Business Plan?

Brief: To put together a 'Business Plan' (or if you like a portfolio about you and how you see yourself operating as a photographer, what clients are you aiming to work with,what services you would like to offer, and for how much.

I haven't really put much thought into a business plan or what I want to do after finishing this course. I have lots of ideas and ways to get business but not an organised straight forward plan, as I'm not 100% sure what path I want to follow.

As it stands, after this course I am considering progressing on to do a third year BA Hons Degree.

After this, I know that I want to be self employed, but I haven't decided exactly what I want to do.

All through National Diploma, I was adamant that I wanted to follow a fashion/commercial pathway and work in advertising free lance, but since starting the degree I have been forced to expand my experience and work style to other areas and have discovered a passion for lots of styles of photography.

At the moment after University I am planning on setting up my own photography business based around portraits, weddings etc because I love photographing people.

My idea is to invest in more lighting equipment, and hire out a studio to begin with if studio work is essential to the shoot I am doing, slowly building up to having a home studio, for which I will need to get insurance to work from home.

Before I finish University I am trying to get as much experience in all types of photography so I have a vast knowledge and understanding before I go on to work for myself. I have recently spoke to Chris about getting the opportunity to photograph upcoming weddings and also plan on contacting local wedding photographers for assisting work or just experience on seeing how a professional photographer would go about photographing a wedding. I am also going to contact two local studios over the summer to see if I can gain more experience of studio photography as I don't use the college's studio as often as I would like to.

I have recently got some images published in Derbyshire Life magazine which is helpful towards my portfolio and a good way to get my work out there and seen by people. I also have business cards which I hand out at any event/job I get within photography and have in the past advertised in the yellow pages which did get me a few paid jobs while I was having a gap year between college and Uni and that was just from a free insert of my name and number so I will follow this route again.

I am also planning to advertise as a student in local newsagents and post offices as it is cheap to advertise and local people can see the adverts and being a student they know they won't be paying out a huge amount for quality work.

I need to spend the next couple of months updating my physical portfolio as that's what a lot of people want to see when you go for interviews or meetings with clients and it hasn't been updated since I left college which is quite unprofessional.

Derbyshire Life

Me and Holly offered to do some images for the magazine Derbyshire Life of Burton these days to match images that were published years ago of Burton.


We found it quite hard to discover where the places in Burton were but when we did it was quite easy to get the images asked of us.

We needed at least 10 of them to send to the magazine.I enjoyed doing this project although trying to get in done in one day proved harder than I originally thought.

I am happy with most of the images produced.

Job Offer.

A couple of weeks ago I had an interview with a company called Electra Films in Lulington.

http://www.electraweddingfilms.co.uk/

I went to the interview with my portfolio, and when I got there it was a home business. She had forgot I was coming and so we couldn't have the interview in her office we had to use the living room where she had dirty washing over the sofas etc. She was very unprofessional but looked through my portfolio and asked me what I knew about photoshop and I told her and we got on okay in the interview and she offered me the job.

I really wanted the experience so I really wanted to take the job but after the interview she seemed to get more and more unprofessional. She spoke quite abruptly when ringing my mom to get in touch with me, expected me to get hold of colleges equipment for her business etc.

In retrospect I am glad I didn't take the job, because she also wanted me to do all her admin work for her as well as do the assisting on weddings for free and she was very unprofessional.

I am going to continue to look for assistance work more locally.

Studio.

THE IMAGE DEPOT

The owner is Adrian Heapy, a man who has over 40 years experience in the Photography industry.

Although I was away last week with a viral infection I have read up on other people's blogs to make sure I get the necessary information.

I found this extremely helpful-

When working with clients:

• Always get payment off the client before you hand over the images.
• Always check out peoples background before you work with them.
• Check out local photographers and know what they are doing so you know how to improve your work and appear better than them when a new client approaches you.
• Have terms of contract and conditions clear and written down for legal purposes.
• He wont photography anyone under the age of 18 without the parent being present at the time of the shoot.
• He has someone else in the studio with him when photographing women.
• You have to educate your client on different looks you could create and always offer them alternatives.

Downstairs there is the main studio and is where they kept the set building kit and a changing room. There is also a second smaller studio that is mainly used for still life and product shots.
Upstairs there is a media centre for post production. All props are kept in the attic.

Craig Mcdean.

Stylish

Kirsten Dunst

Macmillan Coffee Day

One client I agreed work for were the Walton family who were hosting a Macmillan Coffee Day for Cancer on the 30th September.

I went on the day to find not many people there, which was a little disheartening. I also found that most of the people who were there didn't want their photos taken! I tried to convince as many people as I could that I was there to take photos and to have their photo taken, and a few agreed. The hosts were up for having their photo taken, but when I asked to take more so I could ensure I got a good photo they refused. To them they just wanted a picture of themselves but to me as the photographer, I wasn't happy because I'd have like to have got better images than I did. In the end I gathered everyone who was there for a group shot, however although flash and sun go together well, the flash on my camera just wasn't up to the standard it needed to be, so when I suggest they all move under the gazebo to reduce the glare from the sun, again they were not interested. They had a photo that would do and didn't want to stand for more. But I think this is something I will come up against whilst working for some clients. And I can only do as much as the clients want or allow me to do.

Young Fashion Photographer Of The Year Continued.

For this competition I am going to visit the Hire Studio Steve has spoke to me about over the past week.

The model I have selected has told me she is available for Monday the 10th of October, so hopefully if the studio is available I can do my shoot then, I'm just waiting on a definate confirmation from my model.

The image I am using for inspiration is of Sophia Loren.
I really like everything about this image, the fashion, composition, the distant look on her face. I like the old fashioned feel to this image but I will need to make my image more contemporary and up to date with the fashion choices I make.

Location - the studio. I don't want a plain white background to my image though because in fashion these days it's just not as popular as it used to be and no ones taking photos of a model against a white background anymore. I have to be careful I don't make my image look cheap or too staged.

Styling - I want a more up to date hair style, I'm thinking big hair, maybe curly or just backcombed. My model has quite thick black hair which I think should be made a focal point to my image, after the clothes. I want more bolder makeup but not so overpowering you loose focus on the expressions of the model. I have decided to keep the sun hat, as these are just starting to sell again in High Street stores and is coming back into fashion. Instead of a corset I'm thinking of using a modern black dress, hopefully one that comes in at the waist to accentuate my models tiny waist like the corset does in this image. Also, tights with a stocking look/print have been in fashion lately and so this is a contemporary twist on an old fashion style. The jewellery and gloves are something I haven't decided if I want to keep yet because I don't want to copy the image, although there are more fashionable up to date versions of these things available now e.g fingerless lace white gloves which I am going to investigate.

To make sure I don't copy this image I am going to try different angles and I want my model in different poses and positions to this image, so that I have taken inspiration from the clothes, but updated them, and her facial expression, but not copied the image exactly, mixing up the angles and style of the actual image.