Pinhole Photography - "Operational context"

 Do not copy - add images to your responses.                                                (Updated 28/6/24)

Pinhole Photography as Fine Art.

Pinhole Photography is a viable method of either earning money or supplementing your income as a photographer. Evidence for this can be seen on the Saatchi website here https://www.saatchiart.com/all/pinhole there are numerous examples with a range of different approaches – colour and black and white as well as digital examples. Some of the work is very traditional and conventional and readily seen as being pinhole Photography with the characteristics expected to be seen. Other examples on the Saatchi website require far more investigation as to how they’ve been shot if they’re being presented as Pinhole Photography as some of the work doesn’t exhibit the expected features. Use the Saatchi website and examples of it in your work. Use the prompts here (The blue ones) to generate your written responses.

The work seen on the Saatchi website isn’t generally known to the wider population. It’s pretty safe to say that the types of people that know of it, have - either an art education background or work in the field of buying, supplying and trading in art works/Photography. Ask around among your family and friends – do they know of it and if they do how?

Looking at Pinhole Photography – especially traditional Pinhole Photography – do you think it has a broad appeal? Maybe show your friends and family and see what they make of it, show them the prices too? Is their response based on their understanding of what makes ‘Good’ Photography? Does this suggest things about their demographic perception of art and Photography?

Pinhole Photography as Editorial Photography

Editorial Photography is the type of photography seen traditionally in magazines and more frequently now on websites. Editorial photography is frequently shot in a 'Speculative' manner, you have an idea for some pictures that suits a certain website or magazine and you either use existing images you may have, or you shoot images specifically for the magazine/website and then you approach the magazine/websites editors asking if they'd be interested in using your images.

The fees for such publications are sometimes published in resources such as "Brad" other than that it's a case of negotiating directly with the editors. The rates of pay are for 'Pages' or half pages and if you get covers in the case of magazines payment is higher. You can supplement your earnings by providing the accompanying 'Copy' e.g. the written text that forms the article that goes with your images.

In the case of Pinhole Photography, you'd have to think about your audience and demographic. You'd almost certainly be wasting your time sending your work or contacting publications such as the Daily Mail, Sun, Express, Daily Star as their readers are highly unlikely to be interested in alternative photography, you've only got to look at their comments pages to get a sense of their appreciation of 'Art' and alternative or methods of approaching art/Photography, whereas if you look at papers such as The Guardian, The Observer, The Financial Times, and to a lesser extent The Telegraph you'll see that there is far greater appreciation of art and Photography. Look at these papers and compare with the others and make your own mind up with regards the types of people who read these publications and speculate with regards their demographic make-up. It might take further research to get a sense of their readership and their class/wealth/education status.

The papers listed above have 'Weekend supplements' that include glossy magazines along with websites and it's these parts of the papers that might be interested in a well written and shot article about Pinhole Photography.

Other potentially more obvious markets would be Art, Photography websites and magazines. Again with regards to your explanations with regards the audience and demographic speculate or research their demographic make-up - what kind of people use these magazines and websites and do they form a certain type of group with collective characteristics. 

Pinhole Photography - Book & CD/DVD Covers (Editorial)

One example that you're recommended to focus on and write about in your research, is the potential to use Pinhole Photography to produce images that might suit Book covers or CD/DVD covers...

Research the theme yourself (Google) Pre-fix the words 'book covers' with "Creepy, Sinister, Scary, horror" or similar and look at the images and you'll some of them rely on the images being vague and indistinct and this helps to convey the sense of being 'Sinister/Scary' etc. Look at your pinhole image research and you might see that a lot of the pinhole images have characteristics that lend themselves to potentially producing images that would serve this purpose/audience/client base.

Similarly look at the CD and DVD covers of bands that have similar dark aura about them. Again, use Google to search  "Creepy, Sinister, Scary, horror" as pre-fixes before CD or DVD cover. Again comment in your written work about the suitability of Pinhole for this purpose. 

Teaching Pinhole Photography

There's a big demand within the 'Arts and crafts' world and within the 'Alternative' Photography' arena for learning how to make Pinhole cameras, use them and make pictures. In the UK there are thousands of art societies and camera clubs that have basic darkroom facilities that they're looking to use and these people have budgets to spend on visiting lecturers. Similarly, if you have the space as a photographer at your house or you can hire a space when needed, you can promote and organise your own seminars and workshops introducing people to Pinhole photography. 

One of the lecturers that worked here and introduced me to Pinhole Photography works in this way... https://www.facebook.com/wigsayellartist/?locale=en_GB