An idea that occured to me.

[GaryC]

Keep in mind I'm new to this, I'm not in anyway looking to make a career out of this (in the very near future maybe later as my skills develope and I start meeting the right people to become clients)

But I tend to experiment with shots, and editting. A lot!

I generally post my stuff on my facebook page (being a hobby, and having as much fun as I am havng I naturally wanna share it.)

I get a lot of people telling me "Wow that one is spectacular, I would love to have that hanging on my wall"

After getting that a few times I kind of clicked. Why not sell digital picture fames, with my shots pre-loaded. Charge for the picture frame, whatever it cost me. Than charge per image loaded onto it.

My problem. I have no idea how I should market this as a business, nor do I know how much I should charge per image. Should the charge vary based on how long editting took? How hard/out of my way I had to go to get the shot?

I have also had some friends of mine take a real interest and want me to do a family shoot for them. The husband of the two wants me to do Promo shots for his band. (They are very close to me so I am not going t charge them for any of the time involved)

But could doing things like this lead to an extention of the digital picture frame business idea. Than I would obviously change pricing from per image to time required similar to what I read on wedding photography.

Some feedback would be awesome!

[kuvahmagh]

Why not just charge them for a print? If it was me I wouldn't want to buy a Digital Picture Frame like that. Maybe its just me but unless it is a 11x14 it doesn't go on the wall, even 8x10 is too small for me. Sell a framed print, no electronics, no power requirements etc.

[GaryC]

Yeah I would offer that as well I just likedthe frame Idea because than they could have a few pictures in the same spot. I think it would work better for the other idea with like a family shot or something that you might have sitting on a mantle or something.

Another thing is I dn't even know where to begin with how to get a print properly processed. I'm a digital kid just learning about photography. At least learning about it in the making it happen. I am loving this place as I have learn so much about how things I've always wondered "how did they get that picture"

I have been having a blast since I got my first decent P&S camera in June I have already upgraded to my first SLR.

Thanks for the idea on that. I guess that is something I should learn about soon is printing and processing. For now though I am still too busy learning about other techniques. I figure my capture technique should be my focus now, as I know I have miles to go. Learning fast, getting great results, bu still a long way to go!

[kuvahmagh]

Again, IMHO, family pictures are best printed, 20 years down the road will the file still be readable, even jpg, will it still be around, what will computers look like, will that memory card still work? There are too many variable but as long as my eyes work I can look at a print.

[Jim Bryant]

Prints are better. After awhile those digital frames crap out like the one we got.

[Xposurepro]

From a professional business point of view the frame idea is a bad one .. anytime you are placing digital images in the hands of the client it's a non-pro idea. You make less money and risk bad public exposure. Let's say I wanted to do the frame idea and still make the money I'm use to. I'd have to price the frame well over a grand. However, what happens then. The client pulls the files and runs to walmart and get's crappy prints. They fiddle with them in some online photo manipulator. The next thing you know theres tons of lame images floating around with my reputation on them .. I'm no longer a top rated leader ... my rep is destroyed.

What I think was awesome about your posting was that you said you were too busy learning and had a long way to go. That's an attitude that will lead you to success. You wouldn't believe how many people start photo business, have only owned 1 camera in their life and never even bothered to memorize the manual all the way through ... or just read it .. or even open it.

[Jim Bryant]

Originally Posted by Xposurepro

From a professional business point of view the frame idea is a bad one .. anytime you are placing digital images in the hands of the client it's a non-pro idea. You make less money and risk bad public exposure. Let's say I wanted to do the frame idea and still make the money I'm use to. I'd have to price the frame well over a grand. However, what happens then. The client pulls the files and runs to walmart and get's crappy prints. They fiddle with them in some online photo manipulator. The next thing you know theres tons of lame images floating around with my reputation on them .. I'm no longer a top rated leader ... my rep is destroyed.

What I think was awesome about your posting was that you said you were too busy learning and had a long way to go. That's an attitude that will lead you to success. You wouldn't believe how many people start photo business, have only owned 1 camera in their life and never even bothered to memorize the manual all the way through ... or just read it .. or even open it.

HEAR HEAR! I second that!

[sk66]

My biggest issue is you are tying your product to someone else's....If you are not offering the exact model of digital fram in the exact size I'd want; well then I don't want to pay extra for your pictures on it.

Originally Posted by sk66

My biggest issue is you are tying your product to someone else's....If you are not offering the exact model of digital fram in the exact size I'd want; well then I don't want to pay extra for your pictures on it.

Not only that, but would you want to hold a warranty for a product you didn't make?

talk about nightmares!

[KUlmer]

I think there is a place for print and a place for digital. Honestly, I'd rather own a print copy of a book I love then a digital one on my Ipod. If I am going to go to the time and investment of getting a photographer to take family photos, I want a large print that I can display for my family.

I do think that digital photo frames are a great present for grandparents who may like to see a variety of images of their grandchildren. Also, for moms or dads who may have an office, desk or cubicle so that they can see a variety of pictures throughout the day. I think it would be a good thing to offer, especially with Christmas coming. It can't hurt to offer them.

The hard part would be deciding how to price them. Afterall, the costumer would be paying for the frame and any images that you have preloaded on it. I would suggest that I may be worth it to try to work it into the price of a DVD loaded with all the images from the shoot. Or, charge a flat fee for the frame and then a per image fee for any other images. Afterall, in most cases those images can be removed and printed just like any other digital file. I don't think offering them will change your pricing structure at all. Most photographers I have seen are charging a sitting fee to cover time spent at the shoot and dealing with the pictures afterwards. Besides that the customer can order prints and digital files that they want. The frames would be just a digital form of a print.