Building a Portfolio

[tipsinartok]

I want to take the jump into possibly offering photography services for people other than friends and family. The goal at this point isn't to make a lot of money, though that would be nice, but to continue building my portfolio and get some word of mouth out there. I don't want to undersell myself either, but I know that I'm still nowhere near the caliber that people here can put out. If I do make enough money, I'd love to take a photography course at the local college, but for now I'm mostly self-taught (I have taken an online course that was pretty helpful though).

I've read through a lot of the links in the sticky above, though the Wiki that is linked from one of them with pro tips isn't working anymore. I just wanted to post my plan of action and get some advice on it. I'd also love some advice/tips on my first few shoots. I've done a few friends, but I find it really hard to pose people and try and set up shots. I guess I should concentrate more on photojournalistic shots, but hopefully doing this I can build up some confidence and get better at posing too.

I hope to concentrate mostly on kids/families, and maternity. Maybe a bit of pets as well, though I don't think I have good enough equipment at the moment for that. (All I have are an external flash, a Canon XS with the kit lens, and a the 50mm f/1.8.) My next camera purchase will hopefully be a lens with better telefocus capabilities and then I hope to start donating time to some local rescues taking pictures of dogs and cats to get some experience doing that.

My plan for now though is to offer my services on a few local sites. Originally I was planning on having a free sitting fee, and then having packages or CD's available to buy. Now I think I will do a $50 sitting fee with the option of getting that back if you don't like any of the images, and being able to apply the fee to any of the packages or CD's that I offer. It's similar to what I was planning originally, only this way they've already given some money up front and I figured they'd be more likely to actually order prints or CD's from me. I figured I could offer a range of CD's, like low-res, minimally edited prints for internet viewing for one price, up to high-res prints suitable for blowing up for a much higher price, as well as print packages.

I'm in the process of building a website. I don't have a Smugmug account, but it will be the very first thing I get when/if I actually get some interest. Other than that, anything else I should be aware of?

Thanks!

[Art Scott]

I will sugest either a Smug acct or acct with another online service that allows the display of your work (portfolio) and the ability to sell the finished portraits on line.....especially if you do not have a full time studio with a portrait sells person to make your sells for you.

I would never offer a money back 0ffer that is asking for trouble.....offering a 2nd or 3rd sitting to fix a prob is waaaay different.

Also you need to specify what reason you allow for re-shooting........I did the "if you don't like I will refund" about 30 yrs ago.....I attracted the worst of the worst for clients.....I had every person that has the I can't be satisfied attitude calling and that is just what happened....most were saying I don;t like but when asked waht they did not like mostly it was my smile, my theeth.....not my work...so I quickly and abruptly changed to if technicallly not correct I will re-shoot.....YOUR TIME is worth something and that is all a sitting fee is for to pay for Your time.....I would make up 3 or 4 packages and offer that instead of offering a sitting ........

[Angelo]

I've read through a lot of the links in the sticky above, though the Wiki that is linked from one of them with pro tips isn't working anymore.

Fixed!

[tipsinartok]

Angelo, thank you! That was quick. I'll go have a read through it.

Art, thanks for the advice. That actually makes a lot of sense and something I hadn't thought of. I like the idea of offering a redo, though I feel like I really have no business charging people at all. I thought if I allowed for money back if not happy, I'd still get the pictures and they wouldn't be out anything. But I could see it being a nightmare. I think I'll not advertise that I'd return the sitting fee, but if someone was really unhappy for good reason and didn't want a redo I'd still likely return it. My biggest problem right now is that we're still fairly new here and I don't have a huge group of friends, so right now my portfolio is extremely limited and I mostly just need some practice on kids other than my own and a good friend of mine's. If I actually generate any interest, I will definitely be getting a Smugmug account to display client's proofs and such, though I'm in Canada so I don't know if I would use them for printing.

[Mnemosyne]

IMO, I would forgo the class. I shot for 2 years before I took my first photo class at school. And I was an editor at my school paper for 2 semesters in that second year.

I took the basic photo class at my school, and they didn't teach me anything I didn't already know from books, talking to other people (especially this forum) and trial and error. Unless you think the class could really help you, I would say save that money for the lens you want. Take pictures of everything you can. I spend most of my family gatherings with the camera in my hand. I rarely get time to talk to anyone anymore. I just shoot nonstop till the batteries run out.

Maybe it was because my dad had shot for decades before I got my first camera, but when I first started, all the little rules I know now seemed to be in the back of my head. I recognized a good photo of mine when I saw it, but didn't know why.

As for charging, you are offering a service. Just like anyone else who gets a paycheck in the world.