I'll be doing portraits at a formal dinner/fundraiser event for a huge Catholic church.
-What should I bring, what equipment? (remember, I'm an amateur and I probably don't even have what I need!)
-How much should I charge? Should I raise the price a little high and donate a portion to the church?
-The woman in charge wants me to print the photos onsite if at all possible. I thought of bringing in my laptop, a printer and glossy paper. I could work on this throughout the event and have them available for pick up at the end of the night. Is there anything more efficient that I could try? Or is this a even wise choice? It seems a little hasty.
-What should I wear?? The fundraiser is actually for a program at a church that helps teenagers explore and gain experience in careers that they are passionate about, which is why I, an unexperienced 17 year old was asked to do this. Thank you for all the helpful answers! Hi- I'm not a photographer, but I do work for a newspaper, and I have to shoot for events.
Since you're doing portraits, I would say definitely bring your tripod. I am assuming you have the proper camera already, but bring enough extra lighting, and see if they will have a backdrop already.
Are you being paid just to show up to shoot for this? Around here, the running cost per pro-picture is 3.50 to 5.00 just for a 4x6, and $10-15 for larger shots. You could have a price list, and place on there that a percentage will be donated, but that is entirely up to you. Raising the price for donation would probably be ok, just make sure it is clear you are donating. Remember, if people really want the pictures, price will not be an issue.
Setting up your laptop would be more convenient for your customers, not to mention, it would ensure more sales. But you have to factor in expenses with that. You could charge a little extra for on-site printing. Another way to sell them is set up a gallery online. Most of the ones I've seen are through www.printroom.com.
Finally, you want to dress for the occassion, but not too much. You want to look good, but not like a guest. I would say long skirt or dress pants and formal sweater. No suits. Wear something that won't inhibit movement.
Good Luck! Hope it goes well for you. maybe a list of what equiptment you have would help.... i wouldnt even try toprint them there, unless you have a kick butt printer...time wise it just doesnt work out.. especially when you can go to an online print service and have it done fairly inexpensive.....
you should wear something class and professional.. probably pants would be better than a skirt, and you dont want a shirt thats going to be to low in teh front -bring a camera, flash (if needed), lens (if needed), extra batteries, film (if needed) tripod and a backdrop for formal portraits
-talk to other amateur photographers your age and find out what they would charge. think about how long the event is.
-this is your first job, so you can't charge as much as the top dollar wedding photographers in the area
-no, i wouldn't donate money to the church
-most professional photographers have photos available ONE MONTH after the date of the event, so her wanting to have the photos available on site is absolutely ridiculous. If you're willing to bring along the extra equipment, raise your price and be prepared to be treated like crap. She'll be making you probably print out a ton of copies and be watching over your shoulder.
Wouldn't you rather post the photos online and allow people to print their own? This will suck up your photo ink and paper. = $$$$
I would suggest to her that the photos will be online ONE WEEK after the event, and people can print their own photos. This is more than reasonable.
What to wear - white top, black pants Bring your camera obviously, a tripod (if your using a 35 m. or whatever). I dont think you'll need any light bouncers.
Charge like, 20 bucks and hour. Dont donate! lol. Just wear your professionalism with you. What else do you need ? -- A DSLR, kit lens and on-camera flash with a diffuser.
-- Charge? It's a fundraiser for a church...price accordingly.
-- DON'T print onsite unless you have an assistant to do the printing and a back-up printer. Instead, give everyone a URL where they can view the images online and order prints.
-- Clothes
Just my dos centavos..good luck! IF its a forma l dinner, dress formally.
If your doing portraits, you will need your camera, flash (off camera preferably), and lenses.
Do you have a good printer? Can it print 8x10's quickly, and efficiantly. You dont want to get a series of prints going, and find that you have an empty cartridge or tank.
Are you doing 12 people, or 1200?? YOu might want to have an assistant on hand to deal with computer and printing, while you shoot.
Are you being paid for showing up, or per person, including prints, or excluding prints. Get an agreement in writing, if you expect to get paid. Not even the church gets away with a verbal agreement.
Do a quick run thru, using friends or pets, and get an idea of how long everything takes, ink used for whatever size prints your selling. Add in your time. Dont overcharge and donate. Well, you can, but I wouldnt. Keep it business as usual. I paid $1500 for my wedding photos. This only included the CDs with the jpg's. I made my own prints at shutterfly.com. From what I hear, it's much more expensive if the photographer makes the prints. DON'T try to print on site, if there are lots of people (you said huge church) you'll never keep up even with an assistant. Say one family wants 10 prints you'll be over 1/2 an hour with just that print. It will be less expensive and less draining to have them done for you.
Go and do a trial run the day before or earlier, get your location and lighting figured out. You'll need a dslr with a lens suited to this type of photography, you'll be doing individuals and families so keep that in mind in picking a lens. Tripod, lights/off camera flash and a big smile.
Has the church done this before? If so use that as a basis for your pricing and adjust for inflation or check out some photogs in your area for pricing. Get it in writing!
Dress well. to hasty....you should be editing them afterward...get them printed at costco one hour photo...they do lots of pro work and its done same day...you can also download a profile so your screen matches theirs and your colors can be exact...or if your not a member i believe walmart is the next cheapest...but im not sure about their consistancy on their prints...good luck IMO you really aren't ready for this assignment.
Your one sentence: "What should I bring, what equipment? (Remember I'm an amateur and I probably don't even have what I need!) tells me this is beyond your ability at this time.
To do it right you'll need a DSLR with an 85mm or 100mm portrait lens, a backdrop, a posing stool and a simple lighting setup. This will give you formal portraits. Think Olan Mills, Wal-Mart "portrait studio" setup.
For informal portraits, i.e., candids, you'll still need a DSLR with the same lenses and an off-camera flash and you'll need to keep your subjects away from any walls to minimize shadows. If you have to use direct flash you should be at the subject's level (kneel down if they are seated) and get the flash high and pointing slightly down - you want to "throw" any shadows behind and below your subjects. Having an 85mm or 100mm portrait lens will help since your working distance will be greater. A diffuser would be very helpful (visit lumiquest.com or stofen.com). A 10' to 12' white ceiling you could bounce the flash off of would truly be a blessing.
Should you decide to proceed, tell the woman in charge that its impossible for you to print on site. Honey,
if you don't know all this by now, you shouldn't be getting paid for it.
Before accepting a job like this you should have all these questions answered and know what you have and how to use it to get the shots you'll need.
My advice is to call the client up and tell them you are not ready for this and have them get someone else who knows what they are doing.
Save yourself the stress, them the headaches.
That's why there are people likeme who are professionals that work this full time or part time. We took the time to learn what we need to know BEFORE going out and trying to make money off of people. |
