Need Exposure? So, how about exhibiting some of your work.

 "But Jack," you say, "Finding wall space isn’t that easy."  You’ll never sell anything hanging in a restaurant, bank, or library. But you’ll get a little recognition, and it can be a place to start.

A lot of galleries and frame shops are cool to photography, finding it harder to sell than paintings. But you might just catch them at the right time by circulating a proposal and following up periodically. When you’re out and about, doing errands, poke your head in the door and introduce yourself. Go to gallery openings (don’t we all get about 10 postcards a month from events in our neighborhood) and start networking with other artists and photographers. Join your local art guild and participate in their annual shows and open studios. You may be the only photographer or one of only a few, but keep your ears open and you’ll pick up some pointers on how to market your work to art buyers, because all artists have the same problem of connecting with buyers and collectors.

Start to keep a mailing list of everyone you can think of who might one day buy your work, especially friends moving into new homes or offices who have a few bare walls to fill. Try to find out who recommends art to hospitals, law firms and medical centers. Sometimes it’s the interior designer, or the space planner or relocation specialist at a corporation, or the interiors department in a big architectural firm. Keep those names in a preferred mailing list and tease them with information regularly.

Develop a website just for your art photography, and post new work and email potential buyers with a link or send them a piece of direct mail. And create some bodies of work, or collections, so that when the call comes you’re ready to do a show. Put an art bio together, and an artist statement explaining what each collection is all about. Enter photo competitions and group shows whenever possible and keep track of your credentials.

Check out the Art Calendar section of your local newspaper and the various statewide art magazines and get yourself off the couch and out for a night of art. Check out the summer art festivals and decide if you have the energy to show your work in these outdoor venues. Being a seasoned professional, your work should stand out from the crowd, and you’ll learn a lot about the process of making a retail sale.

Join the ASMP Fine Art Specialty Group and read emails about some of the national photo shows and how to approach national galleries. Check out the possibilities of selling your work on the internet, and peruse gallery websites that specialize in photography and see what you can learn. If you’ve got a significant project underway, start looking at getting a grant or applying for an artist-in-residence sabbatical. Find yourself some like-minded friends and form a little support group to share the work and keep the energy flowing. Take yourself seriously and feed this side of your photography life.

Your assignment work will likely pay the bills and give you fame and glory. But showing and sharing your personal vision is a gift that never stops giving. And if nothing else, support the work of other photographers—buy their books, purchase their prints, or swap for one of your own. And encourage their effort by sending a note or an email with your personal feedback. Not just the Attaboy! But specific comments, one photographer to another, about some aspect of their work. Trust me, there’s no one they’d rather hear from than you.