Back in my studio art days, I spent hundreds of hours
drawing and painting the nude figure.
And at some point during that invaluable training, I realized there must
be a very small market for paintings of the nude that are at all representational. Not many people want a nude person on
their wall, no matter how well done.
Sure, they’d make an exception for a Michelangelo, but that’s about it.
A similar type of psychology rules photography, too, I
think. Not just nudes, but many
types of photography and many different uses. Unlike paintings, not all photography is destined for
people’s walls in the first place, and it occurred to me that certain types of
photography are more appropriate for certain types of uses.
A gruesome photograph of war might earn widespread
admiration and international prizes, but that doesn't mean most people would want to hang a print of it over their
sofa. Or display it as a
screensavers, or…many other things.
They might, however, like a book full of such images for the coffee
table in front of the sofa.
The wall space might be reserved for pictures of Venice Canals or flowers
or…anything but people, essentially.
A person’s home is private and intimate at least part of the
time, and in general I think people don’t want photos of strangers on the wall,
unless maybe they’re abstracted somehow.
So if you’re in the business of selling your photography in
tangible media, it’s probably worth knowing not only who your audience is, but
also how your audience likes to consume your work. They might love and pay for a book of your photos, but not
offer anything for a large print.
Or vice versa. And for their company’s lobby, they might like something
different yet again. And a restaurant or other retail space might be the perfect place for that picture of a Sadhu that everyone loves, but no one wants a print of.
It’s a matter of horses for courses, as they say.
