Large event coming up - Advice needed

[dana_graham1]

OK KIDS!!! This has ALWAYS been a great place for info and I need your help!

Details are sketchy right now but will have more info on Tuesday (next week).

I have been asked to photograph a 7 day event with still photos and candids.

The still photos will need to be ready on site (ok by me, I have a portable

printer). This will be all day at least from 10am to 10pm every day. It is

for a retired Marine reunion. I have no idea yet of the attendance.

 

Could you start giving me some suggestions? I know for sure that I already

need at least another photographer and I have hired a runner (to go pick up

developed pictures).

 

I know there is not alot of details but I will post again later. If anyone has

suggestions, they are WELCOME!

 

To give you an idea of what I currently do - I do small weddings, engagement

pics, maternity shots, and family pics. I always welcome animals so I do alot

of pet photography. I don't have a studio but use location and the great

weather in Houston to be able to photograph pretty much year round.

 

I currently charge $800 for weddings, $75 for a location fee.

 

The event is local, it will be in Houston. But I will have to take 4 vacation

days to do it!

 

Thanks!

 

Dana

[er1]

Dana

I have shot many high end events but will need far more information in order to offer any useful advice to you.

Ed

[edward_brewington]

I hope that you have done the math and charged accordingly. 12 hour day X 7=98 hrs. How are you going to eat? Any breaks in that time period. You better budget well for plenty of paper for those photos,and hope like hell your printer doesn't break down on you. You are going to need a lot of backup equipment and supplies for that equipment. You will need someone to just print the photos,second shooter,assistant to you. Runner . Well you get the scenario. All these people need to be paid. I surly hope that you are charging enough.

[tumble2113]

sound's like a logistic nightmare, Printing alone sounds like a full time job. I would have suggested the web to get the pictures or they can prepay for a book then can request copies of the pictures in it.

[William Michael]

Like it is a seven day `event` and it is a marine reunion?

 

I just was at a five day national swimming meet, there were `events` each morning and night: there was very good reason for the two pros engaged to have quick turn around and print on site facilities . . . media, results, news, deadlines etc

 

But what `events` are there to be at a Marine Reunion which could require prints on site for 7 days: are they doing some type of games competions or similar?

 

Seriously, the above is only an illustration of how little information you have at the moment and how much detail you need to cover the firstly the logistics and secondly the photography for such an event.

 

I.e. I strongly reinforce what Ed Richter wrote.

 

 

And I add that you should avoid any planning or decision making without more detailed information.

 

 

Information is the key.

 

 

On that specifically:

 

 

Keep in mind you need quality and accurate information.

 

 

To that end you need to talk (I would be getting a face to face ASAP) with the main stakeholder and organizer:: not the secretary`s assistant who thinks `this and that` and interprets the client`s `needs` for you.

 

 

WW

[ibdnzgr]

I've been trapped by events that promise more than they deliver and end up costing me for all the preparations in equipment, supplies and staffing I put together. You should charge some sort of flat or hourly rate just for showing up. It should be enough to cover all your costs of being there.... add up all the supplies, staff pay, food, etc. and then request at least that from the host. The rest will be profit and you won't have a loss. And take it from me... onsite printing will be a nightmare. You can't print fast enough to serve everybody. Just hand our your business cards with your URL for a smugmug account (or whatever you have access to). Then at the end of each day, do some preliminary editing and upload. Then set your prices and watch the profits roll in as people order prints. In reality, the orders will come over the next several weeks. Or if you have promised the images, just make them downloadable. Either way, you are delivering without the expense of printers, ink, paper, staff, time. Feel free to browse my services and pricing at http://ibd-designs.com. I based it on number of attendees, access to images, etc.

[marlboro_smith]

You CAN'T do on-site printing, and be the photographer too. Not a chance. And even if you could, will the pay in advance for the photos you print? Do you want these photos just given out since they represent YOUR WORK everyone right off the printer.

 

 

Better to do on-site CD's of the pictures with a watermark on them, and hand these out to everyone. People can then choose the photos they want and order them from you.

 

Management can make a few copies of these. Be sure you wantermark them or people will just print them themselves without you to remove the watermark.

 

You need to get real specifics on when and where you have to be there and for what pictures you need to take.

 

And you need to write a very specific contract for everything that is expected for you to do, and with specifics as to what will happen if you fail to perform(such as 4 days of continuous shooting and a breakdown in your camera.

 

Do you have the equipment for that? If you use canon for example, I wouldn't even thing of a marathon event like that without a 1DMark XXX, since even the xxD's may be overwhelmed by that kind of event.

 

ERIC