Putting Your Best Foot Forward

I spent this morning jurying applicants to Wholesalecrafts.com as well as for the American Craft Retailers Expo. If you ask jurors for any show or website, they'll tell you most people make the same mistakes, so I'm going to give you some tips to help you be one step ahead next time:

First of all: Jurors want to see a line of similar work - not a felted belt with glass earrings and a quilted pillow. You need to show us a line that represents who you are in a cohesive collection. If you can't do that you're probably not ready to sell your work, and you're definitely not ready for wholesale.

Considering that artists are visual people, I'm shocked that so many don't realize how important photography is. Everyone wants to think that their work will speak for itself, but here's the thing: jurors can't pick up your work to look closer, turn it over, see the detail, or move it to see how it catches the light. We have only the image you give us and we have hundreds to look at so you don't get much time to impress us. You owe it to yourself to make that image the best you can.

• PLEASE, do not send images that are out of focus. I constantly shake my head in amazement at how many artists send in fuzzy images, or images taken from so far away we can barely tell what we're looking at. Most jurying is done on the web now, so remember your images will be small and we can't zoom in on them to see them better.

• Do not send images taken on a busy background. We don't need to see your work placed prettily on branches, your work in baskets or birds nests, or your work on wrinkled fabric or sitting in the grass or on a rock. We just want to see your work. We want to see it with no distraction or competition.

• We want to see your work close up, well it, with no shadows and no props. We want your work to speak for itself and speak clearly and brightly. The best background is a graduated background (shown below). There is a reason most professionals use it - it works.

This is the image I first used for my magnets:

Not bad, right? Most people think this is fine. And many people send in much worse. But here's what Jerry Anthony did for me:

What a difference! In this image the magnets pop, glow and float off the page. They don't look like a DIY project, they look much classier and way more valuable.

When it comes to photography, this is NOT the place to pinch pennies. Your images are one of the most important tools you have to sell and promote your work. If you are not an expert it will be worth every cent you spend to hire one. It probably doesn't cost as much as you think, and a good image will make your work look it's best, shine above the rest and tell a jury you're professional and know what you're doing.

I'll talk more about jurying soon. Next time - jurying for a wholesale website.