dave_borg98
8th of May 2007 (Tue), 12:47
(pretty long) I have finally decided to venture out into creating a photography business. I am starting out very slowly and trying to control the growth as much as possible
without turning too much business away. Making promises that I cannot keep will do nothing but ruin things in the long run. Not having much business background is a pretty big
hurdle to overcome, but it is something that can be done. If you would not mind, let me know what you think about how I am wanting to run things below. Thanks,
I am venturing into portraits (family, senior, etc.), sports, small events, and some small corporate style pictures.
Sports - My pastor also owns a publishing company that has the printers and such for specialty items (it is hard for him to compete wih mpix and such for regular photo items) and wants to partner with a local photographer (me) and offer a unique item to teams. This will be a table-top style book that has "action shots" as well as some more traditional pictures throughout. I will also offer the typical sports pictures that parents seem to love so much. My younger brother-in-law plays for a little league team that I can get in on as they do not have a photographer. I also work with several people in the same position.
Portraits - I have had several senior portrait sessions with friends and family that all loved them. I was not ready for them to try and recruit business for me, but they seem to have done a good job and everyone loves the products. So far there are about 10 kids lined up for senior pictures this upcoming year. I know that is not a lot, but everyone has to start somewhere. I also have several people wanting to book family portraits for various occassions.
Events and Corporate - I have not done anything for hire in this arena yet. However, my company has large events that I shoot for them along side a hired photog (with his permission) and they seem to like my pictures better. It may be because mine are a lot cheaper (I am on salary and they do not pay for them) because I am getting out of other aspects of working the event in order to use company time to build my skills. I have also shot their corporate portraits and most liked them (except the ones that would not cooperate and wanted me to take a quality portrait in under 5 minutes, with a mix of Florescent lights and tungsten lights).
Weddings are not something that I will be shooting for quite a while. I cannot afford a backup body, lenses, etc. and will not go into it unprepared. That is a big day and it will not be my fault it is missed because I was not prepared for what could happen. There are also some local (established) photogs that I am trying to work under. One of them is a Master Photographer and has been in business for 20 years. His work is amazing.
I am relying on word of mouth for my advertising. It seems to be the best way to help control (slow) the growth of business. Once I have a good base, I may decide to market some more, but I need to get a good portfolio built and some other steps first.
My pricing ranges from $75-$250 for a sitting fee depending on outfits, locations, etc for portraits and the prints start at $4.00 for a 4x6 gloss and go up accordingly. I am still in the process of creating packages. For the events and corporate, I am leaving that on a per session based. Each will be discussed and negotiated.
My website is http://www.daveborg.com and is in dire need of being revamped. I am in the middle of doing that, but it is a pretty long process for someone who does not know html, css all that well. I am getting away from Smugmug and hosting my own. There are a couple different looks I am considering, I just have not decided on which one.
Thanks for ready all of this.
without turning too much business away. Making promises that I cannot keep will do nothing but ruin things in the long run. Not having much business background is a pretty big
hurdle to overcome, but it is something that can be done. If you would not mind, let me know what you think about how I am wanting to run things below. Thanks,
I am venturing into portraits (family, senior, etc.), sports, small events, and some small corporate style pictures.
Sports - My pastor also owns a publishing company that has the printers and such for specialty items (it is hard for him to compete wih mpix and such for regular photo items) and wants to partner with a local photographer (me) and offer a unique item to teams. This will be a table-top style book that has "action shots" as well as some more traditional pictures throughout. I will also offer the typical sports pictures that parents seem to love so much. My younger brother-in-law plays for a little league team that I can get in on as they do not have a photographer. I also work with several people in the same position.
Portraits - I have had several senior portrait sessions with friends and family that all loved them. I was not ready for them to try and recruit business for me, but they seem to have done a good job and everyone loves the products. So far there are about 10 kids lined up for senior pictures this upcoming year. I know that is not a lot, but everyone has to start somewhere. I also have several people wanting to book family portraits for various occassions.
Events and Corporate - I have not done anything for hire in this arena yet. However, my company has large events that I shoot for them along side a hired photog (with his permission) and they seem to like my pictures better. It may be because mine are a lot cheaper (I am on salary and they do not pay for them) because I am getting out of other aspects of working the event in order to use company time to build my skills. I have also shot their corporate portraits and most liked them (except the ones that would not cooperate and wanted me to take a quality portrait in under 5 minutes, with a mix of Florescent lights and tungsten lights).
Weddings are not something that I will be shooting for quite a while. I cannot afford a backup body, lenses, etc. and will not go into it unprepared. That is a big day and it will not be my fault it is missed because I was not prepared for what could happen. There are also some local (established) photogs that I am trying to work under. One of them is a Master Photographer and has been in business for 20 years. His work is amazing.
I am relying on word of mouth for my advertising. It seems to be the best way to help control (slow) the growth of business. Once I have a good base, I may decide to market some more, but I need to get a good portfolio built and some other steps first.
My pricing ranges from $75-$250 for a sitting fee depending on outfits, locations, etc for portraits and the prints start at $4.00 for a 4x6 gloss and go up accordingly. I am still in the process of creating packages. For the events and corporate, I am leaving that on a per session based. Each will be discussed and negotiated.
My website is http://www.daveborg.com and is in dire need of being revamped. I am in the middle of doing that, but it is a pretty long process for someone who does not know html, css all that well. I am getting away from Smugmug and hosting my own. There are a couple different looks I am considering, I just have not decided on which one.
Thanks for ready all of this.