 Carrie Zohn |
Prom Pictures - Best Way To Traffic It Looks like I'll be doing photos for a "Sparkle N Shine" dance at a school this Saturday. These are similar to "prom" pictures and I have two ladies that will be helping me: One will be taking care of the money and people who come in and the other will be posing the kids for their photos and making sure that they look nice, hair is in place, etc. so I just need to focus on taking the photos. My question is what is the best way to traffic this?? The kids will be coming in and will pay up front. Should I have a couple of clipboards so they can "sign in", have the gal mark them paid with their names, who will be in the photo, etc. what package they want and then give the clipboard to me so I can mark what images go with what kid? I am trying to figure out the easiest way to make this go smoothly as this will be my FIRST "pro" shoot doing something like this. I normally do on-location portrait photography. Any help and/or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
|
W. |
Afterwards you may have a helluva time combining the right photos with the right people. Would it be an option to photograph them with a card with their name on it in a corner of the frame that you cut off later in PP?
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
|
W. |
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
|
Carrie Zohn |
But of course!! I always do! :) You're a sweetheart. No, I don't think there's an option for me to photograph them with a card. Believe me, time is limited and it's a "burn 'em and turn 'em" kinda situation from what I understand. The lady who usually does this was diagnosed with cancer (lung and brain) and doesn't want to do it this year (understandably so) so it kind of fell in my lap at the last minute. I figure if the kids sign in with their names and whatnot and I mark the number of the photo taken, etc., then I should be able to keep everything straight - right??
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
|
Jerry Frazier |
Why do photographers continue to take jobs they are not qualified to take? I'll never understand this. Would you go try a case because your best friend, who is a lawyer, became ill? And, you happen to know a little about law? Good luck.
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
|
W. |
"Why do photographers continue to take jobs they are not qualified to take?" To GET qualified, Jerry! "Would you go try a case because your best friend, who is a lawyer, became ill? And, you happen to know a little about law?" Not really comparable cases, are they Jerry? Apples & pears.
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
|
Carrie Zohn |
Wow, gee, thanks for the oh-so-kind words there, Jerry. So nice of you to be supportive when someone is looking for help. I have confidence in my work. That's not what I'm asking - and if you don't have anything constructive or helpful to say, perhaps it'd be best to keep your sarcasm to yourself. Believe me, I have enough for both of us.
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
|
W. |
"I figure if the kids sign in with their names and whatnot and I mark the number of the photo taken, etc., then I should be able to keep everything straight - right??" Carry, then the numbers (= photos) must still be 'united' with the names. How are you going to do that? If "the gal" that does the intake would write a card with the patron's name (with a fat felt marker), the patron could hand you that card so you can slip it into a pre-setup 'holder' in the FoV. No additional thinking required.
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
|
Jerry Frazier |
I don't need to be kind. I need to try to convince you that if you don't know how, you shouldn't do it. Too much jumping in with both feet and no safety net these days.
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
|
Christopher A. Vedros |
I usually agree with Jerry F, but not here. Carrie - don't take what Jerry said personally. You'd be surprised how many times we get posts here from someone saying, "Everyone says I take cute pictures of my kids, so I'm shooting my first wedding next week. Do I need a flash? Any tips?" The answer, of course, is "Don't do it." I don't think that's the case here. You mentioned that you have experience with on-location portraits, and you're not asking how to use lights or how to pose people. Your question is just about managing the flow of couples. I think your setup with two assistants should work fine. Make a form with blanks for the name, contact info, and package choice and have spaces for about 4 or 5 couples per sheet. Then, as a sheet gets filled, the money clerk passes it to you, and you can fill in the image numbers as you take them. Tell the couples to stay in line in the order that they paid, and if there's any question, there's nothing wrong with saying, "Next up, are you Sally & Fred? Okay, smile." Good luck,
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
|
Jerry Frazier |
...and Chris, when she sends Jonny's photos to Sam, and Sam's to Ed??? All I usually suggest is that you first work with someone who does this. Once you learn and see how they actually do it, then you can go do it. But, to take a paying job, without really having the knowledge to ENSURE it is done properly, I can't condone that.
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
|
Carrie Zohn |
>>Carry, then the numbers (= photos) must still be 'united' with the names. How are you going to do that?<< Well, I shoot digitally so when the images come up in the review screen, the number of the photo is there in the upper right corner. I was going to write the numbers down for each couple/group/person getting their photos taken. I was actually going to go get some 8.5 x 11 envelopes and print them up with all the info that you listed along with a line for the photo number. That way once they're processed, I can just slip the packages in the envelope and send them over to the school. >>If "the gal" that does the intake would write a card with the patron's name (with a fat felt marker), the patron could hand you that card so you can slip it into a pre-setup 'holder' in the FoV. No additional thinking required.<< I may do this just as a backup since this IS my first time and Jerry doesn't seem to think that I actually DO any THINKING here. That way I can tell which method was better. And Jerry, this is a small town. Anyone else who "does this" is NOT willing (believe me!) to teach anyone else anything because they see other photographers as competition so while your advice is good advice, it's not feasible here unfortunately. Thank you to those who did help me. I do appreciate your help. And Brenda, thank you for emailing me. That was thoughtful of you.
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
|
Carrie Zohn |
Just wanted to let you know that I finished the shoot last night and was able to download and marry up the photos this morning with no trouble. I used the method of writing the image numbers down by each person/group/couple who ordered a package and was able to put everyone together. The shoot went very well so I wanted to thank you guys for all your help. I greatly appreciate it.
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
| Log in to respond or ask your own question. | |||||||||||
