College

[tnguyen600]

Hey everyone,

Currently I'm a college student that recently got into photography and man, is it expensive. I shoot with a 40D, got a 70-200 f/4L, speedlite 430exii, and just ordered a 24-70 f/2.8L from Newegg. I'm in a fraternity and I take a lot of pictures from the events that we take part in.

During an event we had this past Friday, other organizations were asking me to take pictures for them as well because they didnt have a camera or they didnt have someone available to take pictures. Nonetheless, I said I would.

By no means am I a pro or any where near that, but it got me thinking...Too offset the cost of some of the purchases I have made, I could start charging organizations for me taking pictures for their events. Depending on the formality of the event, length, etc, I figure I'd charge a price between a range of $40-$70 depending on the event. It's very little because I'm just testing the waters. These aren't nature pictures, wildlife, or anything too serious.

Once if an organization asks me to take pictures for them, how would I go about giving it to them? I post pictures on Picasa and facebook..just to show the pictures. But if I have a paying client, how would I ensure them high quality images that they could use for whatever purpose but not have to get them printed.

I've read that some put it on a limited use cd? How does that work? Any other advice/comments are welcomed. Thank you in advance!

[Duff]

Hey everyone,
<SNIP>
Once if an organization asks me to take pictures for them, how would I go about giving it to them? I post pictures on Picasa and facebook..just to show the pictures. But if I have a paying client, how would I ensure them high quality images that they could use for whatever purpose but not have to get them printed.

I've read that some put it on a limited use cd? How does that work? Any other advice/comments are welcomed. Thank you in advance!

Get a SmugMug or Zenfolio account. I have Zenfolio and it makes the "selling" very easy for me. Just shoot your pictures, put them on the account and let them purchase, download, etc as you see fit. There are a lot of security settings that prevent them from using the pictures for free (unless you decide they can) and you can regulate right down to the individual image.

Charge up front with cost-only for prints, shoot for free up front and charge more for the images (you get the difference), or a combination of the two. IMHO, I would recommend charging a reasonable fee up front for your time and then keep the print cost down. They'll buy more prints and you'll get your money for your time. Too easy for someone to "blow-off" the photos after-the-fact and you get nothing for your efforts while they get to show all their friends the pictures online for free.

Finally, if you decide to go with Zenfoilio, follow the link in my signature to my gallery and use the discount coupon for $5 off... I'm just saying...:lol:

[julianmonsta]

Zenfolio sounds like a good option for printing needs. I have also heard great things about pictage.

$40 - 70 sounds about right. I would suggest adding up the total time it takes you to shoot the event, post process, and put up to the web to get an idea of your hourly rate.

I am also a college student. Around October I started shooting events, formals, activies, & nightclubs. I also suggest after you have established a reputation with your clients. Ask for payment up front. It's not fun dealing with intoxicated event organizers.

[tnguyen600]

The print cost...how does that work? Like do they pay for the option to download the image? or do actually buy a photo and have it sent to them?

Is there an easier way, like just transfer the images to the CD and give it to them but keep some security options with that? With orgs, more specifically sororities and fraternities, they're not going to go online to buy images or whatever...they just want the pics straight up. Since I'm just starting out, I'm not looking for anything crazy. Just simple and easy...thats what these kids want.

[Nathan]

These aren't nature pictures, wildlife, or anything ...

Really? I remember frat parties coming pretty close...:lol:

Seriously, the easiest is SmugMug or Zenfolio. Alternatively, you can provide live service and sit down with your clients to look at the photos and/or provide a cd.

If you do start charging, oftentimes college students forget that they should be paying taxes on this income. I encourage you to bill professionally and pay taxes appropriately at the end of the year.

[tnguyen600]

pay taxes to whitey? lol jk

i guess flickr is a bad choice than? Its free which is nice lol i really don't want to pay for a site just yet, at least not until I get my first paying client.

[jgoodstein]

sorry to get of topic but which fraternity? go with smugmug or Zenfolio like everyone elese suggests. I choose smugmug, I found Smug better for my tastes.

[julianmonsta]

If you do start charging, oftentimes college students forget that they should be paying taxes on this income. I encourage you to bill professionally and pay taxes appropriately at the end of the year.

haha so the government can give it to Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac and GM?
:confused:

Sorry off topic, lets just say let you conscience be your guide on that one.

I see your point about no one paying. I don't see there being a way to keep them from printing them and giving them a disk full of images. So I guess you have to ask why should you care if you are just trying to make a few bucks why not be content with that. The only suggestion I would say is design a nice watermark. Be concered with getting paid to show up and take the pics then worry about print sale later.

[tnguyen600]

sorry to get of topic but which fraternity?

Delta Chi Psi Fraternity Inc. www.deltachipsi.com


The only suggestion I would say is design a nice watermark. Be concered with getting paid to show up and take the pics then worry about print sale later.

How do I go about making a nice watermark? I've seen tons of them but I can't figure out to make it and than consistently apply it to each picture. My post processing skills are very limited...I'm learning but on my own time lol

[tnguyen600]

nvm, I found this link http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=678447&highlight=create+a+watermark

very helpful...going to try it now

[PhotosGuy]

Is there an easier way, like just transfer the images to the CD and give it to them but keep some security options with that? What security options? There aren't any that will stop people from doing whatever they want with them.
Giving the client all of the photos on a CD (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=682236)
OTOH, you said, "use for whatever purpose", so get paid for the shoot (in advance), put them on a CD & forget about it. With orgs, more specifically sororities and fraternities, they're not going to go online to buy images or whatever...they just want the pics straight up. You said you didn't care, but are you sure about that? IMO, if that's where they have to go, then they will go there. You said that you wanted, "Just simple and easy", right? Think about putting them on one of the "Sell" sited as a courtesy, just in case they don't want to print themselves, & make a few $s extra. I figure I'd charge a price between a range of $40-$70 depending on the event. Keep in mind that whatever you charge this year will make it difficult to charge more next year.

[tnguyen600]

damn, those are good points. I'm considering smugmug; how does ordering the prints work? Do I get to set the price per print and than a percentage goes towards me and a percentage go towards smugmug and smugmug prints it and ships it to the buyer? And what if the client just wants a digital copy? The only way to get good quality is by putting it on a cd or can they download it from smugmug for a price?

[dreamcatcher23]

I think everyone's getting a bit ahead of themselves here... What do the clients actually want? If the straight up don't want prints, then don't spend time right now looking into that, just get some bookings in. While I agree it's still a good idea to have them as a convenience, as PhotosGuy said, I think you should concentrate on the main transaction - ie. giving them what they want and taking fair payment in return. Go talk to them, see what they plan on using the photos for - do they want them for the sorority website, or to put up in the house or to share on facebook or what? Who's paying for this - individuals, frat budgets etc.?

Concentrate on listening to the client and giving them what they want - it'll make them happy which will mean more repeat business for you. Don't undersell yourself, but also it's probably not right to start charging top dollar. $50 - $ 70 for a couple hours shooting sounds fair for this, but would be considered low ouside of the college bubble.

[PhotosGuy]

how does ordering the prints work? Depends on the site. Do I get to set the price per print and than a percentage goes towards me and a percentage go towards smugmug and smugmug prints it and ships it to the buyer? That's the way PrintRoom works. And what if the client just wants a digital copy? I'd just burn it & collect from him. Concentrate on listening to the client and giving them what they want Always excellent advice!

[tnguyen600]

thanks everyone for you advice/comments...very helpful!

[antricacy]

Tho! I'm stalking you now.

To answer your question: Smugmug.com or you can hire me and I can personally design your ecommerce gallery website for you :P

If I were you, I'd charge per hour. Per hour doesn't just include the time you're there. You have to factor in the PP time. I'm a PP freak and I pride myself in my Photoshop abilities, so... I think $20/hr is an extremely cheap rate if you don't PP much rather than charging PER event.

[tnguyen600]

hahah well, Im still trying to learn to utilize cs3 but it just seems really time consuming...I rather run it through picasa or dpp and do real basic editing.