Is there a lot of people here using the "Free session, pay only for pics your want"

Here is the strategy I'm thinking about.

Offer free photo sessions with no pre-conceived time in mind (for now).

Post the photos online in a gallery and charge a fixed fee per photo, one for print and one for digital file.

Pretty sure that some people here must be doing it that way but I would like to get feedback on that business strategy. My logic behind it is that people won't be stressed by the time factor and I won't have to edit 10 000 photos per session since only the great ones will be bought by clients.

Pros? Cons? Please share your experiences.

There are a couple of pitfalls doing it this way. If you are posting unedited versions of your shots for them to consider, you arent offering your best product. You are also putting out your time with no guarantee of return.

I agree. I would say to the customer to only choose pics by the pose and their overall appreciation of it, explaining to them that it is in now way a final edit.

What I'm thinking about might be to charge a "retainer fee" or whatever we can call it. Say, charge 100$ for the session, which is going to be put on photo credit if they decide to buy.

I still wouldnt show them unedited versions of the shots. The difference a bit of skin softening, blemish repair, eye sharpening, teeth whitening can make in whether you sell an image or not is critical.

Sorry but gas is just too expensive, not to mention time. What I usually do is offer a discount to my already low budget session fees. That way they think they are getting a deal instead of just offering free service. Most high paying clients live by the "you get what you pay for" mentality and if you are out giving your service for free they may think you aren't that good.

Ruben, thanks for your input, could you tell me more about the way you conduct business? (I'm talking about portrait sessions)

gonzogolf, I would also like to know how you do it. Are you posting any kind of proof album online? Because you can't fully edit 150 photos and ask the customer to choose afterwards for sure.

there is NO value in free.

once they see them online, they are done. if they dont steal it there, they will just give the link out...

the kind of people that will take a free shoot, are not going to pay much for a print. maybe 5 bucks tops..and def wont pay for an in-tangeable item (the digi file)

then you got the free, cheap stigma that will be placed on you.

and really at that point you are just PAYING to take peoples pics...

Why don't more people VALUE their work. I just don't get it. In any other profession you don't see them sitting around saying I'll use my valuable talents and skill to work for nothing and I'll let the client/customer pay me what the want after I'm finished. If you don't value what you do no one else will. Thats for sure.

Free has no value. (like gravy graffix said)

When I needed some specific types of images in my portfolio, I offered a group (the clients of a horse trainer) a free session - No sitting fee but they buy the prints they want. Out of about a dozen of her clients, four families signed up.. got some sales, though not a lot . .. some 5X7s, a few 8X10s.. one 11X14 (from the mother of one of them). .. Not worth doing on a regular basis. .. but I got what I needed.

Free or not, I do select the images that I want them to see .. and I do make the images order ready for viewing.

I charge a reasonable fee and then edit an appropriate number of images. I might shoot 150, but I'm only going to edit the top 30 or so, unless I just feel totally inspired to do more. One of the nice things about learning on film is that I dont feel the need to overwhelm with numbers. 150 shots would have been4 or 5 rolls of film, more than you would shoot on an average portrait shoot.

gravy graffix wrote in post #11566554
there is NO value in free.

once they see them online, they are done. if they dont steal it there, they will just give the link out...

the kind of people that will take a free shoot, are not going to pay much for a print. maybe 5 bucks tops..and def wont pay for an in-tangeable item (the digi file)

then you got the free, cheap stigma that will be placed on you.

and really at that point you are just PAYING to take peoples pics...

+1!!!

I really couldn't agree more with EVERYTHING said here. Doing business on speculation of getting payed is not good business. A sure recipe for getting taken advantage of and having a very short lived business. Figure out your cost of doing business, and charge appropriately.

A major part of a strong business plan is knowing your target market, and pricing and marketing appropriately. Shoot for low expectations and a low paying market, that's what you'll get... clients who won't pay, or can't pay. First real step to putting together your business plan should be figuring out who you're marketing to.

Yogue wrote in post #11566102
I would also like to know how you do it. Are you posting any kind of proof album online? Because you can't fully edit 150 photos and ask the customer to choose afterwards for sure.

I shoot about 100, show about 15-20 enlarged to what is easily visible (a small enlargement requires less retouching than a large one. As has been mentioned, you need to do some retouching--most clients can not envision "I'll fix that in the final print." You never want to present a client with an "aw shucks" moment when she sees her previews, because one "awshucks" wipes out a thousand "awrights."

I charge a 'sitting fee' and then give them credit towards buying prints and files on-line. This way I get paid if they buy or not. I position my fee such that it covers my time and expenses. I figure in my time I expect to spend editing the images I will be posting for sales. Most of those images are general edits, and some of the close-ups and best ones are touched up much more (skin smoothing, teeth whitening, etc.) Because of this model I charge more for based on the number of people if it's a family shoot.

I tried this model. It'll keep you busy for sure, but the income will be scarce.

People don't prioritize things that are free. Some will have a session just for something to do...it's cheaper than a movie...with no intention of buying anything.

Does Zenfolio or Smugmug support the "sitting fee as a credit" model easily? (i.e. does either support any kind of promotional code that would allow you to offer your clients $100 towards photos?)