pricing and general advice

[puckjer]

first of all let me provide some background...
i am professional photographers son and grew up in the business. photography has always been a hobby and something i did for fun. when i had kids of my own 6 years ago i purchased my first DSLR and started refining my skills both with the camera and on photoshop. as i made new friends that had kids as well they always complemented me on my work as it was hung in my home and then started asking if i could take pics of their kids. the first session i did about 3 years ago went really well and i didnt charge anything because they were good friends and i didnt feel comfortable at the time. i guess they felt guilty after they got the images cause they ended up paying me for them anyway.

i have no desire to make photography a full or part time job for me as i already love my job and make enough to support my family. however, as time has passed many other friends and contacts i have, have asked me to do work for them so i started charging for it a couple years ago. i justified the charge because i thought the work was as good or better than some professional offerings in the area and it was time taken away from my family which you cant really put a price on. i enjoy doing the work for the most part and giving the families something they might not have been able to get elsewhere.

what i would like from you guys is an honest critique of my work and website. before you slam my Shutterfly website, i had to throw something up quick and wanted something free and easy. i am open to suggestions on free websites that are easy to add pics etc to.

Again, this is just a hobby that i occassionaly get paid for but i would appreciate suggestions on pricing model, website, quality of work vs pricing etc.
i have also been considering not selling the image files themselves and just going with prints or having a print option as i found a good lab here in dallas.

here is the site http://jeremypuckett.shutterfly.com/

thanks for any adice.

[Niresangwa]

Even as a weekend warrior where you're not relying on this to pay the bills, I think you're on the cheap side. Though small props for limiting what you give them after the fact. Are we to assume you've done the leg work and compared your pricing to others in your area? If so, what was your reasoning behind what you chose to go with currently?

Obviously you knew right from the off you were going to get bagged over shutterfly. It is what it is... free and messy. If you want to find a website for free that will put you on a par with those who do pay for their web presence, it's obviously not going to happen, but for a small initial investment you can do much better.

The critique of your portfolio, well, this isnt the place for it, but generally speaking, I really liked a handful, with others not jumping out... that's not to say they're not good, but they didnt make me get excited... (the three that i can still remember from looking 5 minutes ago are the little girl peeking over the back of the chair with the half worn off fingernail polish (heck, I'd hang on my own wall), the three kids sitting under the vine covered wall and the teen girl looking into the camera)... the biggest thing that turned me off on a few images were the overdone vignetting on a couple and definitely the over-use of textures, especially across the skin of some models. it wasnt too pervasive, but saw it enough to remember to mention it.

It feels to me liek you're still 'finding your way' in terms of your style. sure you seem to like the candid shot, but it came across as a mixed bag as to what you were maybe thinking whn you framed and worked on it in post. hopefully that makes sense.

You'll get some decent responses here i think, so i'll let them take over...

[puckjer]

all of that is great advice and about what i expected. to address a few things...
as for pricing, i recently moved to mckinney,tx from Louisiana where i had done extensive research on pricing and talent in the area. i havent done that since i moved here and know that i should. from initial looks at some of the local photographers i am probably a little low. there is a lot of disposable income in north TX and people will spend it on this type of thing without hesitation.

on the website...i know shutterfly is what you mention and i would like something better but for me its all about time and money. it has to be something with a small investment on both of those variables. i would love some suggestions in this arena.

on my portfolio... i agree with a lot of your points. i think less is more in this area and i am working hard to trim it down to give an accurate representation of my work. the other things you mentioned are also interesting to me. no one has ever told me i over did the edge burning but i can see how that can get overdone. thinking about it i probably do use the effect too much. its funny you mention the overuse of textures. i JUST starting using them on the last session i did and i am still learning how to use them effectively. the funny part is, the parents bought every single one i processed with the textures which was very interesting to me. i do agree with you though that it needs to be done sparingly.

as far as style...i am a candid shot, in the moment photographer. 99% of those shots on my site were taken that way. i rarely pose my subjects as i feel it gives an artificial feel to the shot. i will coach my subjects occassionaly but most of the time its just us having a conversation while i snap shots. i think this sets me apart from the traditional photographer (and i know about this because i grew up with one as a father) with posed, in studio shots. there is nothing wrong with that style because people do buy it but i am the complete opposite of that and i know there are people out there that look for my relaxed style.

i really appreciate the feedback and is there a better forum i should post my portfolio in for critique?
thanks again.

[Niresangwa]

Originally Posted by puckjer

all of that is great advice and about what i expected. to address a few things...
as for pricing, i recently moved to mckinney,tx from Louisiana where i had done extensive research on pricing and talent in the area. i havent done that since i moved here and know that i should. from initial looks at some of the local photographers i am probably a little low. there is a lot of disposable income in north TX and people will spend it on this type of thing without hesitation.

Sounds like a great position to be in, but yes, do the same leg work you did back in LA. The more knowledgeable you are about the competition, obviously the better you can prepare your marketing and entry. As most will tell you, don't be shy about asking for what you're worth in objective comparison to your peers, don't let you lack of confidence or your time behind the lens influence your pricing too much.

Originally Posted by puckjer

on the website...i know shutterfly is what you mention and i would like something better but for me its all about time and money. it has to be something with a small investment on both of those variables. i would love some suggestions in this arena.

I'll PM you with a suggestion.

Originally Posted by puckjer

on my portfolio... i agree with a lot of your points. i think less is more in this area and i am working hard to trim it down to give an accurate representation of my work. the other things you mentioned are also interesting to me. no one has ever told me i over did the edge burning but i can see how that can get overdone. thinking about it i probably do use the effect too much. its funny you mention the overuse of textures. i JUST starting using them on the last session i did and i am still learning how to use them effectively. the funny part is, the parents bought every single one i processed with the textures which was very interesting to me. i do agree with you though that it needs to be done sparingly.

Its just a matter of taste, that we're all guilty of at some point, whether past or present. Lots of folks like textures, and I think they have their place, but I have yet to see one where the texture intrudes heavily over the subject's face and it works well. I think the ne that tripped the alarm for me was the cavas texture over the boy in the checkered shirt. Judicious use to limit it to the environment rather than the subject seems to be the 'accepted' use when mentioned in critiques by other photographers...same with vignettes.

Originally Posted by puckjer

as far as style...i am a candid shot, in the moment photographer. 99% of those shots on my site were taken that way. i rarely pose my subjects as i feel it gives an artificial feel to the shot. i will coach my subjects occassionaly but most of the time its just us having a conversation while i snap shots. i think this sets me apart from the traditional photographer (and i know about this because i grew up with one as a father) with posed, in studio shots. there is nothing wrong with that style because people do buy it but i am the complete opposite of that and i know there are people out there that look for my relaxed style.

preaching to the choir. perhaps i wasn't clear, i think that the composition o some images fed into my thoughts..errant and distracting items in the environment and subject positioning in the frame that could have been improved. i think the trap some 'candid' photographers fall into when playing the photojournalist card is they don't have as much power in the shot as they could have.. random unposed shot doesn't always equal a powerful image... sometimes it just ends up looking like the subject is doing something random and tells the objective viewer nothing other than the subject wasnt looking at the camera...

Originally Posted by puckjer

i really appreciate the feedback and is there a better forum i should post my portfolio in for critique?
thanks again.

you'll get some good feedback in the dedicated critique forum. read the posting guidelines (include exif, post once per 24 hours and ask a specific question or two and you should be golden)..