Being Tangible for a Day

A day of books, paper, prints, and real-life conversations: reflections from joining Zine Fest Tokyo and escaping the digital world for a day

To be honest, I’m still physically tired from Zine Fest Tokyo. But mentally, my thoughts are still racing. While everything is fresh, I’m pushing myself to write this down, more as a note to myself on what I learned, and what I’d improve next.

As I mentioned here 👇🏻

I participated in Zine Fest 写真 (Photography) Tokyo. It’s one of the biggest zine and book festivals in Japan, and this edition was focused entirely on photography. Unlike their usual mixed-category events, this one brought together photographers only. Around 170 exhibitors in total showing zines, photobooks, prints, and all kinds of photography-related work.

Since this was my first time taking part in an event of this scale, I want to treat this post as a set of personal notes on what I’ve learned. Hopefully, some of these reflections will be useful for you too, especially if you’re considering joining a similar event in the future.

But first, Thank YOU!

Zine Fest Tokyo took all of my energy in the best way possible. I was so focused on the booth that I barely touched my phone, so I couldn’t capture everyone who bought my work, but here are a few of them!

Seeing people who found me through Substack or YouTube and then meeting them in real life was incredibly special. Being able to talk in person, share stories, and connect beyond a screen reminded me why I do this in the first place. It genuinely means a lot to me, and I’m very thankful for your support.

Now, let’s get into it.

Lesson 1: The booth

Looking back, I probably learned the most from this event about booth design. Since this was my first time, I realized—mostly at the venue lol—that I was a bit underprepared. There were many small things I only noticed once I started setting everything up and saw how other exhibitor setup their booth. Some of them are:

• Use a colorful or pop tablecloth to catch attention. With around 170 exhibitors and hundreds (maybe even thousands!) of visitors walking through, people only have a few seconds to decide whether to stop. A booth needs to catch attention immediately, and color helps more than I expected. (learned from the one next to my left).

• Use a longer tablecloth to hide storage underneath. This one I learned the hard way 😅 My booth ended up a bit messy behind. Many exhibitors used long tablecloths to cover the area under the table, which made it easy to store bags, luggage, and extra stock without breaking the visual flow.

• Think vertically. Booth space is limited, so vertical presentation matters. Using stands or racks to display work vertically not only saves space, but also makes it easier for visitors to browse, especially for smaller items like photo prints.

Lesson 2: Book or zine first, everything else later

When I registered for the event, I spent a lot of time thinking about what to bring besides my first and second photobooks. At the last minute, I probably overthought it. I ended up preparing many different kinds of prints, small to large, glossy paper to fine art, even washi paper, trying to cover every possible option.

To be more specific, here’s what I prepared , and how it went:

• L-size photo prints (100 copies): sold 2

• L-size print packs (15 packs, 5 prints each): sold 5

• Fine art 2L prints (25 copies): sold 7

• Fine art A4 prints (10 copies): sold 2

• Washi paper A4 prints (10 copies): sold 1

• Printed photo tote bags (10 pieces): sold 0 🥲

On the other hand, my first photobook sold out, and my second photobook did really well with 10 copies sold out of the 20 copies I brought.

That made one thing very clear to me. People come for the book or the zine first.

Everyone, literally every single one who stopped by my booth was looking at my second photobook first, or was drawn in by its cover, binding, and overall execution. The book itself was the main reason they visited.

I realized I wasn’t presenting the books as the clear center of attention. So next time, if I combine better booth design with the photobooks placed front and center, I’m pretty confident the overall result and sales will improve.

Lesson 3: Prepare freebies

I accidentally brought a set of postcards from my last exhibition, but honestly, they ended up being one of my biggest helpers during the event.

Since my booth wasn’t especially eye-catching, the main thing drawing people in was my second photobook. To create an easier entry point, I placed the postcards and my business cards at the front of the table and told people walking by to feel free to take one.

This worked better than I expected. Even people who weren’t planning to stop would pause for a second, pick up a postcard, and then stay a bit longer, often long enough to notice the books and start flipping through them.

Lesson 4: Prepare a (plastic) bag

This turned out to be more important than I expected. I assumed most people would bring their own bags, which many did, but in practice, having a simple bag ready makes things much easier.

Several people who bought my books or small prints asked if I had a bag they could use to carry everything while walking around the venue. I didn’t, and I felt a bit bad about that. Even a simple plastic or paper bag would have made the experience smoother for them.

It’s a small detail, but next time, it’s something I’ll definitely prepare.

Lesson 5: Don’t forget branding, even in a small details

This is something I only realized the day after the event. At a zine fest, people often buy many things at once. Multiple books, prints, and zines from different exhibitors and they put them in the same bag.

While my photobooks clearly had my name on them, the smaller prints and fine art pieces didn’t. That made me think, if someone buys several works in a single day (which I saw they did, and only using a single bag to put them all), how will they remember which pieces came from me later on if there’s nothing connecting the work back to me?

I also noticed that quite a few publishers exhibited and were walking around the event, looking at other people’s work. Some of them stopped by, talked with me, and even bought my work. This also can also open doors to future opportunities.

Next time, I want to be more intentional about this. Something as simple as a sticker with my Instagram handle or a small version of my business card included with each print would be enough.

That’s all for now! I hope my personal notes can be useful to anyone who read it. Than YOU as always and see you guys in the next post!

Thank you for reading! Let’s connect through some of my social media such as Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube!

And if you want to support me on my journey, you can buy me a film roll, buy my photobook or my prints (ship worldwide)! ❤️

I’ll see you again next time!

Cheers,