A commonly asked question from artists who create a lot of different work is whether it’s appropriate to include multiple items in a single jury image. I’ve even had artists who don’t create similar items want to put a few pieces in each image as a way of showing the jurors that they make a lot of different things.

But if you were to ask a juror from one of the top shows what they think of multiple items in one image they will tell you that it can be visual overload. When participating in a jury, they don’t have enough time to evaluate images with multiple items, which might result in a lower jury score.

So when is it appropriate, and this is my own opinion? An example might be a single image that contains multiple items that are the same but in different colors, like multiple mugs for a potter. Or different items that sell together like a tea pot and matching cups or a necklace with matching earrings and a matching bracelet. In any medium, more sophisticated pieces created in the same style that would complement each other could work together in the same image.

Another example would be multiple items that when a juror sees them together in the same image, won’t take longer to be understood than a single item by itself. And it also helps if the composition is pleasing to look at. Good photography trumps mediocre photography any day.

All photographs in this article © Larry Berman. And if you are wondering, they are what I consider good examples of multiple items in a single jury image.