What makes you money?

[Daniel Bates]

I like the policy of selling the negatives a year or two after the event. Keeping archival storage for every event you shoot just in case Aunty wants another print of Nephew five years down the road doesn't sound worthwhile...

[t-mark]

Most of the previous talk has been centered around weddings and portraits. As for my self I shoot primarily sports. I charge for my time, and make a very small portion off the prints. Some guys spend all day shooting randomly then try to sell the prints afterwards. I found that you make very little compared to the amount of time you spend taking the pics. Buts thats just my VHO.

[RobyMD]

So when you say you shoot sports, do you shoot for little league teams and print the prints for parents or are you hired by a school or an organization for a few hours and shoot a game?

And the same question applies, where do you spend most of your time, what makes you money? Is it hitting the shutter button, editing pictures or schmoozing?

[LadyShutterBug]

There is no way to make a living off of photography if you give away all your prints for free.

i sell image files.
why? because it's what i would want as a consumer. it was the one thing i was dead-set on when hiring a wedding photographer for myself. i wanted to be able to make MY OWN album ( ia m really bad about giving up creative control to others), and to make my own prints within an hour if i needed to-- not have to order, wait, and get my prints two weeks later. i wanted to make my own thank-you cards. i wanted to make my own little slideshow of wedding images. there's a lot you can't do with "just prints".

my clients receive a set of 4x6 proof prints of all images from their wedding. they also receive all image files on CD or DVD so that they can print to their little heart's desire. sometimes, they can't figure it out and they just order direct from me. more often than not, relatives and friends will order prints from the wedding (or bridal/engagement sessions) from me. i alwasy encourage the bride and groom to order larger items (anything over an 8x10) from me because that is the only way i can guarantee quality.

my favorite part of my job is the planning, shooting, and the editing. i am not crazy about proofing prints or dealing with the issues that come up with the mail, the lab, and all that jazz. i would rather just shoot, edit, and be done with the process.

i do albums, mostly because there is such a high profit margin and it's a dealbreaker with some of the more traditional couples if you DON'T do albums. it's also a great moneymaker where proud paretns are concerned-- 10 pictures of the baby in a cute little 4x5 book? what's not to love?

for portrait sessions, i provide a proof set, but not the image files. they can purchase individual image files or the whole set if they like... which is generally sold at a cost near what i believe i'd make if they were to purchase x amount of prints after the session.

while i make a fair amount from prints, i'd say the bulk of my income is made from the photography fees themselves. my services are priced as such, i don't depend on print sales at all and do fine with the photography fees.

that being said... my goal is not to be the most sought-after photographer in all the land. my goal is to produce quality images from excellent coverage of my events, and capture the true relationships and personalities of my portrait subjects. to have them refer me out to friends and family. to have friends and family tell them "What wonderful and unique pictures! Who was your photographer?" to truly meet and hopefully exceed the expectations of my clients. like anyone else, i enjoy making money and look to get paid what i feel my services are worth... but i never plan on having multiple locations, studios, or "staff" photographers working under me. i enjoy doing the work and meeting the people and having an omnicient aspect where my business is concerned. i enjoy knowing each client on a first-name basis, and building a relationship and sense of loyalty. i enjoy listening to them talk about their lives.