[Trainwreck]

Hi Rise!

I couldn’t tell you what you should charge but most of the good portrait shooters I know don’t sell digital files for obvious reasons. It puts them right out of the print aspect and rather than go to a pro print lab the client will invariably have their prints done at a Wal-Mart or the like as a further insult. Then when grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, friends, dogs and cats want prints they don’t have to come through the photographer to get them. This is part of a successful business plan. If, in the rare circumstance they do sell digital files, they are priced with this in mind; i.e. quite expensive.

As an aside this is also a major reason most of today’s fauxtographers will fail. They don’t have a business plan that could possibly succeed.

But having said that (and I wasn’t referring to you or your situation when I did) I presume you would be providing low res files to your client. And presumably you would have the usage limitations spelled out in your contract. This is what I would base my pricing on if I were in your position.

More usage permitted, the higher the pricing. And I would probably be looking at a minimum of my regular print pricing (again depending on usage terms).

If prints are a large part of your margin, than I certainly wouldn’t want to lose that margin to a digital file.

[Trainwreck]

Well hmm…

Sometimes miracles never cease!

[Trainwreck]

Well, I’ll try a test post!

Please bear with me as I fail miserably!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/125044926@N07/14341804461/

[Trainwreck]

Good point Doc.

Guess it does’t hurt to ask though.  I would love to hear a buyer’s POV here.

 

[Trainwreck]

Thank you for that cameraclicker.  I kind of thought that might be the case after following your image links.

I kind of wanted to post a couple of things but looking like it might be more trouble than its worth.  Especially since I don’t have a Flickr account!

Maybe its time I got one.

[Trainwreck]

I’m just curious anonymous user?

As a buyer you are in a unique position on a forum of pho/fauxtographers.

Are you at liberty or have the desire to say what you do, what kind of photography you require (portrait, product, wedding, etc.) what you look for, whether you work with photographers directly and on site creatively. And if so what qualities do you look for in a photographer and their photography. Your typical end use. What you require in a contract as far as licensing, etc. And maybe even some success/failure annecdotes?

Just a theory. If you would rather not say anonymous user it would be perfectly understandable. But it would certainly give a unique perspective from the other end of the spectrum that is rare to have sometimes.

[Trainwreck]

Well alllllllllllllrighty then VK!

I really didn’t think you would come up with answers on here but am impressed that you gave the questions some thought. That speaks well of you. It sounds as if you have given the whole situation a good bit of consideration. There is nothing wrong with not knowing something and admitting as much.

Right or wrong, what’s done is done. It would be counterproductive to dwell on what education you received or didn’t receive in the past as regards whatever school/classes you attended. You at least should now know enough to know that there is always a lot you don’t know! And that is a beautiful thing because you are now in a great position to really kick in an awesome learning experience.

VK I hope you realize that you are getting some excellent advice here (and not everyone does) from some capable folks. Also note the excellent educational materials that have been recommended. That cameraclicker went to the trouble to give us (and others) that little demo speaks volumes.

So here would be my general suggestion at this point. In your Photographic Journey, take each of these facets of photography one by one. Practice and practice each one until you master it as it relates to the genre you want to shoot. Then (and only then) move to the next one. Learn good techniques for hand retouching a portrait (and Kelby has an excellent book on that you could keep on your desk for reference). Practice your lighting. Get your flash off-camera and when you have to have it onboard learn how to bounce it to get short/broad, whatever you need to have at the time (rather than a full-on nuke!). And the list goes on. Once done, then (and only then), you can shoot successfully in any situation. And that is the definition of a Professional.

As I said before, the best investment you can make is in yourself. It will take time. It will be huge amounts of fun. It will be unbelievably rewarding. Play for the long game. Shoot second for an established wedding shooter in your area. Set yourself above the fauxtographer. It seems to me that you have both the desire and the potential. Everyone sees things other people don’t. What everyone can’t do (as seen constantly on this website) is translate that into a beautiful photograph.

Make that your mission. It will be worth the effort.

[Trainwreck]

Great VK!

Again my intention wasn’t to get you to answer them here necessarily. That you can answer them to yourself is enough.

[Trainwreck]

Also VK? If by chance you don’t know a couple of the above questions (or anything else) and would like to? Probably all you would have to do is ask.

I know I’ll help all I can (however much that may be).

[Trainwreck]

Hi VK!

Just a theory. If you can answer them all great! I don’t need the answers myself.

I was just hoping to provoke some thought in (hopefully) a non-hostile, friendly way.

[Trainwreck]

Hi VampireKetsuki,

If you are still monitoring your thread?

I had a peek at some of the photos you put up for critique. I wouldn’t go into detail trying to comment on this number of shots, and especially since others already have. But after viewing some of your stuff I would pose a question or two, if I may, for your consideration. I’m not grilling you but I definitely think you, or anyone else considering a career in wedding photography, should be asking themselves these questions (and more).

Could you say that you thoroughly understand basic rules of composition and cropping? And explain the do’s and don’ts of said as it pertains to portraiture? Until you understand the rules you can’t successfully break them. This includes background, framing, use of positive and negative space, how and where to crop a portrait, just to name a couple.

Do you have a digital post production workflow that is disciplined, efficient, and makes sense? How do you deal with attaining correct color balance for one thing? And this before getting “artsy”. Do you shoot RAW or .jpg and why? Do you have the ability to batch-process? Do you understand when, why and how to sharpen? Do you understand how to process for print? Can you create a proof sheet?

Do you know how to shoot people wearing glasses and what tricks can be done with them to eliminate glare? Do you know how to watch for this phenomenon? Do you understand the Family of Angles? Do you know what the angle of incidence is? The angle of reflection? How they relate?

If you absolutely have to shoot in harsh sunlight do you know what techniques and equipment to use to help mitigate the harsh lighting and why?

Do you know and understand the primary rule for mitigating noise when shooting at high ISO values in low light?

Could you explain the difference between short and broad lighting and what effect it has on any given subject? When to use which and how to get either in natural lighting conditions? Do you understand the use of off-camera provided lighting and how to use your camera settings to best advantage when using said? How to mix ambient with provided? Do you know what on-axis lighting is?

Do you understand the effects of “keystoning” and perspective distortion and how to correct it or avoid it entirely? Do you know what causes converging and diverging lines?
Can you shoot one outstanding, well lit, properly framed, well posed, classic portrait and properly retouch it (without hiding behind effects, blur, or “artsy”)? Explain everything you did and why you did it?

Do you have a second shooter/VAL.

Do you use proper redundancy? If your camera goes south or you drop a lens in the punchbowl what then? What lenses on how many and what kinds of cameras do you use? What other things require redundancy?

Do you have a necessary shot list? Do you discuss this with the B&G at the pre-conference?

Do you assess the location/lighting you are shooting in before the event? Do you liaise with the people in charge of the location prior to the event to ascertain what is allowed and what isn’t and what you hope to be doing? What if it rains? Do you make contingency plans?

Do you realize wedding photographers are the most sued genre of photography? Do you have insurance and can provide proof on demand? Do you pay taxes on this income? Are you a registered licensed business with proper ID numbers?

Do you have a clear and understandable contract that is discussed and perused at the pre-conference with your Clients?

VK you need to understand that the successful pros use tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment. And they know how and why to use every bit of it. They understand all of the techniques and tricks. You can’t attain the professionalism you are hoping to hear you have without all these things and knowing the answers to all of my questions and more. And I’m just naming a very few off the top. Hell hath no fury like a Bride scorned when on her most special day ever you dropped the ball. So you can’t successfully and consistently show up with an entry-level camera body and one kit zoom and little understanding about how to use even that.

You have some potential as far as I can see. And you have done well coming here to get some critique. Pretty brave and I can see one needs to also be thick-skinned! Wedding photography is a big deal. Maybe one of the most demanding genres going. You have received some good (if sometimes harsh) advice. In fact, cameraclicker’s advice doesn’t get any better and is some of the best advice I’ve seen posted anywhere. We are lucky to get it.

But the very best and most important investment you can make is in yourself. Get the experience, the education, the understanding before you start asking others to pay their hard-earned money for the lack thereof. Then you’ll get it right.

[Author]

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