The Schenectady Photographic Society (SPS) promotes awareness of the Club and its members with public exhibits of our members’ works at venues throughout the greater Capital District. At most of these venues, the works are for sale to the public unless requested otherwise by the photographer. The exhibit process is managed by the SPS Traveling Exhibit Coordinators. Current members of this group are identified on the Board of Directors web page. Their email address is [email protected].
Exhibit Process
- The Exhibit Coordinators identify and contact various venues throughout the area and schedule exhibits.
- Approximately eight weeks before the scheduled start of an exhibit, the Coordinators send out a “Request for Submissions” email to the SPS membership.
- On the day specified in the “Request for Submissions,” members either bring their submissions or make arrangements to have them delivered to the scheduled in-person Club meeting. The works will be placed in protective pouches for transport.
- The Exhibit Coordinators prepare the necessary paperwork, transport the submissions to the venue, and install the exhibit. At some venues, a public reception may be scheduled.
- Submitters will be asked to pick up their works or make arrangements to have them picked up from the venue at the exhibit’s conclusion at a specified time.
We welcome and encourage your submissions. When you say you will participate in an exhibit, consider it a commitment, since the Exhibit Coordinators must complete paperwork and plan on space for your submission. Also, it is incumbent upon you to deliver and retrieve your submissions as specified above.
Preparing Your Photos for Submission
Format
Most formats are acceptable for your submission. The images may be printed on glass, canvas, metal, or paper and may be framed or not, but they must be rigid and ready to hang. Matted prints must be framed. Be sure to affix a name label to the back of your submission to identify ownership. The label may include the address of your personal website if you have one.
Size
The works will usually be displayed in a rather large space, so we discourage the submission of very small pictures. Common sizes are 11×14, 16×20, and 20×24, but others are acceptable.
Hanging Mechanism
All works presented for display must have a hanging wire, attached no more than 1/3 of the way down the back of the work. When the piece is hung, the wire must not be visible above the frame. Sawtooth and other hanger types cannot be accommodated since they require too much individual attention at exhibit installation.
Image Content
For most exhibits, there is no specific theme, so almost any subject is acceptable. The exhibits will generally be in venues that are accessible to children, such as libraries, so the image content should be family-friendly.
If an exhibit has a specific theme, that information will be included in the “Request for Submissions” email.
Sale of Exhibit Photos
When SPS members submit photographs for an exhibit, they indicate their permission for their photographs to be sold by providing a selling price in their response to the “Request for Submissions” email. If a photo is not intended to be sold from the exhibit, the member indicates NFS (i.e., not for sale) as the photo’s selling price in their response.
All sales transactions are between the photographer, the buyer, and the venue, if applicable; SPS is not a party to the sale.
In case of a sale, we request that the photo be allowed to remain on display until the end of the exhibit.