Photography Thailand Forum

[johnkphotography]

I originally posted this under the "how to's" section but maybe the "General Discussion" forum is more appropriate.

I have a small dilema with regards to trying to get commercial photographic work here in Bangkok and would like a little feedback from the members of this forum.  My present portfolio is filled with material which is of a different variety than the work which I desire to get.  I currently have a great deal of fine art in my portfolio (http://www.johnkphotography.com) as well as some more progressive (http://www.johnkphotography.com/4agent4/color.html) color art photography.  I desire to get fashion work, yet I don't have any fashion images and am lacking a studio in Bangkok or the 8000 baht day rate for local studio rental.  My questions are these:

1. Is the BKK fashion photography market accesible to farangs?  I have only seen one farang photographer (Amy Grant in Mars) published in the high fashion mags that shoot in Thailand (Wallpaper doesnt count as it only uses farang photographers when shooting outside of Thailand)

2. Is an art portfolio a one-way trip to rejection for commercial photography? 

3.Im sure that many other photographers have been in a similar situation where they are broke but need to revamp there portfolio in hopes of climbing out of photo-poverty.  Do you have any creative suggestions for putting together a new portfolio without going into massive debt by renting from out the local studios at 8000 baht per day.

4.  In the new portfolio should there be solely fashion images or should there be published work that doesnt fit the fashion bill as well?  Should there be a sole focus on fashion when trying to get fashion work or should there be some kind of balance between the more personal art images and the fashion images?

5. Would there be any interest in setting up a portfolio review for photographers here in BKK?  I used to do this sort of thing back in the states and found it immensly helpful for getting feedback on ones images as well as a great chance to network.  Feel free to post here or contact me by email if you are interested.  Even if there are just a couple of us, I would be more than happy to take a look at your book and give feedback.

Thanks in advance,
  -John

[moonfruit]

hey john,

i think your point no 5 is a great idea. it is always a good idea to do some networking and gain some knowledge along the way. where do i sign up?

also, regarding the price of studio rental in bkk, maybe there is a commercial opportunity there in itself for somebody?!

[johnkphotography]

Maybe I should try to get the ball rolling on the portfolio review and try and set a date and location where we could meet up in Bangkok.  How does Saturday April 8th at Gallery F-stop at 2pm sound.  Even the night owls should be able to get out of bed by then.
Bring your portfolio and a willingness to provide constructive feedback on other photographers portfolios.

So to recap:

Photography Thailand Forum Portfolio Review V1.0
Saturday, April 8th
Gallery F-stop Sukhumvit Soi 20 (www.tamarind-cafe.com  www.galleryfstop.com)
About 300 meters from Sukhumvit on Soi 20 (Between Prohm Pong and Asoke BTS stations)
2:00 pm
Bring your portfolio/project and a willingness to give and recieve constructive feedback

[johnkphotography]

If you are interested in attending please post a comment to that effect.  A simple "Aye" or "Yar!" would suffice.

[stet]

Hey, John --

It's Rick V. from Philly/Chiang Mai. We met the last time I was in Bangkok, at the Yoshitomo Nara exhibit. The portfolio review is a great idea, and I would love to participate -- if I were living there. Maybe a more experienced photographer in CM would be interested in spearheading one here (it would be awkward if I were to lead it). It might be a good idea to post followups in the forums, too.

[alan D2]

hi john k    creativity is about making the best of what youve got     50% of all fashion photography is taken on the street /in an apartment /hotel room/ beach etc    you do not need an expensive studio  what you do need is talented stylists/hair +make-up  then you can take great fashion pictures anywhere    it may not be the style of picture you ultimately want to take but it helps get you in door  after that anything is possible    i myself was once in the same position as you  by perseverence and of course luck  i got to where i wanted to be   there are no hard and fast rules but the one thing you should strive to make your portfolio be  is original       i think the idea of  looking at portfolios is great and i would like to come along to tamarind on saturday

[johnkphotography]

Thanks for the feedback Alan.  I have set up a bunch of fashion shoots already, figuring that, more than anything, I needed to move forward and start building my fashion book.  In the next couple of weeks I am going to start bringing my work to local modeling agencies and seeing if they have models in need of some testing.  I will see you Saturday at F-stop.
  Thanks,
    John

[johnkphotography]

See you all at gallery F-stop at 2pm.
 -John