A really dumb question...

[Walczak Photo]

Hey Folks,
I'm going to post this here as I'm not really sure it would be appropriate anywhere else on the forums here at OP. As I'm sitting here prep'ing another 22 shots for 8x10 prints to go along with the 15 shots that I printed a few weeks ago that I still need to frame, I've had a growing nagging concern running around in the back of my head.

Compared with my "film days" when I would shoot a roll here, shoot a roll, there, etc., since I've gone to digital over the last fews years, I've become...shall we say, "rather prolific" with my photography. I have 4 rather thick "albums" of my best work which I update on a semi-regular basis (mostly critters but some scenics) and I have plans on doing a 5th album of "people" shots (if I can recover this crashed harddrive). In addition, I have well over 80+ framed prints, mostly 8x10's that I sell...well....where ever I can. Of course, I have a fair number of my personal favorites all framed and hanging all over the house as well...in fact I'm starting to run out of walls to hang pictures on...literally.

Now of course, it doesn't end here either...I know I'm going to be shooting and shooting, probably for a great many years to come. I love photography and I LOVE animals and the two certainly seem to be a great and natural mix. If I am able to take this to a more professional level (meaning that I can make a living at it) with stuff like portrait work and/or weddings, that stuff will most likely get filed for posterity...after all, I don't really want photos of someone else's wedding hanging in my hallway! LOL!!! But my first and main love when it comes to photography is critters (obviously) and I'm sure I will keep shooting those animal shots in any case. Beyond that, every time I get a new lens or a new piece of equipment, that usually spawns a whole new rash of image taking sessions. Sometimes I even just get inspired (occasionally by shots I see from you folks) and have to go out and try it myself. AKA...more pictures. I've gotten to the point that I do only try and print the really good ones...not counting my harddrive crash of last year, I easily have over 15,000 images on my harddrive (or backed up to CD/DVD). A great many of those shots would also make fine prints, but I do try to be selective and print the ones that I think are "the best". Obviously though, that's still A LOT of pictures! And all of this is just from the last 3 years...I can't even imagine how many shots I'm going to have in another 5-10 years! ARRRRRGGGGG!

Clearly I do go back and "re-examine" my work from time to time and I do update my albums as my skills increase and I get better shots. I'm sure that like many of you, I'll look at a shot I took a couple of years ago that, at the time, I thought was a really great shot, but now only seems "so-so" and I will replace it with something better. On the other hand, I have some shots that I took a couple of years ago that are still great shots...like my squirrels for example (and Nutty Buddy in particular...that's just a fantastic shot).

Personally I consider myself to be well beyond the "snapshot" stage where I just print the pictures, look at them once or twice, say "oh, that's a pretty one" and then hide them in an old shoe box until someone asks about them. I think my work is better than that (at least I've been told it is) and at the risk of sounding terribly vein, deserves to be seen. On the other hand, I literally have 5 boxes of framed 8x10's sitting down stairs that I haven't sold yet, that I simply don't have room for on my walls...and I have around 35 more recent photos that I'm planning on framing! I really seems to be a shame to have them just sitting there in boxes as many of them are really good shots (IMESHO), but.......can ya see what I'm getting at here?

So, my question is; for you folks that are like me, who shoot A LOT of pictures (Pat, Bob, Dalentech, etc.,) what exactly do you do with all of those shots...other than posting them here of course? After all, even for a "pro" a portfolio can only be just so large and still be "effective" for show casing your work. What do you folks do with all of those great shots? Beyond sending me to a shrink for my photographic obsessive/compulsive disorder, what the hell do you folks suggest I do with all of these pictures???

I look forward to hearing some opinions on this!

Peace,
Jim

[hw771230]

Jim,

I know where you are comming from. I have about 14,000 images from the past 3 years, and I delete ruthlessly. I typically only keep 20-25% of my images, some days as low as 5 %. I am having some of the same questions comming up in my mind (what to do; how to show?).

Right now I am slowly working on seperating my photos into seperate portfolios. Each one will have a "theme", and ideally will have the ability to tell a story.

The next idea I am hoping to get up and running is a dispplay. I have a couple ideas for this, but the most likely right now is to get some gallery space for some ammount of time. I'm still working on this one. I'll just add that this is not my idea, but I liked it, so I am going to try for next winter.

One last thought. Freinds in your area may have some worthwhile ideas for sharing your work. I know the opportunities there are different from here.

Just some thought to get the rusty gears moving (mine as much as yours). Good Luck,

Caleb

[Walczak Photo]

Hey Caleb,
Thanks for the contribution!

Yes, I do already have my albums broken down into themes, so to speak. I have one for strictly "domestics" (house pets and such), one that is basically mammals (non-domestic...foxes, coyotes, wolves, deer, etc.,), one that is primarily birds and raptors and the forth is mostly scenics/sunsets. I did this this way so that I can present a perspective client with the stuff that appeals to their needs...i.e. if a person is interested in my doing pet portraiture of their dog, they may not really be interested in my deer, opossum or skunk shots...and if they are, I can always present those later.

I've also done the gallery thing (and hope to do some more). Last year I had a very successful month long showing of my work at the French Creek Nature Center (sold 7 of my framed images which allowed me to get my Canon Rebel), and while I missed out for scheduling with them for this year, I'm hoping to do several more next year as well as at a few other nature centers. Unfortunately aside from the nature centers, we don't have too many other places that really constitute a "gallery" as such. There are places at the malls, but they seem to sell stuff like Ansle Adams, Bob Talbot, etc....not sure if they'd really be interested in some "Walczaks" LOL!. We do have a few places that are very "high brow" such as the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art and such, but I'm not sure they'd really be that interested in my work either (perhaps my own lack of self-confidence talking there) and even if they were, I'm not sure how to go about approaching them.

I would love to be able to sell some of my work to places like American Greetings or Hallmark or even those companies that make those calenders you see in mall kiosks around the holidays, but again I have no idea HOW to go about approaching companies such as that. An agent perhaps? I know all of my local pet stores have racks of animal themed greeting cards, but again, how does one sell one's work to such a company?

Yea...you're right...we need to get those rusty gears moving!

Any other thoughts?
Peace,
Jim

[Bonish Photo]

Hey Jim, one thing that I found that is a great and very cost effective way of showing your work, is to buy one of the digital frames that are out on the market. I too had hundreds of images framed and hung on all avaliable wall space around my house, my parents house and numerous friends homes.

For Christmas last year, my siblings and I went in and bought our parents a 5x7 digital frame. At that time, the 8x10 models were way too expensive. Now I've seen the 8x10's for less than what we bought the 5x7 frame for.

What we did was set up a few 1 gig cards with about 200 images each. Labeled them with different titles like Winter, Summer, Spring and Fall so my parents could swap them out when the seasons change.

For our family, this was one of the best things we did. Once other family members started coming around and seeing the frame always changing images, we just made copies for other family members when they all bought themselves different frames for their own houses.

I know that in a few years, when Cindy and I are settled down and done traveling full time, this will be the only way we'll frame our next house. I'm thinking that in the next few years, prices will come down far enough that you'll be able to buy 30" monitors for next to nothing and we'll just frame them right into the wall of our house. Then I'll have one main CPU that'll be able to control the slide shows that are shown on each digital frame.

Anyone who has framed a poster size print knows how expensive this can be. I know the last 24x36 I sold that was framed and double matted, just the framing cost around $700!! So a one time price of $400 a big digital monitor framed into the wall will be worth it for me.

I'm sure if you were to add up the costs of your numerous portfolios, you could probably already have a few of these digital frames around the house, and then changing the images would cost nothing.

Another way I was able to get images out for more people to see before I had a website and the internet was prolific, was to go to a few of the local cafes and talk with the owners. I was good friends with most of them anyway since we owned a bar/restaurant in a very small town.

I asked them if I was to get some images that they could pick out and framed to their liking, would they hang them up for me in their establishments. For a little investment, I now had numerous images around town and they had local high quality images for nothing.

Just a few different ways to get your work seen. Once it's out there, you'll start getting calls for either prints or custom work.

Good luck

Pat
www.everymilesamemory.com

[Walczak Photo]

Thanks Pat...

I have been looking at those digital frames...just haven't broken down and bought one yet. As you say, the prices keep coming down and I know they're going to keep coming down even more. I guess that's why I'm waiting on those...I'm afraid that if I buy one now at say $70, in a month or so they'll be on sale somewhere for $50 and when I buy one of those, a couple of months later, they'll be on clearance for $30...isn't that the way it usually works? It's a good idea though and certainly would clear up some wall space.

It's kind of funny you mentioned this though as my wife and I were just talking about this over the holidays. I was just looking at a digital frame in a catalog that had a remote control for changing the images and I had a rather evil thought. I wanted to get one for when my parents came over for the holidays (which they didn't) and load it with 8 or 10 shots that were all similar, but not exactly the same. I would then put the frame where my mother could see it and then every time she wasn't looking, I'd change the image...just to see how long it would take her to think she was loosing her mind! LOL!!! Yes, I come from that kind of family .

I do hear ya on the cost of framing. Fortunately I do my own framing work...just seemed like a really good thing to learn. In fact since you mentioned it, I actually just picked up some really nice 24x36's for...are you sitting down? $4 a piece! These aren't "poster" frames either...real wood, real glass. I only grabbed 4 of them and by the time I went back, the rest were gone (and yes I'm kicking myself in the butt for not picking up more!). I get most of my matting for about $6 a sheet (unless I want something really fancy), so for roughly $20 plus the cost of the print...yea...beats the hell out of $700 every time!

At some point I plan to start making my own frames as well. I have the wood working tools and I'm getting pretty good at cutting glass (in other words, I'm down to only breaking every other pane! LOL!). I'm planning on doing the frames from "all recycled materials" to go with my animal/nature/"green" style of shooting. I can get older glass and wood pretty easily for nothing so the only real investment there (other than time and effort) is the basic hanging hardware and the occasional bottle of wood glue...which is fairly inexpensive. I think it would be a real plus and a good selling point for my stuff.

Now the shots in the cafes...there's an idea I hadn't thought of. I've actually talked to my vet and he's willing to put a few of my shots up and I was thinking some other vets and even places like "grooming shops" would be a good idea...restaurants and cafes never crossed my mind. I'll have to pick and choose a little as many of the restaurants near us are "corporate" places...Outback Steak House, Road House, Starbucks Coffee, etc., and even with the franchises I know there's a degree of corporate standards and approval, but I'm sure there have to be some independents out there who might be interested. That's a good one...I'll have to mull that one over a bit.

Thanks!
Jim

[gldiana]

Hey Jim,

I'll keep it short: keep the photos for stock use. Find a stock agency or create your own.

As for the matting, I bought myself a professional mat cutter last summer for $350 and it paid itself rather quickly.

Also check your mailbox here for more

[bob_r]

Jim,

I just shoot for my own enjoyment and for my wife's scrapbooking hobby for family members, so am not concerned about keeping my shots to sell them.

I bought an external 250GB drive that I keep all my pics on. I'm pretty ruthless about deleting them, but the ones I really like and want to keep, I copy to DVD's. I also copy all family pics to DVD's. I post some of my pics on Pbase and use that as a backup for the shots that I really like.

I've only framed one picture and that was a 24 X 36 print of my granddaughter riding her horse. We had it framed and hung it in her room as a surprise for her. I print all the pictures for my wife's scrapbooking and ones requested by family members, but never print any of my other shots.

This probably isn't much help to you, since I have no plans to sell any of my shots. I'm not saying that I wouldn't sell them, but I'm not actively marketing them and have no desire to do so. This is just a hobby that I enjoy and I want it to stay a hobby.

Bob R

[Bonish Photo]

Hey Bob, I wish I had your mind set to keep it as a hobby What started as a hobby for me 20 years ago has now turned into a fulltime job. I've noticed that when ever I get burned out and take a break, I find that my work really improves with time spent away from the camera.

So maybe I should bring it down from a job back to a hobby.

Jim, none of the Franchise Restaurants will hang your stuff. At least that's what I ran into when talking with any of the managers. Like I said, we owned a restaurant, so I was good friends with almost every bar/restaurant owner in my entire area.

The franchise places are too corporate and can only hang stuff that the higher-ups approve. You probably wont get any business from them anyways. But the local places are usually decorated with a quaint atmosphere that suits itself for unique framed images. Especially if they are taken of local settings and by a local photographer.

As for making your own frames and mats, I envy you guys. Maybe someday I'll be able to set up a little shop in the garage or basement to do this. I'd love to learn how. And the recycled frame idea is sooo cool. One of our favorite set of frames is a pair that I found in a garage sale for a few dollars that the ladys husband had made from some recycled barn wood. I printed some really cool outdoor scenes in black and white with a slight sepia tone to them and it looked like the frames were made for the images.

Good topics and ideas

Pat
www.everymilesamemory.com

[Walczak Photo]

"As for making your own frames and mats, I envy you guys. Maybe someday I'll be able to set up a little shop in the garage or basement to do this. "

Truth be told, cutting my own mattes and such was a bit of an opportunity thing really. I had been hitting local garage sales (like I usually do...I'm a HUGE bargain shopper!) and I had not only found a lady who had a bunch of frames, but a whole bag full of frame parts including one of those small Logan matte cutters and 4 24x36 white mattes....all for $4! From there, it just sort of took on a life of it's own if you will. I made my own cutting table, got a good straight cutter and a couple of pre-cut mattes to use as templates and the rest is pretty much history.

I should add though that I did totally butcher a number of mattes when I was first learning! LOL!!!! It wasn't until I got a couple of pre-cuts to use as a templates that it all really started to come together. I just pick up the large pieces of the Cresent matte board for $5.69 a piece from my local crafts shop, trace the pre-cuts onto the back of it and just "cut along the dotted line" (angle cutter for the inside, straight cutter for the edges). I've actually put mine side by side with the pre-cuts and people really can't tell the difference...in fact, most people guess wrong and say mine are the store-bought pre-cuts because the colors often go together better! LOL!!! I can cut custom sizes now (at least up to the size of my cutting board), but for the sake of ease and convenience, I still pretty much stick with the 8x10 shots in the 11x14 frames. It makes a nice wall size and I can really knock them out left and right. I can easily frame 6 or 8 shots this way in a single evening (which unfortunately is why I have 4 boxes of framed images sitting downstairs and the initial reason for my first post! LOL!!!).

I'm sure you probably know this, but if you're really interested in doing some of your own, check with some local craft stores and you should be able to pickup the pre-cut mattes (as well as the frames to go with them). Around here a nice pre-cut double matte for an 11x14 frame (8x10 opening) is usually less than $5. Even using really nice frames, I can still double matte and frame an 8x10 for less than $40. In fact, I know that two of the crafts shop I go to will even cut the mattes for you for larger sizes and then let you take everything home to assemble yourself. It's not as cheap as doing it all yourself, but it's still MUCH cheaper than having a framing shop do the work for ya and with a little practice, you can achieve the same if not better results than "the pros".

As it is, I usually shop around for clearance frames (scratch & dents that can be cleaned up easily) which I can usually pick up for $2-$4 each and it only costs me about a buck to cut my own mattes (unless I want a special textured matte or something that usually costs a bit more). Since I do most of my 8x10's as "laser prints" as apposed to actual photos, it only costs me $.40 a print...in other words, it costs me less than $5 to print and frame an 8x10 which I later sell for $45! Mwahahahahahaha! It really beats paying someone else to do it for ya and helps to keep my prices -way- below the competition!

Doing my own frames is another thing entirely. I tend to do quite a bit of woodworking to begin with...if nothing else out of necessity with home repairs. Being a home owner and a hard core DIY'er, over the last 17 years I've picked up two table saws, two miter saws (both Deltas), drill press, routers (just got a new Craftsman router table last summer), band saw...you get the idea. At this point about the only thing my little wood shop out in the garage is really lacking is a good planer/joiner and a molding cutter. As such, cutting wood for frames really isn't a big deal at all for me, but it's taken quite a while for me to learn how to cut glass...and I still end up breaking a lot of it; "Let's see....you score the glass with the cutter...you "tap", "tap", "tap" with the little brass ball along the scored edge and....SMASH!!!!!" - the whole piece of glass goes right into the waste bucket! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll get it there eventually .

Anyways, just some thoughts on saving some money for ya!

Peace,
Jim

[gldiana]

I envy you. I spent $350 on my Logan mat cutter, but I love it though and the learning curve was easy on me