1/ On Emerging NFT Photographers

This will be a relatively shorter thread. I do not claim to be an expert on this topic, but there are more projects and more people in DMs on this topic, so wanted to share some initial thoughts

2/ This thread is not directed at established NFT or offchain photographers.

They are fine, going to have massive audiences and distribution and will do very well.

This is for those trying to get established.

3/ Let's start with the general concept that NFTs and their ecosystem (OpenSea, Foundation, SuperRare) give photographers (as with all artists) a vastly vastly better distribution and demand aggregation system.

First step, read @cdixon on 1,000 true fans https://a16z.com/2021/02/27/nfts-and-a-thousand-true-fans/

4/ Your long-term goal, assuming your career is photography, is to build your 1,000 true fans. It is an unprecedented opportunity for artists.

Let's work through a simple example and assume your passion is photography of butterflies

5/ If, pre-NFTs, if you live in Charlotte or Melbourne or Mumbai or Vilnius and try to distribute your work through physical gallery representation, you are limited by:
a) retail space available in the galleries
b) terrible demand aggregation

6/ In other words, the number of people who live in Vilnius and are passionate about photographs of butterflies and are also going to end up in some random gallery (bc that is where you will be) when you are showing your butterflies are ~0

7/ On the other hand, do I believe that over the next few years there will be 1,000 people online, on OpenSea, obsessed with butterfly photographs, want NFTs, want physical prints, know the species of butterflies, will stretch financially to buy?

YES!

8/ So your job is to make the connection, to find something that speaks to that subset of people (tiny subset is fine, 1,000 is more than enough to have a wonderful career doing exactly what you love) that love and appreciate the same thing you do

9/ This means that for 99.999% of you (the exceptions don't need this advice) you need to FOCUS, at least at first.

I can recognize an Ansel Adams or Robert Doisneau or a Nan Goldin photograph in an instant because they focused, built a unique style.

You should too.

10/ The first big practical question is do you build a collection or do you do 1/1s.

There are both good choices and in time you will do both, but in the beginning it is best to pick one.

11/ Twin Flames by @justinaversano has basically invented the format for collections in photography.

Most of you should have 30 to 50 pieces, tightly focused. Twin Flames is just twins. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts, it is awesome to scroll through it.

12/ I repeat this because it is important. The whole needs to be greater than the sum of the parts. If it is not, it is not a collection
If Justin had a photo of twins and then some cool man on the street photos, well he is still a great photographer but the collection is meh

13/ A lot of you have picked up the idea of the collections (good) but they are mostly not focused enough (bad).

Unless you are extraordinary, a collection of "urban cityspaces" is not differentiated. How many times have we seen cool pictures of skyscrapers in Shanghai?

14/ The general rule of collections is "go narrower'.

There is very nice and very boring photography coming out now.

Give the people something they have not seen before. Give them your unique vision. Go tighter, go focused, find your 1,000 fans.

15/ The other approach is to go 1/1s. Here you are @GuidoDisalle or @aylaelmoussa, you are releasing very few photos, only your absolute best and you are patient. You have to let the market catch up with you.

Again you need a theme/style, but in a different way.

16/ Pricing.

For collections, if you are unknown, you should price low and with 'buy now'. Nobody has time for your auction my fren.

For 1/1s, you should price higher but still very reasonably at first and as demand grows, *slowly* increment up.

17/ Remember you are playing a 10, 20, 30 year game.

So you want to build a base of loyal collectors who both love the art but also feel they have picked well economically (even if they never sell).

Play the long game on this

18/ Lastly, community, 1,000 true fans.

Almost none of us are as social as @justinaversano.

But I think all of you can think about the 1,000 true fans and what it means if they are on a journey with you for decades.

19/ Maybe for example, you discuss with them, which country you are going to go shoot butterflies next.

Maybe they will have ideas.

Maybe they will be aficionados of butterflies and help you with tips. And so.

20/ To be clear, you don't have to do anything. You can just shoot and mint and that is also OK. But the opportunity is there if you want to do "more" where "more" is whatever works for you. Unlike in tradart you have easy ongoing access to your collectors and community!

21/ Good luck out there! We can't wait to see what you can do!

22/ More:

Technical proficient photographs are no longer enough.

There are so many technically excellent professional photographers and 100x that advanced amateur photographers.

It is only going to get worse (better) in this regard

23/ 6529 has had a camera since he was six years old when 6529 Dad got him a Vivitar

Anyone who knows what this is, congratulations, you are old

My first serious camera was a Canon AE-1 when I was a teenager, which was such an iconic, landmark camera

24/ The first and last time 6529 was an artist in the normal sense was in that high school era.

I even had a full ride 100% scholarship to go to study photography at university after high school but, as you might guess, my life has taken a much more left brain path instead.

25/ Today I have two beasts of a camera sitting at home on the bookshelf - a Canon 5D Mark III and Mark IV.

They are absurdly more capable than what we had to work with in the past.

And yet, they barely move off the shelf.

My phone camera is now also good enough.

26/ So this is a long-winded way of saying to our dear photographer frens that there will be absolute tidal wave of technically superb photography incoming over the next few years both from "professional photographers" but also "advanced amateurs" who will also be able to mint

27/ That means "great photographs" are not enough.

What I look for on any meaningful purchase, is "do I remember the photograph afterwards".

It might not even be a "technically correct photo", the major challenge is to be memorable, not a postcard or a stock photo

28/ Now a quibble with almost every current photography project

You are not minting in high enough resolution

You are minting to be in collections for decades which means 4K, 8K, 16K, 32K is incoming.

You don't want your photographs to look archaic in 5 years

29/ "But 6529, there is unlockable content with the high resolution version"

OK, how does that help anything?

I don't want a high resolution version TIFF to print it, I want a high resolution NFT so that you look great in 6529 Museum in 3 years in VR.

30/ "But 6529, what if someone downloads the high resolution version and prints it"

Umm, great news? We are not boomer right-click-saving-complaining around here.

The scarce part is the NFT, not the print. I don't care if someone prints my NFTs and you should not either

31/ Your goal should be that your photos become iconic. In that light you want people to print them, to make them their desktop background.

It helps you, it helps the the collector, it helps the people, it spreads the memes. It is a win-win-win-win.

NFT digital display is it!

32/ So give us your highest resolution mints possible, don't try to lock them away, don't try to create fake physical scarcity (the digital scarcity is the thing here) and let's future proof your great work as much as possible!

LFG

33/ I think we can close this thread here and add to the collection.

If you landed here and want more views on NFTs, here is the whole list https://twitter.com/punk6529/status/1429399888786333697