How do I...

[JasonLambert]

I have my first senior shoot on the 8th and boy do I have questions. Most I have found the answers to in other posts but a couple I have not. So here goes;

How do I...

1. ...find out what the school needs for yearbook photo?

2. ...find out where to send them or does the client do that?

3. ...find a sample contract and what to put in it?

4. ...settle my nerves enough to get a steady shot?!?!

5. ...get the photos ready for print? I will be printing at YM Camera and I'll find out what they need but without a calibrated monitor is it best to do a test print @ a place like Walmart. What finish should I print them in?

This is a free shoot to help build my portfolio, but I want to treat it as though they were paying me. They will be paying for the prints, so I want everything to be the best it can be.

If anyone has good sites dealing with senior shoots, PLEASE pass them on.

Thanks all!
.

 

[shmne]

I have no senior portrait experience but a lot of your questions have easy answers so that is good.

Contact the yearbook committee and ask them questions 1&2. For question three you are not getting paid so there is no need for a contrast besides a model release for your own sake.

Question four is probably the easiest, prepare yourself for the shoot. Leave nothing to chance, get all your equipment ready, camera charged, cards formatted, flash batteries freshened, strobes packed, etc. Finally once you have all that done go over the shoot in your mind as to how you want it to go, what locations you will be at and at which order. Get the timing down in your mind, it won't go that way the day of but it will help you be prepared for things going wrong.

You should do test prints with the company, no matter how standardized a printer is no two printers will make the same exact photo. So seeing first hand how the photo will be printed is key. Sometimes the good companies allow you to get test prints, like WHCC (white house custom color). I sent in 5 files and they sent them back in one business day, best part was I found out while my colors were extremely close to theirs all of my images came back severely underexposed due to my bright laptop screen.

Honestly you should have charged them money, even if it is your first event. Just follow proper channels, since you are new to the field around $50-60 for a two hour session wouldn't be too much. I would have charged (not knowing the going rate for this, but my standard charge for something I haven't done) around $100-$200 easy considering the time and effort that goes into something like this. I've never done a shoot for free, even if it was to build my portfolio.

 

[eagleseyeview7]

1&2. In most cases the client will send the photos in to the school for whatever purpose. and most of the time the yearbook only puts the picture that they took at the school with the photographers they hired. I would give them the prints and a disc with the edited photos just incase they need to give it to the school for some reason

3. a contract for a free photo shoot isn't too complicated and you can write it up yourself. Just figure out yourself what you feel is reasonable such as if you want your watermark on all the pictures in all situations, how they may distribute it(being if they can only get them printed, or if they can post on the internet) and also give the person the right to prtint them. (that is unless you want to send them off to get printed yourself). it all just depends on what you feel comfortable with and what you feel is reasonable.

4. once you start taking the shots you will calm down, just look at a ton of senior photos before hand to figure out what type of poses and faces you want. and remember to pay attention to detail when you are taking the shots- that's what will make the biggest difference.

5. is there anyone you know that has a calibrated screen that you can bring the photos over to their house or whatever and see if they look right? if not I would print one or 2 off to see how they turn out.