ONE-DAY WORKSHOP
DECONSTRUCTING YOUR PORTFOLIO & WEBSITE For Maximum Client Impact
How to Edit Your Own Photographs: Clarifying Your Commercial Portfolio Without Surrendering Your Vision.
As photographers, both emergent and established, the myriad of outside opinions about your images can be confusing. Opening a magazine full of ads and beautiful editorials that you would like to be shooting, or transitioning into, can lead to a daunting (and painful) process of surrendering your vision in order to tailor your own work to match what is already out there. But will speaking the language of the marketplace get you to where you want to go creatively? Your work may be thematically diverse and it may be a challenging process to organize and categorize your photographs into a powerful and succinct presentation and package (both print and web). Are you clear about what it is about your photographs that make them “yours” and then…. do you know who should be seeing them in order to hire you?
The role of the portfolio is to leave a very specific, strong clear impression of who you are and what it is about you that is unique . The next step is to distribute that message to your potential clients. Find out what messages you’re sending, and how your audience is seeing and interpreting what you’re presenting them. Learn self-sufficiency in creating a portfolio and marketing materials that present your own creative voice and message without pandering to the marketplace. This workshop will: discuss the current market conditions for assignment photography, teach you methods for editing your own work in a clear path that articulates your vision without relying on outside opinions, explain the distribution process and marketing of that vision, and enable you to sell yourself in a market that is subjective. Allegra will review attendees websites prior to the event, and will conduct an open critique for all of the students in this workshop.
This workshop will provide the tools necessary to objectively edit your work, and find your own unique brand positioning in a crowded marketplace.
I. Introduction: Where we are now.
An Overview of the Commercial Market
A conversation about the competition, numbers, and mass market saturation vs targeting.
Avoiding common mistakes in editing one’s own work.
Content and Style.
II. Content Overview – Portfolios + Websites
Open Critique
Individual Reviews
Editing
III. Presentation Overview: Print + Web
Organization
Sequencing
Pacing
IV. Marketing + Promotion
Direct Mail/Email
Social Networks
Sales Calls
Advertising
Agents
V. Closing
Questions
Next Steps
Tuesday, March 30. 9:00am – 4:00pm
Price: $315
Register Now
BIOGRAPHY
Allegra Wilde has more than 20 years of experience as a Branding and Creative Consultant to artists, photographers, art based businesses and to the advertising, editorial and fine art marketplaces. She was until 4 years ago the Director of Talent and Agent Branding at The Workbook. During her tenure there, and currently as an independent consultant and Creative Director in her own business, Allegra’s expertise lies in a broad overview of the commercial photography industry. Recognized as a community builder, her large client base seeks her consultation and advice in such areas as sales strategy, image forecasting, marketing, business development, infrastructure design for creative businesses and portfolio development.
Allegra is a recognized Photography industry authority on agent/artist relationships, marketing for artists, agency and talent branding, and editing. She is a frequent speaker and panelist at Photo Expo in NY, Advertising Photographers of America and other industry events – recently moderating a seminar at Photo Expo on “Creating Original Portfolio Images”. For the past 4 years she has critiqued the final student projects (both General Studies and MFA Program) at the International Center of Photography, has been a frequent guest speaker at the School of Visual Arts, NYU, and Parsons and has conducted workshops for many of the photography industry trade organizations, such as APA and ASMP.
Allegra is the owner/moderator of 2 online industry forums: Art + Photo Agents Forum for commercial artist’s representatives, and Art Producers Forum for advertising agency art buyers and photo editors. The membership of these forums exceeds nearly 60% of professionals working in the US in these two parts of the industry and represent the population involved in the predominant “point of sale” for commercial assignment transactions. She also serves on the board of Stopassisting.com, an organization comprised of industry professionals that mentors emergent commercial photographers in transitioning into their own businesses.
In addition to the above-mentioned work within the photo industry, Allegra also advises a wide range of mainstream businesses, political campaigns, and other individuals on branding, picture strategies and image forecasting.
