2012 Show Planning and Schedule - Photographs

It's that dreaded time of year when we have to start thinking about what shows we are going to apply to and what we're going to show.  Many people think that it's straight forward but nothing could be farther from the truth.  Many countless hours are spent: scouring scrap yards, creating samples, researching art shows to apply to.  Then we have to take photographs; clean up the photographs; resize the photos depending on how individual shows want them; and finally adding them online or to a compact disc, creating photographs, or even having slides printed (although that is really becoming a thing of the past.

I'm going to focus on the photography aspect for now that I've created a number of samples.  I wrote earlier about different processes with the hearts that we've created for years and really happy with the direction were going.  We're actually going to be showing mostly this new work at shows this year, and we're still doing our other work but it will be limited to about three shows.  We'll add more to our website once we get this sorted out when the "come join us" and/or "rejection" letters start coming in this spring.

Above is a four foot tall heart that is about 12 inches wide and two inches deep.

Mackie and I tag-teamed on taking photos today.  We hung each piece individually, and she took three photos from different angles.  Digital cameras are great because it allows us to instantly see what were doing; this has saved countless hours and developing fees working this way.  I then took the photos and added them to my laptop and began working the next magical steps...Photo editing.  Regardless of what anyone says, there's always something to do.  Pictures don't just magically come from the camera.  Almost but not quite.

I take the image and remove the background and then add a generic background like the one above.  I don't do any re-touching to the photos.  If we don't like the color or exposure, we take it again.  It's so easy with the digital camera and way quicker than using all the fancy photo-editing tools.  In my case I don't have a clue how to use 99.9% of them.

The heart about is created from recycled metal shelving strips of various colors.  Note how I keep it real simple and use the same background for each image.

I've finished editing five photos tonight and still need to work on the booth shot with our new wall art to get ready to apply for shows beginning next week.  Over 70% of 2012's applications are due by January 31st!  That's when the pressure really starts.