Amateur Photographer - UK 2019-07-12)

subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 6 July 2019 25

THE120-YEAR-oldarchesthat

graceBrighton’spromenadeare

asmucha partofthecityasthe

Pavilionandthepier.Inrecent

years,manyofthesearcheshave

undergonerenovation,withthe

councilleasingthemtosmall

localbusinesses.When,in2014,

photographerFinnHopsonreceived

anemailinvitingproposalsfor

a recentlycompletedsection,it

provedlifechanging.Stayingup

allnighttoputtogethera business

plan,andsuccessfullynavigating

anintenseinterviewprocessthat

ensuredhisideaswererobust,six

weeksafterreceivingtheemail,he

openedthedoorstothegalleryhe

callsBrightonPhotography.

Untilthispoint,he’dmainlysold

imagesatartsfairsandduringthe

OpenHouseprogrammethatruns

throughouttheBrightonFringe

Festival.Now,suddenly,hehadto

fillanentiregallerywithhiswork.

Andherecognisestheprivilege.

‘I’dbeouttheretakingthese

picturesanyway,’hesays.‘But

havingsomewheretoworkon

them,printthemandsellthem...

that’sanamazingbonus.’

Thingsdidn’tgetofftoa flying

start,however.Almostassoon

asthegallerywaslaunched,the

sectionofseafrontimmediately

outsidewasalmostcompletely

closedoffforthreeyears,whilethe

somewhatcontroversialBritish

Airwaysi360wasbuilt.It meant

thatpassingtradewasmorescarce

thanit mighthavebeen,buthe

gotthroughthatperiodunscathed,

andsincetheseafrontwasfully

reopened,hisbusinesshasthrived.

Hiswork,notsurprisingly,focuses

onBrightonandHove,andthe

SouthDownsNationalPark

thatsurroundsthecity.But

often want an impression – an
emotional statement about where
they’ve been. The look of the panels

• big, glossy, very contemporary and
  frameless – seems to work really
  well with the abstract images. And
  while they’re expensive to produce,
  there’s a big margin on them.’
  As an example, she sold one such
  panel recently for £3,500. ‘A lot of
  people admire them and won’t buy,
  but we only need a few sales to
  make our margins.’
  At the other end of the scale are
  the small prints that start at £4.50
  each, rising to £12, and that she
  sells at three for the price of two.
  ‘I sell a lot of these,’ she explains,
  ‘because people love choosing three

PHOTO GALLERIES

imagesthatwillgotogether.’And

whiletheetherealabstractsare

understandablyadmired,she

alsohasa printofa Highland

calfthathassoldinitshundreds.

Strategically,too,shehangsthese

smallerprintsatwaistlevel,sothat

customerscanadmirethemwhile

drinkingtheircoffee.

Makingamock-up

Oneparticularlycleversales

techniquesheusesis tocreate

roommock-upsfromdownloaded

software,ontowhichshe

superimposesherimages.This

helpscustomersvisualisewhatthe

workwilllooklikeonthewall.She

evensuperimposesherimagesonto

photographsthatcustomerssendher

oftheirownrooms.‘Understandably,

theywanttomakesurethey’vegot

it right,asit’sa biginvestment,’she

says.‘Peoplehavetobeableto

imaginetheprintintheirspace.’

Sinceopeningthegalleryless

thana yearago,howmuchtimehas

Lynnehadforherownphotography?

‘I havetoadmit,I haven’thada

chance,’shesays.‘Ithasbeena

reallyintensetime,andwe’reopen

sevendaysa week,soI’veonlytaken

a fewdaysoffsincelastAugust.But

I’mhappytodothisinorderto

learnhoweverythingworks.’

Lynne Douglas

started taking

pictures about eight

years ago. She and

her husband opened

the Skye Blue Gallery

in August 2018 and

are working on plans

to expand the space

already. Visit http://www.

skyebluegallery.

com to see more.

Underneath

the arches

Brighton Photography is found inside the

Victorian arches on the city’s promenade

© FINN HOPSON