With WalMart & Sears Studios gone now...

I was wondering if you professional studio/portrait photographers have seen an increase in business with the above having closed.

I would think that if Wally World doesn't see a potential for profit, it must speak volumes about the future of the world of portrait photography.

With the proliferation of DSLR's at all price points, I feel that this is a trend in all forms of professional photography. Excellent results can be had with relatively inexpensive equipment and editing software by hobbyists. No need for retail/commercial studios when just about anyone has an acquaintance who can achieve similar results and often for free.

Wrench wrote in post #16261422
Excellent results can be had with relatively inexpensive equipment and editing software by hobbyists. No need for retail/commercial studios when just about anyone has an acquaintance who can achieve similar results and often for free.

Well, it's all relative, excellent results to you are probably not what they are to me. Granted, there are hobbyists out there that have an innate ability to light, compose, pose and work with the subject(s), but they are few and far between. I wouldn't throw "professional studios" in the same category as Mall portrait kiosks or Walmart either. And, like anything else, not all studios are alike with their work.

With that said, with the proliferation of DSLRs, there are more hobbyists that are capable of doing as well or better than a lot of the Mall kiosks.

KirkS518 wrote in post #16261346
I would think that if Wally World doesn't see a potential for profit, it must speak volumes about the future of the world of portrait photography.

Personally, I think it speaks volumes about the business model of large multi-billion dollar retail stores offering portrait services and very little about the future of the world of portrait photography.

In my area both Sears and Walmart offer portraits still and they are both usually quite busy. I think, in my area at least, professionals doing portraits price themselves out of it.

I had a friend who is a little bit low income and wanted to do a portrait shoot of her 3 kids. I recommended a lady in town who does a great job with kids. A few weeks later I ask how it went and she told me she ended up going to Sears simply because she couldn't afford what this lady was asking. $150 sitting fee, $90 per edited file if she wanted to print them herself and a crazy markup on ordered prints. Don't get me wrong I know they have to make money and that's how they do it but charging $600 for a 12x18 canvas when the place you get it from charges $79 will turn some people off. She ended up getting the print sizes and everything she wanted at Sears for less than $200.

People are still going to get portraits done by professionals.

IMO, more households are feeling the economic pinch and at the same time, less households want formal (and expensive) family portraits. What I see if the proliferation of cheaper, outdoor "environmental" sessions, at a cheaper rate and more emphasis on digital files.

To quote The Wire "the game done changed"
http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=UW12BT9pYEw

1000WordsPhotography wrote in post #16262018
People are still going to get portraits done by professionals.

Yes, but the question is, is this starting to dwindle down?

Foodguy wrote in post #16261927
Personally, I think it speaks volumes about the business model of large multi-billion dollar retail stores offering portrait services and very little about the future of the world of portrait photography.

Elaborate please.

KirkS518 wrote in post #16262170
Elaborate please.

While I'm not the person you're quoting, it's quite obvious it's their inability to adapt to a changing market.

KirkS518 wrote in post #16262170
Elaborate please.

I would venture a guess that these decisions relate specifically to Walmart's and Sears' desired profit margins as a relationship to the use of available floor space more so than to the 'future of the world of portrait photography'.

I'd also expect that there are thousands of products and services that they don't engage in. Not because these products and services aren't profitable, but because they're not profitable within the framework of Walmart and Sears specific business models.

Hogloff wrote in post #16262044
Yes, but the question is, is this starting to dwindle down?

I don't think so. I think there is a percentage of the population that was always willing to get into the idea of family portraits starting at $500. That percentage remains the same I think and going to Walmart was never really an option for them.

I think this is a symptom of the conditions of our market, not a disease to be discussed alone. The availability of good starter equipment, the ease of use of that equipment and the proliferation of easy to get training make our jobs harder. These things, along with the death of film, have made the barrier to entry in our profession almost completely nonexistent.

But these things happen everyday in every profession. Consider that at one point whale oil was the **** for fuel. Then one day someone said this electricity thing might have legs and went with it. There was still a fuel business and it was carried on by those who were new or those who changed.

There is always going to be a photography business. Its going to change drastically but thats the constant in every business as life moves forward. The question is will we change or get swept up like whale oil vendors?

I live in one of them three "richest" counties in America, right next to it is one of the five richest. I can think of at least two shooters who start 8x10 pricing at $1500 per, thats not counting what in costs to sit in front of their lens. One of them is booked solid until November 2014. He's not even a "celebrity". I know he's booked because he's interviewing me to do some shooting for him.

ZachOly wrote in post #16262039
To quote The Wire "the game done changed"
http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=UW12BT9pYEw

Anyone who can quote "The Wire" on POTN get's a star for the day! Best TV show ever.

KirkS518 wrote in post #16261346
I would think that if Wally World doesn't see a potential for profit,

It wasn't that they didn't see a potential for profit, it was that they discovered their business model did not work.

1000WordsPhotography wrote in post #16262405
I don't think so. I think there is a percentage of the population that was always willing to get into the idea of family portraits starting at $500. That percentage remains the same I think and going to Walmart was never really an option for them.

I think this is a symptom of the conditions of our market, not a disease to be discussed alone. The availability of good starter equipment, the ease of use of that equipment and the proliferation of easy to get training make our jobs harder. These things, along with the death of film, have made the barrier to entry in our profession almost completely nonexistent.

But these things happen everyday in every profession. Consider that at one point whale oil was the **** for fuel. Then one day someone said this electricity thing might have legs and went with it. There was still a fuel business and it was carried on by those who were new or those who changed.

There is always going to be a photography business. Its going to change drastically but thats the constant in every business as life moves forward. The question is will we change or get swept up like whale oil vendors?

I live in one of them three "richest" counties in America, right next to it is one of the five richest. I can think of at least two shooters who start 8x10 pricing at $1500 per, thats not counting what in costs to sit in front of their lens. One of them is booked solid until November 2014. He's not even a "celebrity". I know he's booked because he's interviewing me to do some shooting for him.

$1500 for one 8x10??? I find it hard to believe that someone would charge and others would pay so much for 1 picture. The cost to print it at professional lab is around $2 so it would make 75000% markup. If he charges so much for a print I guess he is probably asking for $20,000 studio fee and $5000/hour to edit.