How to be seen — and get your first exhibition

Have you ever wondered how it feels to see your work hanging on a wall for everyone to see?

For me, it was an emotional moment, truly transformative. The digital world simply can’t compare. Printing your images and allowing others to experience you through your work makes it tangible. It’s real.

And that’s why exhibitions matter. Even if the rewards aren’t immediate, showing your work publicly is a milestone worth pursuing. Here’s why:

• Recognition: Being selected for an exhibition gives your work credibility. It shows that someone recognises your talent and believes in it.
• Visibility: Your photographs are seen, discussed, and remembered, often by people you’d never otherwise reach.
• Momentum: Exhibiting keeps you focused, motivated, and connected to a community that values what you do.
• Opportunity: Each show builds your track record and opens doors to new collaborations, sales, and recognition.

So…how do you actually get there?

Let’s start with the basics, the creative and the practical steps that can make your first exhibition a reality.

1. Refine your work: Keep improving your craft. Great exhibitions start with great images.
2. Find your voice: Be inspired, yes, but resist imitation. Your originality comes from the way you see the world, the moments you choose to capture, and how you translate feeling into image.
3. Nurture imagination: Even ideas that feel awkward or uncertain can lead to something extraordinary.
4. Master the technical: Skill supports vision, and the more confident you are technically, the freer you become creatively.
5. Focus on a project: A cohesive body of work built around a specific theme or concept often makes the strongest impression. It also helps you develop a clear visual narrative.
6. Connect: Go to photography festivals, gallery openings, art events. Talk to people. Build relationships. Networking isn’t about selling, it’s about sharing.
7. Seek feedback: Show your work to people you trust. Portfolio reviews, in particular, can be eye-opening.
8. Be visible online: Social media still matters, especially Instagram and or other new platforms. Use it strategically, not just to post, but to engage.

Let’s be honest, the competition today is fierce. With digital cameras and smartphones everywhere, everyone can be a photographer. But that’s precisely why developing a distinctive style and a professional presence is essential. You can’t just create; you also need to communicate, to learn how to present, promote, and position your work.

Choosing the right exhibition path
There are many ways to exhibit, and each has its own advantages.

Collective exhibitions are often the easiest way to start. They give you visibility, help you build your CV, and connect you with curators, organisers, and other artists. Yes, there are costs involved, related to printing, space rental, marketing, but think of them as an investment in your artistic journey.

Many group exhibitions revolve around a specific theme. Choose one that resonates with you, and ensure your work both aligns and stands out.

These days, there are also plenty of online contests and Instagram-based calls where finalists are offered physical exhibitions, often with strong publicity and social reach.

If you’re ready for the next step, you might organise your own solo show. This is a bigger commitment but also a bigger reward. Focus on one strong, well-developed project. Consider inviting a curator to help you select the most cohesive and impactful sequence of images. A good curator won’t just “pick favourites”, they’ll help you craft a story, a rhythm, an emotional journey for the viewer.

Managing costs creatively
Exhibitions don’t have to be prohibitively expensive. Costs can often be reduced by partnering with brands, sponsors, or even local businesses in exchange for exposure. The key expenses such as space, printing, framing, and promotion, can be managed flexibly. For instance, unframed prints mounted directly on board, use K-line, or hung with clips can look strikingly contemporary and save money. Urban venues like, hotels, abandoned spaces, or co-working spaces can also offer free or low-cost exposure, and attract a broad, casual audience.

Working with galleries
Submitting your portfolio to galleries is another path to visibility. A reputable gallery lends prestige and professional backing, but it also comes with constraints, usually a sales commission and exclusivity over your work. The key is to find a gallery whose vision aligns with yours and whose audience genuinely appreciates your style.

Case Study: “A Global View of Street Photography”
Recently, I curated and organised a collective exhibition titled “A Global View of Street Photography”, a project bringing together 30 photographers, both Portuguese and international.

The idea was to celebrate the richness and diversity of street photography: the poetic, the candid, the surreal, the architectural. I wanted the public to experience just how multifaceted this genre can be, and how it’s as much about artistic expression as documentary observation.

Far from being defined by a single approach, the exhibition explored the street as a stage of infinite stories, from spontaneous moments to carefully composed urban scenes that reveal the complexity of modern life. Each image became a window into a different world, a reflection of how we move through public space and how we notice beauty in the everyday.

As a curator, I chose photographers whose work resonated with this vision, who told stories in distinctive, sometimes unconventional ways. The show took place in a prime hotel and location, open to everyone. Guests could wander in, sit down, and take their time, a small act of slowing down in the fast rhythm of city life.

Why not use spaces like that more often? Galleries are wonderful, of course, but they’re also expensive, overbooked, and often inaccessible to emerging artists. So sometimes we need to think differently and to “go around the system”, as I like to say, and bring photography/art back to the people.

For this particular exhibition, I didn’t open a public call or jury. I curated it based on my own vision and aesthetic, but in future projects, I may work with a team to create a more collaborative selection process. There’s no single right way to curate, the key is vision, coherence, flow, and a shared purpose that connects all the images in the space.

You can see the participating photographers and selected images in this article, each one contributing their unique view to the conversation of street photography today.

Final thought
If there’s one message I’d leave you with, it’s this: don’t wait for permission to be seen.

Create, connect, print, and show. Whether it’s a group exhibition, a self-organised pop-up, or your first solo show, what matters is taking that step, making your work visible, tangible, and real. Because every exhibition is not just a presentation of images; it’s an act of courage, of generosity, and of belief in your own vision.

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