I shoot weddings and an occasional portrait session. Last night someone in the community asked me if I wanted to be considered for the school prom. I'm not too sure what would be included with this type of job, nor how to price a bid.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks

Couple of thoughts-
1. Often the school wants a cut of your proceeds as a 'donation' back to the school. They often milk the larger studios upfront for prom favors, invites, etc. So you may be asked to do the same

2. Usually, it's photo packages that the students (parents) want- (1) 8x10, (2) 5x7's (8) wallets, etc. Some offer poses of the couple together with the option for individual portraits of each person separately. I think the highest pkg option for the company I shoot for is ~ $80 for a slew of prints, the cheapest is ~ $15 for a couple of 5x7's

3. The company that I shoot proms for has added the option to pay an additional $X for the copyright license so they can print additional images on their own.

4. Paper the school ahead of time with ads to let students / parents know you'll be there and what your packages cost

5. Depending on the anticipated turnout, you may want to consider 2 photo setups, sucks standing in line all night for pix! =)

6. Consider offering candid (un-posed) photos of the kids dancing, partying with friends, group shots on spec. and posting them for sale online after the event. Hand out cards on prom nite with the url for them to view the images.

Hope that helps a bit.


-Andrew

Let me know if you need some help with it if you get the bid. I haven't shot a prom before, but I could help ya out with other stuff you need that night.

Lucky, I shot my first prom this past spring. I was asked by the class advisors if I would be interested and I said I would. It was approximately 575 couples. I didn't have to give any percentage to the school but the prom committee selects a theme for the night and they also select a backdrop from a rental company called Dozens of Muslins (great to work with), and this comes out of my expenses. I had pre pay envelopes with 5 different packages that were distributed to the kids about a week before. At the prom location, the class advisor made the arrangements to have a room for me to set up and shoot. The morning of prom day I went up to the facility to set everything up and then showed up about an hour before. My staff included one person to collect all the envelopes and one person to work with the couples and pose them. The schools yearbook staff did candid shots from within that I didn't have to. I will be doing that school again and would like to pick up a few more because it was a most profitable event. Here is a link to some of the shots from that evening.

http://flauri.zenfolio.com/p263240232

If you need any more information, feel free to e-mail me.

Good luck..
Frank Lauri

Those are great prom shots, Frank. I would have been a happy parent if my child brought those home.

Sharon

Sharon, thank you.

Frank Lauri

Hi Frank,
I agree whole heartedly with Pearlstreet on her post, very nice shots indeed.

I thought I'd post a question or two on here for you, rather than email you directly, if you dont mind (so others may benifit from your experiences).

I've been approached to do a similar type gig, A Christmas formal for around 150....trouble is..the individual who approached me has seen (and loves) my stuff but has failed to notice that not one single file contains a human being..ever.

Yup, inanimate objects are my thing (architecture,landscapes, anything with an engine or sometimes sails)

Anyhoo, I've said I'd do it....so i was wondering if you could share some tips with me/us.
The main thing, looking at your shoot, is your lighting set-up,(a little diagram would be fantastic).. i may have to set up some kinda flash arrangment if they need me to use the hotel entrance as a background, altho' i'm hoping to talking them into(insisting).. to using the foyer with a backdrop (after looking at your set up).. i also notice you have a lovely little X at the subjects feet (was that intentional?, I'm sure it was .

Regarding the actual shoot, i notice your SS and A are static (1-125--f 9) with a little zoom variation for subject height, so what would your real world shoot routine/workflow be?. plus your camera-body set up.

The kinda' thing that would be most helpful is... how long per pose (including banter , How many shots per pose, do you take a laptop for previewing (thinking i will, as the confidence level is zero), any in-camera presets (I'd love to get these straight outta' the camera,if i can) if not, what PP workflow would you recommend/do

I guess the lighting logistists would be my greatest concern tho', with 150 peeps @ maybe 2 shots a pose, I dont think Flash would even be an option, The shoot would differ slightly from yours as the majority of the shots being foursomes, any advice regarding lens choice, I've got a lovely old 28-70 that's sweet around f 9, also a 10-22 sigma if they want to group but I can hire practically anything from a really good store in my area.

I could go on and on here but I'm probably trying your patience as it is, so I'll end with, thanks for sharing your work with us and any guidance/advice would be most welcome indeed.
*S
oops, nearly forgot....anyone else, please feel free to chip in with any pointers, or any other pertinent comments.

sighann wrote:
The main thing, looking at your shoot, is your lighting set-up,(a little diagram would be fantastic).. i may have to set up some kinda flash arrangment if they need me to use the hotel entrance as a background...

I have photo'd literally a thousand proms. While it's not Irving Penn lighting, you can produce acceptable prom photos with one light into an umbrella directly above the camera. The subjects will mask their own shadows. If you use a backdrop, have them arm's length from the background. You cannot use seamless and shoot full-length because the girls' heels will punch right through.

Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video

Thanks for that Henry, that is the kind of "experience garnered" info' i was hoping for.

Apoligies to Lucky_Dog..didnt mean to hijack your thread, I hope it would be informative to others in the same situation..(predicament )

sighann,

OK…here goes. Not sure how to do a diagram and put it here so I’ll explain. Lighting was done with 2 – Alien Bee 800’s and shoot thru umbrellas in a typical cross lighting setup. The room I was in was approx. 20 x 12 so it was a little cramped. The couples were about 4 feet from the backdrop and I was behind and between the lights.

Since I was shooting so many I wanted to keep pose time between 15-20 seconds and I had someone specifically setting them up for that and I never left my spot or put the camera down. Normally it was 2 shots PP unless I saw something in the view finder like eyes closed. I did have a laptop but all shots were viewed in the camera. No presets…all shots were manual.

My camera was a 1dmk2n and 24-70 lens and I used pocket wizards to fire the strobes. I rented the BG from Dozens of Muslins (www.dozensofmuslins.com/index.php) and they are great to work with.

With the amount of couples I was shooting it was pretty much non stop shooting for me for over 4 hours. For my work flow I wanted to get it all right in camera my PP was minimal. The lab I use for my T&I shoots set up packages for me that matched my order envelopes and it was through their ROES software. I then just did it all through that process which was approx. 4 hours.

The biggest challenge for me was to get the poses done in the amount of time I established. The person I used for that was given specific instructions on what I wanted and with me standing back I was able to pick up things that were missed…which was very little…she did an excellent job. The other issue was the room I was in. It was tight with no A/C and it was very warm and humid and uncomfortable.

I hope this helps and if you need additional information, shoot me an e-mail or PM.

Frank Lauri

Very helpful indeed Frank....PM..Sent