Hi Gang.

I am a bit skint at the moment and i also fancy a bit of a challenge. I have been intrested in photgraphy for about 5 years and it's been a great hobby especially as the kids grow up. I have been mainly intrested in childrens portraits and its grown from there.

 

I fancy a go at a bit of part time studio childrens portraits. i have shown a few to friends and family, those at work are impressed and think that i should give it a try and all are willing to pay for what they see. Its very encouraging.

 

i have a basic setup at the moment ( Nikon D50 few lenses) so it will been me investing in about £1800 for studio lights, better camera and background support / paper roll. This will be great for portablw work ( there are a few clubs that would also like me photograph dancers) etc. I also have a friend with a basic studio in her home and will let me use this if needed.

 

Thasi will just be a way of making a few bob as i have a full time job and i thought the photgraphy would be somewhat flexible around me.

Any adivce greatfully recieved !!!!

Why not test the water and post some of them? Its a great site for honest postive feedback. I mean it'll probably get more feedback\comments. I'd much rather judge something I can see than just hit reply and say "yeah gor for it!" Even tho I was very tempted

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Browse My Gallery

BPITW 8/9th Sept 07 - 16/17th Feb 08

Good idea. Thx Stevie i will look into it.

You should be able to make a go of child portraiture with less than £500 worth of kit. Dont forget that if you spend first you make nothing until the expenditure has been recovered and you need a lot of jobs to recover £1800.
I made a living for years using a Zenith camera with lighting made out of Music Stands and a very basic darkroom - I never made a fortune but I always made a Profit.
Give it a go - you can do it if you try but please dont spend all that money first..

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"Every day is a nice day - if you wake up - even nicer if you are dining at Cann Office"

My gallery

I agree with CannOffice on this one.  I'm sure you could set yourself up for less than £500. 

You don't need a new camera and probably have lenses to cover what you need already, if not, get a second hand prime from Ebay if you really feel that you need to.

I'd like to give studio photography a go from home, or in other peoples home.  How much are you thinking of charging for a session?  Or would you make your money on the prints and frames?

 

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Thanks for your replys.

 

To be honest i have a lot of people intrested from work, so i would provide free sessions and prehaps make a bit from DVD slideshows or prints but not a lot so i can build a portfolio of some kind.

 

I think the profit would come from the prints. with the likes of venture and others only charging £25 with a frame and print i would have to under cut that (not difficult with the price of their prints !!!!).

 

If i did have the £500 what should i get? Do you think the Interfit home studio set up would be strong enough at 150 watts?

Oh and i am trying to justify the pruchase of a D300 so come on tell me i need an extra grand. please.............

When I was asking a while ago (can't find my thread anywhere!) these turned out to be a good buy: http://www.studio-flash.com/

By all accounts these guys are really helpful and their prices are nothing short of excellent.  I shall eventually be buying a kit from them.  I can't comment on the quality but they appear to be pretty good, and from what I have read elsewhere are better than the cheap Ebay lights.

I'm sure someone will be along to recommend Bowens or Elinchrom!

 

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I have made a few extra quid from child portraits myself, mainly to support my photography "habit". I have to echo what the others are saying here - you don't need to spend up-front. I started off with a Canon 20D (which I still use) and the 18-55mm kit lens it came with. The results from this were perfectly adequate (not that we should settle for adequate, obviously!) and quality was never an issue. The work lead me to be able to purchase a 24-70L lens which does a much better job, but there were no complaints before.

As for lighting, I have two 250w Elinchrom flash heads which I have had for about 15 years. I looked at the light Martin Hurton pointed you too and I would say this is good advice. Avoid the cheap lights you see on Ebay as they are mostly rubbish. I have been using paper rolls for background, but these can become tatty very quickly when photographing kids. I have just purchased a Lastolite HiLite background after reviewing it for my site (link is in the signature if you are interested) and I am really pleased with it. However, it does cost around £300 so you should seriously consider whether you really need something like this.

The best gig I have had so far is at a "soft play" centre where we used to take my kids. If you can get in with one of these and become their regular photographer it can really pay dividends. I put up posters around the area where the parents sit and I provide booking sheets and the management does the rest. They take the bookings, sign people in on the day and effectively provide the "security" (I mean the feeling of security for parents and kids, not protection against them!).

I always provide a printed price list for the prints and I always have some sort of deal, such as six copies of the same print at different sizes for £30. People will sign up straight away for the bargain, then will usually purchase extra prints once they see them. If they only take up the deal, you at least cover your costs, but in my experience once people see good pictures of their kids they will want them.

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The Decisive Moment

moonraker5:

Hi Gang.

I am a bit skint at the moment and i also fancy a bit of a challenge. I have been intrested in photgraphy for about 5 years and it's been a great hobby especially as the kids grow up. I have been mainly intrested in childrens portraits and its grown from there.

 

I fancy a go at a bit of part time studio childrens portraits. i have shown a few to friends and family, those at work are impressed and think that i should give it a try and all are willing to pay for what they see. Its very encouraging.

 

i have a basic setup at the moment ( Nikon D50 few lenses) so it will been me investing in about £1800 for studio lights, better camera and background support / paper roll. This will be great for portablw work ( there are a few clubs that would also like me photograph dancers) etc. I also have a friend with a basic studio in her home and will let me use this if needed.

 

Thasi will just be a way of making a few bob as i have a full time job and i thought the photgraphy would be somewhat flexible around me.

Any adivce greatfully recieved !!!!

Hi

just done something similar, but that resulted in setting up my own business,along side my hectic day job, this was the advice I was given, which I have taken. I will caveate this with i am not an expert, but this is what i was told to do, it may not even be a complete list, was told buy accountants etc. The most important was number 1, 5 and 6

1) decalre your self to the tax man as a sole trader, this will avoid any nasty hefty fines if you havent done so. This means you may have to pay NI. Its easy to do, a couple of forms.
2) open a business bank account, costs nothing, Barclays gave me all this software including digital back up and accounting software for 20 quid a month
3) keep all your receipts
4) create a brand and letter headings
5) You will need seperate camera and liability insurance, as this is now a business your contents insurer wont cover your camera gear, this was about 500 quid a year. Liability is key. You will need to notify your insurere that you have seperate cover
6) have lots of fun!!!

It may seem daunting, but it was ok, once you get into it.

Good luck, and congratulations. Feel free to send me a private mesaage if you want to.

Keith

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www.milkfrog.com

Again, thank you so much for the replys. Love the idea for childrens play areas. I am going to give it a whizz. I just need to dot the i's etc. I am going to my camera club tonight and i am going to put the feelers out to see if anyone knows of a studio i could hire quickly.

I am going to put a new thread up regarding printers for pics (online) if anyone knows of any from this thread can you let me know who you use to print your pics.

 

Thanks again