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Liz Von Hoene’s Big Studio Rental in Atlanta is hosting one of its Push Pin shows on Friday. This one will feature two local talents: Andrea Fremiotti and Pat Molnar.
I wasn’t familiar with their work, so I looked them up so that I could tell you a little about them. Both Andrea’s and Pat’s sites display lots of their photos, and both sites are easy to navigate and the images are nice and large. But only Andrea has a bio up. I went to Pat’s rep’s site, Held & Associates, and there’s no bio there either. Maybe I’m too text-oriented, but I really like to read a little about the person whose site I’m visiting, particularly when the site is image-driven. I like to hear the person’s “voice,” if you will, and learn about what they’re interested in, where they come from (literally or metaphorically or even both), what they’re after. Just a little something to give me a sense of the person behind the work.
But maybe bios aren’t that important for a photographer. Maybe they’re not even necessary. What’s your opinion?
Meanwhile, here’s a sample of Andrea’s and Pat’s work—and the text of Andrea’s bio. (Please note that I chose these images based on my own aesthetic preferences. I’m not attempting to represent these photographers’ styles.)
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Photo by Pat Molnar.
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Photo by Andrea Fremiotti.
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Andrea’s bio, copied and pasted from his site:
“Atlanta-based photographer Andrea Fremiotti is equally compelled by gritty urban scenes, dramatic rural landscapes, and common tabletop objects. While his subjects are eclectic, his goal is always to capture the beautiful textures, colors, and patterns in our everyday world and communicate them in a unique aesthetic style. In addition to shooting for advertising and editorial clients, Andrea owns Burn Photo, LLC, a turnkey digital services contractor.”
Big Studio‘s Push Pin Show will be from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, December 11, at King Plow Arts Center, 887 W. Marietta St., Studio E, Atlanta, GA 30318.
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5 Comments
Yikes…looks like I better clean my contact/bio up a little!!
I like bios
as you said, I like to know a little about where people are coming from.
I know that what I did before photography has largely framed what came after and my approach to my work. It taught me how to relate to people,a frame of reference.
I think bios are a way to reward the curious, but not at the expense of showing good imagery. A blog is another way to give depth to your bios.
I also suggest including a few unusual facts about yourself, and try to make them sound “real” and not too much of a sell. Otherwise, photographer bios all start sounding the same.
We’ve had a good response to the slightly untraditional bios we’ve included this year in our email promos. Here’s an example of one: http://www.wonderfulmachine.com/wm_spotlight/wm_photographer_spotlight_100809_2.html
I really like the bios in your email promos, Neil. Short and peppered with what are essentially talking points—an art buyer can read one and come away with several subjects they can ask the photographer about beyond the images shown. Very cool. You mentioned that the bios got a good response, and I’m curious to know more. Bios are sort of an overlooked marketing tool; you don’t usually hear people talking about the writing or reading of them.
Thanks, Kristina. I think you have it exactly. And we provide just enough background information that creatives don’t have to be bogged down with a lot of text, either, if they don’t have time to read but do want to see a bunch of interesting images.
I don’t rely on bios as a main marketing tool, but only an enhancement for those who have time and want to know a little more about the people behind the camera. Because we’re not robots, and sometmes it’s nice to take a moment and learn more about someone whose work you admire (hence the blogs, too!).
In terms of success, we’ve received better responses from creatives after adding the bios (sometimes they mention the bio itself in their replies).
Heather Morton liked the blurbs, too (in a blog post where she otherwise disparages email promos):
http://www.heathermorton.ca/blog/?p=3404
That said, we’ll always try to mix up our approach to show appropriate and compelling images. So we may not present the bios in all of our email promos.
-Neil