The coursework is now focused on an in-depth exploration of the market for selling photography, with a focus on identifying who the potential buyers are, understanding how to sell photography and how to price work for different markets. We explored practical aspects of pricing, writing estimates, production and invoices, as well as terms and conditions.

Our module leader, Anna, presented two live workshops to discuss the various markets and how to break into them. The discussions were intensive and sparked a number of questions, so Anna has agreed to follow up with further workshops on this subject.

We initially discussed the differences between editorial and advertising markets, summing up that the main difference are in the process, result and target audience. Advertising usually has a very specific brief and is about promoting a brand or product, whereas editorial photography is more open to a pitch and is about telling a story or illustrating something. Fashion photography falls into the category of editorial photography and is an example of visual story telling with no text involved. We also looked at how there is some crossover with fine art and fashion photography.

We further discussed the usage of images and discussed licencing as opposed commissions. The conclusion I came to was that licensing is by far the quickest and easiest option for commercial work. Being able to calculate the costs of licensing is an important part of calculating rates for work and a great resource to refer to is the AOP website which has guidance around this and on writing up terms and conditions, all of which are essential as a professional in the industry.

The fine art photography market is predominantly based in Paris and New York and centered around some of the important galleries, and annual fairs and exhibitions, such as the Paris Photo Fair. It is a very difficult market to break into and only a limited number of artists are successful in selling in the fine art industry.

A photographer who has been very successful in establishing a career in both the fashion and fine art world, is Dutch photographer Viviane Sassen. She has done a number of installations, exhibitions and books, and has received numerous rewards. She has developed a distinct visual language and strong personal brand which is one of the reasons she has been so successful. She is an artist whose work I was not familiar with previously but who I will research further as I believe there is a lot I can learn from her photographic practice and apply to my particular genre of photography.