Redeye’s career development workshops provide essential, cutting edge information on building your photographic career and business. They run from Oct 2012 to Feb 2013.

Programme Breakdown:

1. Overview: What you really need to know
3 Oct 2012, 14:00-16:00 (£10/£7.50/£5)

2. Marketing & Networking
17 October 2012, 10:30-17:00 (£40/£30/£20)

3. Business set-up & Collaboration
31 October 2012, 10:30-17:00 (£40/£30/£20)

4. Pricing, Copyright & Legal
14 November 2012, 10:30-17:00 (£40/£30/£20)

5. Fundraising
28 November 2012, 10:30-17:00 (£40/£30/£20)

6. Getting Seen: Exhibiting & print sales
23 January 2013, 10:30-17:00 (£40/£30/£20)

7. Getting Seen: Publication in print & online
6 Feb 2013, 10:30-17:00 (£40/£30/£20)

Prices are for standard / concession / Redeye members.

Special offer: if you book at the start you can attend the complete series from £95. See below.

All Sessions take place at Instituto Cervantes, 326/330 Deansgate, Campfield Avenue Arcade, Manchester, M3 4FN, UK.

The workshops are aimed at any photographer or artist who is considering, or has recently started, working professionally, selling their work, collaborating with others, or who wants their work to be seen more widely and taken more seriously. They look in detail at the key business and professional requirements of practicing photographers. Led by a range of experts from the world of photography, the arts and creative industries, this series fills the knowledge gaps to make sure you are given the very best information and guidance to support your creative careers.

Taking place from October 2012 to February 2013 in Manchester, you can pick and choose the subjects you need to know more about, or save money by booking the complete series. We are grateful to Instituto Cervantes in Manchester for hosting this series.

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Session 1: Overview: what you really need to know
Wednesday 3 October 2012, 14:00-16:00;
Buy Ticket(s) - £10 standard, £7.50 concession, £5 Redeye member.

This first workshop in Redeye's Career Development series outlines the essentials for anyone interested in working professionally in photographic practice, delivered by Redeye's director, Paul Herrmann.

What does the photographic market look like, and what are the possibilities and options for building your career?
What are the hallmarks of a successful photographer? Should you mix up your work, or concentrate on one thing?
Critical areas of knowledge for business survival, and sources of help and support.
Twenty top tips for moving forward, and an outline of the subsequent Redeye career development workshops.
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Session 2: Marketing & Networking
Wednesday 17 October 2012, 10:30-17:00
Buy Ticket(s) - £40 standard, £30 concession, £20 Redeye member.

No matter how brilliant your work, you'll never get anywhere if people don't know about it. Marketing is a critical factor and can make the difference between success and failure for an artist, photographer or creative business.

Artists are often modest people and blowing their own trumpet doesn't always come easily, but fortunately the opportunities available are increasing every day with a range of new ways to reach clients. Networking is an invaluable tool in this and the impact that word of mouth and opinion formers can have is important to consider when trying to get ahead. This session looks at the ways in which photographers, artists and makers can promote themselves and their work throughout marketing and networking.

The workshop covers:

• Planning and developing your brand;
• Your marketing toolkit - portfolio, print, website, social media and more;
• Directories, advertising and SEO - making sure people can find you;
• Physical and social networking - meeting the people who can help;
• Shameless self-promotion and pitching - how to come across confidently and effectively.

This workshop is delivered in partnership with Manchester Craft and Design Centre, Castlefield Gallery and NOISEfestival.com.
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Session 3: Business set-up and Collaboration
Wednesday 31 October 2012, 10:30-17:00
Buy Ticket(s) - £40 standard, £30 concession, £20 Redeye member.

How do you start a photographic business? The majority of photographers work freelance as sole traders, but it's increasingly important to consider the benefits as well as the pitfalls of short- or long-term working collaborations. This workshop starts with planning, setting up and improving your business as a sole trader, and then considers how to succeed as a group or company.

Growing numbers of photographers see the benefits of working with others – both short term on group projects, exhibitions and collaborations, or longer term as independent collectives or agencies. It can help creatively, and more importantly increases visibility and momentum. But it’s also something of a minefield, with plenty of traps for the unwary and uninformed. We aim to inspire you to consider it if you haven’t already, or give advice if you’ve already started.

The workshop includes:

• A run through various possible business models - sole trader, limited company, partnership, co-operative and others.
• Market research - which areas of the photographic market are growing and which are contracting? Where do you position yourself in the market? Do you need to compromise your creativity in order to survive?
• Do you need a business plan and what should be in it?
• Does your business need finance and what are the various sources?
• Premises, equipment and insurance.
• Why do new businesses fail?
• Keeping going through lean times
• The help available in starting a business.

For collaborative projects:

• Finding the right people to work with
• Taking on staff or setting up partnerships
• Do you need a board or management group?
• Keeping the group fresh and focussed.

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Session 4: Pricing, Copyright & Legal matters
Wednesday 14 November 2012, 10:30-17:00
Buy Ticket(s) - £40 standard, £30 concession, £20 Redeye member.

The cornerstones of any business are pricing, negotiation, good administration and legal compliance; and this workshop concentrates on the areas that are specific and vital to photography.

How much should you charge and how can you negotiate the best prices with your clients? What are the basics of copyright? How can you get round copyright "grabs" and make licensing the centre of your business model? How do you find a balance between protecting your work and getting it seen? Is it still possible to get a good price for stock and library photography, and how should you price a print? Are there any occasions when you should work for free? What paperwork do you need to protect your business and avoid problems in the future? How might we be affected by orphan works legislation?

Photographers increasingly run into legal issues in the course of taking pictures. The continually changing legal position of taking photographs in public causes regular problems, and in a newsworthy setting these problems are magnified. What's the difference between a public place and a private land to which the public have access? What can you legally photograph in either case? What powers do police, security guards and other officials have to stop you photographing? When do you need consent, or model releases? What are your legal rights and responsibilities as a photographer?
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Session 5: Fundraising
Wednesday 28 November 2012, 10:30-17:00
Buy Ticket(s) - £40 standard, £30 concession, £20 Redeye member.

Many people still believe the arts are worthy of public funding, but with the recession, and public and private pursestrings drawing tighter, getting funding for your photographic or creative project seems harder than ever. But there are still plenty of opportunities; you just need to know where to look and how to present yourself and your project. This session looks at the various ways of raising money for photography and arts projects.

• Do you really need funding? In what circumstances would you fund your own projects, or even turn to friends and family?
• The current funding landscape is considered: where the funding is coming from, what projects are being funded and how things are changing.
• The various private funding avenues are explored - business engagement, individual giving and crowdfunding - and also public sector funding, trusts & foundations, and loans, as well as competitions and awards.
• What makes a good proposal? A detailed look at two type of funding, small commission-type funds of typically £500 to £1000, and larger project funding such as Arts Council England's Grants for the Arts.
• Who can help? Where to turn for expertise and support.

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Session 6: Getting Seen: Exhibiting & Print Sales
Wednesday 23 January 2013, 10:30-17:00
Buy Ticket(s) - £40 standard, £30 concession, £20 Redeye member.

The final two career development workshops look at the different way you can get your work out and seen in public - through exhibiting, publishing in print, and online. The first in this "Getting Seen" series concentrates on exhibitions and galleries.

Exhibiting is a great way to get your work to an audience, but unfortunately everyone else thinks so too! Many photographers investigate the idea of exhibiting but retreat, baffled by the gallery system in the UK.

This workshop is about demystifying the exhibiting process. It explores:

• How private and public galleries work in the UK and abroad
• Looking for places to exhibit, and negotiating for the use of the space
• Festivals, open submissions and group shows
• Organising yourself as an exhibiting photographer or artist
• Planning an exhibition, making the best use of any available space
• Designing shows, selecting, printing, sequencing and juxtaposing work
• Framing and hanging, openings, catalogues, publicity and security
• Alternative exhibition spaces, in the public realm and on urban screens
• Pricing prints, and deciding on whether and how to limit the edition of each print.

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Session 7: Getting Seen: Publication: in print & online
Wednesday 6 February 2013, 10:30-17:00
Buy Ticket(s) - £40 standard, £30 concession, £20 Redeye member.

The final career development workshop and the second part of the Getting Seen series takes you on a journey through the countless ways you can get work published in print and digitally.

Publishing your photography in book form promises an ideal combination of high quality and large audience, but too often books lay unseen and unsold, wasting your time and effort. Magazines and newspapers offer a range of possibilities. Self-published and digitally printed books seem too good to be true, but don't always work for the best. The multiple possibilities of digital dissemination are appealing, but how can you make your work stand out online and onscreen, and give the viewer an experience they'll remember?

This workshop looks at:

• The traditional artist's monograph
• The published magazine feature
• The newspaper format for photographic projects
• Self-publishing books through Blurb, Bob's Books and others
• Building your photographic web presence
• Sharing and community websites - Flickr, SmugMug, YouTube are just the start
• New platforms and software - tablets, smartphones, connected TV, CoolIris, HTML5 and more.
• Metadata - get your work found.

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FAQs

Who is the Redeye career development programme aimed at?
This programme is aimed at all photographers who want to build their knowledge about the business, organisational and development side of their photography. You should get something out of the sessions whatever stage you're at; session 1 is really aimed at those who are about to start trading as photographers, or those who have started in the last couple of years, while session 3 is aimed at those setting up new businesses or collaborative projects.

Do I have to attend all the sessions?
No. You can pick and choose which sessions you would like to attend and pay for each one individually or you can purchase a full programme ticket, giving you a considerable discount, enabling you to attend all sessions. Please note that you will need to complete the purchase for each event, before selecting another one.

Who delivers the sessions?
The programme is managed and facilitated by Redeye, and we invite some of the leading exponents from each of the fields to share their experience, guidance and lessons learnt. We have some exciting guest speakers lined up which will be announced at www.redeye.org.uk.

What are the benefits of attending?
The programme helps participants to gain the knowledge and understanding to develop all the key skills required to become a successful practicing photographer. If you come to the full programme, by the end you should have a much greater understanding of how the photographic market works, how to build your career and run your business, find work and funding, market yourself, and the best ways to get your work seen.

Ticket prices:

Individual full-day sessions (sessions 2-7):
Standard: £40, Student/Unwaged: £30; Redeye member: £20

Overview (session 1):
Standard: £10; Student/Unwaged: £7.50; Redeye member: £5

Series tickets are no longer available.

All prices include VAT.

To buy Redeye member tickets, you need to have joined as a member and be logged in. Click here for more info about Redeye membership.

Photos from Redeye's career development workshops of 2011, by Paul Herrmann.