If I need marketing myself as a senior portrait photographer, are the following pictures good enough to be put into the gallery of senior portrait on my website? Any other critiques and suggestions are welcome.

These aren't bad, but you should upload more, more head shots.

I would say these would definitely work, but you certainly can't use just these. You'd need more variety (headshots, as mentioned above) but other types of seniors as well.

sethphoto wrote:
These aren't bad, but you should upload more, more head shots.

Thank you for the suggestion. I am working on it.

thebeginning wrote:
I would say these would definitely work, but you certainly can't use just these. You'd need more variety (headshots, as mentioned above) but other types of seniors as well.

Thanks! I will do what you suggested.

Based on other stuff on FM, I would say no. But you need to bounce this against your local competition - if it's comparable to them, then you're good-to-go for now.

You can put anything you want on your site. What you have to determine is how much you can charge, how much your competition is charging, and what you can produce that they cannot.

The shots you posted seem to be from a competent photographer, but I've seen much better and much worse. It's up to you to decide what you want to represent your talents.

I would say no.

Photography and being able to take a picture is only a small part of being in the business of photography.

Don't get me wrong, they're not bad. I've also seen much worse from "professional photographers".

jfinite wrote:
You can put anything you want on your site. What you have to determine is how much you can charge, how much your competition is charging, and what you can produce that they cannot.

The shots you posted seem to be from a competent photographer, but I've seen much better and much worse. It's up to you to decide what you want to represent your talents.

Thank you for your encouragement and suggestions.

In marketing our businesses, we have to be critical of our work, especially when compared to those advertising in the same market.

Research your competition. Find out what they are displaying, and what they are charging. Ask your friends, family, colleages, etc. to compare the competition to you and give an honest answer to the key question: Would they pay what you're asking for these services based on what they see?

If the majority answer yes - you're good to go. If the majority answer no - go take more pictures and improve your skills.

You also have to ask yourself if YOU are ready. I find senior portraits to be VERY subjective and specific to each client. You're capturing the character of an individual in each set and that will demand strong visual skills, posing and knowing when NOT to pose but capture a moment or a series. You need to know how to work fast in changing and varied conditions.

In addition to the comments so far, you will most certainly need samples of more subjects in more settings. A good portfolio of 15 to 20 quality images with a mix of faces, body types, styles and settings will get far more attention than a handful of images of the same person. Once again, look at your competition.

One other point - I looked your Flickr stream and see you have a mix of images that include implied nudes, lingerie, and casual. You should really separate the galleries if you're planning to market seniors. It's usually the parents that are paying for a senior set, and if they see NSFW images in the same gallery, it might put them off. It may not, but if you have them in separate galleries you will ensure that those that want to see lingerie shots will go to look, while those that don't won't be shocked or upset - losing a potential client no matter how good your work is. Some nice stuff there by the way!

I wish you well in your endeavour.

As an aside, you'll want a variety of people on your site.

When I see three photos of the same girl on a website, I think to myself "low customer volume". This, to me, means that you either can't attract much other business, or you're new to the field. BOTH mean that you really need to build your portfolio so that there are a variety of looks and people on your site.

Photo Guy wrote:
For what it's worth, here is my two cents ....

Nice for starters but definitely room for improvement. I'll break it down for you picture by picture:

1) Very cute pose but lighting is a little flat.

2) Better lighting but pose looks a bit unnatural. Maybe shot from a different angle would improve it. Fix her hair. Looks a bit messy for a senior portrait.

3) Best of the three in my opinion. Her left hand should be touching her body and not dangling in space there causing that unnecessary shadow. Her head could be lifted up just a touch to give her a look of confidence and power.

Good start like I said. And like others mentioned, definitely more head shots in the mix would help.

Good luck my friend!

Daniel

Very helpful critiques. Thanks a lot!!!

njw wrote:
In marketing our businesses, we have to be critical of our work, especially when compared to those advertising in the same market.

Research your competition. Find out what they are displaying, and what they are charging. Ask your friends, family, colleages, etc. to compare the competition to you and give an honest answer to the key question: Would they pay what you're asking for these services based on what they see?

If the majority answer yes - you're good to go. If the majority answer no - go take more pictures and improve your skills.

You also have to ask yourself if YOU are ready. I find senior portraits to be VERY subjective and specific to each client. You're capturing the character of an individual in each set and that will demand strong visual skills, posing and knowing when NOT to pose but capture a moment or a series. You need to know how to work fast in changing and varied conditions.

In addition to the comments so far, you will most certainly need samples of more subjects in more settings. A good portfolio of 15 to 20 quality images with a mix of faces, body types, styles and settings will get far more attention than a handful of images of the same person. Once again, look at your competition.

One other point - I looked your Flickr stream and see you have a mix of images that include implied nudes, lingerie, and casual. You should really separate the galleries if you're planning to market seniors. It's usually the parents that are paying for a senior set, and if they see NSFW images in the same gallery, it might put them off. It may not, but if you have them in separate galleries you will ensure that those that want to see lingerie shots will go to look, while those that don't won't be shocked or upset - losing a potential client no matter how good your work is. Some nice stuff there by the way!

I wish you well in your endeavour.

Thank you for your good suggestions for the senior portrait business. I just started building my portfolio from all perspectives. When I am really, I will build a website, which is only for my wedding and senior portrait stuff.

kakomu wrote:
As an aside, you'll want a variety of people on your site.

When I see three photos of the same girl on a website, I think to myself "low customer volume". This, to me, means that you either can't attract much other business, or you're new to the field. BOTH mean that you really need to build your portfolio so that there are a variety of looks and people on your site.

I see. I will have more girls in my gallery. Thanks!

A good exercise is to sit down and list 5 things which in general you find flattering in portraits you like. Then use that "Top 5" list as criteria to judge for yourself if the shot is a "5" out of 5 or a 1 or 2. The face should be the natural center of interest the overall contrast dynamic draws the viewer towards. One of the simplest ways to make a portrait more effective is learning to identify and minimize everything that competes with the face.

Squatting poses are not very flattering for reasons which should be obvious if you think about it a bit. In the other two the angle of the head looks awkward and uncomfortable.

Chuck

cgardner wrote:
A good exercise is to sit down and list 5 things which in general you find flattering in portraits you like. Then use that "Top 5" list as criteria to judge for yourself if the shot is a "5" out of 5 or a 1 or 2. The face should be the natural center of interest the overall contrast dynamic draws the viewer towards. One of the simplest ways to make a portrait more effective is learning to identify and minimize everything that competes with the face.

Squatting poses are not very flattering for reasons which should be obvious if you think about it a bit. In the other two the angle of the head looks awkward and uncomfortable.

Chuck




Your suggestion about the pose is very helpful.

These are good enough to market to your audience. When doing so you have to get the kids sold. They're the ones who get the parents to the photographer. That being said having a couple of pictures you know the parents will like will "seal the deal" and get them in your door.

And Honestly, don't worry about them being good enough. If you want to make a living, you have to believe they are. That is what carries across to your clients. If you doubt yourself they will too.

all the best,
Larry

Just really depends.....

I think these are very nice shots and most seniors would love them.

I totally agree with the comment above. Natural, unfussy, just right for seniors.