Instant Photography Idea

tacofries

Hello folks,

I have yet another idea that I am looking for opinions on!

I am thinking of buying a portable lab standard printer and decent camera. I can get kitted out with all equipment for about €800. I plan to take photos' of tourists /families at attractions such as the greenway in mayo,cragh patrick, santas grottos and other local attractions, then print the photo on the spot(in 60 seconds) and package it in a little mount like you get at the zoo. Photos would cost no less than €4 and no more than €5. This is due to the cost per print of €0.40 then packaging which costs €1.40.

Questions for ye guys are:

1) Would you use the service?
2) How much would you pay to have your photo taken/printed/packaged?
3) Would you rather the photo packaged in a cardboard picture frame mount, or a branded frame that opens up like a card?
4) Would you rather just take a picture, for free, yourself with your smartphone?
5) What footfall do you think I would need in order to sell in the region of 70 photos a day?
6) Any other advice/opinions?

Thanks for any and all opinions!
Taco out

jimmii

Not something I would use but you see tourists here going in for that sort of thing!

1) No
2) I guess if I was going to get it down €4/€5 wouldn't be too bad if it was packaged nicely.
3) One that opens up like a card with a picture of the location on.
4) Yes that would be the option I would go for!
5) I think it would have to be HUGE. Hard to know what % of people would be interested but I would think you would be looking at <1% in most locations I think it depends on where you are though the higher the percentage of people visiting the country the higher the percentage of people who will be interested.
6) See if you can rent the equipment and give it a trial run for 4 or 5 days I would also imagine it being tough to find anywhere with the footfall needed outside of the summer months.

Fukuyama

Surly digital cameras and Facebook have obliterated this kind of thing?

I was at the zoo a few months ago. It was busy but nobody seemed to be buying the photos they had taken by the chap on the way in.

I'd also wager that what market there is for this would be largely families with kids.

The only other people I know who are into the whole framed photograph thing are girls - normally given to one another as presents or some such on birthdays etc...

Possibly American tourists on the Cliffs of Moher?

I can't see it being popular unless you get a good location. And there arn't many on Ireland....especially on a rainy October evening.

EDIT: Good idea keeping it below the €5 mark though. I hate how people rip off tourists here sometimes.

tacofries

Dean0088 wrote: »

Surly digital cameras and Facebook have obliterated this kind of thing?

I'd also wager that what market there is for this would be largely families with kids.


Possibly American tourists on the Cliffs of Moher?

I can't see it being popular unless you get a good location. And there arn't many on Ireland....especially on a rainy October .

It would really just be for the summer months as I am in college however I would try and do events as well such as music festivals!

Croagh Patrick in Mayo gets a lot of tourists. Fair enough its usually older tourists but the older people have that bit of discretionary expenditure and they also love to show their families what they got up to on their holidays.

I also have another location in mind that has a footfall of 100, 000 a year, the majority of which is in july and august and is made up of familes and stag/hen parties! Only downside is the attraction would demand approx 20percent of revenue and thus I would need to charge a €5a photo!

Another option I am contemplating is providing the service at knock but instead of in a photo frame, the photo will come as a personalised post card with a prayer on the back. Purely taking advantage of the old holy ones like my grandmother! !!!

If I made €3500 profit in the sumner (I.e. sell 2000 photos mainly in july/august) I would be very very happy. 250 photos a week = 50 photos per day per 5 day week... Obviously due to the influence of weather sale numbers would need to be higher on certain days!

Fukuyama

tacofries wrote: »

It would really just be for the summer months as I am in college however I would try and do events as well such as music festivals!

Croagh Patrick in Mayo gets a lot of tourists. Fair enough its usually older tourists but the older people have that bit of discretionary expenditure and they also love to show their families what they got up to on their holidays.

I also have another location in mind that has a footfall of 100, 000 a year, the majority of which is in july and august and is made up of familes and stag/hen parties! Only downside is the attraction would demand approx 20percent of revenue and thus I would need to charge a €5a photo!

Another option I am contemplating is providing the service at knock but instead of in a photo frame, the photo will come as a personalised post card with a prayer on the back. Purely taking advantage of the old holy ones like my grandmother! !!!

If I made €3500 profit in the sumner (I.e. sell 2000 photos mainly in july/august) I would be very very happy. 250 photos a week = 50 photos per day per 5 day week... Obviously due to the influence of weather sale numbers would need to be higher on certain days!

I guess if you can locate yourself in an area where people will buy one on the spur of the moment...

There's a chap on Grafton street with a little leprechaun suit set up. Basically, you can stick your head through a fabric opening and have your picture taken as a leprechaun.

I passed by a few times during the good weather and he had a few tourists taking interest. So maybe something along those lines?

Also, 50 photos a day MIGHT be pushing it. These guys never seem THAT busy.

sandin

Some people will say this market is taken by camera phones, but I would counteract and say for some sections of the market it would still work.

At some attractions you will have to pay a fee.

But the general idea is good and you are going the right way of thought by realising you need several venues and several different occasions.

As well as pay per photo, you could offer to cover an event for a fee - a main birthday or other once off family event where a memento of the day is nice to have.

School events, 1st day at school, school plays etc.

Could be a nice little earner during college - I hope you are doing a business related course, if not you should be!

stcstc

how you going to show people the images?

your cost price seems a little high if your just talking about materials costs

and your capitol cost seem very low too

there are people and businesses that do this and do it well

but most of them are the owners of the centre or have paid a fee to be allowed to operate there

tacofries

stcstc wrote: »

how you going to show people the images?

your cost price seems a little high if your just talking about materials costs

and your capitol cost seem very low too

there are people and businesses that do this and do it well

but most of them are the owners of the centre or have paid a fee to be allowed to operate there

I have 2 options relating showing people images- 1 is to not show them, just print it off immediately and hope for the best. The second is to have an ipad or tablet around my neck. This method would be much more affective as when people see the photo with a few props (such as wigs and swords etc.) they will be much more likely to impulse buy, especially if they have children! This would add another €400 to the start up costs however.

Cost price is high unfortunately. This is simply due to the photo holder. If I could get that made for €0.50 I would be onto a winner as I could then charge €3 for a photo which is very reasonable. I am going to look into how much it would cost to make them myself!

If I go to the area with a footfall of 100,00 I would have to pay over a percentage of my revenue to them. I would most likely need insurance as well. Thus I am leaning towards areas that are not privately owned. This is also why I am going to get a portable printer that needs no mains power. I could operate on the quiet so to say for a few months without insurance or a trading licience untill things get up and running!

Keep the replies coming folks! Thanks!

Fukuyama

tacofries wrote: »

I have 2 options relating showing people images- 1 is to not show them, just print it off immediately and hope for the best. The second is to have an ipad or tablet around my neck. This method would be much more affective as when people see the photo with a few props (such as wigs and swords etc.) they will be much more likely to impulse buy, especially if they have children! This would add another €400 to the start up costs however.

??

Surly a laptop would be far better at this than an iPad? Also, I'm assuming you already have a laptop.

It'd work with any camera, has good battery and software would be a breeze. Hooking up to a printer would work too. HAve you looked into portable power supplies for the printer?

With an iPad you're just buying an expensive screen that doesn't do much.

You could also set the laptop to play a slideshow of previous customer photos.

Graham

I think a tablet with a good screen is a good idea, you can lift it to show people, it has built in photo-editing software. It's portable. You don't need a desk/table. It has a full day battery life.

A case with a neck strap would also keep it very secure but out of the way when you didn't need it.

Doesn't need to be a new one either, a 2nd hand one would probably be a better bet.

If you can find the right printer, you can AirPrint (or Android equivalent) without needing cables trailing anywhere.

There are a few battery operated inkjet printers on the market, not sure about photo quality ones with decent print speed though.

stcstc

tacofries wrote: »

I have 2 options relating showing people images- 1 is to not show them, just print it off immediately and hope for the best. The second is to have an ipad or tablet around my neck. This method would be much more affective as when people see the photo with a few props (such as wigs and swords etc.) they will be much more likely to impulse buy, especially if they have children! This would add another €400 to the start up costs however.

Cost price is high unfortunately. This is simply due to the photo holder. If I could get that made for €0.50 I would be onto a winner as I could then charge €3 for a photo which is very reasonable. I am going to look into how much it would cost to make them myself!

If I go to the area with a footfall of 100,00 I would have to pay over a percentage of my revenue to them. I would most likely need insurance as well. Thus I am leaning towards areas that are not privately owned. This is also why I am going to get a portable printer that needs no mains power. I could operate on the quiet so to say for a few months without insurance or a trading licience untill things get up and running!

Keep the replies coming folks! Thanks!

i think you will find you need to print, then write off ones that dont get bought

you costs are high, what i ment is you can do it for less. slip in folders you can buy for around 50 cent each

i think you are underestimating how much extra costs you will have like writing off nes or false prints etc etc

Graham

stcstc wrote: »

i think you will find you need to print, then write off ones that dont get bought

You need to work out your costs per print and your conversion rate before going down this route.

Inkjet printing and photo paper costs would soon make the project uneconomic if you only sold 1 in 10.

tacofries

stcstc wrote: »

i think you will find you need to print, then write off ones that dont get bought

you costs are high, what i ment is you can do it for less. slip in folders you can buy for around 50 cent each

I would only print it off if they wanted to buy it! I'd be using a good camera and a dye-sublimation printer so if the customer said they would buy it as long as it was off good quality then I would have no worry with wastage or change of mind!

Would you have any link to where you can buy them! I have searched and the cheapest is €1 and they're not even customised!!!

Dean0088 wrote: »

??

Surly a laptop would be far better at this than an iPad? Also, I'm assuming you already have a laptop.

I want to be fully portable. With a laptop I would need a table/stand, and as soon as this comes into it there is trading licience fee of €1500 and mandatory stall holder insurance of €280 making it way to expensive! The printer I'll be getting hangs around you neck in a carrier bag and operates of a rechargeable battery, thus I would have nothing holding me to one place!

Graham wrote: »

If you can find the right printer, you can AirPrint (or Android equivalent) without needing cables trailing anywhere.

If I didnt show the customer the phot before printing it would be realatively straightforward as I would only need 1 wire connecting the camera directly to the printer! With the tablet however things become quite a bit more complicated unfortunately!

stcstc

http://www.photovalue.com/

those guys make them, based in clodalkin

tacofries

stcstc wrote: »

http://www.photovalue.com/

those guys make them, based in clodalkin

Thanks for the link! They're the cheapest I have seen by quiet a bit, but it works out at €0.63 each and thats without any customisation! I will give them a ring Monday and see how much it would cost to get the product to suit my needs. If anyone else knows any other companies making them could you send us a link!

Red Nissan

We've all tried this, the biggest stumbling block is someone else has the 'rights' and don't take kindly to anyone trying to muscle in.

Santa grottos have traditionally been setup by a local photographer or photo studio, as are Halloween caves and anyone new to the business must be vetted. Locally, the largest retail sector threw all us Santa Photogs out and installed a free Santa and take your own picture and they also did away with the 'grotto' and Santa now is in full view in the aisles.

A mobile printing unit is almost unserviceable, the handiest idea so far is the Canon 6x4" printer that one can run on batteries and have WiFi connectivity to a Canon WiFi enabled camera ~ but that comes at a cost, approx €2,000 for the camera and another 5~800 for the WiFi and approx €120 for the printer and €300 per case of cassettes [€1.50 cost per print].

You won't cut it on an inkjet in a mobile situation, ink costs and paper make a 10x8" nearly €3 and another 60C for the folder.

I get €20 a 10x8" in a folder delivered, I need €7 for a 6x4" but that's a hard sell. Finding places to work is the hardest part and child protection laws has made it even harder again, even though I am always approaching the child's parents ~ some places just no longer allow it at all.

On any given day you'll make some money, people will buy for the 'novelty' but you'll need other income, a business it is no longer, sadly.

tacofries

Red Nissan wrote: »

A mobile printing unit is almost unserviceable,

You won't cut it on an inkjet in a mobile situation, ink costs and paper make a 10x8" nearly €3 and another 60C for the folder.


On any given day you'll make some money, people will buy for the 'novelty' but you'll need other income, a business it is no longer, sadly.

Hi Red, What do you mean by almost unserviceable? I have sourced a printer that will print a 6 x 4 in 63 seconds at 40cent each. just the folder is costing me a euro! Where do you get your folders from? I would just need to make €3500 profit in the summer and I would be extremely happy. Really just want to have my own business as well..... like really really want to be my own man!!!!

stcstc

you can get dyesub that will print 6*4 in 7 or 8 secs, anc cost price per print is around 20 cent

prob is electric

tacofries

stcstc wrote: »

you can get dyesub that will print 6*4 in 7 or 8 secs, anc cost price per print is around 20 cent

prob is electric

Your right there, just as you said they're mains powered thus stall holder insurance + trading licience fee outweigh the benefits of cheap fast prints! The equipment is up on €1200 alone without the wifi capabilites which you would need with a printer like that!

stcstc

1200 is not a lot of money thought for kits to do this

customers of mine who do event type stuff, will have 10-20 or even 30 k worth of kit in the back or van or car

Red Nissan

tacofries wrote: »

Hi Red, What do you mean by almost unserviceable? I have sourced a printer that will print a 6 x 4 in 63 seconds at 40cent each. !!

By mobile printing I meant a laptop connected to a camera connected to a printer, AND trying to move around, it's been mentioned in the thread already, I had not read down before replying.

Over the shoulder printing can work, one needs to be an octopus though and a strong man, a few folders, printing cassettes and the 'light' printer become heavy enough.

Photovalue, link provided in another post. They are excellent and to JIT and COD which is a blessing in a cash business.

I can't remember the printer we used, it was a small Canon printer with WiFi, a three pass job in an out, needs a little room to do it's thing, it can be hand portable and run on batteries and it was €30 a cassette but bought by the case of ten and I think 25 sheets. It was photo realistic and not the cheap sub dye shimmer stuff.

Fukuyama

tacofries wrote: »

I would only print it off if they wanted to buy it! I'd be using a good camera and a dye-sublimation printer so if the customer said they would buy it as long as it was off good quality then I would have no worry with wastage or change of mind!

Would you have any link to where you can buy them! I have searched and the cheapest is €1 and they're not even customised!!!

I want to be fully portable. With a laptop I would need a table/stand, and as soon as this comes into it there is trading licience fee of €1500 and mandatory stall holder insurance of €280 making it way to expensive! The printer I'll be getting hangs around you neck in a carrier bag and operates of a rechargeable battery, thus I would have nothing holding me to one place!

If I didnt show the customer the phot before printing it would be realatively straightforward as I would only need 1 wire connecting the camera directly to the printer! With the tablet however things become quite a bit more complicated unfortunately!

Ahh I see.

Better go with a tablet then. I still wouldn't recommend an iPad, however. Go to Harvey Norman and buy a decent Android one for half the price. Or better yet, go second hand.

Keep an eye out for events and maybe customise your offering to the day.

Imagine how much cash you'd of raked in at FlightFest?!! Thousands of families all waiting around, bored etc... It'd be shooting fish in a barrel.

On rainy days, see if you can get into the likes of Sea World in bray (I'm assuming it's still open). :pac:

tricky D

I was in the US recently and came across this type of setup on 2 occasions at the California Academy of Sciences and at the start of the Grand Canyon heli tour. Both charged $20 and you'd pick up your 'snap' in a custom A4 folder later at the end of your journey. There was 2 significant differences in MO. The CAS photos were optional in both taking and purchasing, but the heli tour guys took a photo of everyone just before take-off and there would be a folder for everyone on return which was optional to buy. The heli op has a few things worth noting wrt market positioning/pricing: the tour is a high cost at a min $250, is a trip of a lifetime item and over an hour long, so a marginal $20 doesn't seem like so much and with say roughly 4 tours running an hour and taking about an hour, there's plenty of time (15 mins) to print off up to 8/9 photos and slide them in the folders and mount them in the arrivals display area. Of my trip 5 out of 6 passengers bought. None in my party had planned initially to buy, but once you see the end product in your hands later, when you're buzzing off the experience, the hooks get in and the $20 comes out easily. So if you can try to get close to that type of scenario you could be in clover.

Peterdalkey

Talk to a printer, they can pretty all much offer a folded customised greeting card style holder nicely printed with appropriate grahics for the attraction. They should have die cut corner slots to hold the pic! Should be under 20c a piece at a guess!

MagicMarker

I'm amazed the most important question hasn't been asked yet.

Are you actually a photographer? Do you know how to use a DSLR properly?

Corkbah

MagicMarker wrote: »

I'm amazed the most important question hasn't been asked yet.

Are you actually a photographer? Do you know how to use a DSLR properly?

to be fair the OP never mentioned a DSLR !! (at least I dont remember them saying so)

I see several plans with your flaw OP. (yes - deliberate switch of words)

the setup is pointless unless you have clients and to be honest - you dont have clients you are hoping for after sales.

if you are at a "tourist site" - you'll more than likely be on private/OPW property ? there are tonnes of costs involved that you seem to be missing ...insurance, equipment (replacement equipment). etc

what would you do OP if the equipment is stolen ? where do you park your vehicle (guessing you'll need to use a vehicle to transport the equipment) ? what happens if the printer breaks on the Saturday of a Bank holiday .... do you plan on having a replacement ready ? (thats more costs) ... or if the camera drops accidentally ? ...or if a tourist doesn't have euro's but has dollars or yen, or bhat .... do you accept ?

Do you also intend paying the various taxes and informing revenue of your work ? (always a sore point when it comes to people thinking they have a great photography idea)

the idea would have been great in the 60/70's and 80's when it was done - there was a guy on Dublin's O'Connell Street who would take your pic and give you a ticket, you would then goto the address on the ticket and buy your image, similar things were done in other parts of the country ...however, with digital photography .... why would anyone pay for someone to take their photo ...GOD knows ...everyone is a photographer these days ...and many of them with facebook accounts are professional and making money.

OP ... if you really wanted to do this.... learn event photography , learn about photography, learn about the true costs involved and then invest and hope it works,..... but be prepared to stand for hours on end.....day in ...day out .... same place ...some days earning nothing other days earning a couple of euro, after a few months/years you'll probably make it...but in the meantime.

you do realise OP that there was cameras in the past which printed the image right there and then .... built in printers !! (instant images) ....with this in mind wonder why polaroid stopped making profits ... the market has changed - people do NOT value photography anymore.

tacofries

MagicMarker wrote: »

I'm amazed the most important question hasn't been asked yet.

Are you actually a photographer? Do you know how to use a DSLR properly?

Im not a photographer.. However all I need to be able to do is to take a good quality photo in outdoor conditions... i think!

Totally agree on really going for the impulse buy showing customers what they're getting!

Corkbah

tacofries wrote: »

Im not a photographer.. However all I need to be able to do is to take a good quality photo in outdoor conditions... i think!

Totally agree on really going for the impulse buy showing customers what they're getting!

why would people want to buy a "good" photo ? people want the best as cheap as possible .

your ability to take a photo in this situation is not really important as its the camera that would be doing most of the work.

you do need marketing skills, a personality and ability to upsell or another person to handle the printing/sales while you do the photography.

tacofries

Corkbah wrote: »

to be fair the OP never mentioned a DSLR !! (at least I dont remember them saying so)



what would you do OP if the equipment is stolen ? where do you park your vehicle (guessing you'll need to use a vehicle to transport the equipment) ? what happens if the printer breaks on the Saturday of a Bank holiday .... do you plan on having a replacement ready ? (thats more costs) ... or if the camera drops accidentally ? ...or if a tourist doesn't have euro's but has dollars or yen, or bhat .... do you accept ?

Other qustions are pretty much covered earlier on in the post! equipment would be covered on house insurance I would say as the value is under €3000 and I have an interest in printing my own photos for personal use If the printer breaks I would have to suffer the loss of business. I would be willing to take this chance at the start of the business though and not have a replacement as I couldn't afford it! Surely the vast majority of tourists are going to have euro's as they need it to get buy in Ireland anyway!! Thanks for the reply

stcstc

think you will find once you start earning money from any of the equipment on your house insurance its no longer covered

sandin

You'd swear by some of the answers here that the OP is about to open a €100k operation in the middle of a love/hate scene.

He's a student with an idea for summer work that hopefully will give him some income and learn about business.

His earnings will be well below the 10k threshold for tax, he doesn't have a family or mortgage (at least it seems that he doesn't)

Any decent entrepreneur HAS to take risks. the best time to take risks is when you don't have financial/family ties.

I say go for it - if it doesn't work, find out why and learn from it, but from your posts my guess is you are not expecting to make a fortune and its a low priced entry into operating your own business, and the learning you get from operating a business in the real world, even a small one like this, is immeasurable.

Corkbah

sandin wrote: »

You'd swear by some of the answers here that the OP is about to open a €100k operation in the middle of a love/hate scene.

He's a student with an idea for summer work that hopefully will give him some income and learn about business.

His earnings will be well below the 10k threshold for tax, he doesn't have a family or mortgage (at least it seems that he doesn't)

Any decent entrepreneur HAS to take risks. the best time to take risks is when you don't have financial/family ties.

I say go for it - if it doesn't work, find out why and learn from it, but from your posts my guess is you are not expecting to make a fortune and its a low priced entry into operating your own business, and the learning you get from operating a business in the real world, even a small one like this, is immeasurable.

there is no threshhold for tax ... ALL income should be declared and tax paid on it.

there is a difference between doing a job/offering a service and having an idea for some summer work .... the difference is professionalism.

to be honest it is very unlikely that the OP will be successful in this venture without investing proper money (money which most students dont have) - to do the "job" properly and offer a professional service a person simply cant look like an amateur - they need to know how to operate and behave as a professional.

would you buy a photograph from someone who doesn't appear to be professional ?

OP - my advice is not to go ahead with it - its unlikely to be a winner.....but if you really want to try it .... make the enquiry's with the OPW and relevant authorities about what you need (various licences etc)

OP ... a cheaper option would be to simply email the images to the people - for a fee of €2 or €2.50 .... it allows you to have less costs and gives you another option to offer prospective clients....to be honest, the vast majority of 18-20yr olds are not going to be able to convince a tourist in their 30's, 40's 50's that they should use this "photography" service...I wish you the best of luck OP but like starting most photography jobs.... it will take a LOT of dedication (10-12hour days 7 days a week)...any time you stop working is potentially time spent missing clients and missing opportunities to earn money.

sandin

Corkbah wrote: »

there is no threshhold for tax ... ALL income should be declared and tax paid on it.

0% USC 0% prsi & 0% paye on amounts under 10k.

He naturally has to declare it, but with a target of €3500, he will not need to worry about paying tax as no tax will be due.

Corkbah

sandin wrote: »

0% USC 0% prsi & 0% paye on amounts under 10k.

He naturally has to declare it, but with a target of €3500, he will not need to worry about paying tax as no tax will be due.

you are assuming the person does not work throughout the tax year and/or wont work outside of this venture throughout the tax year.

We dont know if the OP is in receipt of social welfare or full-time student with or without a part-time job.... he has a target of €3,500 profit to the best of my knowledge (over a period of 2.5-3months) ... and at best he is willing to invest in a dye-sub printer (although the printing a 6x4 in 60 seconds is way off the mark for a quality dye sub), he is willing to invest in an iPad or similar (approx €500ish) and has mentioned a decent quality camera.

all in - he is looking at investing a decent amount of money for a job which I personally don't think its possible to get a decent return (if he was a 50yr old with previous sales/marketing experience I would say go for it - but he is a student with nothing but enthusiasm and a dream)

Sometimes you just need enthusiasm and a dream (and a dollop of money,luck and good timing)....but in todays world he could be facing serious issues if someone decides to trip and fall because of his equipment or if someone is injured due to his fault (its unlikely but that is what insurance is for ...to cover the unlikely event that X might happen) ...and relying on house contents insurance ...I'm also guessing he would not be the policy holder and would not be able to claim in the event of loss.... home insurance wont cover personal indemnity or public liability.

tacofries

Corkbah wrote: »

)

OP ... a cheaper option would be to simply email the images to the people - for a fee of €2 or €2.50 .... it allows you to have less costs and gives you another option to offer prospective clients....to be honest, the vast majority of 18-20yr olds are not going to be able to convince a tourist in their 30's, 40's 50's that they should use this "photography" service...I wish you the best of luck OP but like starting most photography jobs.... it will take a LOT of dedication (10-12hour days 7 days a week)...any time you stop working is potentially time spent missing clients and missing opportunities to earn money.

But why would people pay to have their photo emailed to them? Its really the impulse buy where people see the packaging and are caught up in the moment that would make this business work.

tacofries

Corkbah wrote: »

and at best he is willing to invest in a dye-sub printer (although the printing a 6x4 in 60 seconds is way off the mark for a quality dye sub),

all in - he is looking at investing a decent amount of money for a job which I personally don't think its possible to get a decent return (if he was a 50yr old with previous sales/marketing experience I would say go for it - but he is a student with nothing but enthusiasm and a dream)

I have a job which I would hold onto for the first few weeks untill I physically can see the business working out. I would have to pay no tax as I would be under the 10,000k threshold!

The dye-sub is a quality printer for my expected need.. Fair enough if I was at a fixed location with mains power supply and printing of 20 photos minimum an hour I would need a faster spec, but reality is I wil be looking to sell 10 an hour (even 5 photos an hour would turn a minimum wage).

If I was a 50year old I would'nt touch the idea because its a seasonal business with fairly low returns! I am however a student so the summertime is my only chance to make proper money! I have no debts etc so nothing holding me back! Also how does the 50 year old you mention get his experience!?

I have to disagree and say that I do have a lot more than just enthuasiasm and a dream. I am fairly savy, brilliant with interacting with customers and good with numbers. I also think the fact that I am young is most definitely a major benefit, and in no way at all would hamper a professionalist image.

If people pay €4 to have their photo taken on the side of a mountain they are not going to expect, nor get, the most professional and well equipped service with green screens, 6 second printers etc. They will however get a one off product which will be unique and individual, all while being very near the highest of standards. Photo quality will be brilliant, Packaging will be enticing, customer interaction will be warm and price is competitive. What more could someone expect? ( and please don't say it is this 'what more could someone expect attitude' that shows I am not ready for business!)

Fukuyama

Um. It's not like he's setting up a management consultancy or whatever. He needs the most basic level of professionalism most of us have from working retail at some point.

Be presentable, neatly dresses, please, thank you etc...:rolleyes:

Edit: And if it all goes tits up, he'd have learned something and the equipment (iPad, camera etc) hold their value quite well so he could sell them on easily. No harm done.

Corkbah

Dean0088 wrote: »

Um. It's not like he's setting up a management consultancy or whatever. He needs the most basic level of professionalism most of us have from working retail at some point.

Be presentable, neatly dresses, please, thank you etc...:rolleyes:

Edit: And if it all goes tits up, he'd have learned something and the equipment (iPad, camera etc) hold their value quite well so he could sell them on easily. No harm done.

you must not have tried selling any new (or nearly new) piece of electrical equipment anytime recently.

photography equipment in particular drops significantly in the secondhand market....no matter what price you paid you will be lucky to get 60% of the original price...no matter thats for another day.

OP ...if you do it , be sure to keep us informed, personally I dont think it will work as its too much work for too little reward....I think others have already indicated some of the problems you may encounter - ie. permission to commercially operate on the site, various insurances required, etc ,.....as well as organising yourself to maximise your workflow.

I will pay you a visit and purchase images from you and give you feedback - I'm sure other boardsies would be interested in giving you feedback if you are interested in making a couple of extra sales.

ironclaw

I have a friend who does this type of work on an ad-hoc basis. Normally the likes of Santa grotto's etc. But thats all it is, on the side, if he isn't busy type of work. His main earner is professional, high end events and photo shoots.

I don't think this is an earner purely as all the sites you mentioned are either private or state managed, you cannot just walk up and start taking photos of people and selling them. If it was allowed, I'd imagine there would already be one or two operators at the Cliff of Moher. The fact that there isn't speaks volumes.

Fukuyama

OP, if I were you I'd set up a simple Google Calandar.

Find out when events with excess of 5,000 people will be on. There are tonnes of events that fly beneath the main public's radar purely because they cater for specific tastes/niches.

There are loads of event websites for Dublin/Ireland.

Air shows / family concerts / xmas events and so on. Then, in between these days, have a few spots where you can trade reasonably unbothered.

Howth / Dun Laoghaire are always busy with families during the summer. If the harbor police (they exist) show up, just act all innocent and leave if they ask you too. Or better yet, inquire to Dun Laoghaire Council as to what a licence might set you back.

For rainy days: Get some business cards done up and cold call leisure centers and offer your services in return for a split of your revenue. I'd say a lot of business would like an additional, fun service for their customers that's also an additional revenue stream for zero out of pocket expenses on their end. Plus, you'll be dry and not sitting at home with nothing coming in. So even if you only make half your usual sales on these days, you're still earning.

If you organise your spots well, and put in 5 days a week, this could be a good earner.

Finally, maybe buy a couple of plain polo tshirts from Pennys. Then have them embroidered with your 'logo'. People feel much better approaching someone who looks 'official'. Plus, any businessman/woman who'll you depend on for access to their premisis and customers would want to do business with someone who has their own shop in order, so to speak. I guess, without a basic uniform, you'll look like some weird photographer who longs for the days of Polaroid. :P

There's a place in the Ilac that does this. If you're not in Dublin I'm sure there is a similar service in your area.

I think if you operate off the top of your head, your business will suffer. But a bit of planning could really boost things for you.

tacofries

Well folks, Just said I'd update this a bit as I put a lot of work into it over the last while.

Basically I have equipment sourced and priced, packaging sourced, priced and designed, business plan done, market research carried out (which went really well) and as of today have my trade license application submitted to the council.

If the council give me the go ahead my dream is 'nearly' set to become reality. All I would then need is the agreement of a man to use some of his electricity (can't ask him untill I receive the results of the application).

Wish me luck that my application is successful
The wait is a killer.

Tacoooooooo

Buttercake

On a holiday recently with the missus, we went to a lot of sights some on our own as part of tours, elephants, boat rides, temples etc

At each tour, we had our photo taken by one of the reps, i thought for their facebook page or something. At the end of the tour, the photographer had them printed off in good quality and in a nice display frame with the date and name of the tour.

Total novelty, but of course everyone on the tour bought them! at the time we thought they were a bit of tack but they take pride of place on our bookshelves at home today (they sold them for €5 thats in Vietnam)

Bandara

Best of luck with it Taco

Hope it goes a bomb for you. Great to see your get-up-and-go attitude

Gloomtastic!

Good luck to you tacofries.

We took a trip to Belfast last month to the Titanic Exhibition. All visitors had to pass through a large photo booth where they had their photo taken. Everyone was offered a prop like a sailor's hat or a ship's wheel - something that made the picture unique that they couldn't match with their phone cameras. Might be worth bearing in mind.

tacofries

Thanks Bandara for your comment your dead roght Gloomtastic! Help push the impulse buy a bit as well !!

tacofries

Trade License Granted, And the man who I wanted electricty of said no problem! Nerves are starting to hit me now!!!Time to get the head down again!

john2984

tacofries wrote: »

Hello folks,

I have yet another idea that I am looking for opinions on!

I am thinking of buying a portable lab standard printer and decent camera. I can get kitted out with all equipment for about €800. I plan to take photos' of tourists /families at attractions such as the greenway in mayo,cragh patrick, santas grottos and other local attractions, then print the photo on the spot(in 60 seconds) and package it in a little mount like you get at the zoo. Photos would cost no less than €4 and no more than €5. This is due to the cost per print of €0.40 then packaging which costs €1.40.

Questions for ye guys are:

1) Would you use the service?
2) How much would you pay to have your photo taken/printed/packaged?
3) Would you rather the photo packaged in a cardboard picture frame mount, or a branded frame that opens up like a card?
4) Would you rather just take a picture, for free, yourself with your smartphone?
5) What footfall do you think I would need in order to sell in the region of 70 photos a day?
6) Any other advice/opinions?

1. No, but like most Irish people I'm not your target market.
2. If I was to buy such a photo as a souvenir on holidays I would probably stretch to €6 if the packaging was good.
3. I'd rather a frame that can be opened up like a card. This can still be used as a frame on a mantelpiece etc by folding the front of the card towards the back for balance.
4. Personally yes but it's the people looking for a tangible souvenir/photo to show off are the ones to convince. Differentiation from standard photos by using novelty items to hold for the photo would come in useful here.
5. Couldn't give an exact figure but a lot! 70 sounds a bit ambitious to start off with to be honest, but may be achievable once you become a bit more experienced and get to know the busiest spots for tourists, nicest views for capturing pictures, best selling techniques etc.
6. I would say the reference to each location printed on the card (i.e. the prayer on Knock card above) would make the product a lot more attractive to prospective buyers. People interested in this picture will be those who want to associate the picture with where they visited and their holiday so they can show it off when they can back to wherever it is they came from. Someone from America who has never been to Ireland before and/or is unlikely to return again would value having the place they have just visited printed on the card to leave on display for friends/relatives to see.

Good to see you're still enthusiastic about the venture. Best of luck with it.

tacofries

Well guys, I just said I would write a quick review on the business over the last while...

First off, the grant, which I was told that I would 'most likely be eligible for', fell through. This meant two things:

1) I would have to get a loan in order to fork out a few grand to buy all the equipment myself.
2) With a loan over my head, I would have to keep my current job as it provided a secure weekly wage which I needed as I am in college.

Thus, as a result of those 2 results, I only managed to spend a very limited amount of hours working on the business.

The first day I opened up was an absolute disaster. I went out to the mountain, set up my equipment and stood still for 5 hours while watching a countless number of people pass me by. What did I learn? Better branding was needed. People needed to know what I was offering and for how little they could have it.

Day 2: I brought out a small sign saying 'Photos €5'. Again, absolute disaster leaving me with the thought of 'Oh F*&k, how am I going to live with this loan over my head'. I nearly cried and only managed to hold back the tears by laughing helplessly. Very **** moment of realisation.

Day 3: I made 3 signs. 2 of them were modest sized simply saying 'Photos €5' with an arrow pointing to my stand. Then just beside my stand was a big f^ck off one which said 'Official Croagh Patrick Photos' in big coloured writing and 'taken, printed and framed in 30 seconds!' in smaller writing. Bingo. People saw the 2 small signs and became interested. They where then met by the big one and found out in very little words exactly what I was offering them. I heard kids saying to their parents that I was selling the 'official' photos. The parents laughed at this, but it made them stop and take in exactly what I was doing. I started to make money.

I spent a number of more days out selling before eventually I built my confidence up and raised the price to €7. People had no problem paying this higher price and every single customer was delighted with what they got.

OVERVIEW

Starting a business is hard and you are certainly going to have your knocks, but if you keep getting up when your down, eventually, unless your business is really bad, you will make some money, and when you do it will be sweetest money you will ever earn. One day I had a fairly constant queue of 2-3 families who were asking me 'would I take their photo', and to hear people actually saying they want to give you their money for something which you created and worked for is amazing and so totally worth it.

With no marketing, I had one woman email me, looking for me to provide my service at 2 events and I had enquiries from a man to an event for him. Unfortunately I could not do these events as for all 3 dates I was working in my other job.

Lessons Learnt

The main thing I have learned is that when you really want your business to work you have to remove all outside distractions. For me this distraction was my job, which ultimately limited the success of the business.

You also have to persevere no matter what. I certainly had my fair share of knocks but I kept on trying untill everything eventually fell into place.

I also firmly believe that you make your own luck and that if you aim for the stars you'll hopefully one day touch the sky.

Overall I lost money and still have a loan over me, but I came up with a unique idea that I turned into a reality. A reality that If I was able to commit fully to would have given me an income which would have been greater than my full-time job.

I have also learnt that I am definitely going places in life :P

I want to thank you guys for all your motivation. It does definitely help!

daviecronin

tacofries wrote: »

Well guys, I just said I would write a quick review on the business over the last while...

First off, the grant, which I was told that I would 'most likely be eligible for', fell through. This meant two things:

1) I would have to get a loan in order to fork out a few grand to buy all the equipment myself.
2) With a loan over my head, I would have to keep my current job as it provided a secure weekly wage which I needed as I am in college.

Thus, as a result of those 2 results, I only managed to spend a very limited amount of hours working on the business.

The first day I opened up was an absolute disaster. I went out to the mountain, set up my equipment and stood still for 5 hours while watching a countless number of people pass me by. What did I learn? Better branding was needed. People needed to know what I was offering and for how little they could have it.

Day 2: I brought out a small sign saying 'Photos €5'. Again, absolute disaster leaving me with the thought of 'Oh F*&k, how am I going to live with this loan over my head'. I nearly cried and only managed to hold back the tears by laughing helplessly. Very **** moment of realisation.

Day 3: I made 3 signs. 2 of them were modest sized simply saying 'Photos €5' with an arrow pointing to my stand. Then just beside my stand was a big f^ck off one which said 'Official Croagh Patrick Photos' in big coloured writing and 'taken, printed and framed in 30 seconds!' in smaller writing. Bingo. People saw the 2 small signs and became interested. They where then met by the big one and found out in very little words exactly what I was offering them. I heard kids saying to their parents that I was selling the 'official' photos. The parents laughed at this, but it made them stop and take in exactly what I was doing. I started to make money.

I spent a number of more days out selling before eventually I built my confidence up and raised the price to €7. People had no problem paying this higher price and every single customer was delighted with what they got.

OVERVIEW

Starting a business is hard and you are certainly going to have your knocks, but if you keep getting up when your down, eventually, unless your business is really bad, you will make some money, and when you do it will be sweetest money you will ever earn. One day I had a fairly constant queue of 2-3 families who were asking me 'would I take their photo', and to hear people actually saying they want to give you their money for something which you created and worked for is amazing and so totally worth it.

With no marketing, I had one woman email me, looking for me to provide my service at 2 events and I had enquiries from a man to an event for him. Unfortunately I could not do these events as for all 3 dates I was working in my other job.

Lessons Learnt

The main thing I have learned is that when you really want your business to work you have to remove all outside distractions. For me this distraction was my job, which ultimately limited the success of the business.

You also have to persevere no matter what. I certainly had my fair share of knocks but I kept on trying untill everything eventually fell into place.

I also firmly believe that you make your own luck and that if you aim for the stars you'll hopefully one day touch the sky.

Overall I lost money and still have a loan over me, but I came up with a unique idea that I turned into a reality. A reality that If I was able to commit fully to would have given me an income which would have been greater than my full-time job.

I have also learnt that I am definitely going places in life :P

I want to thank you guys for all your motivation. It does definitely help!

Wow! Such a great post! I only saw this now and I thought it at first it wouldn't work but reading through your final post I was amazed! Your story is something like you would read in newspapers or see on dragons den! So great. Hard to believe you still lost money? Saying you had a steady queue of people for a while at €7?? How long in total were you 'at it' for?

Such a nice post and very inspirational! Great to see you still got knocks but you went with it. You believed in your idea and you learnt a lot and that's what matters. I'm younger than yourself and I'm currently trying to get one of my 'ideas' off the ground. And you sir have spurred me on that bit more. By the sounds of things you are definitely on the road to making millions! Hahah! Good luck

highlandseoghan

I have been watching this post from the start and can I just say first great to see the op start the post, comment during the post and then update the post its a pitty more don't update at the end.

Can I ask how long you did it for over the summer?

You say you made a loss, don't look at it as a loss but instead look at it as a success. Firstly, you still have the equipment, second you know you have the drive and commitment to see a plan / dream thru from start to finish, third look at all the experience you have gained. you have probably learnt more from this little venture than a lot of business courses and people could teach you.

You know the business works, you have the equipment. Would it not be worth looking into doing events or continuing your business at weekends or at certain times during the year when its busy?

Great to see someone take on all the advise given, go ahead with there idea and keep us up to date.

Well done on your first business adventure.

pedronomix

I would echo the above post, whatever the end cost of the project, it was the price of a most valuable learning and experience. Most entrepreneurs do not taste success in their first venture but the good one's take their early experiences and nail then into their next ventures. For many it is a number of attempts before they hit on a winner., they just never quit!