26 6 July 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113
PHOTO GALLERIES
while the urban landmarks are
perhaps obviously photogenic
and recognisable, the Downs are
less so. ‘There’s no drama on the
Downs in terms of wilderness,’ he
explains, ‘so I want to show people
what it feels like to be there. It’s all
about colour, light, shade and
texture. Best of all, you can get there
in any weather, any time you like.’Moving pictures
As would be expected, choosing
what to put on the walls of
the gallery at any given time is
something of a juggling act. He still
sells images he took eight or nine
years ago, and that have been on
sale since the gallery opened, while
others have a shorter lifespan.
Equally, the psychology of where
things are placed plays its part. ‘I
move stuff around quite often, and
it can be quite revealing,’ he says. ‘I
might have an image on the wall for
three months, move it, and a regular
visitor can come in and think they’re
looking at it for the first time.’
There’s a seasonal element, too.
Understandably, Finn sells more
bluebell images in spring and more
autumn images in October, but
he doesn’t tend to have set times
throughout the year when he
changes things around. Because he
shoots more images on the South
Downs than anywhere else, theseare the prints that are rotated more
frequently, simply because he has
more of them. Taking a step
back and being dispassionate is,
naturally, an ongoing issue. ‘How
many images do you take a year that
you like, that are worth printing,
and that are then worth putting
on a wall with a price attached to
them? Ten, maybe?’ he says.
A few years down the line, he has
settled on a pricing structure that
seems to work for his clientele. He
gets a lot of repeat custom from
those who buy his prints as gifts,
and at the other end of the scale,
the one-off tourist purchases are
extremely important. The former
tend to spend around £125 to £175,
while others are happy to go up to
the £550 mark for a large framed
print. ‘Lots of photographers come
in and tell me I should charge more,’
he says. ‘They might be right, but
I have to set a price at which people
don’t just aspire to owning the
picture – they actually buy it.’The Instagram effect
Social media plays an important
role in print sales, too. With more
than 4,000 followers on Instagram,
he finds it’s not unusual for people to
make a trip to his gallery specifically
to purchase an image they’ve seen
on the social-media platform. They
may end up with somethingdifferent, but he still makes a sale,
and that’s what’s important.
When it comes down to it, Finn
is pretty much living the dream,
and is hugely appreciative of the
way things have panned out. As he
puts it, ‘The idea that anyone would
buy one of my prints and have it on
the wall – that’s nuts! Most of my
career has involved saying yes to
things that sound interesting, then
being terrified when I’m told, “OK,
then!” But you have to make your
own luck and take that step
into the unknown.’Following a career in
TV, Finn Hopson ended
up specialising in post-
production. Landscape
photography was his
‘get out’, and he was
eventually able to leave
London for Brighton,
where five years ago
he opened Brighton
Photography. Visit http://www.
brightonphotography.
com to see more.Above: This image,
which sells from
£30 to £350,
always sees a spike
in sales around
Valentine’s DayRight: With Firle
Beacon and
Beddingham Hill in
the distance, this
print is popular
with those who
have walked the
South Downs Way.
It sells in three sizes
from £135 to £350ALL PICTURES ON PAGE 26 © FINN HOPSON