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Assignment S45

Most of us are guilty of having lots of good images stored on hard drives, which never see the light of day. This assignment aims to bring you out of the closet as a street photographer, inspiring you to bring your work out into the op n and show if off to a wider audience. So this assignment is simple: pick one of these ways to bring your work to life. 

Publish a photobook: Self-publishing has never been easier or cheaper and, for the price of a pizza, you can see your work in a lovely coffee table book. 

Make your own “zine”: There are hundreds of online publishers of zines (informal, self-published magazines) who will print your work at very low cost. 

Exhibit in a gallery: Start with a small local gallery. Meet the curator/director and take samples of your work. Have a clear idea of how an exhibition could take shape with a clear theme, and explain why your exhibition would be good for their gallery. 

Publish on social media: Take your pick from lnstagram, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, 500px, or any other social media platform and post only your best work. You’ll create a bigger and more relevant following if you stick to consistent themes rather than randomly posting everything you shoot. 

Decorate your home: Make some large prints and get them framed. Fill a wall with a set of (themed) images-ideally all of the same size and in the same frames. Try a series of four, six, or eight. 

Show your work at a local coffee bar: Most coffee shops, restaurants, bars, and cafes are pleased to exhibit the work of local artists on their often bare walls. Make sure you put a discreet price tag on them and a card with your contact details; always offer to pay the owner a commission on any sales. 

Make your own website or biog: Every photographer should have a personal website or biog. Websites are incredibly easy to set up from templates and you can have a professional web presence in next to no time-you never know, it might actually attract commissions. You can also sell photobooks, zines, prints, and greetings cards through your site. 

Enter competitions: Magazines, camera clubs, publishers, and major companies all run photography competitions. Somebody has to win them, so why not enter and see if it can be you! 

Make your own greetings cards: There is a massive worldwide market for notecards, birthday cards, Christmas cards, and other celebrations. Not all street photography is considered “attractive;’ though, so be selective about what you aim to publish. As with books and zines, there are plenty of online publishers and printers who will organize everything for you. 

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