I gleaned many little treasures from her about image sizes, working with printers, different types of paper, selling, interacting with galleries, and so much more. I may not need all of what she taught right now because I'm definitely headed in another direction at the moment, but she planted ideas and information in my head that I know will be useful at some point. Things I may not have thought of on my own, but that seed is in my head now so when the time comes, I'll know. I'd really like to buy her course but at the moment, with the holidays right around the corner, it's not in my personal budget. I'm grateful to have caught the live and rebroadcast lessons though, and her course is on my list to own. I think it's a great reference to be consulted over and over again, not watched once and forgotten. Kudos Brooke for really putting together an excellent course.

Angel Ricci

When the title says comprehensive, it means comprehensive! I loved every part of this course. It's inspirational, motivating, and insightful towards creating art work. Even if you are not necessarily considering a fine art specialty, the concepts discussed in this course are applicable to many areas! I find this super useful as a videographer and photographer and look to apply all of these exercises and concepts for my personal and business work moving forward. It is lengthy, but you will not regret a single minute. Brooke Shaden is an amazing artist and educator. I recommend keeping up with her work, presentations, and any future courses that may come in the future.

Ron Landis

I'm retired now, but spent decades in the people and training business. Brooke is extraordinary! Even though this course is extremely well organized and she's left nothing unattended, she moves through it with friendly conversational manners and without a sense of it being stilted. It's as though we are all her friends, not students, as she shares her heart and passion with us. What a joy it is to listen to her. And what a clear, unambiguous command of her subject. Wow! She explains it with such ease using explanations and techniques that won't overwhelm artists just starting their portfolio or the Photoshop-squeamish among us; but despite its simplicity her resulting art is breathtaking and beyond original. I wish more of my professors at school were as engaging. This was by far my best buy at Creative Live yet.

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Additional Materials to Attract Clients

Additional Materials to Attract Clients

Lesson Info

23. Additional Materials to Attract Clients

Lessons

Class Introduction

Storytelling & Ideas

Universal Symbols in Stories

Create Interactive Characters

The Story is in The Details

Giving Your Audience Feelings

Guided Daydream Exercise

Elements of Imagery

The Death Scenario

Associations with Objects

Three Writing Exercises

Connection Through Art

Break Through Imposter Syndrome

Layering Inspiration

Creating an Original Narrative

Analyze an Image

Translate Emotion into Images

Finding Parts in Images

Finding Your Target Audience

Where Do You Want Your Images to Live?

Create a Series That Targets Your Audience

Formatting Your Work

Additional Materials to Attract Clients

Which Social Media Platforms Will be Useful?

How to Make Money from Your Target Audience

Circle of Focus

The Pillars of Branding

Planning Your Photoshoot

Choose Every Element for The Series

Write a Descriptive Paragraph

Sketch Your Ideas

Choose Your Gear

How to Utilize Costumes, Props & Locations

What Tells a Story in a Series?

Set Design Overview

Color Theory

Lighting for the Scene

Props, Wardrobe & Time Period for Set Design

Locations

Subject Within the Scene

Set Design Arrangement

Fine Art Compositing

Plan The Composite Before Shooting

Checklist for Composite Shooting

Analyze Composite Mistakes

Shoot: Black Backdrop for White Clothing

Shoot: Black Backdrop for Color Clothing

Shoot: Black Backdrop for Accessories

Shoot: Miniature Scene

Editing Workflow Overview

Add Fabric to Make a Big Dress

Edit Details of Images

Add Smoke & Texture

Blend Multiple Images Into One Composite

Put Subject Into a Miniature Scenario

Location Scouting & Test Photoshoot

Self Portrait Test Shoots

Shoot for Edit

Shoot Extra Stock Images

Practice the Shoot

Introduction to Shooting Photo Series

Shoot: Vine Image

Shoot: Sand Image

Shoot: End Table Image

Shoot: Bed Image

Shoot: Wall Paper Image

Shoot: Chair Image

Shoot: Mirror Image

Shoot: Moss Image

Shoot: Tree Image

Shoot: Fish Tank Image

Shoot: Feather Image

View Photo Series for Cohesion & Advanced Compositing

Edit Multiple Images to Show Cohesion