Writing For Fine Art

Lesson 112 from: Fine Art Photography: The Complete Guide

Brooke Shaden

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Lesson Info

112. Writing For Fine Art

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Next Lesson: Define Your Writing Style

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Yours is a Story Worth Telling

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Writing For Fine Art

We get to talk about my favorite topic in life, not just here at the bootcamp but in life, which is writing. I've always been obsessed with writing, storytelling, anything to do with any way of putting a story out there, so I've always been very interested in how can we use writing not only to tell stories but also to aid our photographs, because a lot of people are under the impression that a photograph should be worth 1000 words and that's really great if it is, but we cannot rely on that at all. We have to rely on our skills as artists to translate what we want our images to be into words, or at least to cultivate an audience faster that's more appropriate for the kind of work that we're producing. So writing for fine art is all about writing for your images and being able to cultivate the right tine, the right atmosphere in your writing, to sort of shuffle people along into the right mind space when they're thinking and looking at your work. So that's what we're gonna do is talk ab...

out writing, very in depth right now. I know that writing is a very difficult thing for a lot of people to do, maybe you feel like you're not imaginative enough for good writing, maybe you don't have the right grammar set. I certainly don't. I feel like if you tell me to construct a proper sentence, it will necessarily not be right. I just never had that skill, and it was really frustrating growing up because I always felt like writing was my one talent, like the one thing that I could do, but then I always struggled in my English classes cuz I couldn't get my grammar right. It was really, really frustrating and definitely took me down a few notches when I was trying to be a writer. And I wanna make a couple points: one, that doesn't matter. If you don't have good grammar, if you feel like you're not creative enough, it doesn't matter, cuz they're all fixable. Writing is a skill that we can learn if you try hard enough at it, and I'm not saying try so hard cuz you are trying to write a novel or you're trying to put out the great work, the next great American novel or something, it's not what we're trying to do, we're just trying to bring an authentic and interesting tone to what we're writing about in relation to our art. So why write? What is the importance of doing this? Since so many of you will be so resistant to me on this point, I wanna make a few points about why it matters. Because your art doesn't tell your audience what to do. Now think about it this way. Not just, oh I need writing to accompany my work, I need it to be more atmospheric, all that aside, if you create a piece of art and you put it out there and your goal is to one day sell your work in galleries, your image isn't gonna open up its mouth and be like, "I'm a picture, please buy me." That'd be funny if it did, but it won't. You need to say that in some way that feels right for you. So you are going to be able to write along with your images to tell your audience what to do. Your art does not always reveal your intent. You can try for that, of course that's probably most of our goal is to create art that reveals something about the story or the artist, him or herself or something relevant about the intent, but it won't always do that and it's good to know that it won't always do that. And it's important to be able to write with your intent in mind. To be able to say, this is what I want you to do, and this is why I created this piece of art. And then your art doesn't always show your personality. Now sometimes it does. But I can't even tell you how many times I've walked into a room, introduced myself, and had people say, "Whoa, I expected you to be gothic," or, "Whoa, I expected you to be wearing all black "with mascara running down your face." I've heard it so many times that I know that my art does not show my personality. I know it for a fact. I have a way different personality than anything that I've ever created. So how am I going to let people know who I am? Now you might say, nobody needs to know who I am. I am an artist who does not wanna be front and center. Okay. I agree, there are people who don't wanna show their personality and what they do, so maybe this point isn't for you and that's okay, but most of us, if we're trying to sell our work in some capacity, if we want to make a living doing this, our personality is important to showcase in some respect.

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

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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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Writing For Fine Art

Writing For Fine Art

Lesson Info

112. Writing For Fine Art

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