Updating Your "About" Page With an Artist's Statement

Intro by Skip Cohen

Business will slow down in the next few weeks, and you'll be in the "Slow Zone." It's similar to the Twilight Zone, which has a sort of fantasy world suggesting there's nothing for you to do when business slows down. The reality is, as a small business owner and artist, business coming in slows down, but NOT business going out - there's still plenty for you to do!

Let's start with rewriting your "About" page! This is one of my favorite posts by my good buddy, Scott Bourne, and it's so relevant. Scott could well be one of the most diverse artists in the industry. Having been friends for so many years, I know firsthand there's nothing he can't photograph—and he never compromises on quality!

While his artist statement was written many years ago when his primary focus was on wildlife, but it's still so accurate in making the point about why he's an artist. Whether photographing critters, birds, street photography, still life, or people, he's one of the industry's best storytellers, which comes out in every image.

I've written extensively about the importance of every artist's "About" page. It's one of your two most valuable pieces of website real estate. Your galleries hook clients into getting excited about your work, and your "About" page allows you to share what's in your heart.

So many of you waste space talking about awards, your gear, and how you got started when the only thing a potential client wants to know is whether or not you can be trusted to capture images the way they see them in their mind's eye. Your "About" page needs to be a statement about why you're a photographer, not what you know how to do.

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Scott Bourne's Artist Statement

by Scott Bourne

So tell us something about what it’s like for you to make a photo. Share your heart. That’s how you write an artist’s statement.

Rather than give you a checklist of what to include in your statement, I’m simply going to show you mine. I don’t think there is a right or wrong way to do this. I think you just have to write from your heart or be inspired by someone or something else who shares your vision. I re-wrote my statement a few years ago when some comments I received on my images helped me to see what others were seeing in my work, but which I lacked the proper mirror to see. 

For me, wildlife art photography is about two connecting themes: extraordinary craftsmanship in terms of technical mastery of photography and a fundamental understanding of the dynamics of the nature behind the image.

At a deeper level, however, I pursue this art form because of its almost religious qualities.

One day, I can have a vision in my mind that represents a photograph I want to make. This vision exists only in my head and my heart – it’s a silent vision which has the power to bring me out into the field, month after month, year after year, for a chance to turn that vision into something tangible that I can share with others.

The other religious aspect of my work is focus and devotion to an idea over which I have absolutely no control.

I learn all that I can about the natural factors behind each photographic opportunity, but I never know how they will play out. My artistry focuses on the beauty of things which are random. Wildlife operates within its own free will. The bird flies its own path.

It’s different than working in a photography studio where I have control over the set, the model and the lights. As a wildlife artist, my gift is to know how to “show up prepared” to interact with beauty that I do not control. I must learn to be at peace with my subject on their terms, not on mine.

I struggle with finding the patience and the path. But when that struggle becomes the hardest, I remember my calling. I speak for the creatures which have no voice. Perhaps this is why the experience is so emotional for me.

Each time I get a perfect moment and capture that with my camera, I experience joy and sadness. I am joyful because the finished work provides me with a lifelong memory of a successful vision. But I also feel sadness that the pursuit is over.

After that moment, the cycle begins again, and I launch the pursuit of the next creative vision. I hope to share that vision well enough that others may someday wish to help speak for the animals too.
Images copyright Scott Bourne. All rights reserved.

I pulled a few of my favorite images of Scott's from his Facebook page. He needs to be on your radar - you'll never be disappointed. His FB page is just a click away.

Images copyright Scott Bourne. All rights reserved.