Very First Time...

Kwenami · Jan 11, 2015

Hello!

I'm wondering if any of you have advice or tips for me....

I recently got a DSLR (2 months ago) and have been practicing a ton. Today, I was asked to do a paid shoot for a foster dog! I would love to help these guys out.

How much did you charge your first ever client? Cost of doing business would be crazy high right now, since so far it's only the one person. I'm not sure where this is going to take me, but I'd like to explore

I have *no* clue what to do in this department, so any tips would be great.

Do you have any tips regarding being professional during a shoot? Things that will help, things that won't? Tips for posing, selecting a space, set up in general? I typically practice with my own dog who has a ton of training, so it will be very different I'm sure. I'm only just beginning to use flash, so I may or may not use it in the images.

Any advice at all would be wonderful. Thank you!!

snerd · Jan 11, 2015

I'm at a loss for words. Hopefully other members can help you out.

Ysarex · Jan 11, 2015

Do it for free. Thank the dog owner profusely for his/her time giving you a chance to practice. Offer to buy him/her lunch.

Joe

Forkie · Jan 11, 2015

I've been photographing for about 9 years. Product photography has been my day job for the last 5 and I decided around Christmas 2014 that I wanted to do portraits for a living. It has taken me just over a year of building my portfolio and technique in this new area of photography (despite my previous 7-8 years in other genres) by using up my annual leave and shooting people for free to reach a style I would be happy to charge for and I have my first paid headshot session in 2 weeks time with a guy who found out about me by word of mouth from one of my free clients.

I'm not saying you shouldn't do it - that's up to you and your client, but I would think very carefully about whether you would pay money for your photos after only 2 months of holding a DSLR camera before accepting money from someone else.

Perhaps you could do it in exchange for a beer first, and see how you go?

Designer · Jan 11, 2015

Kwenami said:
Hello!

I'm wondering if any of you have advice or tips for me....

I recently got a DSLR (2 months ago) and have been practicing a ton. Today, I was asked to do a paid shoot for a foster dog! I would love to help these guys out.

How much did you charge your first ever client? Cost of doing business would be crazy high right now, since so far it's only the one person. I'm not sure where this is going to take me, but I'd like to explore I have *no* clue what to do in this department, so any tips would be great.

Do you have any tips regarding being professional during a shoot? Things that will help, things that won't? Tips for posing, selecting a space, set up in general? I typically practice with my own dog who has a ton of training, so it will be very different I'm sure. I'm only just beginning to use flash, so I may or may not use it in the images.

Any advice at all would be wonderful. Thank you!!

Hey, welcome!

What do you think? Do you think your photography is worth charging money? If so, you can discuss the amount with the dog owner. If not, (and you should be completely realistic about this) just do it for free, or let them buy you lunch.

Kwenami · Jan 11, 2015

Honestly, I really like a few of my shots already-enough to print them. Of course, I've taken a lot of shots of my dog, so that some came out well isn't surprising (especially since she's my own, so I am obviously biased). I've also been learning for much longer than I've had a DSLR-and I've had the full 2 months to spend on it, since I've been out of work. I tend to be pretty picky with art, and I know I have a long way to go, but I think I can provide what she wants. She was very enthusiastic.

I think I might have made myself unclear-I'm pretty sure she wants to pay me because she knows I'm in a rough place with work, and she can afford to/likes my work more than the last photographer she used. She's asked twice, and has 2 dogs-even if I did charge, I would do portraits with her and both her dogs, and I've been debating doing it for free anyways. But I *would* like to see how I would go about pricing in the future, at an entry level, amount of time aside. She came to me first and offered-I just want to prepare well so that she is happy overall, and that I could build a business in the future if I wanted to peruse this instead of my academic career. I think I need to re-emphasize-she came to me asking to pay me, multiple times, after seeing what I've done so far. I expect to be able to make her happy with the shots, even if it means taking a lot of extra time to get things right. I've also been asked to do a few volunteer setups as a second photographer, which I've taken the opportunity from. Mostly the owners were asked to stand behind us to get their pet's focus, since it was a distracting environment, and we only had a few moments with each. Being honest, I only like a couple of the shots from this-but it was VERY fast, so the fact that I captured any I liked is a feat in itself.

In any case, I was going to discuss this with her. I wanted feedback first on what people started out with, how they went about organizing things so that the setup goes smoothly, etc. I'm pretty certain I will have natural, diffuse daylight to work with (it's overcast here frequently), and I can time this in the morning or evening since she is available at both. In all likelihood I would only ask her afterwards what she would have wanted to pay for them, but learning what is typical would be beneficial beforehand regardless.

I don't mean to offend any other photographers-quite the opposite, I recommended she use those photographers first (there are a few pet photogs in the area), and she still wanted to do the photos with me. I had been planning for the future and learning, but this came up and I wanted to take the opportunity. I know many photographers are offended when they see inferior work for a low cost, but that is not the goal. Honestly, I was planning on surprising her at the end with free photos regardless of money being spent or otherwise. The post was about learning

And I was hoping for more emphasis on how to set things up and organize so that there is a guide, rather than doing a few poses and candid shots. I have practiced with a human friend who's never had photos done before, and I noticed the hardest part was getting her to relax. This is different with pets, but I want to put my friend at ease as well since getting photos of her with her own dog would also be good. She doesn't spoil herself enough.

tl;dr: I was debating doing this for free and the money was for education/future reference purposes, mostly. I would still love tips for setting up and organizing the time I have. I hope I didn't overemphasize the part that was less important to me.

Hope I didn't offend anyone. I do realize this is a very generous opportunity and that I've been lucky in this regard so far

I've had a lot of very willing models to practice with and learn from.

Kwenami · Jan 11, 2015

Here's an example of the one I'd like to print for myself

If anyone has suggestions, I'd be open to that as well. I know this isn't perfect but I'm pretty happy with it

https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net...=53fe26d7eec0f8037bd413e0d12d9229&oe=5524F01D

vintagesnaps · Jan 11, 2015

Some of the info. on this organization's website might be more relevant for photographers in the US but it might give you some idea what's going to be involved in photography as a business. American Society of Media Photographers

It seems to usually take photographers time to build up a reputation; it might take time to go from taking pictures of your own dog or a shoot for a friend, to doing pet photography that's professional quality on a consistent basis.

With this photo the dog's face looks sharp, but think about the framing, the ears are in the photo with space above but the paw's cropped off. I'd think about the background too, especially with stripes or straight lines you need to think how it'll look in your photos. A solid color blanket or rug might look better so you don't get out-of-focus splashes of color (like the yellow spot next to the dog). If you use something patterned notice how it's arranged and how it looks in your viewfinder (wrinkles, folds etc.).

robbins.photo · Jan 11, 2015

snerd said:
I'm at a loss for words. Hopefully other members can help you out.

Well,you can take "inconceivable". I'm not really using it right now. Lol

robbins.photo · Jan 11, 2015

Kwenami said:
Here's an example of the one I'd like to print for myself If anyone has suggestions, I'd be open to that as well. I know this isn't perfect but I'm pretty happy with it

https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net...=53fe26d7eec0f8037bd413e0d12d9229&oe=5524F01D

Just curious, does the dog actually have heterochromia iridis or is that the lighting?

tirediron · Jan 11, 2015

The most you could realistically expect to realize from a shoot like this is a couple of hundred dollars. Given your experience, etc, my suggestion would be to do the shoot, show the owner the photographs and tell her to make a donation to the animal charity in your name. A week later a few dollars will be spent and forgotten... the karma points, not so much.

Kwenami · Jan 11, 2015

vintagesnaps said:
Some of the info. on this organization's website might be more relevant for photographers in the US but it might give you some idea what's going to be involved in photography as a business. American Society of Media Photographers

It seems to usually take photographers time to build up a reputation; it might take time to go from taking pictures of your own dog or a shoot for a friend, to doing pet photography that's professional quality on a consistent basis.

With this photo the dog's face looks sharp, but think about the framing, the ears are in the photo with space above but the paw's cropped off. I'd think about the background too, especially with stripes or straight lines you need to think how it'll look in your photos. A solid color blanket or rug might look better so you don't get out-of-focus splashes of color (like the yellow spot next to the dog). If you use something patterned notice how it's arranged and how it looks in your viewfinder (wrinkles, folds etc.).

Thanks for the info! I did actually notice that, this was honestly just a shot taken in my room with the curtains as a backdrop and my destroyed blanket on top. This was originally a practice shot, to work on getting the depth of field I want. I know it's not perfect, but for some reason I still prefer her serious expression. I'd also have cloned out her tags, which I could still do, but I'd want to take my time with it since I'm not the greatest at cloning textures. I could probably work on the blanket, too, with a bit of time.

robbins.photo said:
Just curious, does the dog actually have heterochromia iridis or is that the lighting?

Yes! The other thing I didn't particularly love about the above photo was due to a space limitation-I have a borrowed softbox, and it's on the side with her lighter eye. I'd have preferred it on the other side, but it would have meant running power chords all over the place and wouldn't have at all been safe. Part of the reason I was so frustrated with the P&S before I've had was due to being unable to capture her without flash in motion, but the two eyes reflecting totally different light drove me nuts. I have no idea how you'd get that effect with lighting alone.

Kwenami · Jan 11, 2015

tirediron said:
The most you could realistically expect to realize from a shoot like this is a couple of hundred dollars. Given your experience, etc, my suggestion would be to do the shoot, show the owner the photographs and tell her to make a donation to the animal charity in your name. A week later a few dollars will be spent and forgotten... the karma points, not so much.

That is a fantastic idea, since we met through a rescue as well. I wasn't planning to even ask for a few hundred; I had no expectations for amount. I really think she just wanted to be supportive in my job hunt, and will probably leave it up to her

I still think my focus or goal of this was to learn more about organizing a shoot, though. Do you have any suggestions regarding that? I really want her to feel comfortable and have fun during the process.

tirediron · Jan 11, 2015

Meet the dog before-hand (if you haven't already) so he/she is comfortable with you, know where you're going to shoot, know how you're going to light, and and have your gear checked and ready. If the dog is an active one, have his/her human take him/her out for a long walk beforehand. Have some treats and a squeaky-toy handy so you can get some 'ear action'. Above all... be patient!

Kwenami · Jan 11, 2015

tirediron said:
Meet the dog before-hand (if you haven't already) so he/she is comfortable with you, know where you're going to shoot, know how you're going to light, and and have your gear checked and ready. If the dog is an active one, have his/her human take him/her out for a long walk beforehand. Have some treats and a squeaky-toy handy so you can get some 'ear action'. Above all... be patient!

The walk will happen before, she's very good about that-we may actually do the walk together, since that is how we know each other! I have a variety of pitches for squeaky toys, a harmonica, and can borrow a few of the dog's favorites, too. I plan on making salmon fudge, which is the highlight of every dog's day.

Is it common for photographers to switch lenses in the middle? Depending on distance I may want to use a 50mm or telephoto. I have a fill flash I can use, but depending on the snow level the reflections from that may be sufficient.