 CeLena |
PRESCHOOL PHOTOG'S PLEASE HELP I am in the market to do a mass mailing advertising my photography services to do childrens preschool photos. Only one thing to consider, Since I make a huge amount of money through package sales, should I even bother charging a sitting fee? Do most preschool photog's charge one? Or is this not a priority. I really love this field and want to do this full time, to get my foot in the door, would it be ok to not charge one, or is that a bad idea. Basically, I need to know if it is customary to charge, or to not charge? Thank you for your responses, anyone please help!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Michael A. Bielat |
I never did schools but have done hockey leagues, karate schools, etc. What I did was first market that I give a 10% commission to the studio / league for having me. In return, my packages are sort of the A, B, C deal with special offers and the options to get additional prints or gifts and novelties.
|
|
|
|
||
|
CeLena |
THank you for your help. So, you actually paid the customer to allow you to take pics there? So, then was the 10% commission from the package sales? I can see how that would make you stand out from the rest! Thank you again, Celena
|
|
|
|
||
|
Michael A. Bielat |
Yep, it does help and I usually throw the place a $100 if I make a thousand or more. So it isn't always really 10% but it is something. Plus you have a customer who will ant you to keep coming back because they like that extra $100. If I make hardly anything, then I just give the place group/team/class portraits for free. Just as a little something.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Linda Finstad |
I too have shot some clubs and school groups and give either a commision or position my marketing to the club to run a photo day as a fund raiser. I think this is common practice and sitting fees are not going to fly after all the parents didnt personally ask you to take pictures of their kids - It is you who are trying to sell your services. If on the other hand - they love your work and want to book you to take pictures of the rest of the family then a sitting fee would be appropriate. Just my two cents worth - for what its worth
|
|
|
|
||
|
Brenda M. Wolfensberger |
Hi all. It's weird to see this here, I was just getting ready to search for this sort of topic! I just gave a proposal to a local middle school band club. They want pics (indiv & grade group) for 6th, 7th, 8th, jazz & orhcestra. I gave them two packages, plus a few addons. With the first packaged I proposed that they would keep $5 for each sold; with the second they keep $10. Not sure how much of a success it will be, but if it does well I plan on offering it to other schools/groups as a fundraiser idea. Not really what I want to do, but if it helps keep my name out there and helps build clients, I'm for it! I was going to ask everyone how you do your set up for the pics & how you organize the day so that the right order gets matched up with the right pic. Do you take any lights or just a posing stool? Just trying to figure this out in case they go with it. I will be doing each band member holding their instruments as well as each grade in one large group shot. And with each package ordered, I'm printing up postcards that will offer any family a free 8x10 with a regular paid sitting fee. Or something along those lines. Figured it's a good way to get my name out even more. I've been told with just the 7th & 8th grades there are approx. 110 students, so this will be something new for me! Any thoughts or input will be welcomed.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Linda Finstad |
Hi Brenda I did a similar thing for our local Air cadets, individual shots plus a group shot of the entire squadron (this was a huge group of 70 people) I took a backdrop which I pinned their flag to this created an appropriate background for the individual shots and I lit the kids with a 2 strobes fitted with soft boxes. It was fast and frurious work and it had to be a one size fits all lighting set up, I have to admit this was not the best arrangement because the kids varried so much in size, but I only had 90 mins to do the whole squadron. For the large group shot I used two great big umberellas in an attempt to light the whole group, this turned out better than I imagined. I didnt use a posing stool because the kids were in uniform and I didnt want it to look bunched up, but I did mark out in tape on the floor where I wanted them to stand - which really helped speed things up. I took 3 shots of each kid one smiling, one saluting and one more just for luck. I sold about 75% of the individual shots and lots of the group shot - it was a fun evening, my best advice would be to plan ahead exactly how you are going to set up your mini studio and be prepared to work very fast. Good luck
|
|
|
|
||
|
Julie Whyte |
I recently completed a 74-student preschool shoot. I offered the basic package OR a composite only (which only cost slightly less). They could only order "extras" if they purchased the basic package. All but 3 families purchased the package and about 80% of those ordered "extras". I brought one stool and a bin of silly hats and a tickler (and of course my backdrop and lighting). My assistant made any adjustments she saw as they sat down or aby that I mentioned, as well as chatted with them and put on the silly hats/tickled, whatever. I stayed behind the camera and captured a smile for almost every child. The parents were thrilled with the results. Really impressive when you look at the entire composite and see that I caught most of them with a very natural smile. Well worth hiring an assistant in my opinion as these are 3 and 4 year olds....they are somewhat nervous and can not give you a real smile on command. Granted, some kids took 5 or more minutes to do because if we saw them getting uncomfortable we would take their minds off of where they were with chit-chat. I also did not charge a sitting fee, and offered the preschool 10% of sales. They are pleased and are already talking about "next year"! :-) Tip: Not sure where you live but I took a box of Kleenex, a package of no fragrance baby wipes, safety pins/two-sided tape, and Bounce Free (no perfumes) dryer sheet (rub your hands on the dryer sheet then smooth static hair). We used all of these things many, many times. Lapels that stuck straight up no matter what, sweet little sticky faces from breakfast (or the occasional milk mustache), runny nose, static in hair...we had it all, but most importantly, we had it all under control.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Brenda M. Wolfensberger |
Julie, these are awesome ideas and tips! That's like the photogs first aid bag! haha Ready to fix anything. I will be working with 6th-8th graders so i'm hoping it will go smoothly. What lights did you take? Where did you position them? THis is what I'm not 100% sure of with setting up the background and getting them far enough from it and getting the lights right. I offered two packages & only two extras. I'm still waiting to hear if they are going for it or not. Thanks for the tips, that is is huge help.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Julie Whyte |
You're welcome. BTW, I forgot to mention hair combs. I survived without them because I could not find any affordable enough to throw away. However, my husband's hair stylist (like I even have one anymore with three little itty bitty kids underfoot!), suggested using something called "Barbecide" that Barber's use. The combs have to soak for 10 minutes but it sterlizes them. You would have to take them home to do them, but it's a thought. Otherwise, if anyone could tell me where to buy cheapies that I can give away, I'm "all ears" because that's far more desirable in my opinion.
The lighting I used was 750 watt Quartz Halogen variable intensity continuous HOT lights (color temperature 3200K). I placed the subject 4 ft. in front of the backdrop (which I lit with a third light with barn doors) and maximized DOF to seperate the subject from the backdrop. I had to lower my lights as much as possible on their stands because, let's face it, they are little shorties! I don't know how to describe where I placed them except to say that I kept them mostly to the subject's front...like this ..............Backdrop................ Subject
They were only maybe 3 ft. away from the subject on each side, with the left dimmer than the right to allow for some natural shadow. I actually accessed information from the website where I purchased my lights from...you might try to the same...it can really help. A few more things. I'm assuming you are using a tri-pod. If you have a shutter release it makes things run smoother, too. A biggie though...I was able to set up the night before my first day (it took two days to do the shoot since there are two Monday-Wednesday classes and two Tuesday-Thursday classes). I took my 7 year old daughter with me and practiced on her. Far better to "struggle" using her as a subject. I also had her sway back and forth some to see if everything went okay, since the itty-bitty kids can be quite fidgety. By the time Monday morning came, I was as ready as I was ever going to be. Hope this helps some more and best of luck on getting the job! Let us all know how it went!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Julie Whyte |
Okay, my clever diagram didn't work. It didn't save the spaces even though I used the space bar :-( Email me and I can try to show you that way. My email is sissybaba4@yahoo.com
|
|
|
|
||
|
Linda Finstad |
Hi Girls, It sounds like you did a great job - I just have one more question - if its not too cheeky to ask , how much did you charge for your images, and how did you present your final prints? Do you put them in photo cards? I feel that is where I kind of fall down - in my final presentation, I would really appreciate any help and ideas to keep the whole process smooth and professional,
|
|
|
|
||
|
Brenda M. Wolfensberger |
Great info Julie! Thank you. I'm not sure I'll be able to set up the night before, but I'll see. I may set up at my house & use my three year old as a practice subject. Linda, I personally have not done the shoot yet. But if I do (still waiting on approval) then I plan on using Miller and they will present each subjects purchased package in an envelope with their image on the outside as well as print what is included in the package they purchased. They charge 10% of the entire order to do this. I haven't tried it yet, but I figured it would give a very polished & professional end product to present.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Linda Finstad |
Hi brenda I am based in Edmonton - Canada I havent heard of Miller - do they have a web site so I could go check them out, that kind of a service certainly sounds like a great idea. I dont really like portraits but I love the easy access to lots of people all on one day I did a school picture day last year at the local riding school and I have approached pony club and 4H groups to see if I could do picture days for them too - I really prefer taking pictures of animals ( I dont mid an odd rider or handler ) but for some reason I am more comfortable when the animal is the focus of the picture. Its a good job we are all different and there is plenty of sunshine for everyone.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Brenda M. Wolfensberger |
I use either mpix.com or millerslab. I'm not sure I want to do many of these either, but I was approached and saw it as an opportunity to get my name to the parents of all those students so I thought I would try it out. :)
|
|
|
|
||
|
Jeff Dadey |
:)
|
|
|
|
||
|
This old forum is now archived. Use improved Forum here
Report this Thread |
||