Digital Photo equipment

I am thinking of starting my own photography business by taking

digital photos of people and printing them on the spot. I got the

idea while attending my company Christmas party.

 

I would like to know a list of equipment I would need to get

started. I know I would need a high speed printer like the Kodak

Professional 8500 and a digital camera. Software and lighting

recommendations will be helpful. I envision going to family reunions

and proms and take pictures on the spot and printing them out.

I think you'd need to cost this pretty carefully. Digital prints aren't actually that cheap. I was just looking at the little HP 130 which does 6x4 inkjet prints. Retail price for the paper alone works out around 45p in the UK and the cartridges are £25 a time. They can probably manage 40 prints so that's another 45p. If you factor in your equipment costs, then a reasonable hourly rate and finally, on top of all that, a reasonable profit to carry you through any lean times...

 

I'm not trying to put you off. I used to do function photography and made a lot of money at it but that was because I had all my costs pared right down so I could charge an attractively low price which brought in lots of impulse orders. If you want to do this, realise that personality is infinitely more important than equipment, it's largely a sales exercise and the way you present yourself and your product is what will get you sales.

 

If I haven't put you off, I'd recommend starting very small, with a cheap digital camera and the cheapest printer you can find taking the lowest cost materials. I'd suspect that the Epson 925 or 950 with the roll paper attachment would be the way to go with a cheap laptop to control the printer. You'll definitely need an associate to handle the printing while you go round taking the pictures.

 

In these price sensitive times this sounds like a very precarious proposition.

Parents are much more likely to open up their wallets, when the photos are of their children doing something special or unique (or at some event marking a turning point in their children's life). Youth sport is a great opportunity for immediate sales of prints, and web site sales after the event. Proms sound good, but parents (the people with the wallets and credit cards) are not usually there.