I finally did it!

[ahab1372]

Congrats Denise on taking this step!

Arnt

[Steve U]

Fantastic news Denise. I think your portfolio of shots is very professional and your skill and passion deserve to be rewarded by some work.
I like your ad, your prices seem very reasonable and I am just wondering if Brisbane falls within the Kenosha County boundaries.
I wish you all the best.

[bouwy]

Good on you Denise. You will do well.

[btaylor]

Great news Denise! Combining your work and passion is often a good thing.

I'm kind of with NDNighthawk. One thing that frustrates me about pro photographers is when they charge per print. Personally, I think it's better to charge a little extra for your time and just give them everything in full resolution and they can do what they want with them from there. In all honesty, what good are those files to you?

That's what I did, I charged a little extra than most photographers in my area but gave the client everything on a USB flash drive (you can buy them very cheap in bulk and they're easier for people to use than a CD/DVD). This worked really well for me, I got a lot of work as a result because even though you're charging more up front, the end result is often cheaper.

Obviously, it depends on what your intentions are, i.e. whether you're intending on making this your sole income eventually or just doing it on the side for a bit of extra cash to continue to fund your photography as a passion rather than a business.

Either way, I think you'll do very well! Everywhere is different (I'm in Australia, you're in the US) so the expectations around how a pro/semi pro photographer should charge for their work will differ. It's an idea anyway, if it doesn't work for you then that's life!

Good luck, hope to hear of some success.

[jrw]

Congratulations on taking the step. In all honesty I thought you had made the jump a while ago. The shots you have been posting here speak volumes on your cability and should lead to some pretty good print sales if you wish to pursue that route as well.

[Joel Eade]

Congrats Denise! Hope all the best for you....no doubt your skills are up to the task.

I agree with the advice already given, I would not provide a CD of high res images for $20. In addition to small watermarked images you might also offer a CD with a few select high res images (printable) for a somewhat higher price, say maybe 5 images for $50 or something like that? Prior to burning the CD you could then post-process them to perfection or add special effects so the subsequent prints are good. Also you could offer digital downloads from your site for a price.

[thekingb]

Congrats Denise. I look forward to reading about you in the Journal Sentinel!

[thekingb]

Another thought. Consider creating a Facebook page for D Trocio Photography. Some clients might have no problem with you posting their images to an album on your page. You would put watermarked, small res photos there, and then the client could "share" that album with friends. That gives the client an easy way to share the photos AND gives you the potential for viral discovery of your work. From facebook you could link back to your main website too, where other family members could buy prints.

I did a quick search on Facebook and found many such pages. There's one in Mequon called Worzella Photography. Check it out. http://www.facebook.com/worzella.photography

[ddt0725]

Thanks everyone for the encouragement and advice! I have a few things to consider yet with the above scenerios on exactly how to offer the prints. I just don't think I will go the route of offering everything high-res on a CD/DVD/USB flash drive. If I do that, it sort of defeats the purpose of paying for my zenfolio site. I don't think the average person really understand or appreciates the benefits of high quality prints and would then take the route of a cheaper (to them just as good) route of Walmart. We all know that there is a huge difference! I am picking up two copies of my poster later today at Walmart and I hope it turned out ok! A number of web-sized watermarked shots on CD or USB drive seems good though.

Maybe this was the wrong way of thinking but I was offering a low hourly fee and then if need be due to the extent of the shoot, travel time for multiple locations and work/time involved in the processing, I could always take on slightly more profit onto the prints on my site on a client by client basis.

Lots to consider!

[ddt0725]

Another thought. Consider creating a Facebook page for D Trocio Photography. Some clients might have no problem with you posting their images to an album on your page. You would put watermarked, small res photos there, and then the client could "share" that album with friends. That gives the client an easy way to share the photos AND gives you the potential for viral discovery of your work. From facebook you could link back to your main website too, where other family members could buy prints.

I did a quick search on Facebook and found many such pages. There's one in Mequon called Worzella Photography. Check it out. http://www.facebook.com/worzella.photography

That is something I have been thinking about doing for awhile now. I am not a huge facebook fan and haven't spent much time on there lately but I should create a photography page and see if that will work out.