Making Money in Photography
Discussion
I am going to help out a friend's charity.
I have been doing studio portrait shots for my friends to bring my skill level up, and one of them has asked me to setup a photo booth doing this at a fete they are organizing to raise money to pay for an operation for their son in America ( Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy for Cerebral Palsy )
I have two questions -
1. Setup and lighting.
I am planning to use 3 lights and a white paper background, 1 flagged light on the background to keep it white and give separation, one in a 1 meter softbox at 45 degrees off to one side set at +1, for contrast on the subject, and one as a broad fill.
Has any one setup a pop up studio like this before ? Is the lighting too complex ? I am trying to "get it right in camera" as much as possible to keep the photoshop load down.
2. Pricing/business structure
I was planning on taking phone/email address and emailing a watermarked proof to them, and offering a 7x5 print for £10 and a 12x8 for £15.
Sounds reasonable ? Anyone have experience with this ?
I have been doing studio portrait shots for my friends to bring my skill level up, and one of them has asked me to setup a photo booth doing this at a fete they are organizing to raise money to pay for an operation for their son in America ( Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy for Cerebral Palsy )
I have two questions -
1. Setup and lighting.
I am planning to use 3 lights and a white paper background, 1 flagged light on the background to keep it white and give separation, one in a 1 meter softbox at 45 degrees off to one side set at +1, for contrast on the subject, and one as a broad fill.
Has any one setup a pop up studio like this before ? Is the lighting too complex ? I am trying to "get it right in camera" as much as possible to keep the photoshop load down.
2. Pricing/business structure
I was planning on taking phone/email address and emailing a watermarked proof to them, and offering a 7x5 print for £10 and a 12x8 for £15.
Sounds reasonable ? Anyone have experience with this ?
It's really not the type of photography I enjoy doing but I have done a few of those. I'd just put a single studio flash into a white reflective umbrella high and behind where I'd plan to stand. There's a lot to be said for keeping it simple, makes it a lot easier to set up and quicker to get going again if anything was to go wrong with the kit.
If you want to max out on the sales then find someone you can beg or borrow a dye sub printer from for the evening and sell prints at £10 a go. It's an emotional purchase and people are much more likely to part with their cash there and then rather than sometime after the event.
If you want to max out on the sales then find someone you can beg or borrow a dye sub printer from for the evening and sell prints at £10 a go. It's an emotional purchase and people are much more likely to part with their cash there and then rather than sometime after the event.
I haven't read the entire thread so apologies if I'm repeating anything that has already been said.
When I was more active as a photographer I found a few ways to make money from it - wedding "photo booths", corporate portrait shoots and finally wedding photography.
I had been put off wedding photography after warnings from other photographers that it's harder than it looks. But after shooting a couple of family weddings I found that I really enjoyed the excitement/skill and I booked a few weddings at approx £500 each - they all went really well. I'm very critical of my photos and they were well below the standard of my photography "idols", but I would rate them as equivalent to local photographers charging £1,500. The customers were very happy, which is ultimately what matters.
Long story short, I gave it up because to match my current salary the amount of weddings I would need to book at £1,500 was far more than was possible. Marketing £500 weddings was expensive enough so competing with the top-tier local photographers would have taken a bigger investment than I wanted.
A couple of tips that I feel are important for anyone that wants to try wedding photography:
1) Don't start with cheap bookings or you'll put yourself off. If they want a cheap photographer then they'll also have cheap outfits, cheap make-up and a cheap venue. Even the best photos can't make that look good.
2) On the day, artistic ability comes second to confidence. You're being paid to get the shot, the bride's uncle isn't - if you need to ask him to move then do it.
3) You're one of the only people who will be with the wedding party throughout the whole day and also one of the only people with access-all-areas ability. They will often treat you as their wedding coordinator and you can use that to your advantage so you're always one step ahead.
4) You don't have enough batteries.
When I was more active as a photographer I found a few ways to make money from it - wedding "photo booths", corporate portrait shoots and finally wedding photography.
I had been put off wedding photography after warnings from other photographers that it's harder than it looks. But after shooting a couple of family weddings I found that I really enjoyed the excitement/skill and I booked a few weddings at approx £500 each - they all went really well. I'm very critical of my photos and they were well below the standard of my photography "idols", but I would rate them as equivalent to local photographers charging £1,500. The customers were very happy, which is ultimately what matters.
Long story short, I gave it up because to match my current salary the amount of weddings I would need to book at £1,500 was far more than was possible. Marketing £500 weddings was expensive enough so competing with the top-tier local photographers would have taken a bigger investment than I wanted.
A couple of tips that I feel are important for anyone that wants to try wedding photography:
1) Don't start with cheap bookings or you'll put yourself off. If they want a cheap photographer then they'll also have cheap outfits, cheap make-up and a cheap venue. Even the best photos can't make that look good.
2) On the day, artistic ability comes second to confidence. You're being paid to get the shot, the bride's uncle isn't - if you need to ask him to move then do it.
3) You're one of the only people who will be with the wedding party throughout the whole day and also one of the only people with access-all-areas ability. They will often treat you as their wedding coordinator and you can use that to your advantage so you're always one step ahead.
4) You don't have enough batteries.
I'm busy at the moment running a series of workshops covering landscape photography ( in between other stuff..)
Just completed the basic series ( 3 modules, basics, basic landscape, lightroom) and sent out a survey.
5 very good responses 1 bad.
Bad one complained we didnt explain manual exposure or how to focus, but didnt attend the module where we covered that.. Also complained about having to drive home in the dark after we shot a sunset. :/
Also sounds like they wanted us to hark on about ever landscape composition rule rather than the way we taught ( far more organic/generic)
Just completed the basic series ( 3 modules, basics, basic landscape, lightroom) and sent out a survey.
5 very good responses 1 bad.
Bad one complained we didnt explain manual exposure or how to focus, but didnt attend the module where we covered that.. Also complained about having to drive home in the dark after we shot a sunset. :/
Also sounds like they wanted us to hark on about ever landscape composition rule rather than the way we taught ( far more organic/generic)
RobDickinson said:
I'm busy at the moment running a series of workshops covering landscape photography ( in between other stuff..)
Just completed the basic series ( 3 modules, basics, basic landscape, lightroom) and sent out a survey.
5 very good responses 1 bad.
Bad one complained we didnt explain manual exposure or how to focus, but didnt attend the module where we covered that.. Also complained about having to drive home in the dark after we shot a sunset. :/
Also sounds like they wanted us to hark on about ever landscape composition rule rather than the way we taught ( far more organic/generic)
That sounds very positive Rob. Just completed the basic series ( 3 modules, basics, basic landscape, lightroom) and sent out a survey.
5 very good responses 1 bad.
Bad one complained we didnt explain manual exposure or how to focus, but didnt attend the module where we covered that.. Also complained about having to drive home in the dark after we shot a sunset. :/
Also sounds like they wanted us to hark on about ever landscape composition rule rather than the way we taught ( far more organic/generic)
I would suggest you offer you complainer a sunrise shoot with the necessary early arrival followed by the manual exposure and focus module they missed. You could then use their own images to show what they did right or wrong.
Or could you do a virtual sunrise shoot in the middle of the day?
I think they wanted a landscape by numbers course. Whilst we were trying to transfer tools for working it all out yourself..
I made a mental promise to myself with this series that I will stick to the module content and not step outside it, if you didnt attend the module we covered that subject (which is clearly described..) then we assume you know it or dont want to know it.
They wanted more basic comp rules, sure we could have included that and we will talk more about that on the advanced landscape module, but I dont want to stand there teaching mindless adherence to comp rules.
As for sunrise, the issues there are you really need to do the teaching before the sunrise/colour etc. So in the dark a lot. Sunset works because its usually the end of the session and the best light so they have more of an understanding of what and how to shoot it.
I made a mental promise to myself with this series that I will stick to the module content and not step outside it, if you didnt attend the module we covered that subject (which is clearly described..) then we assume you know it or dont want to know it.
They wanted more basic comp rules, sure we could have included that and we will talk more about that on the advanced landscape module, but I dont want to stand there teaching mindless adherence to comp rules.
As for sunrise, the issues there are you really need to do the teaching before the sunrise/colour etc. So in the dark a lot. Sunset works because its usually the end of the session and the best light so they have more of an understanding of what and how to shoot it.
RobDickinson said:
I think they wanted a landscape by numbers course. Whilst we were trying to transfer tools for working it all out yourself..
I made a mental promise to myself with this series that I will stick to the module content and not step outside it, if you didnt attend the module we covered that subject (which is clearly described..) then we assume you know it or dont want to know it.
They wanted more basic comp rules, sure we could have included that and we will talk more about that on the advanced landscape module, but I dont want to stand there teaching mindless adherence to comp rules.
As for sunrise, the issues there are you really need to do the teaching before the sunrise/colour etc. So in the dark a lot. Sunset works because its usually the end of the session and the best light so they have more of an understanding of what and how to shoot it.
You can't keep everyone happy Rob.I made a mental promise to myself with this series that I will stick to the module content and not step outside it, if you didnt attend the module we covered that subject (which is clearly described..) then we assume you know it or dont want to know it.
They wanted more basic comp rules, sure we could have included that and we will talk more about that on the advanced landscape module, but I dont want to stand there teaching mindless adherence to comp rules.
As for sunrise, the issues there are you really need to do the teaching before the sunrise/colour etc. So in the dark a lot. Sunset works because its usually the end of the session and the best light so they have more of an understanding of what and how to shoot it.
I was being a tad facetious about the sunrise thing. Tell them what they wanted to know after the shoot was part of the plan. I assume they would complain about having to drive in the dark to get there too! In sales it would something like testing for a false objection.
Yeah I know. I do some sunrise workshops but they are specific to subject.
The 5 positives have attended all 3 workshops so far and are quite happy, pretty much nothing negative apart from us having issues getting into our training room (which was a stuffup by the place we hired).
We'll take on board their comments for future , not sure we'll be running this again in the current format tho anyhow.
The 5 positives have attended all 3 workshops so far and are quite happy, pretty much nothing negative apart from us having issues getting into our training room (which was a stuffup by the place we hired).
We'll take on board their comments for future , not sure we'll be running this again in the current format tho anyhow.
Further to my post a page or two back, I've booked myself on a wedding photography workshop with this chap next month - http://www.davidpaulphotography.co.uk/blog/?downlo...
Will report back!
Will report back!
Congrats ExPat!
Blimey, it's about time I updated this.
Since my last post, a lot has happened. My income is still too low for my liking but it looks like it's rising. Highlights:
).
All that said, I have really bad days where I want to throw in the towel if I'm totally honest. For example, on Wednesday this week I was chasing people for money and was struggling financially with no obvious pay-day pipeline in sight. Then my car failed its MOT and I lost my s
t a bit. Then yesterday I picked up 2 new jobs and noticed my first Fstoppers article was doing well and it rallied my morale a bit! My biggest nemesis at the moment is the fact I work 70+ hours per week almost every week and I'm still not bringing in much money. April will be my 7th month of full-time employment and I started with (literally) £0 in the bank to invest so I can't whinge too much but it's tough working hard for no obvious return.
Anyway, onwards and upwards. If you're interested in reading my first article for Fstoppers the link is below. My second one goes up tomorrow. I don't really care much for feedback other than from the editors and the people in this thread, so please feel free to give me your thoughts.
Seven Things About Being a Photographer I Wish I'd Known Earlier
Blimey, it's about time I updated this.
Since my last post, a lot has happened. My income is still too low for my liking but it looks like it's rising. Highlights:
- I'm now a staff writer at Fstoppers which is another form of income and something I'm proud to be a part of.
- I'm now the go-to headshot photographer for a marketing agency who go in to companies and revamp their site/image/brand.
- I'm now the go-to photographer for the watch brand I worked with in the previous posts.
- Yesterday I secured a new job with a German watch company
- I may have a monthly wage from a watch reseller who want to send me a few watches per month to photograph for their social media.
- I've shot quite a few headshots for actors/presenters over the last few months and it has seemed to have started a chain reaction with enquiries.
- My social media following is growing faster than ever before.
- I built a new portfolio that allows me to set up private client sections which I'm really liking.
).All that said, I have really bad days where I want to throw in the towel if I'm totally honest. For example, on Wednesday this week I was chasing people for money and was struggling financially with no obvious pay-day pipeline in sight. Then my car failed its MOT and I lost my s
t a bit. Then yesterday I picked up 2 new jobs and noticed my first Fstoppers article was doing well and it rallied my morale a bit! My biggest nemesis at the moment is the fact I work 70+ hours per week almost every week and I'm still not bringing in much money. April will be my 7th month of full-time employment and I started with (literally) £0 in the bank to invest so I can't whinge too much but it's tough working hard for no obvious return.Anyway, onwards and upwards. If you're interested in reading my first article for Fstoppers the link is below. My second one goes up tomorrow. I don't really care much for feedback other than from the editors and the people in this thread, so please feel free to give me your thoughts.
Seven Things About Being a Photographer I Wish I'd Known Earlier
Good to hear Robbie. I'm sure you'll stay the course.
For those interested in stock, I've never really considered it, but was approached by Rex, who now have a couple of dozen of mine. Last month they made me just under £500. Feels like free money (though it ain't of course! - Crap knows how many hours and how much cash I've spent over the years).
Still.
For those interested in stock, I've never really considered it, but was approached by Rex, who now have a couple of dozen of mine. Last month they made me just under £500. Feels like free money (though it ain't of course! - Crap knows how many hours and how much cash I've spent over the years).
Still.
Well done Rob. Quite insightful actually because it appears to me you have done exceptionally well in terms of the work you have done but clearly it's not translating into big money... worth thinking about for anybody considering this line of work!
I enjoyed reading the article - quite a chatty/jokey style but I guess that was the brief. Maybe a bit over enthusiastic with the punctuation but just my 2p worth, take it or leave it...
I'm going to tread carefully now on the basis that I am just an amateur and what do I know... but the skin tones look a bit funny to me on a couple of these portraits you posted - were the subjects very heavily made up? Kate (who is very lovely) looks almost zombie like to me.
Just my thoughts and sorry if they are not wanted/appreciated
I enjoyed reading the article - quite a chatty/jokey style but I guess that was the brief. Maybe a bit over enthusiastic with the punctuation but just my 2p worth, take it or leave it...
I'm going to tread carefully now on the basis that I am just an amateur and what do I know... but the skin tones look a bit funny to me on a couple of these portraits you posted - were the subjects very heavily made up? Kate (who is very lovely) looks almost zombie like to me.
Just my thoughts and sorry if they are not wanted/appreciated
Thanks everyone. That made me laugh Steve. I said the same thing. Getty and a few other companies I do absolutely no upkeep on my work for occasionally deposit £100ish in to my account for various things and it feels very much like money for nothing. Quite the illusion!
Thanks mate. Yes, sort of. I told them I don't write super-serious articles unless it's a guide or informational piece and they seem to like that. It's done better on views than I expected and I've had so many emails, tweets, comments and messages about how much the person liked reading it that I guess I'll keep writing in the way I prefer to. With regards to punctuation that was more a result of my university module in journalism and their <20 word per sentence 'rule'. I'll tone it down!
Actually, Mike, you've done me a bit of a favour. I did two slightly different tweaks to the Kate image. One felt like her skin (which is naturally ice white by the way) was a bit too drained of colour and the other was much warmer but a bit disingenuous. I decided to go with the warmer image but now you've said that I can see I've uploaded the whiter one. The problem is, the warm tones in the background highlight her British pure white skin tone! The two images are so close together that the thumbnails are impossible to distinguish and my eyes aren't to be trusted. As you know, after a few hours of editing the colours of an image don't even look real anymore.
DibblyDobbler said:
Well done Rob. Quite insightful actually because it appears to me you have done exceptionally well in terms of the work you have done but clearly it's not translating into big money... worth thinking about for anybody considering this line of work!
I enjoyed reading the article - quite a chatty/jokey style but I guess that was the brief. Maybe a bit over enthusiastic with the punctuation but just my 2p worth, take it or leave it...
I'm going to tread carefully now on the basis that I am just an amateur and what do I know... but the skin tones look a bit funny to me on a couple of these portraits you posted - were the subjects very heavily made up? Kate (who is very lovely) looks almost zombie like to me.
Just my thoughts and sorry if they are not wanted/appreciated
You're hardly an amateur Mike. The money is improving and I can see that from my first 6 months. Also, which I particularly like, my jobs are starting to be with brands and non-local companies/people. Don't get me wrong I work hard but then I love what I do and it doesn't feel too much like work. I really need to evaluate after a year but I would hazard a guess that I'll certainly continue for at least 2 years and then decide whether I'm wasting my time. I'm in a fortunate position with not having kids or a project car to worry about!I enjoyed reading the article - quite a chatty/jokey style but I guess that was the brief. Maybe a bit over enthusiastic with the punctuation but just my 2p worth, take it or leave it...
I'm going to tread carefully now on the basis that I am just an amateur and what do I know... but the skin tones look a bit funny to me on a couple of these portraits you posted - were the subjects very heavily made up? Kate (who is very lovely) looks almost zombie like to me.
Just my thoughts and sorry if they are not wanted/appreciated
Thanks mate. Yes, sort of. I told them I don't write super-serious articles unless it's a guide or informational piece and they seem to like that. It's done better on views than I expected and I've had so many emails, tweets, comments and messages about how much the person liked reading it that I guess I'll keep writing in the way I prefer to. With regards to punctuation that was more a result of my university module in journalism and their <20 word per sentence 'rule'.
I'll tone it down!Actually, Mike, you've done me a bit of a favour. I did two slightly different tweaks to the Kate image. One felt like her skin (which is naturally ice white by the way
) was a bit too drained of colour and the other was much warmer but a bit disingenuous. I decided to go with the warmer image but now you've said that I can see I've uploaded the whiter one. The problem is, the warm tones in the background highlight her British pure white skin tone! The two images are so close together that the thumbnails are impossible to distinguish and my eyes aren't to be trusted. As you know, after a few hours of editing the colours of an image don't even look real anymore.RobbieKB said:
You're hardly an amateur Mike. The money is improving and I can see that from my first 6 months. Also, which I particularly like, my jobs are starting to be with brands and non-local companies/people. Don't get me wrong I work hard but then I love what I do and it doesn't feel too much like work. I really need to evaluate after a year but I would hazard a guess that I'll certainly continue for at least 2 years and then decide whether I'm wasting my time. I'm in a fortunate position with not having kids or a project car to worry about!
Absolutely keep going for it - I have spent 25 years doing a well paid but dull job and now all I can talk and think about is when I can get retired... sad bd! Not many people get to make a living from something they really enjoy (apart from that git Carter) and I'd certainly swap a few quid for some job satisfaction! RobbieKB said:
Thanks mate. Yes, sort of. I told them I don't write super-serious articles unless it's a guide or informational piece and they seem to like that. It's done better on views than I expected and I've had so many emails, tweets, comments and messages about how much the person liked reading it that I guess I'll keep writing in the way I prefer to. With regards to punctuation that was more a result of my university module in journalism and their <20 word per sentence 'rule'. I'll tone it down!
Well that's one more journalism module than I've done and it sounds like it's going down well with your target audience so crack on I'll tone it down!
RobbieKB said:
Actually, Mike, you've done me a bit of a favour. I did two slightly different tweaks to the Kate image. One felt like her skin (which is naturally ice white by the way ) was a bit too drained of colour and the other was much warmer but a bit disingenuous. I decided to go with the warmer image but now you've said that I can see I've uploaded the whiter one. The problem is, the warm tones in the background highlight her British pure white skin tone! The two images are so close together that the thumbnails are impossible to distinguish and my eyes aren't to be trusted. As you know, after a few hours of editing the colours of an image don't even look real anymore.
Well done for not taking the hump. I'm never sure whether giving unasked for feedback is a good idea but I thought you'd be ok with it ) was a bit too drained of colour and the other was much warmer but a bit disingenuous. I decided to go with the warmer image but now you've said that I can see I've uploaded the whiter one. The problem is, the warm tones in the background highlight her British pure white skin tone! The two images are so close together that the thumbnails are impossible to distinguish and my eyes aren't to be trusted. As you know, after a few hours of editing the colours of an image don't even look real anymore.Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff