What to expect from your first exhibition

I've finally had my first solo exhibition a few months back. I was going to write about it sooner, but I wanted to wait until it was over and then I had other things to attend to. Getting married was a bit more important than a blog. Well, the exhibition is now finished and I can finally put some of my thoughts together.

Firstly don't go into it expecting to sell prints. That's not what the vast majority of exhibition visitors plan on doing when they come to have a look at your work. That is reserved for the more financially able. I did have all of my photographs priced accordingly and available to sell just in case some collector would stumble in and notice the absolute creative genius headed to surpass the fame of Sebastiao Salgado himself in my photographs, but since that is not the case I didn't really expect to sell anything. And I haven't. Which is fine by me as I am glad I can keep my photographs beautifully hand framed by a good friend in my house and put them on my wall.

So what did I expect from it? Honestly? I'm still not sure. The opening evening did attract quite a lot of people many of which have never seen my work before but it still didn't really expand my online following by much and I haven't really been contacted by anyone. Don't get me wrong, the opening night has exceeded my expectations by a rather large margin. The turnout was amazing. But don't rely on just the first day. Keep the event alive while it lasts. Too bad I hate 'whoring out' on social media and haven't really done much in the remaining 40 days.

So the exhibition result was neither profit from sold works nor any significant exposure. Is it still a good idea to have a solo show? Would I do it again? Gladly. It showed me that there are people who are actually interested in my candid clicks. It felt nice to finally see the faces of people I only know from social media and to have friends come and support your work. Having to talk to people about the many different stories that happened before or after the photographs were taken gave them a whole new perspective of the image and sometimes made them like the photos even more. 

You can most definitely expect one thing though. It will cost you. Having a good amount of high-quality prints done from your own pocket to have something to show is a necessary little evil you can't cheap out on. Why would you show your best work on a £3 print from Snappy Snaps? Invest a little. Even if you don't sell, you can still keep the images and either decorate your own home with them or keep them for the next exhibition. 

Many thanks to my friend Anna, and my good mate Frederico with his boss Ricardo from Pauli Frames without which the exhibition wouldn't be possible and to everyone for coming! Solo exhibition in London can be ticked off my bucket list. Now it's time for me to turn to a different goal but it's too early to reveal that at the moment.