Oh boy...first Photoshoot.

MrPie

TPF Noob!
Joined
Jun 6, 2013
Messages
9
Reaction score
2
Location
United Kingdom
Can others edit my Photos
Photos OK to edit
I'm sure you guys have seen countless threads on amateurs with Cameras who are charging people for taking photos. I got a reply for a job where someone needed a Photographer Urgently for a photoshoot. I've had a look at their site and its a fashion wholesale store so it's mainly the clothes that are going to be the focus. I've got an appointment made with the company to discuss what's going to happen and pricing, which i happening tomorrow. I got my Canon 1100D back in 2011 and have been shooting ever since. I want some opinions on what sort of prices i should discuss. I'm also very proficient in using photoshop so that would most likely be an extra charge if they want it done which they most likely will judging from the pictures on their website.

You can check out some of the photos i took (of nature, buildings and scenery) and i would love it if you guys would tell me how much you would pay to have photos of that kind of quality. Flickr: AnsibNabi's Photostream

Btw those photos are unedited but i took tons of photos and they are what i think are the best out of the '1000s' of pictures i took on my eurotrip.

Thanks again. I really don't want to hang out my 'shingle' but it might be too late for that :lol:

Of course i'll update with what happens with the discussion tomorrow.
 
Last edited:
Ummm... well... to be perfectly blunt, I wouldn't pay a nickle for the job lot (but than I am a photographer). The collection on your Flickr page seems to me like a collection of holiday snaps, rather than a body of work, that is, there doesn't seem to be a lot of concern for exposure, composition, etc. They're nice enough holiday snaps, but at the end of the day, IMO, they're still holiday snaps.

As for prices, well that's entirely up to you. This is the sort of job I would bill out at $1200/day + licensing. What you charge will depend on your costs, the quality of the product, the use of the images, and many other factors.

Understanding you haven't requested input on the process, I am going to ask if you have the equipment to discharge a commission such as this? Again, without details it's almost impossible to guess what will be required, but I do know that it would be virtually impossible to do a job relating to the commercial clothing industry without lighting equipment and a good knowledge of how to use it.
 
Thanks for moving the thread to the correct place.

Yeah i guess the process is what i was trying to figure out. I don't have lighting equipment myself. The only thing i have is my Canon1100D with the stock lens it came with (18-55mm) and a 50mm lens that i got sometime after as well as a Tripod. The photos are most likely going to be presented on their websites but i'm not 100% sure on this as not much detail has been given yet. That will be discussed tomorrow. But looking from the photos i see there, i can most likely achieve the same result if not better. I dunno...it could just be me being too full of myself :er:.

As for pricing i was thinking more along the amount of £50 per hour (They only want me for 4 hours) and if they want the photos to be post processed then i could charge them per X amount of photos. I'll have a talk with them tomorrow and see what is required and get back to you guys.

EDIT: Totally forgot! When negotiating tomorrow about pricing and what's the client wants, is there anything i should specifically ask that i might not think of first? The things i have right now is.

* What type of photos do you require
* Where are they being used
* Do you require the photos to be post processed
* Do you want them available on a DVD or sent to you digitally?
* Can i have a look at a the photoshoot location?

That's all i have, if there is anything missing feel free to tell me.
 
Last edited:
Something tells me you're going to get taken to the cleaners on this one... but...

-All images have to be post-processed, at least to a certain degree; it may take only 30 seconds to straighten, crop and fine-tune WB, but it has to be done.

-How are you going to obtain and learn to use a multiple light set-up in the time available? WHERE are you going to get the lights?

-Personally, I would make advance scouting of the venue(s) a condition of accepting to the job; how do I know if I need to bring a couple of speedlights, or a full-on studio kit?

-What about a contract? Do you have one for them to sign agreeing to 'x' payment for 'y' work and spelling out each in detail, as well as terms & conditions of usage of the images? That's a must.

-Insurance? What happens if an employee trips over your tripod, knocks your rig to the floor and breaks a tooth in the process?

Don't misunderstand, I'm not suggestion you could not or should not do this (I have no idea if you can or not), but I want you to make sure that you understand there's a LOT more to this than waltzing in at 10.00 on the morning of, shooting a few pictures and walking out. Granted, you might get away with that, but then again, you might not. What's your "OMG, the client hates the pictures" plan?
 
Btw those photos are unedited but i took tons of photos and they are what i think are the best out of the '1000s' of pictures i took on my eurotrip.

Thanks again. I really don't want to hang out my 'shingle' but it might be too late for that :lol:

tirediron has pretty much covered everything but these two things. Why would you show images that have been unedited? You want to show your best work as completed not before. And it's never too late unless you've signed a contract, you can always say no.
 
Don't misunderstand, I'm not suggestion you could not or should not do this

I'll suggest it. You're a vacation snapper with a camera and kit lens, no knowledge of lighting, and you think fashion photos _might_ have to edited in Photoshop. You're going to find yourself in a mess if you manage to convince them you're able to do a shoot like you've described.
 
Looking at your Flickr, in my opinion, you are in way over your head.

I don't see any professional looking images in your Flickr feed, just snap shots.

Do you really think that you can produce professional quality photos for this retailer?
 
" i can most likely achieve the same result if not better. I dunno...it could just be me being too full of myself :er:."

This would be a major concern for me. I'm not the greatest, but I can look at a photo and know wether I can match it or do better, if your not sure then you shouldn't be going into this. They likely won't want photos that are worse then what they have. My philosophy is I will take a photo if I know I can do a good job at and hae the skills to do it. If it's something new iv'e never done I will and have turned jobs down until I have that experience.
 
Okay... looking at the comments i feel my guts turning inside out. I met the owner and one of the employees said they're looking for pictures to be uploaded to the website. We negotiated a bit about the price but a contract hasn't been signed which leaves me free to just say no. It's going to be indoors and they already have an area with umbrellas and a backdrop available for me to use. I took some pictures on my phone of what their place looks like.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ansibnabi/sets/72157633986996138/

I recommended that they cover up the ceiling on the side with a thick cloth to stop the light pouring in and the main concern of theirs is that there shouldn't be any shadows on the backdrop. It seems they've been using two light sources (umbrellas) which have created the unrealistic shadows at the back. I have told them that i'd process the images and only hand them the best ones. I'm really NOT trying to rip someone off here or make a quick buck, it's not my type of thing and i've never done it before.

I didn't think that all photos looked like holiday snaps. Granted some of them do but most of them i tried to take a nice shot and ready up the composition. I know i've got a lot to learn and will do so, i think i'll just decline the job and keep practicing. What do you think?
 
I honestly think it would be adviseable for you to not do it. And then gain experience you can use at a later stage.

The last thing you want is to be paid for this, do a bad job & not be able to supply them with what they need.

Also, if you do a bad job, word can spread and it can, and most likely will effect your chances of being employed to do jobs like this in the future.

Its things like when you say

"I recommended that they cover up the ceiling on the side with a thick cloth to stop the light pouring in"

If you knew anything about lighting, you would know that you can easily kill all ambient light with shutter speed.
 
I'm really NOT trying to rip someone off here or make a quick buck, it's not my type of thing and i've never done it before.

I wouldn't think that the first time you done something that you'd want to do it for pay with a contract with a company. Has disaster written all over it. IMHO.
 
I saw your pictures. They're fine enough. Some show some promise. I wouldn't worry TOO much.

My concern here is that you're sounding as if you have quite a lot of prep work to do to be ready to handle all the business elements involved here. You just barely have a sense of your pricing, and I wonder if you have factored in your costs and such. I suspect you don't have standard contracts prepped. The way you talk about things it seems like you've considered some of the elements, but you probably don't realize how much is involved above and beyond what you've thought of and you're going to wind up walking into some serious pitfalls... things like "Oh the client has asked me to edit my pictures so they no longer represent reality... what do I do?" are going to be the next posts we see from you.

It's not that you cannot do this. I'm sure you can. Anyone can. It's just that there is quite a bit you need to have worked out before you even TALK to your first client... and basically, you've already probably hosed yourself in more ways than you can know.

There are a lot of threads on here that talk about the kinds of things you need to do to get going on a business. I suggest searching for them and reading them ALL. Then decide if you think you can do everything you need to in the relatively compressed time you have between now and whenever they want you to do the shoot. Then go from there. If you don't have enough time, then you'll likely want to back away from this one and start your prep work now so you'll be ready next time.

Now... there's something else. CAN you just shoot from the hip? Well, yeah. I did. (stupidly) Many do. You just put yourself in the unique spot of having been smart enough to ask the question and now you've opened the Pandora's box. Now you KNOW there's a lot you're not prepared for, so on top of being unprepared, you're going to go into this KNOWING that you're not fully prepared... and what's worse is you're going to know that you don't even know how unprepared you are. Sort of the equivalent to someone asking you if you breathe in or out when you swing the golf club... only worse. :)

One way or another, you will survive this process, but all of us more experienced folks are telling you that you're basically going to go through more suffering and stress for it. In extreme cases, you can even wind up being sued. (probably not in this case, but what if while on-site you wind up breaking some expensive piece of equipment? Have insurance? No... you don't. One of the 10,000 things you need to be thinking about.)
 
I agree with the others... you lack both the needed equipment and knowledge to do a professional job here. If you make the client VERY aware that you are not a professional, and that you will do the best you can... and charge much less than £50 per hour (maybe £20), go for it if they are still interested. Hopefully your photoshop skills will make up for any deficiencies in the photography (but DONT charge extra for it.. since you would be cleaning up after yourself). Consider it a paid learning experience.. not a true professional gig.

The photos on your website are not professional, they have many issues... and the lack of editing (especially for someone who claims to be very good at photoshop) is odd. If you can't look at them and see what is wrong, how can you edit them correctly? I assume you are good at PS as in Graphic Design or something? Good at the software, but not really good at applying that toward photography?

If you want to look professional, only put up edited and well shot images... not a hodge podge of casual snapshots. (not trying to be rude... just giving my opinion)
 

Most reactions

Back
Top