It has been said that if one wants to be successful at selling their photographs they shouldn’t be making abstract images. Abstracts don’t fly off the shelves, at least that’s what I’ve been told.
I make abstract images because I enjoy it. I like looking for lines, shapes and patterns in places where most non-photographers wouldn’t. I find it very satisfying to find something that looks like it might be interesting when isolated from its surroundings and then going on to compose an image and tweak the camera position until it seems to come together in the viewfinder. With a click, it’s then frozen forever.
But do these images interest others? Sure, an abstract with saturated colors and distinct angles are going to grab one’s attention, but what about the more subtle ones with gentle changes in tonality and less dramatic shapes? I find them personally satisfying, but I’m not at all sure that they have broad appeal.
Images have to stand by themselves. In the end, the viewer sees the image in isolation. They don’t care if you had to stand knee deep in mud for hours to get the shot or if it was a two second chance grab that happened to work out unexpectedly well. So with some of the more subtle abstracts, I am uncertain if the image itself stands alone or if the appeal remains a personal one, with the photographer being the only one able to fully appreciate the image because he/she was the one experiencing the making of the photograph.
Ice AbstractCopyright Howard Grill
For example, last weekend I went out into freezing weather to make some images. It was so cold that I had to remain near the car and return to it every 20-30 minutes in order to warm up (OK, I know I am probably just a wimp compared to you folks from further north). During this excursion, I was drawn to some interesting patterns in the ice on a river and started making abstract images.
The ice abstracts are meaningful to me because of the personal experience I had of standing in the freezing cold to make them, as well as the experience of being at that particular location….but do they stand alone as images that will hold the interest of a viewer that has not been to the same site? I am not so sure.
Maybe my uncertainty is just related to the quality of these abstract images and my ‘fear’ that the only reason they appeal to me is because they remind me of the day I took them, as opposed to being interesting. On the other hand, perhaps this is one of the reasons why abstracts don’t sell; maybe they are just too personal.
6 comments:
Just talk to Michael Brown - he seems to be doing pretty good with his macro abstracts in the market of fine art (link to his blog on mine).
I think it is probably a setup for disappointment that a lot of us as photographers face when we link our efforts in getting a shot with the anticipated value to others. But - it sure makes for more interesting story telling later on if someone actually does want to know about it.
I really think that, for the most part, abstracts are too personal. You make a good observation here, Howard.
I have made images that I was in love with but no one else seemed to be interested enough to even give them more than a second or two perusal. What I have found is that certain types of abstracts appeal to certain types of viewers (like women or men or a general audience).
I take flower images and photoshop them in such a way that they are vaguely reminiscent of O'Keefe paintings. These images are very popular because that artist, long ago, struck a chord with a segment of viewers. I wasn't looking to copy anyone when I started out doing that, but found that others saw in these photoshopped images that same chord that the original artist had discovered. I suppose that I too was infuenced by this artist and just hadn't recognized that in myself. So, I do think that abstract images that are done with an audience in mind aren't too personal but have a more broader appeal and thus successfully attract a following.
What do you think about working with an audience in mind? BTW, I enjoy seeing your abstracts.
Interesting idea, the concept of working with a specific audience in mind. I think that as long as you are being true to yourself in your work that it is a perfectly valid way to work, but perhaps not a good idea if you are doing the work purely to satisfy the audience with something you yourself don't have a desire to do or have a deep interest in. If that were the case it would probably show in the work as well.
For example, we have a yearly vintage car show here and I enjoy going and invariably take some car abstracts. I tend to show them to folks that I know have an interest in cars. I take them not particularly for those people as a primary reason, but because I enjoy going and playing with the shapes and colors etc and seeing what I could come up with. Once I have them though, I know what people will enjoy or appreciate them. But if I was doing it only for an audience without a particular interest on my part I suspect they wouldn't be as good.
Yeah, vintage cars. I would be in that audience. I think your abstracts of lines and grills, etc., would be a perfectly logical art form to me. Whereas, my wife for instance, would fail to see anything remotely of value in those images. Either preference is valid, of course only I would be a follower of your work and she would never learn your name.
I am sure that your love of cars and style would be obvious to me as a member of that audience-- it would just come through in the finished image.
Some people are a lot more tolerant of different styles and are willing to take the time to examine someone's work and to try to understand where the photographer is coming from, but I don't think there are many people like that.
As an aside, I had a 1958 MGA... you talk about nice lines! I had a Kodak 120 film camera that I would take photographs of my sister with the car; unfortunately, I don't think any of those images exist anymore.
I too like to produce what I call the more 'creative' photos, either in-camera or afterwards using image manipulating software. I prefer to do it in camera as much as possible and, therefore, the image with this post resonates with me. My view about abstracts is that the more emotionally mature a person is, the more likely they will be attracted to abstracts as they feel in-tune with the essence of the image. Their life experiences will have taught them something that they value, and possibly can see, in that image.
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