jasonboyd

<p>Hi Jeff,<br>

Thanks for your input. Perhaps a bit late but I have uploaded a few photos form the show to give a better feel. The typical party lasts 6 hours or so and there is plenty of time to play with composition and such. These shows are still new to me and I am learning, developing a style for them and trying to meet my clients expectation of the final results.</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=998469</p>

<p>A concern for me is that much of my work is coming from events like this and this is the direction I seem to be going. Having a body that can gather sufficient light and deal with high ISO noise and grainy images is on my mind. However, experience and skill will make this much easier also.</p>

<p>Thank you everyone for your thoughtful replies, they were all appreciated and have helped me tremendously.</p>

<p>Jason</p>

<p>Hello David and Ian,<br>

Thank you for your insights, it is good to hear that I am not completely off base as I am in a vacuum more or less. I do not need photography to make me a profit just now as my main profession takes very good care of me. I look at what I am doing as an investment in my future as a pro photographer and what I do not make in hard cash I am making in intangibles which are priceless.</p>

<p>The average age at these shows is around 20 with around 500 attending often traveling in from many places. I was shocked to have people approach me during my second show shoot who knew who I was by name to tell me they liked my work. After the shows my photos are posted not only at my site but at the producers FaceBook pages each having over 1000 followers, the exposure is huge as my site does not attract anywhere near that number on a regular basis. After each show there is a spike in traffic at my site. My logo is present on all promo materials and such so I get constant indirect advertising. It is a tight party community and many other producers attend all parties so I get to meet them, their dancers and the acts. Often there are notables attending from other provinces or countries. I made my first producer contact through a dancer I was doing promo shoots for, everything is relationship based. All people attending are potential future clients as the age groups leads to weddings, maternity/baby and other opportunities. Also new producers come up through the ranks, a 16 year old young man and former party goer is putting on his first show this summer, a 3 day festival and is doing everything right, flying in major acts from the North America, the UK and elsewhere. I am talking to him about shooting his event.</p>

<p>Right now for these parties my services are seen as a nice to have but the producers are starting to see the response on their social network sites. Intense images let people see what they missed and ensure they want to be there the next time and attendance grows. </p>

<p>I need to balance the inevitable fee increase while building a client base and reputation. Right now I have a monopoly in my little party world but there are at least 4 other people at each party who if they knew what they were doing could take nice shots with their equipment. They post their shots after the shows also and I do monitor them. However, my reputation, all access and official presence trumps them all and allows me to make crucial contacts where they cannot. If I force the money issue too fast this could all go away very quickly.</p>

<p>Thanks for the encouragement Steve.</p>

<p>Barry your advice was wonderful, I appreciate direct answers. I was not sure how hard nosed to be about pricing early on but will restructure it for sure. I would like to semi retire in a few years and roll into my photography business as my main income so it is not just a hobby.</p>

<p>I have already addressed all of your marketing advice, I have a website though unfinished, business cards and contact lists which I contact regularly. Mush of my new contacts hear about me through people and see the event photos posted at various site other than my own. They usually approach me face to face at an event where I am shooting after that. I am available 24/7 through my data phone for email, txt and live calls, it works well. I could not do it without a data phone, I live and die by it for it's ability to connect me.</p>

<p>I am unsure of the wedding market, it affords a good career but is a very different animal. The first attempt was to test the waters and a favour to a friend. It went off well but I was a bit overwhelmed when the family asked me to sing "Twinkle Little Star" to calm their autistic daughter at the family photos who I was not briefed about. It was an eye opener. It had not occurred to me to shoot as a second to someone else but it is a stellar idea and I will try to shoot a few more this summer as a second. For crucial shoots like the wedding I have arranged for back-up gear though I don't own any but will buy.</p>

<p>Thanks again Barry,<br>

Jason</p>

<p>Thank you for your in depth and thoughtful reply Robert. As I read in the forum heading this is not the place for photo critique. Also, I stand by my statement. If you had bothered to actually check my portfolio instead of throwing the easy stone you may have thought differently but then again probably not. I can see a steady progression in my ability from my posts 3 years ago up to now and stand by my statement still. The photo posted was an example of the conditions I am shooting in, very poor to no lighting, fog machines and confetti guns, jostling crowds and very active subjects.</p>

<p>The only person I am concerned with is my client and he seemed happy;<br>

Fan-friggen-tastic man... as usual! You are the sh@&.<br>

Thanks so much. I'm repping you like crazy!<br>

Eric</p>

<p>Jason</p>

<p>Thanks Jeff and noise is a concern. Do you know of any good software that deals with noise well or just be careful when I treat the RAW images?</p>

<p>Currently I manage my library and process the photos with Lightroom, basically any exposure and histogram correction and the occasional crop. At ISO 3200 or anything above 1000 the 40D has noticeable red noise in the blacks.</p>

<p>I should also say thanks John, my only concern is increasing my fee with my ability to deliver what the client is paying for.</p>

<p>I am making money but it is so low I don't really consider it. For the average Party I am charging $150 plus, a guest pass and free refreshments. The typical party is 5 hours or so. For by the hour stuff I am charging $60 per hour right now. These prices include basic post processing and the digital jpeg files, I never give out the RAW's. My prices go up with each new client but it is incremental. The first producer I did some of his shows for free. From those shows I met allot of people and got allot of paying jobs. However, I get allot of exposure from these jobs and building a precedent in the city for parties and the expectation that a photographer will be present. Currently I am the only one doing this.</p>

<p>I did a wedding in November, my first, and charged $300. I was uncomfortable to ask for more for obvious reasons. The work comes in and I am making money. However, it would not pay the bills or even the overhead as a sole source at this time.</p>

<p>This is year 1, I understand most businesses do not start to turn a profit for the first 3 year when first starting up.</p>

<p>It has been 3 years now that I have been taking photos. It started as a hobby, by chance the first photos I took were for money when I was out playing with my new camera for the first time. I diligently learned, read and experimented and over the years this has resulted in greater skill. In the last 2 years I have had more amd more requests from people to do shoots for them for various reasons. The last year I have actively been building a portfolio, website and client base. Recently I have made a contract with a Party/Rave Producer to shoot all of his shows and promo material. This has snowballed into offers from other Producers for the same services, as well as DJ's wanting press kits and other promo material.<br>

When I first purchased my gear it was with the intent of upgrading the camera body in the future. I bought a EOS 40D. I dumped all of my money into top quality lenses (EF 16-35mm F/2.8L II USM, EF 70-200mm F/2.8L IS II USM , EF 50mm F/1.4 USM) and accessories (Speedlite 580EX II).<br>

I have long term plans. I am building a house outside the city. In about 2 years I will also have an out building for doing studio work there, it will be approximately 30x60 ft with a 15ft peaked ceiling. The studio will be cheap to build as I am salvaging old buildings (barns) for this purpose so mostly just my own labour.<br>

Even though I am gaining a clientele and such I am making little or no money through photography, I do work full time in another field. This is my first year and I am running the photo business part time. I assume I have another few years of this as my reputation and client base grows to where I can ask good compensation. The party shoots have been challenging due to lighting, the photo quality is good and getting better but would benefit from better gear. I would like to upgrade my body to the EOS 5D MkII and get my hands on another lens or two.</p>

<p>1) How did you transition from amateur to professional, time frames, was it bumpy etc?<br>

2) I am making little money but plan/need to upgrade thousands $ in gear that would hurt at this time. Suggestions? Are there reputable used gear sellers around, bad option?<br>

3) Should I hold off on gear upgrades? This could have an impact on business options, my 40D has MANY shutter cycles on it and I have no back-up body, no back-up anything really.<br>

4) How did you balance growing your business with the money output necessary to buy the gear you needed for the job?<br>

5) Any veteran advice you can think of is very much appreciated. I have never run a business of any sort previously, it is kind of learn everything about everything as you go along.</p>

<p>Thank you,<br>

Jason</p><div></div>