STICKY: How to photograph a high school Senior

Mark, are you saying you just list the prices on smug but tell your customers to only order through you? Yes, this would let you avoid the 15%. But, if you turn off cart sales, then your customer would see no pricing at all.

EDIT: Ok, I see. Correct, they don't charge you the 15% if you order it for yourself and ship it to yourself. I've done this before, you just have the client email the image numbers and sizes they want printed and you place the order manually.

Dave Jr wrote in post #14706495
Mark, are you saying you just list the prices on smug but tell your customers to only order through you? Yes, this would let you avoid the 15%. But, if you turn off cart sales, then your customer would see no pricing at all.

EDIT: Ok, I see. Correct, they don't charge you the 15% if you order it for yourself and ship it to yourself. I've done this before, you just have the client email the image numbers and sizes they want printed and you place the order manually.

Its a shame it is done this way, but yes that is how you get around it.

Check this out. Somone on budget.

http://www.picturespro​.com/i/photo_cart/feat​ures/

umphotography wrote in post #14697343
I tried them ,,,,,,they SUCK

purchased 1200 names out of 1675 that were in the price bracket i was going for ( 100k and up for the area codes i was interested in)......i got 2 responses out of 3 mailings so i gave up....and i think hes feeding everyone am extra spoon o sugar to go with the koolade. I think hes really good at marketing himself and his programs......what he is teaching is not working in central MN.

You guys got to remember that these guys that are teaching this stuff are marketing at a very tight portion of the market. They are looking for a 1500.00 average sale and are going after a market that is 12% or less that the total senior market available. That is a very small piece of the pie to market to. Man, i hate to sound so negative, but what these people are suggesting cant and wont work for 88% of the senior market.....i just know too many that are or have been marketing to seniors all they say the same thing.... BS....why do you think they are teaching and selling you the koolade.....if they were doing sooo good at what they teach wouldn't you think they would keep on raking in the $$$$$.........they make the majority of their big money selling the programs that they teach.

Welcome to direct marketing I use InfoUSA at my day job all the time. We jump for joy when we hit 0.5% response on a purchased list. Not saying they are perfect, but for the $'s they are ok.

Mail marketing in general is tough. I barely look at most of my own mail and I'm in the business. You have a fraction of a second to capture attention. Your piece has to grab attention, the viewer needs to have a need...lots of stars need to align.

Just a tough market right now....changing market. Lots of weekend folks (sorry, gotta add my name in that hat), and worse out there in addition to full timers.

Always enjoy reading through this thread. Lots of good info always.

Those of you that are doing direct marketing, are you paying full rate for the stamps or are you getting a bulk discount from the post office?

In Canada I know you can drop off advertisements and they will deliver them to entire zones for cheap, it seems to be a bit more complicated here in the states but something similar can be done but as far as I know it has to be entire mailing routes, not specific senior households.

GerryDavid wrote in post #14709304
Those of you that are doing direct marketing, are you paying full rate for the stamps or are you getting a bulk discount from the post office?

In Canada I know you can drop off advertisements and they will deliver them to entire zones for cheap, it seems to be a bit more complicated here in the states but something similar can be done but as far as I know it has to be entire mailing routes, not specific senior households.

There are bulk mail companies that you can use to do your mailings or you can go through the USPS yourself. Here is some info on bulk mail from the USPS site:

In order to mail at commercial prices, you need to:

Get a mailing permit (permission to mail) and pay an annual mailing fee.
Pay postage using one of several convenient methods: precanceled stamps, postage meter, or permit imprint.
Make smart choices about the size, shape, and weight of your mailpiece.
Ensure that your addresses are accurate.
Presort the mailpieces (separate or sort your mail by ZIP Code).
Take your mail to the Post Office where you hold your mailing permit.

The choices you make can result in significant postage savings. Click here for information about the postage prices you'll pay.

Minimum Quantities for a Bulk Business Mailing

To qualify for certain postage discounts, you must mail a minimum number of pieces:

500 pieces for First-Class Mail.
200 pieces (or 50 pounds of mail) for Standard Mail, Standard Marketing Parcels or Parcel Select Lightweight parcels.
50 pieces for Parcel Select.
300 pieces for Presorted or Carrier Route Bound Printed Matter.
300 pieces for Library Mail.
300 pieces for Media Mail (formerly called "book rate").

most Chamber of Commerce's will allow you to use their bulk mailing permit

Very interesting max, thanks for that tip. How much is the permit normally?

GerryDavid wrote in post #14711396
Very interesting max, thanks for that tip. How much is the permit normally?

It's not just the permit, to bulk mail you have to follow all the new rules which means address standardization, checked against the move update list, etc.

Yup,

Plus you are limited to carrier routes, not necessarily whatever list you may own or purchase.

I wasn't necessarily going to bring this up in this thread before, but since workshops are being discussed:

Do you recommend photography workshops on a whole? I'm not necessarily saying the business end, more of the tips and tricks.

For instance, I see Groupon deals for beginners and advanced workshops (which I am somewhat leary of) or I know that there are a few workshops at Photoshop World (that I would love to attend).

I think somewhere in here, someone said that Kelby Training is always a good deal, and since I have several of his books, I would tend to agree!

Also - I've recently heard of the New York Institute of Photography. Any thoughts?

While I'm at it, how many here have degrees in photography? Self-taught? Did a few classes in high school?

(Since I asked the question ~ My parents gave me a point and shoot camera that took 110mm film when I was about 7. Before that they gave me one to play with that didn't have film. While I can't say that I have not been without one since, for the most part I'm always shooting at something. I used to drag my friends in high school out on road trips and make them "pose" for me. I did take a class in high school, and can still use some of that info, along with my art classes, but for the most part, I'm self-taught with some online tutuorial help.

But, as I said before, this is an expensive hobby that I would like for a career after retirement. )

She just left about an hour ago. Pretty much straight off the camera. This is lacey. We kept about 150 shots and they all look like this. This little girl could not miss. Ive been shooting a bunch of seniors but im waiting for them to pic photos and i will post some of the selections. We are really going to have a tough time selecting the indoors with Lacey. Her outdoor session is next month.

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PHOTOBUCKET EMBEDDING IS DISABLED BY THIS MEMBER. Photobucket sends ads instead of embedding photos from their free galleries. Click the link (if available) below to see the image in a gallery page. http://i195.photobucke​t.com …aby12/IMG_6854-Edit-1.jpg

Nice shots Mike -- you use the ringlighter?

Tom

5DmkX wrote in post #14712324
Nice shots Mike -- you use the ringlighter?

Tom

yes

Mike - her pupils look enormous. The eyelighter catchlight doesn't even appear to be in her iris. What's the ambient lighting like in your studio? Modeling lights only?