Another one of Kev's business ideas... child portraits?

[KevC]

Hey,

Alright, I'm getting ready to be shot down but what the heck... that's what we're here for, right? ;) (cross my fingers, hoping I'm not insane)

My friend's father owns a dress-making (not sure for the actual name of this) company. He designs and creates dresses for little girls, flower girls, first communion, etc etc.

This is what I'm thinking, have him offer a "limited-time promotion" with all new dress orders. First 50 or whatever customers will receive a free "shoot" at a local park with her new dress. This shoot will probably yield about 10-15 usable shots, hopefully, and I'll put very small and watermarked images on the web for the customer to select. The promotion will be a free 8.5x11. If the customer wishes to order more copies, they can ordre from me.

I figure if I do a good enough job, the customer would probably like to order at least one or two more than the "free" 8.5x11. I'll charge decent prices, say $10 for a 5x7 and/or $15 for a 8.5x11. This way I get to have my name out there, and maybe after this promotion is over, my friend's father can hand out my card to new customers.

I'm not expecting to make a bunch of money off of this, but to mainly gather experience and have some fun.

Any input? Do I need a business license or anything for this?

[PhotosGuy]

Do I need a business license or anything for this? You should check, but I think you can get up to $600 in sales without one. Or was that concerning the IRS?
I'd give the promotion to just a few of the customers & have them sign a release. Let your friend's father offer it to the most photogenic ones. Then make a big print 11X14" or larger, frame & matt it & ask him to put it somewhere that everyone will see it & ask about it. If you PS, maybe put a few small shots around the main one like this (If the mothers pic was bigger) ...

[KevC]

Awesome idea, thanks!

Thing is, he doesn't own a storefront. He works out of his home, and usually sells to stores. Anyway, I'll see if I can get hookups with the stores :)

[DocFrankenstein]

I wish you luck. I wanted to do similar stuff, but then decided to do a 12/hr sh1tjob where I can be as lazy as I want and not associate picture taking with work.

Try to calculate how many prints you have to sell to cover equipment, printing and pressure to make 50 bucks a day.

[KevC]

Bloo Dog: Your advice is always appreciated. It isn't my intention to make big bucks, but right now I'm having huge difficulties finding a job (everyone tells me they'll "call me" bleh... my resume aint THAT bad!) and I don't really want to work fast food. My portfolio is close to nil, so I'm hoping this will help me gain experience and build a portfolio.

Maybe do engagement portraits soon (I know of 3 couples that will be married soon)

Doc: Could you hook me up with a 12/hr sh1tjob where I can be as lazy as I want? I'd even settle for a 7/hr sh1tjob ... lol.

[robertwgross]

A couple of ideas here.

Some municipalities are loose on the way they require business licenses. Some are very tight. I happen to live in one that is very tight. Check locally.

Some parents would like the idea of seeing their child's photo on some web site and then deciding to buy or not buy a print. Other parents might be outraged that you posted their child's photo in public. Think about that. One method to prevent outrage would be to have the children's photo area password protected or stuck somewhere non-public.

---Bob Gross---

[Nabil-A]

Thats exactly what i do
www.designerportraits.com.au (http://www.designerportraits.com.au)

passworded sections for user logins on gallery page.