There was a day, not long ago, where artists had to make slides of their work. That could sometimes be an expensive proposition as duplicates were always required. I’d shoot about 9-10 images of the same work, each viewpoint would have its own 8-10 images for sculptures.
We’d send off a submission, or application, and include a s.a.s.e. but wouldn’t always have the images returned.
However, I am certainly glad I took extensive images of my work because many of them were ephemeral, or comprised ephemeral materials or materials that I could not transport when my studio was relocated.