Trying a few new things--new products to offer

[amy_bb]

I've had a very positive reaction to my football/cycling action photo business. I feel more and more confident in my ability to provide very good action shots and have had 3-5 photos selected and published in the local newspaper each week for the last few months as proof.
The parents have been very complimentary and although the orders have not come streaming in, I've had many say they will order at the end of the season for holidays/grandma/scrapbooking etc. I did not get into this to make boatloads of cash but to do something I had done for years for money (instead of for free which I had been doing), to learn and to continually challenge myself by learning new skills and running my own business.

I'm looking to expand my repertoire by trying outdoor family shots. I do not have a studio or any training in studio lighting so for now I would stick to the outdoors. We have about 4 full foliage, fall weekends left in WNY before it gets ugly out there and I'm trying to devise a scenario where I can offer some specific timing and location to friends for family shots to build my portfolio of services and hopefully get them a nice picture.

As this is a learning experience for me I'm trying to decide how to offer this to make it attractive to the families but not completely give it away, although maybe giving it away is he route to take.

Do I offer the whole thing for free and give them a hi res CD at the end and chalk the whole thing up as a learning experience? Have them agree that I can use the pictures on my website for advertising and ask them to be a reference?

Do I offer my services for free but restrict them to ordering and printing through my business? Maybe give them a nice discount on print orders?

Combination---low resolution CD for free but printing through me? Maybe with a discount for print orders through my business?

The friends I'm talking about here are close friends and many have asked about having me do this for them as we've talked about my business.

Thoughts?

[karen_s]

I really don't have much to offer you with your specific questions but I will say this ... anything you do now will be spread by word of mouth. If you give free hi res CDs, chances are your future paying customers will expect the same. If you work real cheap, that will spread too and that can present challenges down the road should you discover you need to make more money to cover your time and expenses.

And I have given this a lot of thought myself as I would like to get into pet photography in about 5-6 years (an after retirement job). I've weighed many things as I work towards that goal and have decided to just practice on my and my friends dogs, for free. Rather than giving CDs, I have given them framed prints, calendars, and photo videos as holiday and birthday gifts. I am in a position to not need the extra money at this point and time so this might not work well for others, but it is working for me so far. I will charge someday and I won't start too cheap cause I'm not getting out of bed for $3 an hour.

In the end, it kinda comes down to where you want to be in five years and finding the best avenue for you to get there.

[amy_bb]

Originally Posted by karen_s

I really don't have much to offer you with your specific questions but I will say this ... anything you do now will be spread by word of mouth. If you give free hi res CDs, chances are your future paying customers will expect the same. If you work real cheap, that will spread too and that can present challenges down the road should you discover you need to make more money to cover your time and expenses.

And I have given this a lot of thought myself as I would like to get into pet photography in about 5-6 years (an after retirement job). I've weighed many things as I work towards that goal and have decided to just practice on my and my friends dogs, for free. Rather than giving CDs, I have given them framed prints, calendars, and photo videos as holiday and birthday gifts. I am in a position to not need the extra money at this point and time so this might not work well for others, but it is working for me so far. I will charge someday and I won't start too cheap cause I'm not getting out of bed for $3 an hour.

In the end, it kinda comes down to where you want to be in five years and finding the best avenue for you to get there.

Karen--thanks so much for taking the time to read through my post and respond. I completely agree with the statement that I have to properly value my work or set a bad precedent for my work and my business. I wouldn't want to get out of bed for $3 per hour either but I am also lucky that I'm not doing this b/c I need the money or because I've recently lost a job or am changing careers.

I guess I'm struggling a bit with the knowledge that I want to offer this service in the future, don't offer it now, need to build a knowledge base but don't want to set any bad pricing precedents. These folks I'm speaking of are the friends who I will be practicing on. I will advertise it to them as "portfolio building" or "introductory" session and that this is a one time offer for this pricing and experience. Although others may hear of it and the price structure that I choose, it will be understood that it is a limited time offer, similar to a sale of some good or product which is a vaild, one time offer discount.

I do have a pricing format for my sports photography business and except for some discount coupons designed to spark quicker ordering and offset the shipping costs, I price my products fairly but for value.

Thanks again for your response.