livebooks blog

MB:  First of all, thank you for taking the time to add your insight and expertise on this subject for the rest of us to benefit from. As we’ve discussed in the past, I started out as a fine art photographer in the late eighties, well before the internet gave artists access to a global marketplace.  I’ve seen first hand how commercial photographers have gone from shipping physical portfolios from agency to agency as their primary form of promotion to circulating links to a wide distribution list with a well designed email campaign.  How have you seen the world of promotion and commerce change for the fine art photographer over the last 10-15 years?

Portfolio review events have evolved in recent years to become an important  forum for artists ranging from FotoFest’s “Meeting Place”, a component of its biennial festivals (est. 1986 in Houston, Texas), to nearly 20 events per year available to photographers in the US alone.  Some are juried, such as Review Santa Fe, others are regional in focus, and still others offer meetings with a range of international curators, gallery directors, photo editors, publishers and more.  Some events now offer opportunities to meet with industry professionals in one market segment, others, with a broad cross-section.  I encourage anyone considering attending a portfolio review event to weigh the price, the value of potential contacts and the opportunity they will or will not have to meet with reviewers who are a priority to them at this time in their career path.   These events offer an opportunity to gather together with their peers and to begin professional relationships; whether participants work to grow the relationships they begin at review events is up to them.

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