Posted: 1/25/2011 11:27:15 AM EDT
|
I am giving away 10 free portrait sessions for any high school student in the SE Wisconsin/Green Bay/Wisconsin Rapids areas. This is strictly first come - first serve type situation. I will give you a disc of your images and up to 5 5x7 prints at no cost as well. This covers up to an hour of shooting time, and up to three outfit changes. I would retain the rights to use the images to promote my business, and you would have full rights to print, share, copy, and post your pictures online as well. I just ask that you tell people who took your photos and how to get a hold of me. I am putting forward my new photography website, and I am also getting more requests to shoot senior portraits. With that, I would like to shoot a few sessions to build a portfolio to show my potential customers. I photograph weddings, family portraits, business portraits, restaurants, concerts, and catalog work as well. I live in Sussex, but I make it to the Green Bay and Wisconsin Rapids areas to visit family pretty frequently, and I can make plans. Hopefully this meets the PIF critera! If it does not, please let me know and nuke this thread from orbit! Here are some of the portraits and other work I have done:  Todd Sieving by mainfr4me, on Flickr  Red-5133 by mainfr4me, on Flickr  Piano Blu-8050 by mainfr4me, on Flickr |
|
Quoted:
I need a new business portrait. Mine is one of those where you look at my business card, then look and me and go  .
Anyway, I'm in Waukesha county if this is something you wouldn't mind helping me out with. E-mail me and I can get you set up no problem. I'll give you a nice HTF discount :) Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
|
Quoted:
Would this apply to my parents?? They're both seniors. 75 and 79 years old. I'd LOVE to have some cool pics of them. 
Otherwise I have a daughter who will be a senior next year. Hit me up then. Thanks! Parents? That sounds like fun - shoot me a message and we'll make it happen. I'll set a reminder for myself for next year for your daughter too! Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
|
Quoted:
How about some sweet range pics ? I'm just kidding about that- but it's really nice of you to do this. Some of the people I work with may be interested in this offer for their kids. I will pass your name along I am planning on coming to the Frozen Nuts Shoot and had on my check list to do some photographic shooting as well. I've had a few ideas in my notebook that this summer some friends and I hope to shoot that I'll share as well. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
|
I shot a couple last week, but almost completely forgot to post them. Hopefully, the office will be shut down tomorrow, so I think I'll shoot some more. These were quick setup shots - I'm not entirely happy with them, so with some free time tomorrow I'm going to have some more fun with them.  Walther-015528 by mainfr4me, on Flickr  Walther-015522 by mainfr4me, on Flickr  Kimber-015513 by mainfr4me, on Flickr  Kimber-015506 by mainfr4me, on Flickr |
|
way to lower the bar...
maybe discounted but free? this will haunt you when you try and make a living 
I have shot over 3000 senior portraits over the years and would never give out a disc and full rights. Not even if I was just starting out. When I was starting out back in the day they would cover materials. I'm not trying to be too harsh but I keep seeing these younger photogs (they add me on FB) giving every thing away and then when they want to start making money they can't. With the economy and everyone giving everything away the industry is making a big paradigm shift. A friend of mine knows a wedding photog that has had 40 weddings a year booked for the last 10 or so years. She would normally have 75% booked by new years. This year she has 4 booked at this time. On the good side some local schools used to allow anyone to take the senior portraits and stopped due to lower quality. For some time with digital the perception of what was a good portrait was lowered and now they realize what is. No more uncle bobs shooting senior pics (wedding industry is pretty much split the same with El cheapo $500 give it away such as craigs list posters, then low end photo mills such as bella and fred fox, and then high end.) So do yourself a favor for your future and don't sell yourself short. 
|
|
Quoted: way to lower the bar... maybe discounted but free? this will haunt you when you try and make a living I have shot over 3000 senior portraits over the years and would never give out a disc and full rights. Not even if I was just starting out. When I was starting out back in the day they would cover materials. I'm not trying to be too harsh but I keep seeing these younger photogs (they add me on FB) giving every thing away and then when they want to start making money they can't. With the economy and everyone giving everything away the industry is making a big paradigm shift. A friend of mine knows a wedding photog that has had 40 weddings a year booked for the last 10 or so years. She would normally have 75% booked by new years. This year she has 4 booked at this time. On the good side some local schools used to allow anyone to take the senior portraits and stopped due to lower quality. For some time with digital the perception of what was a good portrait was lowered and now they realize what is. No more uncle bobs shooting senior pics (wedding industry is pretty much split the same with El cheapo $500 give it away such as craigs list posters, then low end photo mills such as bella and fred fox, and then high end.) So do yourself a favor for your future and don't sell yourself short. Ah, I like uncle Bob's! When I shoot weddings, I tell the brides and grooms I don't mind if other people take photos, just that they don't get in the way. I've had Aunt Suzie shadow me most of the day until I stomped accidentally on her foot when I was backing up (or maybe it wasn't an accident...). I worked for one of the mills up until last year. You're right - they about getting product out, not quality or investing in their own people. I was happy with them for a time. They cut the lead photog I had mentored under (he was the reason I worked for them really), then told me I had to shoot a wedding while I was pretty much high on cold meds. I was impressed any of those photos turned out... Either way - I hear what you're saying on cost, and shooting myself and others in the foot. I thought about it for a while before putting the offer out. For me, this is a side business at the moment, and I felt personally that instead of shooting models or what not to build my portfolio up for senior photos, I would rather provide a service for the community. I think of it as a win-win. Real people get a service they need, and I get to build the portfolio I need. I have most There is a huge shift - photogs don't have the overhead of film, printing proofs, etc, but have been replaced by needing the latest and greatest software, refreshing camera bodies every few years for the sake of lower noise and more pixels, etc etc etc. Look at the microstock industry as well - when companies can license an image for a few dollars from one of the online sources, versus paying a photog or agency to shoot specific images for them. I'm coming into the business with none of that previous experience (for good or bad). I know by giving away the disc and the printing rights I have no chance for recurring revenue on these as well, but again, I'm not as concerned with that in these portfolio building sets. I know I'm the anklebiter (not sure if that still applies in the photo world - but that's what I was called when I started out as an audio engineer before I borked my back). I've seen this already though come out in the long run - a family I took portraits of right after their second child was born for free. They have now brought me back a few times for larger family portraits and have not flinched at the cost. Maybe a longer post than required, but these are some of my thoughts about the way I have seen my business, and my outlook as well. I've got my eye on the long term, and for me I see my best approach as a building process. Maybe I will make photography my full time job - maybe I will not. Right now, I make some income from it, and I really enjoy working with people and what I do with it. |