Tips for setting up your first photo exhibition

What works to exhibit? How? In what kind of location? Five important rules to follow for those organizing their first solo photography exhibition.

There comes a time in an artist’s life when direct engagement with the public can no longer be postponed. Showing one’s work, observing reactions in real-time, analyzing how people interact with the pieces, engaging with them, and answering questions about the experience just had, is a fundamental step for growth from a human, artistic, and professional perspective.

However, setting up an exhibition is a commitment that is anything but trivial, as curators, for whom this activity has become an increasingly sought-after and desirable profession, know well.

There are many aspects to consider when preparing for a solo exhibition, and if you don’t have the opportunity to rely on an expert, whether a curator or a gallerist, this little guide might be useful.

1. Choosing the location for a photographic exhibition

The space that will host the public and your work is, needless to say, fundamental. The location is the context, the atmosphere in which your work lives and is presented to visitors. If you live in a city like Milan, the offering of locations for exhibitions and cultural events is as broad and varied as it gets: the advice is to choose intimate and non-dispersive spaces, but that allow people to move comfortably among the works. Avoid large hangars and open spaces; opt for private galleries or internal rooms of municipal buildings and ancient residences, or visit one of the many exhibition halls for rent in Milan ideal for this type of event. Remember that if the location is on a street or square and in an area with good pedestrian traffic, you will also gain access to the audience of occasional passersby.

2. Setting up the location

Once you have chosen the exhibition hall for your photographic exhibition you are ready to plan the setup. Study the space, consider if you need to create viewing paths using temporary structures, and above all, plan the lighting carefully, whether the space has natural light sources or if you have to rely solely on artificial lighting.

3. Selecting the photographs

The selection of photos to exhibit is perhaps the most difficult part. If your exhibition has a theme, this will largely dictate which photos from your archive to exclude, how to display them, and which ones to pair together. If the exhibition does not have a theme but is an opportunity to publicly present your work, a suggestion could be to set a maximum number of works to exhibit, stand in front of your archive, and proceed by elimination day by day.

4. Printing the photographs

Never trust your monitor too much; print output is often darker than what we see on screen. It is therefore advisable to calibrate your monitor to the color profile of the machine that will be doing the printing. A useful tip is to take a couple of sample photos and do a test print. With the prints in hand, you can compare them with the same images reproduced on the monitor and adjust the latter accordingly. There is no real rule for print sizes; everything obviously depends on the type of photograph and the size of the exhibition halls. However, it is good practice not to print photos smaller than 35/45 cm in width, to ensure an effective viewing experience for the viewer and to avoid spending a fortune!

Pubblicato in Photography