Senior pictures and some basic questions EVERYONE can help with

jteknet · Dec 14, 2007

UNLIMITED COPIES OF SENIOR PICTURES by JTekNet

That's my ad I just put on myspace for all my friends to see.

Background info:
I'm a senior in high school and it really is about time to get nice senior pictures done. I'm not talking about the ones that go in the yearbook, I'm speaking of the ones outside and everything that people just like to have to look at when they are 50 years old and looking back on their past.

Anyway, the ad I formulated is as follows:

So, it's that time. Everybody wants senior pictures. You can always go to a studio and have them done (as I have thought about doing until I got my own professional Nikon camera) or you can have me do them.

I've decided I'm going to have three price brackets:

Package 1: 1-10 shots that you approve of, GOOD ONES, not counting ones I have to delete and whatnot, will cost $20
Package 2: 11-20 shots will be $40
Package 3: 21-30 shots which will be $60

Keep in mind, you get the rights to the photograph, unlike studios, where you can't take them to Wal Mart or wherever and get them copied because they have a watermark.

I will give you a cd with the photos on it as well as one 8x10 and you can take them to the place you choose and get them made into photos as many times as you'd like and in as many sizes as you'd like.

You can also choose the location you'd like to take them at, or you can tell me what kind of things you like and we will go from there. I don't have a problem with photoshopping in scenes that you might find online interesting. Maybe you want your senior pictures to be in front of a waterfall or maybe you just want me to do general touch-ups. I can do that and the only additional cost will be $10 on the package 3 because that's a lot of pictures to modify for you. Acne? No problem, I can do the same thing local studios, if not better.

I can give a testimonial myself on local studios, when they "fix" your acne they make your face look red and you look like you have rosacea or something, even if you DO have it, don't worry, that can be fixed too. Any blemish or any reasonable request can be done without having to pay an arm and a leg to get it done, and also, keep in mind. YOU OWN THE PHOTOGRAPHS including the touch-ups. For life.

Message me or preferably, comment me with any questions, orders, or concerns.

Sincerely,
JTekNet

----------------------------
So, that's the ad. Don't worry about critiquing the prices unless you think they are WAY out of line on the high end, and should be lower than that. I'm not really wanting to MAKE any money per se. I'm just wanting to recoup my investment from the camera and it seems to be a good way to do it.

My real question is:

What is the best places to take these photos?

I understand OUTSIDE is about the best place, but what makes the photograph truly any better than say, just somebody taking their EZ Shot outside and taking pictures and printing them at Wal Mart themselves? I know my camera (and I) can produce better results, just not real positive HOW.

Are there any certain poses you all can tell me about in order to maximize effectiveness, as well as get referrals from people saying, "Darn that JTekNet kid takes some FANTASTIC pictures, you should go see him for your son's / daughter's pictures instead of ______ studio"?

That's my goal. I'd like to be able to make $600 off these sales then I don't care if I don't sell another one again. Just wanting to have a free camera.

)

Let me know,

JTekNet

Sideburns · Dec 14, 2007

I'd even charge a touch more. I know you said cheap...but 20 bucks? That's too cheap. Unless you're not that good...then maybe it's too much...lol.

I dono man.

Josh_C · Dec 14, 2007

Dont have any input on how to make them better, but I think you have a great idea! I would have certainly paid 20 bucks for some good shots of me and my friends, or just me, that I am not doing cheesy poses! Great idea!

the_beginner · Dec 15, 2007

Preface: I know nothing about how much a "typical" package like these would cost.

Anyway...

You're charging $2 per shot on package one, but what if there are 20 oops photos? And then you need to spend time on the post processing, trading more time for money. Don't turn it into a less-than-minimum wage affair if you can help it. Otherwise, time might be better spent working at a camera store or something.

There's a reason why portrait studios and/or portrait photographers ask for more, and it's not always just to make a bigger profit. Time's not free or even cheap, so don't sell yourself short.

If nothing else, if you're doing it for a free camera, why not charge slightly more and get a slightly better free camera?

No matter what, I hope it turns out well for you.

Sideburns · Dec 15, 2007

I probably also wouldn't mention "pro nikon camera"

Cause then they're gonna ask about yoru stuff, do research on it....and find out that a D40 is not a pro camera....and even though it doesn't matter...they'll be like "omg you're ripping us off".

SpeedTrap · Dec 15, 2007

You Can't buy a "Pro Camera for $600, You might want to take that off.

zioneffect564 · Dec 15, 2007

jteknet said:
You can always go to a studio and have them done (as I have thought about doing until I got my own professional Nikon camera) or you can have me do them.

So just because you got a 'professional camera' you can automatically do senior pictures?? i might take that off

monkeykoder · Dec 15, 2007

The best approach would be to try to NOT have to pose them and catch them when they are being genuine.

thebeginning · Dec 15, 2007

No offense man, but I wouldn't go through with this. There are plenty of better ways to learn and make money than by practicing on people's senior photos. While they're not near the level of a wedding, many people do care about their senior photos and, unless they are very low on cash or desperate, there are going to think twice before going through with an offer like this. Again no offense, but this is so incredibly unprofessional I thought it was a joke. Also, if you need to even ask this:

jteknet said:
I understand OUTSIDE is about the best place, but what makes the photograph truly any better than say, just somebody taking their EZ Shot outside and taking pictures and printing them at Wal Mart themselves? I know my camera (and I) can produce better results, just not real positive HOW.

Are there any certain poses you all can tell me about in order to maximize effectiveness, as well as get referrals from people saying, "Darn that JTekNet kid takes some FANTASTIC pictures, you should go see him for your son's / daughter's pictures instead of ______ studio"?

then you still have a while to go before even trying to charge for something like this. While I admire you're ambition, I just don't see this as working out for you this early...based on pretty much everything you put in that ad.

If you want to try something like this I'd recommend shooting some friend's senior portraits for free. If they like them alot, then give them the photos. Do this for a while until you know you can start charging a decent amount. This needs to be something you like doing, not just for the money.

corinnemily · Dec 15, 2007

i would take out the
1-10
11-20
21-30
and just make it
10
20
30
since they are more than likely going to choose that anyway
why would you pay 20 dollars for 5 pics when you could have 10

the pricing is also a little low
i would up it some

and not having them pose is the best way
unless they want them to look posed .. (whyy????)

good luck
:]

monkeykoder · Dec 15, 2007

I wouldn't even want to call them "Senior Portraits" I would just get pictures of their senior year doing things that actually matter to them not sitting on a stool posing for the camera like oh so many portraits. Not that portraits don't have their place but you're pretty much forced to get your portrait taken for your yearbook why pay someone else for the same thing over again? Take your camera and get pictures of people goofing off don't charge much and goof off with them... Have fun with it.

zioneffect564 · Dec 15, 2007

Again no offense, but this is so incredibly unprofessional I thought it was a joke.

Me too i was about to mark it for spam. This kills me because this is the reason it's so hard to get into photography as a living because people buy new camera's and then they think that they can take professional quality pictures just because they have a 'professional camera'. This is not any offense to the op im just talking in general. To reiterate what Daniel said dont do this... Unless you're looking to make a whole bunch of people mad at you, i wouldnt consider it yet.

Again like he said shoot some free shoots for you're portfolio and spend a year or so doing this before you even think about doing this for money. You could learn a lot from thebeginning he's really good in this aspect you might try taking a look at some of his senior pictures and then I dont know maybe ask him for some advice... He's a pretty nice guy i'm sure he'll be willing to help you out.

jteknet · Dec 15, 2007

thebeginning said:
No offense man, but I wouldn't go through with this. There are plenty of better ways to learn and make money than by practicing on people's senior photos. While they're not near the level of a wedding, many people do care about their senior photos and, unless they are very low on cash or desperate, there are going to think twice before going through with an offer like this. Again no offense, but this is so incredibly unprofessional I thought it was a joke. Also, if you need to even ask this:

then you still have a while to go before even trying to charge for something like this. While I admire you're ambition, I just don't see this as working out for you this early...based on pretty much everything you put in that ad.

If you want to try something like this I'd recommend shooting some friend's senior portraits for free. If they like them alot, then give them the photos. Do this for a while until you know you can start charging a decent amount. This needs to be something you like doing, not just for the money.

He ll no there is no offense taken. I'm here to learn not to take offense to ANYTHING anybody says. Unless of course, it's knocking my d40, then you can go... well, you get the gist. As far as being able to pull it off, I believe I can, I'm fairly slow with photoshop, but I can do it. Removing blemishes, correcting lighting, layers, I can do all that. So even if I don't shoot the ABSOLUTE BEST pictures, I can touch them up, add borders. Put multiple photos in "frames" on one 8x10. I can do some nifty things... enough I believe to have been worth $20 or so. I'm not out to rip people off and CERTAINLY not out to do it just for the money. As I said, I took 473 photos in 3 hours at a basketball game trying to get some neat action shots... and ended up getting a lot actually. Some were when the ball was right in the middle of the net, the cool thing is with the response time on that camera it's easy.

Thanks for the comment. I'm off to read more of them.

I also like the advice to catch them "natural" and not have them pose. Sounds promising.

jteknet · Dec 15, 2007

monkeykoder said:
I wouldn't even want to call them "Senior Portraits" I would just get pictures of their senior year doing things that actually matter to them not sitting on a stool posing for the camera like oh so many portraits. Not that portraits don't have their place but you're pretty much forced to get your portrait taken for your yearbook why pay someone else for the same thing over again? Take your camera and get pictures of people goofing off don't charge much and goof off with them... Have fun with it.

I like this idea; however, my school is weird. Out "yearbook picture" that you are thinking of is ridiculous. It's a picture where you have a suit jacket and bow tie / dress on and you take it on a aqua "cloud-like" material background. It's stupid.

I'm referring to "senior pictures" as the shots of like a baseball player holding a baseball as if they are going to pitch it or batting, a basketball player taking a knee holding the ball in front of them on the floor, maybe sitting beside a piano if they are a pianist, etc. These are the type I'd like to do that the same studio that takes our yearbook picture charges an arm and a leg for.

I'm doing mine as a courtesy to people and to just recoup the cost of my camera that I spent my hard earned money on, like I said.

Bobby Ironsights · Dec 15, 2007

jteknet said:
UNLIMITED COPIES OF SENIOR PICTURES by JTekNet

That's my ad I just put on myspace for all my friends to see.

Background info......................

Anyway, the ad I formulated is as follows:

................... Just wanting to have a free camera. )

Let me know,

JTekNet

1. If you want to take nice pictures of your friends at prom, go ahead, take pictures. A photographer loves to take pictures, but don't take money.

2. It's not the poses that count, it's the lighting. Read, or take an online course, or SOMETHING! You can get a good university education for 45 dollars in late fees I hear, if you only stay dedicated and learn, and use what you learn.

3. I think that selling crack cocaine to schoolchildren in Texas (yes, the lethal injection state) represents a better business plan than this one. If you want to pay for your camera gear, get a summer job. Ten seconds into this, and you are already trying to whore out your hobby. Have some pride in what you do.

OR

If you want to be a professional. Get a job apprenticing in a portrait studio, and guess what, soon you'll be getting paid to take pictures, and you'll soon lose the love of the craft, if you ever had it. Problem solved,...eh?:er: