Final: Reflection & Improvements
Overall I am very happy with the development of my self-promotion and the direction in which it is heading. I think over the past year I have accomplished quite a bit, and I am happy to start building up my brand and meet potential clients. I have enjoyed this course and how it has pushed my further and allowed me to do things I would never normally push myself to do. I have reflected back on everything I have done for promotion and I think the majority has been successful in building and shaping my brand as a photographer. There are still changes, improvements and developments that I plan to do in the future though:
I do think that the exhibition was generally quite successful but I think we could have pushed ourselves as a team to spark more interest. It seemed that with the main four students taking the majority of the roles on themselves, that everyone else became disinterested. I think we would have benefitted from having weekly meetings that equally shared roles and got other students more involved and motivated. This would have put less pressure on the four students doing the majority of the work, and there would have probably been less arguments and tension between everyone as the responsibility would have been shared.
Setting up was possibly the most successful part of the experience but we would have benefitted from having more of the year one students there to help us. With me taking photos and Ben filming, it meant at times we were two team members down from putting up boards and work, and every little helps. I think we would have also greatly benefitted with a more precise plan. It seemed that we would take regular 5-10 minute breaks from setting up as the floorplan had to be discussed. From my past experience with setting up an exhibition, an organised floorplan helped massively as everyone knew where to put boards, and where their work was going instantly so everyone could just get on. A lot of the time it felt I was waiting around to be told where to put things.
As stated previously, I think that just sharing responsibility and not having self-entitled management roles would have made everyone feel more involved. I also think that we should have assigned different shifts, rather than everyone all day, every day with work breaks. Having 10 students sat in an empty room for a full day seemed unproductive and quite pointless, so I think we could have saved money and time if some students did one day, and some other students did another, but had enough students (about 4/5) so that breaks could be given with at least 1/2 people still left behind to man the exhibition.
More advertising platforms and time spent advertising
More advertising through the Fusion website and social media
The location of the venue - trying to find the entrance was tricky
Lack of support from sponsors
Create a press release for advertisement
Flyer at any other exhibitions or similar events
Contact other forms of media such as radio - (Bridgwater & Bristol radio) The Breeze, Burst radio (Bristol University radio), Heart fm etc
Contact local/Bristol artists and reviewers. People who write for small magazines or blogs about art or events
Contact Bristol’s college/university to advertise
Try to conduct the exhibition over a weekend or at later times on weekdays to compensate for people who have 9-5 jobs
I conducted some questionnaires after the exhibition so that I could get some improvements suggestions from an outsider view. Because we didn’t that many visitors who I could contact, I decided to ask a combination of both those who did and didn’t attend. I thought this would be helpful as I could then get feedback on what we could have done better, but also feedback on what would have made people more interested to go. Here were some of the suggestions given:
Location – Closer to home(Bridgwater) or somewhere more central in Bristol
Opening Times – Across a weekend or after 5pm
Having students present their work in 10 minute slots & generally standing with their work for Q & As.
Improvement on the quality of some of the work
More effort into the books and things for sell
My Work/Personal Changes
In regards to these things there are also things that I felt that I could have done personally to improve the overall exhibition, but also for my work. These are also some suggestions from feedback.
More Questionnaires – Approach people on the opening night & ask what they think
Adding more tattoo samples, and making it obvious what they are & find a more interesting way to display them
Another row of tattoo prints – If I had more time and money so it would add to the flash sheet aesthetic I was going for
Make my book more prominent and interactive – make it more inviting to pick up and buy
Advertise my Facebook page and website – flyers I could hand out with my business card
Making myself available to have time to check the banner and board description before it went to print
I like the good response that I receive from my business cards. I think having a dark pun on them makes them interesting and funny, and is a good way to present my brand at first look. The design represents my brand and the style I take with my work. There are a few little design changes I would like to make the next time I order more, and I would also like to make my Facebook page a key part on them.
The development of my website has enabled my brand to become more professional. I have a successful platform that I can use to display my portfolio to any potential clients and interested viewers. I think I need to continue with how it is going, generate better and more interesting content for the site and develop an email list to gain regular viewers. I also think that I should continue with my blog and find a way to combine both my blog and my website together.
Shop - I also would like to add a shop feature where I can sell prints, books and potential merchandise. I think it would be fun to design some photography inspired merchandise that may bring in more viewers to my work (from inspiring photographers). A lot of the time I feel as though my shots aren’t print worthy as they are of local bands, but I think I need to approach it differently, and I am going to research into the best place for prints and set up some prints/print packages of my Under Your Skin project.
I also received a good response online from my flash sheets that I designed, so I would like to get prints made of these and other drawings I have to sell on my shop and give my store some variety.
Blog - As well as this I intend on continuing with blogging. I started avril182 with the intent on just recording lessons and reflecting for my units, but I now have 55 followers on my blog and get regular notes on things that I post. I have been doing a photo a day challenge, and intend on using it as a way to share knowledge and network with other photographers, as well as motivation for me to continue with photography.
I would also like to find a way to connect my blog and my website together more.
Like my website, I am very happy with my progress and how I have developed it over the past year. It’s a good way for me to get feedback and comments back from the clients I work with. I would like to proposition my clients more to leave feedback/reviews on my page to get honest opinions on my brand and for other potential clients to see if they would like to work with me or not. I would like to expand my audience even further, possibly by posting the link on other photography forums and different platforms where I could get potential interest and network with similar photographers and new bands. I love how easy the Facebook page has enabled it for me to get in contact with bands, when I miss speaking to them at shows I often get messages from band members thanking me for the images and asking for permission to use them. I am very open to allowing my images to be used by bands, and I regularly find new band member’s profiles who are using my photos (awesome).
I took some photos this Saturday (21st May) and today (24th) I received a message from the headlining band EMP!RE asking permission to use my photos in a feature they were having done on them by Stencil Mag (an online music magazine). I am very excited to start getting my work more publicised and I really want to continue with shooting more shows so that I can improve even further. I intend on investing money into better equipment and pushing my photography as far as I can.
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