This week we discussed the Fine Art market and how it has only been relatively recently that photography came to be seen as art. Unfortunately, it still sells at only a fraction of the price of other art, such as paintings. Although I don’t necessarily agree with this difference in pricing, it is likely because photographs can be reprinted and large editions of a print can be sold.

Fine art is a relatively small market as it is, and there are not many galleries that show photography. If they do, galleries will choose to represent only a small number of artists, making it a very limited market to break into. Nonetheless, there is a potential market out there, it is just about reaching it and getting the initial recognition.

We discussed that there are two types of fine art market:

• Primary market – artwork is sold through a gallery or sold for the first time by the photographer.
• Secondary market – the artwork is sold again or sold through an auction.

Our module leader, Anna, emphasised that networking is very significant in breaking into the market as it is often through introductions that work becomes visible. She suggested that in order to get our work and portfolios seen it would be a good idea to enter prestigious competitions, get portfolio reviews done, speak to producers and photo-editors at fairs, and try to get work into good magazines and group fairs.