Possible Baby photograph business on the side??

[A210AMG]

Hello


Some will know we have a little monster (now 19 months old). My wife has recently been on a few photoshoots with her so we can get some nice pictures of her. Those with kids may have already done the same.

Now what amazes me is the price of these prints (just a selection)

1 * 7*5 picture (sort of standard holiday pic style) £39.99
1 * 10 * 20 Picture £89.99
selection of three 7 * 5 pictures £119.99
Selection of six pictures 7 * 5 & 1 10 * 20 £189.99



Now ok, its the skill of the photographer (is it?) and their overheads...etc. etc

However I went to one after the pictures were taken to view them and it was a tiny shop on the edge of Chester city centre, really small (single garage small) he had a pull down blind and an area to take the pics.. a PC abd a desk and a flat screen monitor on the wall to view the pics.

Now this got me thinking, I enjoy my photography and am regularly reading the odd magazine ( forums, DP review) etc and looking at pics on flickr, seeing what camera does what etc etc.

The prices seem so high I'm sure if it were cheaper more people would buy them? Then this week in a photograpy magazine was a test on studio light kits and for £500 you can get a very good set up. Still need a camera for sure, but again reading the test on camera / kit up to £1000 which the 'experts' were testing they got as good a picture as much more exspensive cameras. Which in my mind and from what I see its not always the camera its having the eye...

What was also cleaver was in some of the pictures our daughter was holding a flower and they had converted her to black and white and the flower stayed in colour (not that hard in photoshop....I guess??) this I would have to learn but fun doing so.

Anyway I have the ideal room, a double garage converted to playroom which could easily have the kit in it. We have all manor of baby friends that for staters I could take their pictures.

People that may do this or know what kit is good would be great to hear from you, lenses, cameras, tripod, lights etc...

I was looking at the start of the year to change my camera for a Nikkon D80 but now I have this idea what would people recommend? I now like the idea of the live view and a quicker frame rate.


Its just an idea for now, but nothing ventured nothing gained and I am looking to change my camera anyway.


Thoughts anyone


Thanks

 

[Parrotman]

If it's a hobby and you enjoy it then do it. D80 is a good camera though fast glass is possibly a slightly higher priority. If you want stay with the Nikon system then I'd upgrade to a D300 and the 70-200 2.8 is a good portrait lens.

Suggest a visit to www.nikoncafe.com as similar questions have been raised several times.

John

 

[BTB 500]

IMO it's more about the cost / time / hassle of running a small business. If this doesn't put you off, then go for it.

Don't forget you'd need insurance, not sure about planning permission (?) if you're doing it at home (change of use), etc.

On the technical side you would need to think about printing. That will cost if you 'outsource' it, and is probably more expensive (and tricky) than you think to DIY.

 

[A210AMG]

Hello


Both companies we have used so far outsource the printing so I can an outlet for that. Insurance / house use is an interesting one and thanks for that should be sorted with a quick phone call I guess.

I will keep looking into this as like I say its more Hobby / enjoyment but if I can make some extra cash along the way then thats great

 

[W210 Fan]

I say go for it, it could just turn into something big and net you a tidy sum doing something you really enjoy, a friend of mine who was in bomb disposal is about to do the same, build it up on the side and let it take over if it goes big, of course you will be declaring all your earnings...

 

[A210AMG]

wink wink....

 

[Biscuit]

we've had two sessions with photographers with our sproglets which were quite different and possibly revealing....


photographer one ... we didnt pay him to come to our house and he spent two hours or so taking our two kids to various spots (with us) and setting up shots.he seemed quite good at choosing lighting and backdrops and had an assistant that had an array of toys to keep our two 18monthers at the time (twins) happy. he came back a week later with a laptop and played a little montage of the best shots to music which got the lump in the throat going. then he got his charge sheet out which got the bile going. plain prints were 20-45 quid, framed about 50 and up and you could get a little book thing for two hundred or so or the whole shoot on CD for about 600. He left us with a contact sheet of the session in little inch square pics. A week after that we ordered three prints - the best of them individually and the only nice one of them together - got them framed at supasnaps and whacked them up on the wall. Total spent in his direction £60. a month after that i butchered the contact sheet and had a locket made for the Mrs with two little photos of the kids in each side - which she wears almost every day and wants to be buried with apparently. huge points.


photographer two .... she came to our house for 150 quid which included our choice of six (small) prints. she was more relaxed than 'he' had been and seemed to catch the mood of our two better and had an array of them together. she tried to get us all together at the end of the session but the kids had had enough by then. she offered to come back to do us again if we wanted to get a family one for a reduced price. a week later she sent us a contact sheet and we were amazed by how many good ones there were. We went to town on ordering Christmas pressies, prints for the wall etc etc. prints were under a fiver for a small one and ten to twelve quid for a larger 'frameable' one. we spent about four hundred quid in all but didnt regret it and our families loved the presents. When she sent the prints through she included the whole shoot on CD as a free bonus...amazing. we have already booked her again to chart the twins a year on. Total spent with her 400 plus another booking.


I dont mind paying a lot for stuff when I can see the work and the skill involved but I dont care how good you are charging over the odds is never going to endear yourself to your customers. His presentation on a laptop whilst great at the time looks manipulative with hindsight.

sorry not to be more helpful on the technical stuff but I would only know the difference in cameras if one had a sleek black japanese thing and the other had to duck under a piece of cloth behind a big brown box and shout 'stand still everyone!'....

 

[Ade B]

Mrs B and I were discussing our lack of formal studio pics of Junior B tonight..

You would be technically in breach of planning laws by running a studio from your garage. I would imagine that unless you started traffic jams or upset the neighbours with neon signs no one would mind the odd shoot from home - piano teachers and psychoanalysts probably don't have planning consent either, and I know of at least one architects practice that ran from a flat in Islington for a little while . Its a bit of a grey area as how many people now work part time from home..

It would be sensible to update your insurance, we had a live work unit in Hackney for 4 years and had a combined household contents and business policy which also gave employer's liability etc. You'll need something like this as you are inviting strangers into your house.

Having said all that, I'd just start with friends and relatives. If the feedback is good and you enjoy it, you can expand with the workload.


Ade

 

[A210AMG]

Agree with above.

Our own child then friends / family.

If I went further afield it I'm gussing it would be 'by appointment' I have enough parking for several cars off the road but as you say it would not go down too well with the neighbours


thanks

 

[RoseTattoo]

Camera. If you are going to upgrade, go full frame i.e. Nikon D700, Nikon D3 or the forthcoming Canon 5D II.
Check out on Photo.Net their pro area on wedding photographers http://photo.net/learn/wedding/. Somewhere on there recently there was a long thread by someone in your position, the advice from the pros was:
No matter how good you think you are, practice, practice, practice on a range of subjects before you tackle real paying customers.
Get a good set of lights.
Consider if you want to do it in your own studio or travel to the customers. The advantage of the latter is that the kid will not be intimidated by new surroundings.
I read of a German lady who started up recently and she did it by travelling to customers for much of the reason I said above. I was surprised at the quality of her work and even more astonished when I saw that she did this for 50 Euro a time. That may not have included prints but it is still cheap.
Get your pricing structure sorted out before you start, again you might find some advice on Photo.Net.
The German lady sells on price and it seems that you are thinking of this. It may be necessary at the start but as you become established be prepared to raise your prices as soon as possible. You will be amazed at your overheads and the time that you spend.
And picking up on BTB500's point about printing, it can take a long time. You will need a pro-level printer even though the home printers are good and you could be spending 1000 to 40000 but it is the time that it takes; getting the colour right, fixing mistakes and the cost of paper and ink is not cheap. You will need to settle on a type of apper that both you and your clients like and again that can all take learning time. At the moment I can spend hours (I'm not a pro) on just tryng to get one photo right. Just now my printer is going back for the second time this year for repair. In this situation you need a back-up solution and it has to be as good as the original.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[Mark300SL]

Camera. If you are going to upgrade, go full frame i.e. Nikon D700, Nikon D3 or the forthcoming Canon 5D II.

Allowing for the same logical thought process as the printers this may not be cost effective when having a backup body!
You will need a backup body at some point and ideally that wont be in the middle of a shoot.

I shoot 99% for fun and only very recently 1% for profit, that tiny bit of profit has come purely from the guy who frames my own pictures selling a couple on the side for me
Every picture I have sold has come from my 30D - and not one from my more expensive 5D
My 30D just wont be sold until such time as the forthcoming 5DMk2 reaches a price point I can justify, but I would also consider it more than adequate for taking baby/family portrait shots - pictures look excellent when printed 30"x20" if you take some time in the photoshop preparation stage.

the advice from the pros was:
No matter how good you think you are, practice, practice, practice on a range of subjects before you tackle real paying customers.

The first major piece of advice I was ever given was "take pictures - take lots of pictures!"
My 350D was sold with over 50k shutter actuations, and my 30D currently has logged over 30k!

My shots are far from acceptable in my eye, but a lot of rank amateurs on different motoring forums seem to think I am some sort of photo pro! Obviously my standards have risen above what is normally seen on a car forum whilst being well below what I would like to achieve!

Proper photo critique forums are by far the best way of seeing how others perceive your work. The snaps thread on here is useful, but people are far too polite This is great for a motoring forum commenting on snaps but it wont be giving you constructive critique to help you move in the right direction.

One word on lights - dont go for very basic, you need quality lights and quality lenses, and if this means choosing a slightly cheaper body then so be it.

Glass is King! Bodies will come and go but good glass will be with you for possibly decades!

 

[Satch]

I have no doubt you would do a far, far better job than some I have seen recently.

Why, for example, had one snapper clearly stood on a ladder to shoot everything at a downward angle with a semi-wide angle so that the perspective was all wrong?

 

[verytalldave]

Photography is an industry where much of its business comes from repeat orders and personal recommendations and therefore CAN take a very long time for it to become profitable.
Its fine if you are not reliant on its income and look at is as pocket money, but if its going to be your only source of income, then I am afraid its going to be tough going for many years.
And of course you do have to be good.............not just your usual holiday snaps type of person.

 

[Storm]

If I were you, I'd look at this as a long-term goal rather than a short-term one.

Yes, it's a good idea, but it is tricky to pull off. A few things to think about...

1) The market is very competitive, if you're new and don't have a proper high-street studio then your prices will have to reflect this.
2) Reputation is king, as an unknown again you'll need rock bottom prices just to get people through the door.
3) It's 90% skill 10% kit (and that's being generous to the kit). You've really really got to be able to get a decent photograph, and in my opinion, photography is 50% art and 50% science. Now I believe that almost anyone can learn science, but you can't 'learn' art. You're either artistic or not. Some people are good photographers, others aren't.
4) You've also really got to be a people person, and be very good with children. Everyone needs to be relaxed, the parent(s), the child and especially yourself.
5) I'd disagree with a lot of suggestions of kit that have been mentioned so far. Yes almost everything that has been mentioned is stella quality gear, but to buy that sort of equipment when starting out is crazy. Sure get an SLR, and avoid the D70 only because it's a 6mp camera. The D80 would more than suffice for a studio camera. Hell if it does take off THEN you buy the silly priced equipment, but spending over £1000 on the camera alone is crazy talk, again in my opinion.
6) As someone else mentioned, glass IS king. Be sure to get the right lens for your needs. As a rule, primes tend to be sharper, and IIRC the "perfect" length for portaits is around 70-80mm. The faster the better. You'd need at least a 2.8, but realistically a 1.8 is better suited.

Anyway, this is all really besides my original point - basically, I think your idea is a good one, but you really need to take up photography as a serious hobby before trying to turn pro. Otherwise you could find yourself in a situation where you've spent a silly amount of money on kit, studio and advertising and you have some very unhappy clients.

Best of luck to you, but be careful.

 

[A210AMG]

Sensible reply.

I'm doing nothing quick.

Luckliy I can practice with pictures of my own daughter and move onto friend etc.

I've not bought any kit yet and its VERY interesting that a review of much cheaper than 1K cameras some of them are on par with the much more expensive ones.


If I do buy the camera / lens nothings lost in that respect as I love taking pictures.

I'm currently getting my head around photoshop athough I still think modifying what you see is wrong it is ckever and more an ART...


Thanks

 

[HughJarse]

TOP TIP.....To make the flower coloured and the rest black and white. You draw around the flower, then negatively select which selects the rest of the picture, not the flower. You then select black and white.

Its easy really and takes about 2 mins.

 

[glojo]

I'm currently getting my head around photoshop athough I still think modifying what you see is wrong it is ckever and more an ART...


Thanks

I agree with the point about glass. It is a must to get the best you can afford

I would also swallow your pride regarding Photoshop type software. There is no way I can take in the informaton that is required to get the most out of this type of aid, but in my opinion it is a must for digital photography.

Just my humble opinion, but when you flip through the Snaps thread you can see the difference.

Good luck
John

 

[oldcro]

Adding or removing something in a photo by changes it into a picture. A photo is a snapshot in time of a scene which you would have seen had you stood in the same spot at the same time. Colours can be changed as the view would change if looking through coloured glasses. I hate Photoshop as you can see, it should be called Pictureshop.

 

[BTB 500]

A photo is a snapshot in time of a scene which you would have seen had you stood in the same spot at the same time.

But unfortunately neither film nor digital sensors 'see' in the same way that the human eye & brain does. Perspective, field of view, and depth of field also vary widely depending on lens, aperture, etc.

Manipulation of contrast / brightness / colour balance etc. has taken place since time immemorial, and the end result from a skilled human printer (using burning, dodging, etc.) was always very different to a standard 'average' machine print.

The only 'pure' film medium was colour transparency, and there was even some scope for 'adjustment' there e.g. push/pull processing.

PC image editing software just makes it quicker and easier (and cheaper) to do.

 

[oldcro]

But unfortunately neither film nor digital sensors 'see' in the same way that the human eye & brain does. Perspective, field of view, and depth of field also vary widely depending on lens, aperture, etc.

Manipulation of contrast / brightness / colour balance etc. has taken place since time immemorial, and the end result from a skilled human printer (using burning, dodging, etc.) was always very different to a standard 'average' machine print.

The only 'pure' film medium was colour transparency, and there was even some scope for 'adjustment' there e.g. push/pull processing.

PC image editing software just makes it quicker and easier (and cheaper) to do.

I was referring to things like removing that rock or telegraph pole which detracts from the image or adding pretty clouds etc. Not changing the colours or contrast. In other words adding or removing the physical things.