Are My Images Good Enough For Faa?

i think if you set them up as if to tell a story, they would sell better, like heather and the marshmallows. by themselves it won't have as much meaning.


the images could be of a better quality, like glare, cropped to close and the general clarity could be improved. my loupe just stopped working again.

but i think if you could figure out a way to make props for these to be in, it would be stronger. then of course you could have an entirely new thing to sell. so it would be like this guy and his bike, passing in front of a metal house, with a guy getting the paper, a dog peeing, etc. then shoot the whole thing, lighting will be tricky, you don't want odd shadows, like this one has 2 sets. and you would get your own unique look.


---Mike Savad

I agree with Mike. I think a themed back ground in which the figures tell a story could be very interesting if done right and very "sellable". Good luck!

Mario,

By themselves no! But what you could do pretty easily is set up a table top, like that photographer who makes those amazing tiny vignettes and then uses the real life backgrounds,can't think of his name, but there was a thread a few months ago here about him.

Here was my example of where to start:



Rich

Like Mike suggested, you could set up simple little background vignettes like this artist does with her work...



...or here's a link to what Rich was talking about...

http://petapixel.com/2013/10/14/life-like-miniature-scenes-shot-using-model-cars-forced-perspective-250-ps/

April,

THAT'S it! Thanks!

Or if you have a LOT OF TIME: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMWFhplFSEQ

Marwencol!

very interesting documentary...............

Rich

Your images are excellent. If I were a collector I would buy them. But just because you have excellent images, does not mean they will sell on FAA...For one thing, FAA does not promote our work. We have to bring in our own customers. In any case, Good Luck. I certainly like your art.

Mario,
I'm usually not one to notice avatars and I really don't know why, but I just think your avatar doesn't work at all with your art. Like said, don't really know what's my issue, but something I always note in my head.
--mary ellen anderson

Personally I don't think it is as much your images, as there seems to be just as many images you could buy from a street vendor, as there real original images that sell here. I agree with 'you have to draw your own customers' to your site.
Being that your images are more to sell your work, sculptures, I am not sure the images actually matter except as a sales tool.

@Mike, Rich,John and April, Thank you all for the background idea, it never really occurred to me and I really like what the guy with the little cars does. I guess I could try something like that with my new sculptures but it doesn't address what to do with my images of the sold sculptures which makes up the majority of my work, not what I have listed here on FAA but in the link I posted in the opening statement.

@Robert, Thank you sir I appreciate the compliment and the fact that you like my art, bringing in my own customers is going to be the real challenge, I think your right on with that Robert.

@Mary Ellen, really? my avatar? well it's me when I was 20 years old some 34 years ago. Well at least it's something I could easily change and fix. I wish you would have looked at my images and given an opinion on that, it's not that I am dismissing your comment, actually I have always wondered, does the image of a police officer deter people from liking or looking at my art? I know there are many people who don't like police for one reason or another and I 'm not saying that about you but( I do understand that), So I will give it serious thought, but I could see where you don't think that it works, after all I don't know to many artist cops myself except for one of my best friends who is a retired police detective, now a painter and author.

Dan, I don't know if I understood what you said, I already know my sculptures sell, it's the images I want to sell, especially the ones of the sold sculptures, I think Robert Sweezy said it it once to me it's the gift that keeps on giving. But I was really wanting to know if my images of the bulk of my sculptures were of a quality that would print well and be sellable, from the link in my opening statement. I only have a basic account here so just have my 25 images uploaded.

Mario, if you want to know if the prints you offer are print worthy, then just go ask admin...'opinions' don't answer you.

And why would FAA staff go off FAA to your website/link? Upload here to find out.Get a Premium a/c, like serious sellers do, once you find out they will print.

Am sure you can cover the cost.Nice way to share your other site, though!

Mario,
I love your original sculptures. If I had the money and room for them, I certainly would make a collection of your work. I can see why they would sell. Why wouldn't they? Very original.

However, if you intend to sell "photographs" of them....you might want to contact a professional studio photographer to help you out (maybe give him a piece or two in exchange for his skill in lighting and placement of your images)...

To be honest, in my opinion, your current photographs of your charming and original sculptures work against you and not for you. Still life photography is a hard skill to master. We have a few really excellent still life photographers here on FAA. Maybe study their work???

it's not that an image of a cop would push people away, but since your sculpt, people want to see the artist, not your other job. plus the avar is dark, your small in there, and it looks like a cut out from a polaroid. it's a first impression thing. maybe you can do a self portrait from copper? wait... no pun intended maybe.

if you had police art then it would make sense.

photographs of statues are usually not that interesting unless they are a part of something else. a statue in the park isn't that great unless you can get birds to sit on them, or people tossing change in a fountain, and it becomes a new scene. and the same would be for this. even if you don't have a metal house, you can take scrap metal as a background, and as if rising from the ashes, is the creation. the only way a stand alone can sell is if you either:

1. place scripture on there some place.
2. add a black framed border and added some kind of inspirational quote, but even then it could be tricky. unless you can make a pun using metal in some way and use that as a quote.


---Mike Savad

another example is to look for that photographer that takes tiny train people (like HO scale), and places them on fruit in different ways. you could do something like that, but make it specific for that scene.

---Mike Savad

I agree with Mike's advice.
You could create a town/village of your work. Or put an individual piece in a unique setting. Of course this takes time, imagination and lots of work.

PS...
By the way, what do you charge for one of your sculptures? Like the Photographer? I am curious....

Mario, this may go totally against the grain, but let me tell you a story of a retired couple that used to do arts and crafts show that I used own.

This was a weekly show in a parking lot in Pismo Beach California. The beach is important because of the way he marketed his product.

He came to me with these crazy little rock dogs he and his wife glued together from rocks that he picked up on the beach. He had dozens and dozens of them and they were actually really cute. He asked if he could join the show and I just did not have the heart to turn him down. The first month or so he sold maybe 15-20 rock dogs. He was only getting a buck for the small ones and two for the larger ones. He said he had to start making more money or he had to quit the show because he was not covering his cost. Of course the entry fee was his largest cost. I said, why don't you try painting them and raising the prices. So he did.

He painted them like the had cloths on them. He had cops, robbers, bikini clad male and female and about every character you can image. Just plain old dumb, free rocks that he picked up on the beach. When I sold the show to another promoter he was selling them for $10-$25 each and selling a hundred a week. He promoted them as an "endangered species" only found on Pismo Beach. Every one had a name and a birth certificate that was printed on the back of his business card. The was way before Cabbage Patch. And it was long enough back that $10-$25 for them was a lot of money.

So, are your photos good enough? Ya, I think they are with a few technical improvements others have suggested. But as much as I like them myself, I think if you turned the ants into characters, they would sell like hot cakes.

I am not really comparing your work to rock dogs, your stuff is way better in an artsy way where the rock dogs never got beyond the handicraft or "novelty" level. But they sold like hell!

@Vivian, well I don't know, Faa could answer the question of quality but I don't think they would address the sale ability of my images, as it was pointed out by Mike and Robert sculpture is a different animal altogether and photographing it is very challenging.I think there are many artist opinions here, like yours which I regard and respect. The purpose of this thread for me has one main objective and that is to sway me one way or the other regarding if I should embark on the pod option, getting anyone to view my work at another site was not part of my objective, I don't sell anything at that site and views just for the sake of views really doesn't do all that much for me.I have a lot to think about with these suggestion given here, I don't know at this point what I will decide. One of the main factors I will consider is how much effort I need to put in to get a quality image and if it's worth it? or could that time be better spent just making an original? I have spent hours on some of my images when I can make an Ant sculpture in as little as 2 or 3 hours. I have a home repair business I run, a online gourmet cooking spice business and my sculptures which I sell so I have to really be sure before I decide if I really want to do this and is it going to be as profitable as the other areas I'm involved with.

@ Mike, I was thinking of doing a self portrait cop-per sculpture just the other day, but it's going to be in the Anthropomorphic Ant style, that way I can retain my youth,Lol

@Robert, Thanks again, I agree with your statement that my pictures really don't do anything for my sculptures, that's been my dilemma. I just don't know how much effort I am willing to improve the images, my gut tells me to channel my greatest effort into my originals, but I have an open mind about and that's why I'm here.

With all the info here...it's as you say....your decision. What more can one say.......

Mario,
Check out my Avatar. Now there's the image of an artist! The sensitive, artsy type, for sure:)

@ Floyd, great story Floyd. I think you make a great point about the characters, I have been thinking along those lines, I have army ant & carpenter ant I hope to be making soon. I do like the idea of selling on the beach. I am one who is willing to try new selling approaches, I have been know to set up on a the side of busy road way with a couple of sculptures on a small table. actually made some very good sales in the hundred of dollars on several occasions doing it, but I'm always looking for a new angle, I do get bored with the routine and then I need to move on.

Broken Soldier, I like it! and I like the name!

Robert, the one you mentioned I would price at $180. or around that price, I always give discounts, and I hate to pass up sales, the way I look at it is, God willing, I can always make another.

I must step away a few, as I am pursuing my other love, love of food, my shrimp enchilados are about done.

I don't know but this has some possibilities Mario. If you have a digital program I can see some possibilities of making your sculptures into some cool stand alone prints.

As far as the images of your sold sculptures, if they're high res and decent quality photos you can always Photoshop your sculptures into another background, or pay someone to do it for you, maybe for one of your originals like Robert suggested. I do it all the time with images my graphic design clients send me.

Hi Sydne, what digital programs? do you mean like photo editors? I have basic programs, I think windows live or something, but I agree with you I think there are a few images that might make cool stand alone prints.

Now that's an idea also April, but I would only do it if I could figure out how to do it myself, I'm just like that. Which goes back to how much effort for what I might expect in monetary return? That always has to be at the forefront on any decision. I had a friend and he used to say to me all the time, "yes Mario , Success but at what cost", and it's not that things just cost money, but effort, time, dedication,sacrifice, etc...etc..

@Rich, yeah, Marwencol very interesting but no, I don't have that level of dedication for sure.

If I could narrow it down, I would say that minimal investment be it time or money for maximum profit be it monetary or otherwise, is going to be the criteria I use in the end to make my decision.

Mario, There are those free and up, most of them $100.00 and under could do for you what you need. :)

" a day at the beach " ...sand, shells,and sun create the scene

Well, Photoshop Elements will run you about $100, so there is a cost to that. And it takes a bit of time and practice to learn how to do what you'll need to do with it (i.e. isolate your subjects and incorporate them convincingly into their new backgrounds), so there is a cost of time and effort. You will also need background images, so that will be either more time or more money, depending on whether or not you're going to generate your own or use stock photos. I guess it's up to you to decide if honing the skill to be able to do those things and more will be worth it to you in the end, but you were saying you wanted your art to be more widely marketable, and knowing Photoshop would definitely be to your advantage in that regard.

Or, like Dan said, just hire someone who knows Photoshop already since you really only need it for the sculptures that have already sold.

Tom, that's absolutely stunning !!

edit.......................

I know it's Mario's work, but I thought Tom did the printable image for him.............but I see that it's Mario's print for sale....thanks a lot for clarity.

It's a good print for sale, Mario, at least, I think so, and hope it prints ok.

@Vivian, that's Mario's work.

@Tom, Thanks Tom that might be one I can try, at least it requires a trip to the beach.

@April, Thanks April, I have played around a little with editing programs, good amount of learning curve involved. I saw how you did you time lapsed Fish, Hhmm, I don't know if I am willing to but in all that effort, it's not that I'm lazy but I like high returns and sure deal, and they are hard to come by.lol

Mario.

Photoshop Elements 12 can be had for anywhere from$49 to $65 on Amazon and they have on youtube mant tutorials how to "mask" out the background. It's actually simpler in PSE 12 than the real version of Photoshop!

Watch one and decide.

Rich

Thank you all, this has been very helpful, I have decided to give it a go, I just now upgraded to premium membership, I don't know if it was all the great suggestions or the fact that I just had a fabulous dinner and have a 2 beer buzz on.Lol (at home not driving)

Thanks Vivian!

I'll look into Rich!

Oh Brother! What have I gotten myself into, now I have to come up with descriptions, tags, setting prices, and I have to do this like 200 times!

I don't think you have to go to great lengths to show your sculptures in print, each one tells their own story, they are little vignettes or scenes of life! Adding other objects will only conflict with the sculpture design since they are not just one object but several and/or more.

I like your black background it is a great improvement. The only thing I would probably add is for example an aqua blue background (reminds one of the beach could also be other colors) for to your beach scene in photoshop or Gimp when a color helps to tell the story. If you do this you will probably have to take the picture on the same level as the sculpture with just a contrasting colored cloth underneath making it easy to select the sculpture in Photoshop and insert the color in the layers.

I also like a white background, I think writing on a layer in an empty area of the print (this would be done in the layers editor) and use your own handwriting if it isn't horrible, it doesn't have to be good, I think it would be fabulous and a good fit for you. You realize you need to start a blog if you haven't already and show your food and sculpture!

Listen to Mike he is an experienced photographer. The 'Eleventh Dimension' is a big improvement with the contrasting black background and better focus. I recommend a SLR camera for fexibility, color, better lens, change depth of field, etc. It can be used for many projects (my Pentax K20 top of their prosumer cameras (next level is full frame), five years old was $1000, now $300, will use practically all SLR lenses they have ever made and third party lenses, a larger and high quality sensor. Pentax used to be the biggest brand until the engineers who started the company let Nikon and Canon take the lead with better marketing. Pentax cameras are 1/3 less than Nikon for the same quality.

Point and shoot cameras have the ISO (bright and darkness) issues and I have not seen one (because of the smaller sensor) that has the color that an SLR has.

Here is the Pentax Forums marketplace, all equipment is sold by members, the equipment is what they say it is, you can also ask questions. This is where I bought my camera for $400 two and a half years ago. Check out the headings at the top of the Forum pages for info on old and new Pentax cameras. http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/24-photographic-equipment-sale

Here is an image I took and put a saying on it (my own words) and I would like to do more. Google or go to Pinterest and check outit art with (phrases?) because I know I have what I am describing to you. Notice the ones that are handwritten, I have recently seen one that had a really cramped hand (it was hand printed) and was really neat looking!

Suzanne, that was an excellent post with a wealth of useful information, I will read it and then re-read it again to make sure I grasp every bit of this well thought out response. Thank you! Ihave a lot to do now.

Well so far as of the starting of this thread, I have signed up for premium membership, priced my images, enabled the face book app, next I will upload my old images, for now with a little photo editing to try and make better. Then I will work on keywords and descriptions, so far figured out how to use the global price editing feature so I a least have some inventory. I may not have things in order but, all this is knew to me, but I realize I need to get my feet wet.

Thank you Mario, I am not the most experienced, I did go to a college where I was exposed to design which has helped me a lot. I'm not that far ahead of you, I had my first FAA anniversary this month and learned a lot about photo editing during my time here.

I'm finding it is a lot of work to begin to get your name out there, that is another of the reasons I suggest blogging. I think you would be a natural and great fun once you find how you want to approach it. It's the starting place for writing your own cookbooks with humorous sculpture illustrating your book(s)!.

fantastic sculptures wonderful emotions...

Hi Mario,

Don't fret, it takes time and lots of little baby steps. If you've sold most of your sculptures, that's pretty good! ...FAA is only one piece of the puzzle. It's part of the process of at least getting exposure to start.

If your sculptures are small in size, consider investing in a macro lens, some lighting and space. Your sculptures also have texture and possibly some interesting colour too. The macro lens will allow you to get up close and even creative. Focus on the sculptures and blur out the background. Don't forget the composition aspect though.

If your looking for a paint program, there's the GIMP and even Serif Photo Plus ( http://www.serif.com/int/en/photoplus/ ) which doesn't require a monthly subscription. Serif Photo Plus has good colour support. Don't forget the monitor calibration!

Oh, and as for photo of oneself, people are interested in the artist behind the artwork. If art is talked about, there's probably a good chance that the artist will be brought up and even discussed about.

Keep up the great work!


Peter

"it's not that I'm lazy but I like high returns and sure deal,"

Then you've just stepped onto some very thin ice. That sound you hear? Cracking.


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

Thank you Tom.

Peter, I will take a look at those programs, thanks for your suggestions.

Dan, I stand behind that statement, after all who doesn't like high returns and sure deals. It was just a phrase I used to try explain my mind set regarding my thought process in trying to decide if selling images of my sculptures is worth the effort that is required. I did make the decision and although I may have stepped on thin ice like you say, I don't think I'll drown.I don't for a second think selling art in general or selling prints here on FAA is a sure deal or that I'll get high returns, but for the effort I plan on expending and the cost involved, I think that I am more on solid ground than thin ice. No plans of giving up my other business just yet.

Ok, I have changed my avatar as it was pointed out that my young police man photo did not go well with my art , but this one might not be well received by some, but it's the one I have chosen for now.

Mario I really think you can do some really cool things with The Eleventh Hour. Do you have a photoshop or something like it program?

From a financial stand point, as long as you cover the fee its worth it. The costs of promotion should be weighed against what you could be doing with that time. There is value beyond direct sales as one gets more internet presence which could lead to more local sales. Keep in mind it can take months and/or years to get noticed.

Sydne, I use windows live which I use to edit my photos, it allows me to adjust exposure, brightness,shadows,highlight,sharpness, color, saturation,and then I use paint, I might have some others , but none that I am really proficient on other than windows live photo editor.

@Edward, yeah there is not instant gratification when it comes to internet marketing and more things don't work than do work, I am taking it all with a grain of salt. I really like selling in person and up close, I like to watch people being drawn to my work in person, there's nothing that compares with that reaction from someone about to walk right by your kiosk and all of sudden you hear "Oh wow Cool, look at that" and they stop and you have a selling opportunity.The only other place that I have had good sales is ebay, now that was a few years ago and that's a whole different story now.

You can try gimp before you buy photoshop.

Thank you Martin, I'll give it a look.

Yeah they are good enough. Just get your name and art out there and you'll start selling. It's not going to happen overnight though.

--Roz Barron Abellera

Hey Thanks Roz I appreciate your opinion.

The progress is slow, I have edited 11 of my old sculpture images and have now uploaded them here, it's no easy task! I can begin to appreciate the work that goes into uploading 100's of images like some members here have done.

you do little by little. a few each day until its done.

---Mike Savad

My hat goes off to you Mike! I see you have hundreds of beautifully worked images. Well yeah a few each day is what I will do, but my list has gotten much shorter as I have tried to apply a different more critical eye to my work, that in itself has been a little exhausting, knowing that the originals have been sold and that the images probably are not good enough to do anything with other than remind me I made the sculpture.

an easy way to fix them, and maybe even a good way to sell them, is to run them through a painter like DA painter. it will become more of an abstract at that point. depending on settings it could look like a painting of a stick figure. this way you could have a basic background - maybe rainbow or aged copper and you can print them really quite large if you set it up that way. noise and other issues won't even be a problem. its how i fix really bad images or really small ones.

there are a number of settings you can use, and it took me days to get each one looking right.


this was a 2.9mp image that was not that great. cleaning it up, painting it, then touching it up in photoshop, and now i can make a really large print - and have sold this one as a large print. it was a photo and now the details are more mashed up.

---Mike Savad

Mike, sounds like a great idea if I really had to save one, but sounds like way to much effort, with a fraction of that effort I could have a new original sculpture to shoot. The neat thing about your image is I like old scales, I recently made one for this sculpture, the image really needs work, but I have the original sculpture. I see a lot of objects in your gallery I want to sculpt, mainly older things from a different era. This is an old Argentine Butcher Shop as I remember it from many years ago, thing is they still exist just like this in certain parts of the country.

Mario,

..with Art,

unavailability, married to rare substance creates value.....which you have - leaving only technicals for attention. The avatar is fine...could be pulled tighter. Savad is right,...thematic provides countless options.

useful dimensional palette...

good luck....

Thank you Enver.
I want to thank everyone that participated in this thread, I found your information, opinions and statements very helpful and to the point of assisting me in making a decision to pursue selling my images here on Faa.