 Barb Rathbun |
Photography for Church Directory I have an opportunity to do the photography for one of our local church's directories. Just wondering if anyone has done this before. Do you offer packages? The previous company did not charge either the church or the church members to do this but must have made their money by selling packages from the photos they took from the directory shots. Any suggestions? Thanks!
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Pamela Njemanze |
Hi Barb: I am also doing a church directory this October. I am just starting to sell my work so I decided not to offer any packages at this time. I just set up with Zenfolio to sell prints so they can go online and view / purchase from there (saves me lots of time). I am not charging the church for my time. They will pay for the cost to print all directories. They already have the software in place to create a photo directory, so I will give them one photo of each family and they will print the directory and assemble how they wish. If you prefer to do the work, there is software out there in which you can create the directory / print yourself. You can import a CSV file into that software from the church database if they give the file in a certain format. If you can't afford to give your time away, then don't. Set the price / hours and negotiate with them. Don't feel you have to do it just because someone else did. The reason I did not charge is because it is my church and because I'm brand new to all this and I feel I have a lot to learn yet ... though John Siskin's course is helping me with that. He's a great teacher and so willing to help you out if you need help with lighting questions. I highly recommend his courses. Have fun :)
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John H. Siskin |
Thanks Pam!! I have had one recurring problem with non-profits generally: If you don’t charge them, they don’t respect your time. For instance, I volunteered to do work for a local non-profit. I arrived to do the work, but they weren’t ready. People hadn’t been called for the shoot. They asked me if I wanted to stuff envelopes while I waited. I charged another non-profit - much less than a normal fee - and they had their act totally together. Non-profits get a lot of free labor, but they don’t always respect that and they don’t always use that labor effectively. You can always donate a fee back to the group. Thanks.
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Pamela Njemanze |
You're welcome, John, and good points. Barb, what you can do is schedule out the times in writing and have sign-ups prior to the dates, and hand out appointment cards as reminders. The church secretary may be able to help you with email reminders too depending on the church. Also let them know how many volunteers you would need to help assist that day or days. Hope that helps Pam :)
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Barb Rathbun |
Thanks, both of you. I think sign-ups prior to the date and also reminder cards are a great idea as well as e-mail for those whose addresses we have. I know it's tricky with non-profits and a kick-back to them is as good idea as well, John. I have taken one of John's courses on studio lighting and learned a lot from it. He even called me about light placement when I didn't understand one of the concepts. (You're a dedicated teacher, John). Thanks Barb
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John H. Siskin |
Thanks Barb, I try to make the classes as personal as possible and to make them fit the students' schedule. Online learning is great. Thanks!
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Ted L. Craig |
For the last two years I have been the sole church directory photographer where I attend. I do not charge anything. John Sisken is right. The respect you will receive for your time, effort and photographs is poor, if you do not charge something. A particular aspect I wish to highlight is the lack of appreciation for your photography. For some strange reason, people feel photos they pay for are much better than what is free - regardless the quality of the photo. I am not in a circumstance to change my practice. However, it would probably be good to determine one's practice before beginning work and making that known.
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Barb Rathbun |
Thanks Ted. Sounds like good advice and if you set a precedent of not charging if probably hard to change. And it is true that people think that things that they pay for are worth more than things they don't. Do you publish the Directory yourself or send it out to be done?
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Lisa Lau |
I've taken directory photos for my church for about the past 5 years. We just set up a general time between services. People show up, sign in and I take their pictures. We offer the photo sessions for about 3 weeks. People are also welcome to submit their own jpeg photos but very few do.
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Ted L. Craig |
Barb - we set this up to be handled as cheaply as possible. So, we produce it all in house. We have a fairly good system including a laser printer. It is not the best 'photography' available, but seems to handle the best of all considerations.
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