Need some opinions on an idea! Good or Bad?

dazftw

Ok so I had an idea awhile ago I made a thread about where to get a permit so I could setup a small sort of stall in red square.

Basically the idea is:

• I want to setup a small studio which would include one studio strobe and softbox.
• Use the carousel and big christmas tree as a background.
• Take photos of families couples etc using this setup.
• Charge €15 for photo, photo on a disc & 10 x 8 print.
• I would be doing this from Thursday (17th) to Thursday(24th) of this month.

This is an example of what I would be doing just with the carousel and tree for a background, photographed from the waist up and horizontal.



So is this Good? Bad?

Im going to find out now tomorrow if I can get a permit for this but I was thinking tonight what do people from Waterford actually think of this?

seanybiker

Good idea. Fairly pricey though, dont ya think.

paddywhippets

great idea man. go for it.
i for one would love a picture in my hometown

dazftw

I thought €15 was cheap!? I had people telling me €30 and I thought that was too much.

€5 goes on the print so thats leaving a €10 profit! With the post processing of the shots and burning the CD's that an extra few hours work.

What would you and other people consider something fair?

lee_

Fair play to ye getting out there and trying something!

If people arent buying then you can drop the price.

dazftw

lee_ wrote: »

Fair play to ye getting out there and trying something!

If people arent buying then you can drop the price.

Yeah thats what I was thinking, I dunno though I think €15 is good. Ive got a good setup that people will see anyway so its not going to look dodgy at all. There getting what i paid for(and still am haha)

peter_sligo

Mr_Moynahan wrote: »

Yeah i hear theyre selling them at carboot sale for about 2euro free roll of film and all save your 15euro for a bigmac or something lads smell of **** off this wannabe entrepreneur.

yeah there the ones ya can get in the car boot sale in kilkenny. ya can get an angus meal on the way back to waterford right before ya take yer own pictures at the carousel

Stokolan

Seems like a good Idea. Not sure if €15 is expensive. All ya can do is try it. if people arnt going for it drop your price a bit.

would also be nice to get the thread tidied up a bit

Professey Chin

Does cold weather mean more trolls here

RxQueen

god i got banned for a lot tamer trolling than this!


i think its a real good idea op, esp the carousel idea... and i dont think €15 quid is to expensive

Sully

Is there something in the air? Seems to be all trolls the last few weeks.

Out ye go.

Topic Cleaned, Iditots Removed

Asmodean

I think its a great idea OP. Fair play to you for taking the initiative.

Farolina81

Go for it! It's good value with disc etc.

Sully

emo!! wrote: »

god i got banned for a lot tamer trolling than this!

I can make it happen again, if you like? Quit being a smartarse and report posts if you have a problem with it.

dazftw

Thanks lads, im just wondering what are peopless opinions on paying for prints before getting them?

The way me and a friend are doing it is take the photos and drop them all to mccauleys to get done and collect them the next day for people to collect.

They would just have to pay 1st so we can pay for prints which are 4.99 each.

Im thinking if I have some sort of written proof of the permit that should do fine.. im also giving out reciepts. Just like they would do in a photo lab.

Woodgate

dazftw wrote: »

Thanks lads, im just wondering what are peopless opinions on paying for prints before getting them?

The way me and a friend are doing it is take the photos and drop them all to mccauleys to get done and collect them the next day for people to collect.

They would just have to pay 1st so we can pay for prints which are 4.99 each.

Im thinking if I have some sort of written proof of the permit that should do fine.. im also giving out reciepts. Just like they would do in a photo lab.

I dont think people would pay in full beforehand, I would suggest a €5 deposit and then if they dont come back you are at no loss.

dazftw

Woodgate wrote: »

I dont think people would pay in full beforehand, I would suggest a €5 deposit and then if they dont come back you are at no loss.

Ah I thought I posted that.. yeah the €5 is just to cover the cost of the prints.

MacGyver

id say deposit is the best idea. i wouldnt pay in full until i saw them. have you a way of people being able to see the shot in a good size before they even pay a deposit.

like if i got a shot taken i want to see that it looks nice before i agree incase i want another shot ( obviously with out p!ss taking). maybe on laptop screen or something ? just not the screen on the camera. other then that it sounds like a good plan.

dazftw

MacGyver wrote: »

id say deposit is the best idea. i wouldnt pay in full until i saw them. have you a way of people being able to see the shot in a good size before they even pay a deposit.

like if i got a shot taken i want to see that it looks nice before i agree incase i want another shot ( obviously with out p!ss taking). maybe on laptop screen or something ? just not the screen on the camera. other then that it sounds like a good plan.

This is what I thought aswell.. I might have a laptop for it but atm im not sure!

If I have to make do, the screen on my camera is decent enough, bigger than most mobile phone screens and a bit smaller than an iphone screen. I can also zoom in and show all the little details as well.

Im hoping for a laptop though.

AdMMM

Sounds like a great idea Daz and a fantastic use of the wonderful scene that is John Roberts Sq at Christmas. Further to some of the advice you've got, I'd recommend bringing along a few fold-up stools or chairs to help with families of all shapes and sizes (e.g. someone might like their child sitting on their lap). One issue I can foresee is the weather, although without setting up marquees and the like, it's something you're at the mercy of!

dazftw

AdMMM wrote: »

Sounds like a great idea Daz and a fantastic use of the wonderful scene that is John Roberts Sq at Christmas. Further to some of the advice you've got, I'd recommend bringing along a few fold-up stools or chairs to help with families of all shapes and sizes (e.g. someone might like their child sitting on their lap). One issue I can foresee is the weather, although without setting up marquees and the like, it's something you're at the mercy of!

haha the weather I know.. it all boils down to that!

I like the chairs idea! I was going to bring one for myself but never thought about the people in the photos!

Thanks!

MacGyver

if ur camera has video out, you could connect it to a cheap 14" tv even. you might pick one up off adverts cheap, something like this is local and not a bad price considering you could sell it off after you were done. http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=163158&cat=all im in no way linked to the ad it was the first local one i found

dazftw

MacGyver wrote: »

if ur camera has video out, you could connect it to a cheap 14" tv even. you might pick one up off adverts cheap, something like this is local and not a bad price considering you could sell it off after you were done. http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=163158&cat=all im in no way linked to the ad it was the first local one i found

Only problem there is power.. but yeah my camera has video out! Its a canon 5D incase anyone might be wondering.

south

dazftw wrote: »

This is what I thought aswell.. I might have a laptop for it but atm im not sure!

If I have to make do, the screen on my camera is decent enough, bigger than most mobile phone screens and a bit smaller than an iphone screen. I can also zoom in and show all the little details as well.

Im hoping for a laptop though.

just take a few before hand of someone you know and have them printed already so people can take a look.

enniscorthy

see you there 3pm sat regards brian

dazftw

south wrote: »

just take a few before hand of someone you know and have them printed already so people can take a look.

There you go problem solved haha! Thanks!

AdMMM

Also, just thought of it there, get a few business cards done up. If people are pleased with your work then it's an easy way for them to contact you and you'll easily get some more work if you're considering taking photography more seriously. It would also add to the professional feel of it which would impress a lot of people and help spread your service by word of mouth.

longshanks

i say go for it. whats the worst that could happen? if its not a success, at least you tried, and got your own face out there. the business cards are a good idea too, raise your own profile a bit. i'd also go with having a few sample pics on hand for people to see before they part with their hard earned. 15 yoyo's doesn't seem too bad either (i'd go with the fiver deposit idea mentioned above). good luck with it chief

dazftw

AdMMM wrote: »

Also, just thought of it there, get a few business cards done up. If people are pleased with your work then it's an easy way for them to contact you and you'll easily get some more work if you're considering taking photography more seriously. It would also add to the professional feel of it which would impress a lot of people and help spread your service by word of mouth.

longshanks wrote: »

i say go for it. whats the worst that could happen? if its not a success, at least you tried, and got your own face out there. the business cards are a good idea too, raise your own profile a bit. i'd also go with having a few sample pics on hand for people to see before they part with their hard earned. 15 yoyo's doesn't seem too bad either (i'd go with the fiver deposit idea mentioned above). good luck with it chief

Yeah ive had a little business card design for god knows how long but never had a chance to use it. If all goes well and im allowed do this ill get some printed and include them with the prints/cds. Photography is pretty much my future career plan.

nkay1985

It sounds like a great idea to me. I really don't know about the pricing though. You say the post-processing of the shots and burning the cds is an extra few hours work. Obviously, burning one image onto a cd will only take a few seconds so is there a lot to do with each picture?

If there genuinely is a lot of work in it, then €15 sounds ok. However if you are going to be charging €15, the examples you'll be showing will have to be really top notch.

If I were you though, I'd be finding a place willing to offer you a discount for getting multiple prints developed. If the normal price is €5, you could probably get them or a competitor down to €4 if you were doing a fair few of them, which I reckon you would be.

The pricing is the key though. It's either going to be €10 or €15. Above €10 is a psychological barrier. If you were to charge €10, you'd need 1.5 times the amount of customers you'd ge at €15. I personally think you'd get that. Because the most important thing is to attract the first few customers. People are a lot more willing to take a punt on something for a tenner than above that. And if your work is then good, the word could get around because people with kids have friends and family around the same age, in the same familial situation who they would be showing the picture.

One more thing I'm wondering is whether there's a reason you'd only be doing it for one week from December 17th? Town is already manic at the weekends and is only going to get busier.

Hope you get good news on the permit anyway. Make sure you let us know.

TheFlatulator

Just wondering the pic you gave as an example is at night which is great for a preset light source, but what have you set up to give the a good image in daylight.

Will have a power source to give any lights juice or are you using poli or a bounce sheets. I think the important thing is to have some sample prints to demonstrate what the outcome will be.

Jambo

Dazftw,

Sorry if im taking the wind out of your sails but legally i think you will require a casual trading licence to set up in any public space from the city council. Also some degree of insurance and public liability will be required. Also other councils usually require any electrical equipment / generators to have been tested and certified safe.

All said I hope it will be an easy process for you and I wish you the best of luck with the venture.

foxylad

contact Michael in Waterford Chamber of Commerce re- permit
or City Council, Honor Dunphy i think - she looks after the market

i know chamber have organised a 12 days of christmas market - might suit it well

best of luck

btw - why not print your own pics on site - the is electricity there
and will look better handing over pics striaght away - and instead of discs - upload pics to a web site that people can access

Mia belle

I think its a nice idea, but will be honest, having to collect at a later date would stop me using it. You would lose a lot of custom too from people only in Waterford shopping for the day.
If you could print them there and then and providing they were good quality I would avail of the service.

old gregg

good idea and best of luck with it, may it bring you a nice bonus for Christmas.

In terms of credibility with potential customers .... would there be any advantage to perhaps hiking the price up to €20 and hooking up with one of the local charities like the The South Eastern Cancer Foundation (picked at random from my addled brain) so that you can make a bit of a deal about donating €5 from each sale to your chosen charity. You get to use their logo on your display board and it gives you an air of acceptance with folks who may be thinking about scams and stuff.

It also means that you are charging a price that can be met with a single bank note which means less hassle for some folks and less change to carry for you.

Just thoughts, it's not my area of speciality so run any of this by someone more objective.

I'll be stopping by for a photo anyway so you've made a sale here.

Brilliant idea #2 - a 70% discount for Boards.ie members
I'll get me coat

dazftw

The chairty actually sounds like a great idea i'll mention that when asking about the permit! As for light source and power I have a battery pack which should last me 800 uses with my lighting setup. We did think about the annoyance of have people collect the next day so were thinking about using email and post to avoid that. I'm going into town now to find out what I can.

lee_

Could you get a printer off of someone and do the Laptop printer thing right there?
It then becomes a 2 person op though.
People want instant gratification these days.

Im sure you have considered this already but it could mean a big big difference in sales

chrism2007

without reading all the comments i will say this.

10 euro sounds like a nice price. at first impressions 15 seems a bit steep.

although you know you have an expensive, high quality setup your target audience probably wont

"stack them high, and sell them cheap"

theres always a queue at stands like this. seen a business like this in Dublin and there must have been 30 people in the queue

better to have a constant queue at 9 or 10 euro than no queue at 15 euro

nyquist

dazftw wrote: »

.... We did think about the annoyance of have people collect the next day so were thinking about using email and post to avoid that. I'm going into town now to find out what I can.

If it was me wanting a photo taken I would rather if you emailed me the picture to allow me to print it or post it on facebook etc.

You could possibly have 2 prices. 1 price for just the photo and the other for the original digital shoot. To be honest it really depends on customer, some are not into computers and would rather the photo then you have people like me who would rather the digital image.

If you have one of those mobile broadband thingys you could try send it there and then for the customer.

If insurance is a thing you need to get sorted you could have a chat to the traders who are there every saturday and ask them what they did. If it becomes a lot of paper work, you could possibly look at another way around this and try get someone to employ you (Boots, Sam McCauley, etc) on a temp 2 week basis.The customer would have to go into the chemist shop to collect photos (preferably same day). You then would be covered under the companies insurance as an employee, they get in customers to shop, you get a wage and everyones a winner.

dazftw

So I applied today at the garda station. I had to fill out a collection form and was told the head guy will take and look and ring me and let me know.

So if all goes well I think this is the final pricing im going to give it.

€10 total

This includes:

6 x 8 print we thought about it and the fact were giving the photo on a disc, a 6 x 8 is fine because they can print bigger if needs be with the full resolution copy they get. If they dont want a print final cost will be €9 prints are working out at 80 cent each.

€1 deposit for that to cover the cost of the print. If they wanted posted instead of collection it will be and extra €2 for envelope and posting(subject to change) email will be free.

Obviously a photo on disc which I will pay for out of my own money. (€15 for a spindle of 100)

and €2 or €1.80 (20%) will go to the WSPCA from each photo taken.

Thats leaves roughly 6 - 7 euro the split between my friend and I.

I think that sounds good!?

maquiladora

It's a good idea, I like it.

seanybiker

Nice one. How long will you have to wait before you find out if you are allowed do it or not.
Best of luck with it.

dazftw

I dunno hopefully soon because I want to start doing up some samples.. If anyone on here wants to help with that, that would be great id give ya copies of the photos.

I kinda wanna get a variety of different amounts of people and see whats the best way of doing.

Thanks for the feedback though its been great!

Mia belle

Ok, from a business point of view I am still not sold . Why do you think people will pay you €10 for a photo that they will either have to return to collect of have it e mailed to them, when they could just take their own pics.
I would imagine it would be mostly parents getting kids photos, or would adults go in for this sort of thing ?
Not trying to put a dampner on it or anything, I'm just wondering would people use it.
We had photos like this done in disney at restaurants etc. A photo was taken at the table then you got it 10 minutes later in a fancy folder with disney etc on it.

dazftw

Mia belle wrote: »

Ok, from a business point of view I am still not sold . Why do you think people will pay you €10 for a photo that they will either have to return to collect of have it e mailed to them, when they could just take their own pics.
I would imagine it would be mostly parents getting kids photos, or would adults go in for this sort of thing ?
Not trying to put a dampner on it or anything, I'm just wondering would people use it.
We had photos like this done in disney at restaurants etc. A photo was taken at the table then you got it 10 minutes later in a fancy folder with disney etc on it.

The difference between my photos and the photos they could take is they wouldn't have professional equipment with them. Im going to be using professional equipment. Ill post the samples up this weekend if I get the go ahead.

I would print it there myself if I had access to a good printer and a power source.

Plus its only a tenner.. and for charity. I actually asked a few folks around town today they all thought it was a good idea, whether or not they would go for it I dont know. All I can do is try right? Where would I be if I didn't try? No where.

abouttobebanned

I saw one of Daz's pics today of a relative of mine. It was absolutely fantastic to be honest. If I had a child i'd definitely pay for a pic like that.

MaxCharlie

good idea. in my opinion i would not be inclined to pay for next day collection. this kind of thing is a impulse purchase so a quick turnaround is important. with e-mail of picture afterwards. i would not give my postal address for hard copy prints to be posted for privacy reasons - even if you have a permit - best of luck. ill keep a look out for your stand

Fr. Jessip

yea its a good idea, nothing wrong with 15 euro either, id say that should be the min

chrism2007

MaxCharlie wrote: »

good idea. in my opinion i would not be inclined to pay for next day collection. this kind of thing is a impulse purchase so a quick turnaround is important. with e-mail of picture afterwards. i would not give my postal address for hard copy prints to be posted for privacy reasons - even if you have a permit - best of luck. ill keep a look out for your stand

good point but i dont see why its anything different to anything else being delivered.

this could be a huge money spinner and make it feel a bit more like christmas in waterford city

lets say he sets it up and everyone asks is it possible to have them printed on the spot, he says no and loses business.

he will just learn a lesson and know what to do next year.

at least hes trying. if i had a child id have it done, and probably half the people who read this would aswell

be positive.

dazftw

If I really wanted, I could setup a printing service there but the downside to that would be id have to charge a heap more. I would have to charge atleast €20 - €25 to pay for a printer, ink, paper and power.. Id also have to pay for those first which I don't have the money for.

Im charing €10 euro which is an absolute bargain tbh, even if you have to collect the next day.

Hey and if it works out great and alot of people use it ill organise printing next year.

chrism2007

id imagine most will go for the postage option

id hate to have to come back into town, pay for parking etc.. just to pick up photos. sounds like a lot of hassle

defo go for it though. ive seen it as a huge success in other cities. waterford is no different

just an idea that popped into my head. could you rent a printer?