Previews 30
Photography News Issue 23 absolutephoto.com
Pro focus Last chance salon Their portraits rejected by an esteemed photo contest, two photographers wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Read how they set up their own exhibition in an exclusive extract from Professional Photo magazine...
had their work rejected and were bemoaning the fact,” says Carole. “I sent out a tweet that said ‘We should set up a salon des refusés’, and James direct messaged me saying that he thought it was a great idea and that we should meet up. “We didn’t know each other at the time,” she reveals, “but after we met and discussed the idea we decided that, as long as it didn’t cost us anything, we should give it a go. It seemed to really capture the imagination and was very popular right from the first year.” Very much set up in the spirit not of challenging the result of theTaylor Wessing but of complementing it, the salon’s aim over the past four years has been to encourage debate about what makes a great portrait and to present alternative and equally valid viewpoints. Some photographers regard current trends in portrait photography as stale and believe that the big competitions are attracting entries from photographers who have simply submitted something they feel might have a chance of getting in, rather than a shot their gut tells them is a good picture. “The National Portrait Gallery can only showcase around one per cent of submissions,” says Carole, “so there’s a lot of great work that doesn’t get a look in. We try to make Portrait Salonmuchmore accessible than that, and we’re looking to get it out there to the widest possible audience again. “Last year’s exhibition toured to five venues across the UK and this time around we’ll be showing at the Embassy Tea Gallery in London from 19 to 22 November, where participants will also have the chance on 21 November to
create their own Portrait Salon zine with Miniclick. “Following that the show will travel to The Reminders Photography Stronghold Gallery in Tokyo, where it will be part of a collaborative project called ‘I/Land’, in association with Miniclick and photography curator and editor Yumi Goto. There will also shortly be a new publication that will look back at the past four years of Portrait Salon.” All selections from each year are also featured on the Portrait Salon website, with a link to the individual photographer’s website. Over the past few years this has become a valuable resource of contemporary portrait photographers. Submissions for the next Portrait Salon are invited now and these can be made through the website. Every photographer who enters will have one print selected from their portraits rejected by the 2015 Taylor Wessing Prize. It costs £7.99 to enter, and while the intention is to remain not for profit, charging a small fee (this is the first year there’s been a charge) will offset the costs of the exhibitions and the new publication. Visitors to the print exhibition at the Embassy Tea Gallery will also be able to vote on their favourite three portraits and the selected photographers will be able to choose from one of four prizes: a portfolio review with Lucid Representation Photographic Agency, a full day’s retouching at Stanley’s Post, a bespoke one-to-one session at Metro Imaging and a portfolio review and career advice session with the Creative Advice Network.
Written by Terry Hope
The prime thing to remember about any competition is that it’s entirely subjective, and the shots that come out on top are not necessarily the ones everyone would have voted for. Of course, that’s the name of the game. We throw ourselves on the mercy of the judges every time we enter, and for most of us it’s just a case of accepting things, moving on and hoping for better luck next time. However, for portrait photographers Carole Evans and James O Jenkins rejection from the prestigious Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize in 2011 was the catalyst to setting up the Portrait Salon, an alternative showcase for some of the stunning work that misses out on the top prizes each year. Given all the effort that photographers put into their entry each time this competition comes around it was simply a way to ensure this wouldn’t entirely be wasted, and it would give the public a chance to make its own mind up about the pictures the judges had overlooked. “Back in 2011 there were a lot of photographers on Twitter who’d
Rejection from Taylor Wessing was the catalyst to setting up the Portrait Salon
This page Images entered and rejected from the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize, which were subsequently featured in the Portrait Salon.
portraitsalon.co.uk
You’ll findmore insight in latest Professional Photo – the onlymag dedicated to full-time and aspiring pro photographers
Powered by FlippingBook