Online sales? Lots of questions.

[colinisms]

Hey guys,

I have some questions for you, and I hope someone can help me, because I can't seem to find answers on my own.

I'm a 21 year old college student, and am looking to start a business with the local bars of me going and shooting photos of people in/around the bars all night. I'm also a part of a new club promotions company in Dallas that I am looking to do the same thing. I've got everything I need lined up, I've got all the ins and outs with the bars, but I'm stuck trying to figure out how to sell the images back to the people.

Are there any good sites that can do this? I have an account at Shutterpoint, but people constantly feel the need to send me PM's over there to bash my work, tell me that it sucks, this isn't a "family photos" site, and I'm about tired of their crap. So, any positive feedback, would be a first and would be great.

Does anyone else have experience doing something like this? I basically need a site I can load a TON of images on, an online store, etc.

Thanks, hope to hear some positive feedback at this point.

Colin

[colinisms]

...and I should have read the stickies, as there is a post above me with relevant information.


However I'd still love to hear from other people :)

[SaundraU]

I'm not sure you would find a big market here but the best thought I would have is to have pre-made cards for each location you will be visiting that has the website, gallery name, and password
i.e. www.mywebsite.com Gallery: Humpy's Bar Password: date

Then you hand them the card after you take a shot and they can go look and if they wanted to buy they could.

Seems like you would have lots of investment for little return. Bars are generally dark so you will need a camera with little noise at high ISO's as well as some fast lenses 50mm F1.4 or F1.8 for sure. Then the web hosting fees (smugmug or Exposure Manager are good ones) plus the time to post process and put on the website.

Good Luck

[Outlaw]

Before I make any suggestions, let me extend the caveat that I agree with Saundra; I don't see there being enough market for print sales from clubs and bars. Most likely you could become very popular in those circles, but all they would do is steal your photos and put them on their MySpaces; and the ~20's bar-going demographic has two major failings as a print client, limited funds and no interest or value in prints (digital/social networking revolution crowd).

That out of the way, let's play with some ideas!

For online hosting, I would go with the free option: Gallery 2 + shopping cart/paypal plug-in. To the limits of your host's bandwidth and storage package, you can post as many images as you want in as many albums and sub-albums (perhaps sub-albums broken down by venue, creating a little digipic clique around your photos), and the most you'll ever pay for the order is your own cost + paypal's cut on the credit card transaction, which I believe is 3 percent.

With no monthly fees and lower overhead/cost of goods sold (since you're doing your own fulfilling in-house or through your favorite lab), the only thing you have to lose is your time hanging at the bars and taking pictures. There are worse ways you could waste your time, that's for sure.

Have a very simple URL that can be passed along verbally; and of course, business cards, which might be hard to get in people's pockets who are dancing or partying. Some 'business attire' that boldly features your logo and web address would also help reinforce the 'where to go after the party' call to action. A consistent dress code at these parties will help you more easily be identified and recognized.

Along with working with the venues to get announcements on the PA, maybe once in a while setting up a seamless background, fashion-style scene somewhere in the bar with strobes and such, that's about all I can think of, besides taking great pictures and being a regular, consistent presence and brand in front of your target market.

---

Now selling to them? That's obviously where I see your challenge. You can write proof in blood across their pictures and they'll still take them and put them on their MySpaces. And that market has little money anyway, unless you're talking about celebrity-level clubs - in which case, your subjects probably are more interested in avoiding the camera than being shot.

Let's see, what ideas come to mind...
- Selling directly to the people in the pics would be limited. I shoot (paid by the hour, btw) for a local bar, and I have sold one print in two years. I make my money from the bar owner, whose web site I also design, and charge him by the hour to shoot concerts and patrons, who then frequent his web site. I get paid, have fun, and he enjoys the benefits of the community loyalty aspect the pics add to his web site / business.

- What businesses have a similar structure to what you're doing? I know I've seen 'party pics' all over the place. One of my model friends (who is paid to just show up at clubs, dance, and hang out) is always appearing in these party pics web sites. How are they making money? Who are they working for?

- What about creating an online community that melds a forum, photo gallery of your pics from the clubs, some original content, etc.? Then sell advertising on the site to local vendors who want to get in front of your target market; young 20-somethings who like to party. Fashion designers/retailers, music stores, liquor companies, musicians, the venues themselves, community colleges, apartment complexes, open-all-night restaurants and diners, limo services, taxi services, bail bonds companies, DWI defense lawyers, PSAs from nonprofit awareness groups (don't drink and drive, etc.), cell phone companies, paycheck loan companies, and so on. Think Web 2.0.

- You could go the fine art or documentary route; artistically or realistically document the clubbing lifestyle, then get a display in a gallery, get press coverage of your 'year-long project,' license the images to magazines and/or newspapers for articles on clubbing, and build a stock photo archive of party imagery.

You get the idea, I think. You can go just about any direction you want. If you have the advantage of energy, time, and no desperate need to earn money (such as starting out part-time), then you can go whole-hog down any path you want, just to see if there's money at the end of the rainbow.

Why not? Rock it 'til you drop!

[laawaaris]

in the past i have used IFP3.com and Photoreflect.com ... there is a site that is something similar to what you are talking about at www.lastnightpics.com

i am interested to know how well this works for you ... most people will take their digital camera with them to the club or bar ... if you meet a group of 5 friends while going out, most likely one of them will have a digital camera ...

plus if people are drunk i wonder if they will hang onto the card they are handed or what will actually happen to the card ...

anyhow i don't want to be negative ... i would advise that you shoot a lot and try to focus on shooting more GIRLS than guys ... that will probably lead to more interest and more sales in the end

good luck!

[hbwise]

Check out a company called Candid Color, they have a site called www.partypics.com that was designed for taking pictures at frat parties and selling them. I used them for the race pictures that I sell. They are also the franchisor for Glamor Shots. PM me if you would like more info.