Does anyone order prints anymore?

[Cherry Pie]

I too have been thinking of setting up a studio, not limited to pinup, but I was wondering how I could work out printing. I really have no desire to do prints! It's so tedious!
I have a small printer for a my own 4x6 images but, can you really make any money by just giving the client a disk of images and having them print what they want on their own?
Thanks!

xoxo
Vote Cherry Pie: myspace.com/vivalasvegasphotoshoot

[Bluebonnet Bombshells]

Send 'em out to this guy:
http://www.modelmayhem.com/10720

High quality, low cost, quick turnaround (and you don't have to be on MM, that's just the link I have for him, but he does give good specials to MMers on occasion).

But I've given up doing prints really. I think the "make your money by selling prints" is a antiquated way of doing business that doesn't work in todays world. It might still work for weddings where 15 different people are ordering pictures though. What I have done is have prints as an add on at a price that basically covers my cost for printing and shipping with a very small profit. Even if someone wants prints, they almost always want a digital file too. I used to have really inexpensive rate for smaller prints, like a 5x7 for $15, thinking that people would order larger prints of the same image. Didn't work out that way and I ended up doing the same amount of work for a 4x6 as I did for a 11x17 for a fraction of the $, and people would end up ordering 10 4x6's!

Clearly I failed at my pricing structure. So what I'm doing now is I determined what my cost needed to be per file, and charge that for the post processing for a digital file. They get a small web ready file with a watermark, and a larger file for printing w/out a watermark. If they want a print from me, it's costs a little more, but less that it would cost if they printed them themselves at a decent place locally, and the quality will be great. If they take it to costco... well I hope they don't show them to anyone!

It also just occurred to me that if you wanted to protect your images a little bit more, the larger file could be a tiff or something that a pro printer could use, but the average joe wouldn't really have a way to do anything with it. You'd have to sell it as "higher quality" or something to explain why they cant see their pictures on their computer though... might be more work than it's worth!

[Philip Hunton]

I have a studio and I shoot everything from portraits, lifestyle, pin-up to campaigns for HMRC and Shelter and other big companies to be honest my private gallery system that allows my clients to purchase prints and I have had very few purchase from it (probably around £1000 from it in a year), most clients prefer to buy the high res files so they can print their own. Yes you can make money I use the NUJ (National Union of Journalists) as a guide price for the high res files and they have sold very quickly. Of course I only include a private reproduction license so if they want to use them commercially there is an additional charge but it is a good earner and does make it worth while, although many private clients don't seem to understand that charging for the high resolution files is necessary so it is wise to carefully explain why they are charged for the files.

Phil

[Soda Shop Sue]

thats how i make my money... people like to see ALL the images that you are willing to give them... and then THEY like to deside, which ones to print... which i under stand..
as a pinup photographer: i notice, i like the more cheesecake/elvgren faces... most clients like the sulty/maxim faces... difference in taste!

so sometimes after i give a CD to my client, they contact me which the file name and i will make a few 8x10's of the images they like...
Price to print (8x10) $2.99 .....i charge, extra edit to the photo, and the print and transportation to client: $20

hope this helps!
xoxo Soda Shop Sue

[Edson Carlos]

Honestly not really. I suggest a disk of Retouched Images. However you should charge a premium for a CD containing ALL images in high resolution and unwatermarked vs. a CD containing 5-10 retouched ones. Understand that most models that receive one awesome retouched photo don't feel they got their moneys worth or times worth, they spent 4-5 hours shooting to create one single shot? Not fair, photogs should do 5-10 digital images standard as a "Set".

[Rachel Spring]

I work at a drug store photo department as my "day job" so it's easy for me to offer prints, if the person is really on a budget then I just give them a CD and tell them to go where I work, all of the photo lab technicians there all know how make sure that the photos come out really well (other places in town will give you orange photos and think their good and make you pay for them) and at a low cost, if I'm the one that happens to be there that day then they luck out because I'm on the clock getting paid by someone else to do it (not much, but still).

[C/S]

I am just to frugal , just use Costco

[Wenzdai]

thats exactly how i have my shoots set up.

Daddy Cool {PL} said:

Honestly not really. I suggest a disk of Retouched Images. However you should charge a premium for a CD containing ALL images in high resolution and unwatermarked vs. a CD containing 5-10 retouched ones. Understand that most models that receive one awesome retouched photo don't feel they got their moneys worth or times worth, they spent 4-5 hours shooting to create one single shot? Not fair, photogs should do 5-10 digital images standard as a "Set".

[Cherry Pie]

Thanks for all you help! I'll be uploading more samples of my work.
Just bought some reflectors yesterday and looking into backdrops too!