Why Every Photographer Should Have an Exhibition

My first photography exhibition taught me a lot - here’s what I took away from it.

Last week, I had the opportunity to present my work in my very first photography exhibition, as part of a “culture evening” at my university. I was actually able to do a solo photo exhibition because I was basically the only active member of the photography ensemble. On the one hand - that’s a bit sad, because I would love to meet some more like-minded people who are into photography, but on the other hand, of course, it was also a great opportunity for me to put myself out there.

For me, an exhibition is a special milestone for a variety of reasons. A particularly important reason for me is that the photos are perceived much more consciously - away from social media and screens. The photos look completely different when they are printed out and displayed on the wall - in my opinion they look even better. It's fun to be able to show your photos and talk to viewers about the photos and their stories. Of course, you can also use the exhibitions to make a name for yourself as a photographer and that could be a further door opener for further opportunities in your photography career.

This is how I approached my first photo exhibition (without any plan or experience):

The planning:

Of course, the first step was to make a selection of photos that I wanted to show. I thought about it for quite a long time - I had several ideas, but then I decided relatively spontaneously to present my favourite photos from my trip through Bulgaria. I decided to do this because the photos from Bulgaria were really the most recent and therefore best reflected my current style. It was also very important to me that the photos “belong together” and are not just a best of the last few months.

I had a budget of around 100€. I decided relatively quickly to print 16 photos with 30cm x 40cm for 7€ each. 16 photos was a very good amount, not too many not too few and it is divisible by four - so I could create four pinboards with four photos each.

I played around with this miro-board until I was happy with the selection and the layout.

Then I ordered the photos on saal-digital.de with matte Fujifilm paper. I'm really not a print expert and this is not a review, but I was definitely happy with the quality of the print.

I also designed 3 posters:

I was really satisfied with the posters. They are pretty much the style I wanted for the exhibition. Somehow I was afraid that my photos wouldn't be understood, so I wrote a somewhat poetic explanatory text. In English it means:

For me, street photography means walking through the world with open eyes.

Every moment passes - but in photography it can stay.

The way it felt at that moment.

The people are not models - they are just there. I don't pose them and this sometimes results in a picture that tells more than any staging.

All 16 photos were taken on a solo trip to Bulgaria. Just me and my camera.

The preparation:

I had 4 pinboards available for the evening. I arrived 3 hours before the event started and thought I had plenty of time. But it actually turned out to be more exhausting and stressful than I had expected.

At first, I wasn't sure how to attach the photos to the pinboards. I definitely didn't want to pierce the beautiful photos with pins, so I had to get a bit creative.

My first plan was to use these tacks to create a smooth surface to which I could attach glue pads.

But this caused two problems: It was a pain in the ass to put all the tacks at the right distances, especially when you have to do everything on your own and only have two hands. Even with a lot of effort, I never managed to get it exactly right.

The second problem was that the glue pads had a certain thickness and the photos stood out a bit from the pinboard. The perfectionist in me came out and I quickly went shopping again to buy some double-sided tape. Fortunately, this made things better and I was slowly able to hang up photo after photo.

Time was running out and at some point I simply stuck the photos to the pinboards with lots of tape. It wasn't a perfect solution - but I didn't have a better option at the time. Honestly, it was good enough.

The exhibition:

The time had finally come and I finished just in time. I was also the “press photographer” during the event, so I had to be ready in time for the start of the event, even though my exhibition was only officially opened during the break.

A lot of people actually came, both friends and family as well as people I didn't know before. Of course, I was very happy about both. I spent the whole 20-minute break talking to different people about the photos and I really enjoyed discussing about technique and different thoughts about the photos. The feedback from the audience was pretty good and I had the impression that most people really liked it.

To be honest, I was really very satisfied with the selection. There was no picture that was weaker than the others for me. It was really fun to reflect my time in Bulgaria artistically and to see how my trip turned into a bigger project.

The conclusion:

Even though it was very stressful and cost me a lot of time overall, I would want to do another exhibition at any time. I believe the sharing of photographs is an essential part of photography and it can be so nice to consciously enjoy the art of photography with other people. Of course, I was also really happy about the recognition I received. I try to use this as further motivation and confirmation. The exhibition also reminded me that it is worth staying engaged and taking advantage of all opportunities.

Now at the end I would like to encourage you to start a photo exhibition as well. Such opportunities are waiting everywhere. Even just printing out photos and hanging them up in your home and then inviting a few friends over can take your photography and understanding of the art behind it to the next level.

Thank you to all the people who were there and looked at the photos. Thank you to my friends and family who visited the exhibition and supported me with the preparations. Thank you to everyone who came and talked to me during the exhibition. Thank you for this opportunity to fulfill a little dream of mine. :)

See you next time

Tim