I reluctantly post this just like I have reluctantly accepted a paid/semi job. Anyway my photography has always been for myself I have lots of prints hanging around my house (up to 16x20). I and my wife haved received lots of requests for me to shoot portraiture for people around town, but I have always turned them down least I get the privilege of being branded a fauxtagrapher. Anyway I have decided to accept some requests and give it a go.
I live in a town of about 45,000 on the Texas border, the closest major town is San Antonio and that is 2.5 hours away. This means people don’t have a lot of options, and what I have seen around town from the pros is less than desirable and I know I can offer better quality. I was at a wedding recently and the photographer was using a D90 with kit lens, 55-200 and the pop up flash. Now I know equipment does not make the photographer, but believe me the pictures showed he was not properly set up.
My equipment
Pentax K-5
Pentax 16-45 f4
Sigma 24-70 2.8 hsm
Sigma 70-200 2.8 EX macro II
3 Flashes – 1 sigma 610 and two Pentax 340’s
Now that you have a little (Lot?) of background, i have couple questions.
1. Can you point me in a direction of an online resource or book for portraiture photography?
2. I do not want to spend much money on additional lightning, but was looking at
[url]http://www.amazon.com/Fancierstudio-1000watt-Lighting-Kit-background/dp/B003TYA7TI[/url]
Is this a complete waste of money? Remember I may never use the kit again except for my kids.
3. I am thinking of not charging anything, just setting up a smugmug/zenfolio account and selling the prints through there. Is this acceptable for a non-pro?
Thanks for any info and advice you might be able to offer. Here are a couple photos just so you can see what I am talking about, Not good but not bad and lots of areas for improvement.
That light kit would not work for portraits. May work for small product at very close range but that is even a long shot.
Just stick to natural light and bring a flash for fill. We both know in Texas the issue is too much light 85% of the year. 90 degrees feels like a cold front today.
You can charge a up front fee or per print. Bottom line is it is charging so I don't see the difference. I think you need to answer a few questions for yourself. Do you understand lighting. If no then practice. Do you understand had to use your camera in Manual, if no then learn. This will also help you learn lighting.Are 95% of your shots good enough to print or do you shoot 100 thinking 3-4 will be good. Not talking perfect pose or looks but overall clean, in focus, corect light and exposed images. If 95 are good then you are on the right path.Do you have back-up equipment for paid jobs that can't be re-done in case of equipment problems. Even some portraits where the client paid for pro hair and make-up or drove a family member 100 miles to attend can have a lot of cost the client paid to be ready for the shoot. Now if you mess up you can foot the bill for not having back-up in place. Don't care if you are charging or not.
From the 4 samples I see a creative eye in 1 and 2, but worry about the hands having motion blur and 3 being off color, poor light an angles and in need of cropping so in other works a weak snapshot. 4 being creative and it works but it is an example of shooting in harsh light that could have been amazing with more light control.
If you do start charging join PPA. Most memberships have Errors and Omissions protection and optional equipment insurance as part of the members dues as part of the base membership price.That could save you but more important protect your client if you mess up. Just a few things to think about.
Thanks and very good eye. Unsteady hands if something I have to really work on and still work on. I am nowhere near 95 percent' but closer to that than 5 percent. I would put my acceptable rate at about 70 percent. This is where I have the most reservation, i feel most of my shots are good creative snapshots. No way am I near booking professional shoots but what am looking at doing is basically shooting family and friends. Most likely will just take my photos and do the smugmug/zenfolio thing to sell prints. See how that goes as I practice.
I think you should concentrate on outdoor shoots as that is your strong point. Join the PPA for the coverage. Sell prints as you mentioned but you want to make it worth your time then set an appointment with the client. Show a series of only the best 2-3 per look and describe how then can be printed on metallic or canvas and arranged on the wall. You will triple your sales. If you post to a site and say go look you are not doing the client any favors and wasting your time uploading images that just get them confised. Most people are not creative and require guideance to pick the best image and finish it.
Keep your day job. Lots of professional photographers are going out of business. Everyone that buys a cheap canon or nikon dslr is all of a sudden a professional.
jefferies1 wrote:
I think you should concentrate on outdoor shoots as that is your strong point. Join the PPA for the coverage. Sell prints as you mentioned but you want to make it worth your time then set an appointment with the client. Show a series of only the best 2-3 per look and describe how then can be printed on metallic or canvas and arranged on the wall. You will triple your sales. If you post to a site and say go look you are not doing the client any favors and wasting your time uploading images that just get them confised. Most people are not creative and require guideance to pick the best image and finish it....Show more →
^^Great advice, there.
For my part, I just want to stress that you need to charge a fair rate for your work. Discounting it not only can make you look amateurish, it hurts the industry. You are a pro: you're offering a service in exchange for money. There is no shame in charging accordingly.
Rpouty - No desire to quit day job AT ALL. This is not even moving in that direction. I have no intention of advertising services or promoting services etc. I just have people who have asked me to take photos of their kids, Christmas cards and one for their teams little league games. I have not even accepted to do any until I do my research, and very likely once/if I fulfill those requests I will be done. My day job is stressful enough with too many people depending on me, I want to relax on my free time.
Kory - Exactly, I understand the problems caused by someone coming in a cutting prices. There product is sub standard often times, BUT the price is right. This is what I am checking on now. Trying to see what locals charge.
