HM Artist Network

To give your photos the best possible chance of winning a major photography competition, consider applying these three principles:

1. One of the most powerful techniques that film-maker Steven Spielberg uses is to direct the camera not at the ‘incredible’ thing happening (shark, UFO, German regiment etc.) but rather on the close-up reactions of individual characters seeing those things. In short, he captures a reaction, not an action.

Spielberg implies intrigue, excitement, terror or wonder.

The audience then imagines the source of those emotions which is infinitely more powerful than any actual visual.

Alfred Hitchcock used this technique superbly so you are in good company if you can master it.

For example, rather than shooting New Year’s fireworks (boring), get a 3 year old girl’s reaction to seeing them – in close-up – now that would be powerful!

2. Do your images have the ‘X-Factor’?

We are all fascinated by the extraordinary. Most of us lead relatively predictable lives hence our enjoyment of extremes in our entertainment e.g. how about a movie where a man dresses up as a bat to fight criminals and the police think that’s cool and work with him!

Are your images extreme and extraordinary enough?

3. Conceive your image not as a single visual ‘plane’ but rather as a series of overlapping planes or layers that offer interesting ideas in relation to each other.

To use a crude example, imagine a photo of the water’s edge on a sandy beach (Layer 1).

Add in a dead soldier on the sand in the foreground (Layer 2).

Beyond that, add a stripped down soldier with a surfboard running towards the water to surf (Layer 3).

What kinds of messages and themes have been added by the layers in this hypothetical image?

In doing all of this however, make sure that the eye knows where to go in your composition!

By: Steve Donovan

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If you are an artist then in order to make money from your art you may have considered selling it on eBay. There is a huge selection of art for sale in all types of categories and in order to sell your art you need to stand out from the crowd.

So the first thing you need to do is to check out the competition. Find out what is selling by checking the sold listings, look at what prices paintings are selling for in your particular niche. You could be selling anything from original one-off paintings, to prints on paper and photo on canvas, or even photographs, sculptures or any other medium. It may not even be art that you have done yourself – perhaps you have a friend who is an artist and you have the selling skills or maybe you have bought a wholesale stock of paintings and are selling those.

When you have checked out the competition and you know what kind of prices you can sell your work for you then need to come up with a good title and description for your listing. Make sure you include any positive selling points for your painting/artwork so that these are exploited to the full. For example if the painting is a one-off make the buyer fully aware of this and the fact that no-one else will have this painting.

Next thing you need to make sure of is that you have a great photograph of the artwork. It should be an accurate representation but should show it off in the best light. A good thing would be to have a picture of the artwork in situ, for example above a sofa or a bed but in a setting that is suited to the painting. If you have a friend who has a trendy loft warehouse for example and you are selling an abstract artwork then maybe you could take a photograph of it there to show the painting off.

So if you do your research and make sure you have shown and described the painting as well as you possibly could then you are starting on the right course. There are obviously a lot of other factors involved but hopefully these tips will start you off thinking about selling your art on eBay.

By: Marian Lishman

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art auctions