The Business of Being a Photographer
with Jenny Bagert & Russell Lord, Curator of Photographs at the New Orleans Museum of Art
Wednesday, December 9, 10am to 12pm
$35 – limit 30 participants
A PhotoNOLA – Nobechi Creative Workshop
The Reading Establishment, attributed to William Henry Fox Talbot, 1946
Part 1: with Russell Lord
For many aspiring art photographers, it can be difficult to strike a balance between making work for potential exhibitions and making work to pay the bills. Too often these goals seem to conflict, but perhaps, they don’t have to. Curator of Photographs at NOMA, Russell Lord, will share some historical examples of how photographers have produced one body of work that achieved success in both the fine art, and “for hire” worlds. This will be followed by a question and answer session to dig deeply into the workings of museums and how they can work together with photographers.
Part II: with Jenny Bagert
We know that being a successful photographer means running a successful business, but it can be challenging to figure out what you want your business to look like and how to get it there. You may be ready, but what does “for hire” mean to you? What is the path? What is the work? Now more than ever, creating and managing a business is full of options and seems to require the mastery of an ever-growing skill set. By discussing her experiences in developing her own business and working with artists and dealers, Jenny Bagert will share what she has found to be the guiding forces behind a successful career: relationships, goal-setting, perseverance, and excellence. She will also share how to use these principles to both reveal a successful and fulfilling path and begin the long walk down it. Her talk will be followed by a question and answer session to delve into how you can apply these ideas to your own work.
Part III: Conversation
Following Part I and II, we will circle back to a Q&A with Russell and Jenny to discuss bringing all of these ideas together. The number of participants is limited to thirty in order to provide a meaningful conversation with participants having the opportunity to ask questions related to their own unique situations.