Reply To: Making money out of fauxtography

[EyeDocPhotog]

an interesting tangent here…

So, my daughter for years enjoyed Sesame Place in PA for weekend trips during the summer months, and especially the VIP lunch with many Sesame Street characters. In the dining room they have a small 15′ x 15′ area dedicated for a “studio setup” featuring photos of your kids (and you!) with Elmo. It is cordoned off with cones, drapes, even a sesame place employee guarding the area for unauthorized entrance until the employees have officially opened it for shots.

When Elmo appears, the studio swings into operation and everyone lines up akin to a department store Santa. I’ve taken note on more than one occasion that the camera is affixed to a tripod with a wireless trigger for 2 soft-boxes to the left and right of the backdrop and some other continuous lights strewn about – it’s apparent a knowledgeable photog carefully thought it out for reasonably good images. You can take photos yourself, but they designed it so your only view is like 45 degrees or more away from the scene.

BUT, the weak link is in the pictures printed out for the parents. Over the years, the printer was replaced at least twice and the last time we went a few years back the unit was not correctly calibrated and the colors were all “off.” Yellows over-saturated, blues under, and the whole portrait had a pink cast.  On the back of the camera, the image looked much better.

Each photo set (8×10, 4×7 and 10 or so smaller wallets) is $25 which you learn after they take the photo and come around to your table for the sale, and no CD is offered or available. Most everyone buys the photos, but I heard folks last time chattering about the off colors of the prints. But still bought them.

I guess the photog who setup the whole scene is hands off now, and I wonder if he knows the quality of his prints are compromised…