Artists and galleries, you’ve been working hard. And one day a writer is going to call you. That writer might be someone like me. Someone calling to interview you for a feature article in a newspaper or magazine. That writer will schedule an interview to talk about your art and will take the next day or two to write up a thoughtful intelligent article promoting your work. That writer is also going to ask you for high resolution print ready images. Will you be ready? You had better be, because there is a great chance that you may lose an opportunity to show your best work to a wide audience if you don’t have goods.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve interviewed an artist or gallery and they aren’t prepared with high resolution quality print images to accompany the article. Not only will you need these images in case of fame, but you’ll also need them for advertising, direct mail marketing, postcards, and portfolio and exhibition requirements.

I write this post because just recently I interviewed an artist. I was assured that she had high res photos of a certain piece of work which was to be mentioned in the story. I wrote up the story while waiting for the images only to find out that the artist only had low resolution images. This puts the artist/gallery in a poor marketing situation (because low res images look like hell in print) and it endangers the writer of missing deadline if the writer has to wait for you to prepare imagery. “Can’t you take the image off my website?”  Answer: NO!!  Here’s why…

Images prepared for the web are low resolution images. They are usually compressed to 72 dpi and about 1000×1000 pixels in size at the most. Images for the web are not suitable for print publication because they are teeny tiny or will display with those nasty jagged edges. You need images which are at least 350 dpi and approximately 8×10 inches in size. (Smaller photos such as 4×6 will also work but just in case that writer wants to splash a BIG photo of your work for a page spread… well, you know where I’m going with this, so just in case, keep those 8×10’s handy)

Here’s how to prepare your photos for print:

Selecting images.

You’re a professional artist or a professional gallery and these images should NOT be snap shots. You are selling high end ART… show your art to it’s best advantage and show that you are a professional. If you can’t take the photos yourself, hire a photographer. (Just a little plug here… yes I’m available to photograph your work.) It’s well worth the money to show your work in it’s best light. A professional photographer will provide you with gorgeous detailed imagery. The photographer will crop out any unnecessary background chaos and use post processing to ensure the color pops and that the image is crystal clear and color accurate. Also that photographer will take high resolution photos and will also usually provide low resolution images if you need them for the web as well.

Select images which are interesting, compelling and marketable. Quality content and clear bright images are essential. Ensure that all horizon and vertical lines are level and that the art sits straight and proud. Crazy angles, unless it’s a fine art photo, are not the best choice for publication. Photos of your art opening should include people… lots of people. But if the people don’t look their best, skip the photo and select another. Again I emphasize quality quality quality and HIGH RESOLUTION.  If you have a photo on your hard-drive and are not sure if it’s high or low res, look first to it’s size to give you a clue. If it’s size reads something like 620KB… This is most likely a low res image. Start looking for images that are maybe 3, 5, 10mg. From there you can weed out the low res from the high.

Creating photos on your own.

There are two things you need to be aware of here. First is the image size (dpi = dots per inch) and the image’s dimensions (1000×1000 pixels or 8 x10”). Your camera setting will provide you with a couple of options for this. Select the largest or highest quality setting. You can always make a large photo smaller but you can’t make a small low resolution photo bigger… or at least you can’t do that and expect a solid successful print.

You’ll need some photo editing software and there are several great ones available. Make sure to crop your photo and depending on your Lightroom or Photoshop skills you can tweak the photo for clarity, vibrance, brightness, contrast and more.

When you have collected a variety of shots for your promotion needs put those in a folder for marketing and promotion. Keep the high resolution images in one folder and the web ready images in another. This way you will be ready to go in a moment’s notice when that special writer comes calling.

Oh… and one more thing. Very Important. Don’t forget to include the title, size and medium if you are submitting photographs of artwork. The publication is going to want this information to include in a caption or in the copy.

In the case of the artist I wrote about above… well, she had a new work which she very much wanted to promote. However, because she didn’t have the image prepared, we had to change the copy and display an older image. What a shame and what a lost opportunity. Don’t let this happen to you.  So even if you have images… spend some time organizing them into folders and subsets so you are not hunting around your hard-drive looking for the ONE photo that you know you have somewhere.

Good luck.

Did you like this article or do you know a friend who might benefit? Please feel free to comment and to share.

IS A WEBSITE STILL REALLY NECESSARY?

How many marketing tools do we need? There seems to be thousands, maybe millions, of social media outlets, third-party portfolio sites, creative community endeavors and they all seem to be screaming about why they are the ticket to make your online marketing arsenal complete.

We are told that we need a website, a blog, a Facebook account, Twitter, Linkedin and don’t forget the other myriad of sites that add to the mix. We are told we need self branding (a logo and ID), SEO functionality and that we should network, network, network!! Good lord, who has the time? Do we really need all this to sell our product and services? Well, yeah we do. We’re in business and as such it’s expected that we put in more than the pre-requsite 9-5pm work day. So, no more complaining about Facebook or time limitations.  Don’t wanna hear how you’re an artist and all you want to do is make art. Marketing is a part of what needs to be done. It’s like paperwork, administration, taxes and brushing your teeth . . . you need to do it, so let’s figure out the best way to handle all these reigns.

It had gotten to the point where I was unable to complete a thought or a task. This was so unlike me that I wondered if perhaps there was something physically wrong. Communications poured into my life. Emails on my desktop, laptop, Ipod and cellphone. SMS and voice messages. Phone calls, events, social media and news reports. Before I knew it, my day was done and all I had managed was to keep up with comms. I was getting tense and despite my attempts at giving every project my upmost attention, my day was becoming a patchwork of triage.

It seems lately, if you are in public relations, your job might be equated with something along the lines of being a unscrupulous used-car salesman. BP, the government, and even my beloved Apple, have contributed to the notion that PR is the cover-up agency for bad behavior or a poor product line. As Communications and Public Relations Director of AIGA Connecticut, I thought I’d write a few paragraphs on what I believe public relations is and why it’s important for your organization or business.

“There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it.” – Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American Educator.

I receive many notices from art organizations and galleries which masquerade as press releases. Today I received a press release from an fairly well established gallery. The email was without a subject line. There was no content in the body of the email, it wasn’t addressed Dear Lisa or Dear Press Editor, and there was simply an attachment without explanation. This happens a lot. I hit delete.

Sometimes I get two, three or even four emails from the same organization in the course of a week . . . sometimes even within 24 hours. I generally stop reading at this point because they are approaching spam. One of the first things I learned in PR was . . . Don’t piss off the press!  No one benefits from this. As such, I thought it might be time to take a look at the proper way to write and distribute a press release.

This article was created for this last weekend’s Career Strategies for Visual Artists Workshop presented by Greater Hartford Arts Council.

Every artist should have an online portfolio. Many artists however are either too busy making art or simply just don’t know how to get started. If you do have an online portfolio this article will help you make it the best it can be. If you don’t yet have one, the tips and resources here will help you as you begin to develop your artistic showcase.

And writers, photographers, musicians, designers and you, too.  Maybe I’m preaching to the choir here, but this morning I attended a social media and power networking breakfast and was surprised at the number of people who weren’t taking advantage of social media to promote their businesses.  Social media (blogging, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) is one of the greatest tools available today in which to market your work and your talent. Hell, it’s a great tool just to meet some excellent people.  Never before have we been able to promote our work to people around the corner, the nation and around the world with the click of a mouse.  Social media makes it possible. Millions of people have a Facebook page and/or a Twitter account… There’s a lot of networking you could be doing right now.

You are not just an artist.  You are an entrepreneur and you’re in the business of selling and promoting your work. The world is changing.  Business models are changing.  Social media is a tool for positive change.  It’s important, now more then ever, to reach out to like-minded people and be a part of the change. I know you are probably thinking, “Holy cow, I don’t have time for that nonsense. And who cares what I had for breakfast?”  Using social media is not about what you had for breakfast.  I guarantee you that marketing using these online avenues only takes about 10 minutes a day and it will make a huge difference in your business plan.  Simply log on and tell your fans, in 140 characters, daily news from your studio or gallery.  Talk about your process or your challenges.  Create a page or group just for your business.  You can create lists to organize your followers according to your interests.  To save you time, there are applications such as Tweetdeck which will allow you to type one entry and display it over several social media networks automatically.  Update Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin all at once.  You’re done.

I’m a believer in social media.  In just the last year, social media has revolutionized my social life and my business life in the most remarkable ways.  I’m now attending art events that I wouldn’t have even know about in 2008.  I’ve met artists, photographers, gallerists, and world class journalists.  I was invited to sit on the board of AIGA CT because of my connections on Facebook.  I’ve gotten writing assignments, retained clients and even went camping because of social media.  I’ve learned a lot.  All these connections created new connections and best of all…new opportunities.

I’d love to share some tips and resources for social media here with you.  Are you using Facebook?  Twitter or Linkedin?  Or does the whole notion of social media just freak you out?

You can find me here:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lisa.mikulski or creativeartsguide
Twitter: @lisamikulski or @creativeartsg
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/lisamikulski

ART & COPY, a new documentary film, has the advertising and design world abuzz!  The new film, directed by Doug Pray, is about the creativity and inspiration behind the work and vision of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time.  This is not a film about trashing the evil world of advertising.  It is instead a tribute to those relatively unknown few who actually helped shape our society and our culture with their work. These are the people who’ve created such slogans as “Just do it”, “Got Milk?”, and “Think Different.” They’ve created campaigns for the Energizer Bunny, Apple, MTV and so many other ads which became the signs of our times.  Despite advertising’s evil reputation, these brilliant campaigns and creative minds have helped us laugh, think, smile, and have moved us to act.