Lee, my old youtube friend who dont even know me, let me just tell you that this is the video I didnt know I was waiting for for the last 2 years. It just sparked so many ideas in my head. Thank you!
Story time. Several years ago my local school district contacted me about becoming their photographer. I did a bit of research on the topic and found many horror stories from former school photographers. I went in for a brief meeting and left with a comically thick contract to read. The terms were alarmingly bad. Firstly, you would not be paid. Secondly, you had to be available to photograph all school functions (even travel to events) and obviously the yearbook photos. You had to provide all the outfits for the yearbook. If anyone failed to show up, you had to agree to schedule virtually unlimited re-shoots until everyone was photographed. Parents could choose to purchase prints of their kids (your only source of revenue) but the school would take a massive percentage of the profits (at least 40%). You get screwed at every turn and the contract kept adding insult to injury. You'd essentially have to employ several full-time assistants to do everything required and the best-case scenario you might break even if you were extremely lucky. They probably bankrupted many previous photographers and it's no wonder they had such a hard time finding someone desperate and naive enough to fall for their scheme.
I call BS. They just gave you a wish list buddy, not an actual contract that any professions photographer ever fulfilled before. Just say no, and then use their wish list as a template to tell them what services YOU offer and how much YOU charge for these various services and leave it at that. Let them say no to you. They’ll respect you more. No one respects a service provider who accepts a crazy contract full of ridiculous terms like that. You’re not an employee. You’re a specialist service contractor. Clients can ask for anything they like. You don’t have to agree to their terms. Or you can agree to the terms but set a price for some of the conditions you find particularly egregious so that it’s worth your time and hassle to provide the services they’re interested in. Just because they want it and write it up and call it a “contract” doesn’t mean you have to agree to it. Clients can be crazy. Even institutional ones. Sometimes they need to be educated about what’s reasonable and what is not. P.S. No one works for free or shoots events without being compensated for time and materials. No sensible small independent contractor goes out of pocket on expenses and for personnel like assistants to extend credit to an institution like a school board, and they’re crazy to expect anyone will do it. You’re not a bank running a line of credit for their operations and payroll. No … free … work. And where do they get off thinking they should “wet their beaks” on your client billing to the parents? Sheesh. Wonder how the parents would feel about that … sounds pretty crooked doesn’t it?
I got engaged in Times Square. I did arrange for a friend to take pictures but they came out kinda crappy. All of a sudden this guy walks up and says "I took photographs of your engagement". Shows them to me on his camera, they're incredible! Says he charges $160. Done deal, easy decision!
Such a cool business but it requires you to be out there all day (but you get to pick your hours). Curious how much of the proposal did he catch? Talk about having to be FAST! -P
I’m a semi retired fashion photographer Los Angeles and my money was always made through shooting catalogs which is seasonal in between times I was shooting models for their portfolios and other products I I’d not make a ton of money but I made a living and I got to travel around the world on someone else’s dime
A few months ago I got the contract as the photographer for a family weekend with the University I live near. Just simple photos at the mascot statue. The school paid me a nominal fee to show up and shoot, then I got to sell all the photos on my website with no kickback. They even had volunteers to help direct, coordinate, and pose people. All I had to do was set up my tripod and click the shutter. I batch processed everything and threw them onto my website for $20 a pop. Then I spent the next month seeing purchase notifications come through. It was great.
and my experience has been "hey if you want to show up for this big event, youre FREE to do so and if you sell some prints, good for you." and then i show up, work all day and sell 2 prints. maybe. ive been doing PJ work since the mid 80s, worked for Gannett and my college and in the Air Force. i even had one organizer tell me "we dont want you profiting off the kids (band and sports) so youre FREE to come shoot and then we'll discuss how much youre going to share with us." i cant win for losing....
Hi John, Most likely the newborn photographer worked for a company that has a contract with the hospital. The photographer does not keep all of the money you pay, in fact not a whole lot of it. The other issue is the photographer shows up to work and there were no births for that day. Thirdly, there are at least 2 photographers on duty, so all is split. Other independent photographers are not be allowed to just come in and pop into rooms to get clients. It's great for someone learning because they provide excellent paid training. I do agree that what they provide is priceless although a bit limited to what other photographers can do.
Hospitals make alot of moeny from other things they would want something from your pay, That best way to collaborate with hospitals is to offer them your services for thier social media and such. There are so many ways to go about something if you put your mind to it. Issue with no birth - very rare, the photographer doest have to be be present during the birth itslef, Photos can be take later hr too.
@@birjub9647 Yes, of course. The best case scenario is to arrange with your client ahead of time and cut the hospital out of the pay equation. Shoot the maternity and then arrange to shoot the birth. I was only pointing out that trying to get clients who are already in the hospital is nearly impossible unless you are vetted and employed with one of these companies that have arrangements with the hospital already. Also, when you work for these companies you would make significantly less than if you had your own clients.
I remember in 1987 when I was in Tae Kwon Do, there was a photographer that would travel around to all the Martial Arts Studios (city-by-city). He had his wife assisting. They would schedule a date, pay the Martial Arts Studio a percentage for promoting the event, throw up a blue seamless backdrop, and start running all the kids through like cattle (about 2 minutes each). This was before digital so the photographer would come back for a "viewing" a week later for all the parents to come in and order prints. He was cleaning up! Those parents would order everything with their kids face on it. I am sure someone is doing the same thing now with a system like you are describing. The only difference is I remember how competitive the parents were at the ordering phase... I one bought the top-tier package, the rest would join in.
I started my photography hobby by shooting on tourist destinations. I live in Rovaniemi and Santaclaus is a huge tourist attaraction here. We did the photography for free, but we sold the pictures starting from 25€ to 40€ depending on what people wanted. Somedays I had to work with a line of many hours and offseason I might had to do a day without a single paying customer.
You can pay a few people to stand in line/pretend that they're standing in line to buy a picture. I think this will encourage others to do the same thing.. maybe?
And that’s the flaw in the logic presented here: you can’t extrapolate an hour across a week, month or year. It’s just as volatile as the rest of the industry
Thanks for this great video, man! It was interesting for my photography students and gave them new perspectives on what they can do with their degree. Keep up the good work!
While I was a struggling college student I shot any and every gig I could find. All was pre-digital so I had to work fast to get returns. The best gig I got was working with I guy who got contacted to do high school and college graduation photos. We also shot sorority and fraternity photos. We worked long hours but the money was excellent. This was in the mid 1970s and I learned a lot.
Best practical videos that I have seen in awhile. Thanks for the useful business tips, that can be implemented for little money and can make real money.
I gotta think the studio model (using newborn photography as an example) is the more sustainable. The other way is surely a good way to make some money, but the burnout has to happen far quicker than when you actually put time & effort into your work, right?
I miss your critique the community videos. Hope to see more in the future. You guys had that legendary video of Ansel or Facebook photos then just dropped off
We moved the critiques to the live channel. We had maybe a year after the Ansel video but yes, we haven’t had one since Sept since Lee and I haven’t been in the same room since then (hurricanes, babies being born, holidays). I’ll be back soon and we will kick it all back up. -P
My wife is a Wedding photographer who takes this approach. More weddings per year for less money. She's pushing 600 weddings under her belt at an average of less than $1000 each (including Bridals). She shoots fast, and edits fast but has top-notch customer service skills. She also doesn't put artificial limits on how long she's at weddings, for most weddings she stays until the bride and groom drive off. As a result, she has a 100% customer satisfaction rating, and dozens of clients who hire her for all their following family photography year after year, (something she doesn't even market).
This sounds like a recipe for burnout. Has she tried increasing her rates? Someone with 600 under their belt who stays the entire duration could be charging a lot more
Yea man I was walking around the Rockefeller Center tree and there was not one but a whole group of photographers taking photos of people. They even had a cart with a laptop, and they were shooting with some sort of tethered setup into lightroom, had their little credit card scanner and everything, really impressive.
@@JohnMacLeanPhotography they were in a public street, so I’m not sure of the rules, NYC doesn’t really have many rules around photography that are actually enforced with consistency. But it was so crowded they almost blended in
Hong Kong had this too when we were there years ago. I think there were 30 booths all with similar umbrella setups and printing stations. It was pretty funny but once sunset happened, everyone was taking photos of customers against the HK skyline. Permitting is another issue altogether. Man I hate the bureaucracy governments place on people. If you have a business license for your town and permit for sales through that business, you should be able to sell anywhere in your city as long as you aren't building some sort of physical store front. Walking around with an assistant and no gear that permanently stays on the ground should be okay but your luck my vary. -P
Sports Volume photography makes a lot. Ive shot with 2 guys in two different models. 1 guy hired me to shoot with him. A soccer league airg 600 players. Took us 2 weekends and he probably made 18k+. Of course he paid me and others who helped. Maybe cost him 4k. Another guy hired me to shoot at a soccer tournament. 80 teams. We go and take 2 team pictures. If 7 parents buy then 2 teams are $25. Print on location. 7x25=175. 175x70 (lets say 10 teams didnt buy)= 12k+. This dude flew in from another state just to run this hussle. Fast pace with quick edits and prints but that's 2 days of hussle for 12k.
I have learned to approve every order before it goes to lab because depending upon the size of the print, there might be a crop. I had a customer not pay attention and have the top of the head cut off and I had to reprint for free.
You forgot to mention Event Photography (sports events, shows, etc) and also Theme Park Photography (you know, where a fixed camera captures you freaking out on a roller coaster, LOL). So yeah, there are a lot of options for photographers to make a ton of money (although some would argue that's not really photography anymore).
Too many photographers think that in order to make money must be creative and think of photography as an art. Yet, the ones really making money are those who use photography as a product and one that is useful to the buyer. I have seen many photographer RUclipsrs teaching how to be more creative in getting that high paying photo or gig. For the first time, here is a video that tell others about product photography. Like the person who photographed your baby, today’s photographers need to see how to bring value and a need to their work. School pictures have been around for many years and yet many photographers I bet feel that it’s beneath them. I have seen this myself. I was a working school photographer for a few studios and made a good living doing it. Wedding photographers could belittle be for doing that type of photography, but I was alway working year round; their are many untold secrets to this type of work. The smart wedding photographers were the ones who knew how to hired as a contract photographer during their down time. After all the best way to make money is to sell a product. That’s why Amazon is doing well. They sell products at a high volume and fulfill a need to the consumer.
Smugmug has offered online purchase/storefront services for over a decade. It was also one of the first photo sites to let you store large format files **and** actually retrieve the originals later, unlike many early photo sites which locked you in (making only downsized copies availalbe) so it became a popular site for pros/semi-pros. Full transparency - I'm not affiliated w/ SmugMug... I've just been using them for many years.
Man, the babies in the hospital got us every time. I’ve always told my wife that when I retire from my job, that’s what I’m gonna go do. I’ve been thinking about doing this at high school sporting events in my area. Maybe 2023 is the year!
i do this type of stuff for local strongman competitions. coaches let me photograph their events and sell it to the athletes. It can be lucrative depending on the number of competitors, but I use Pixieset instead of Saal. same difference though.
@@justinflownow there are a few, shootproof and zenfolio come to mind as far as galleries go. But I don't use them. Pixieset integrates the gallery nicely with the rest of their studio management system. If you want a referral code happy to share it.
Weird, Fstoppers is in Puerto Rico but Saal does not offer service to Puerto Rico. If they sponsored this video they should at least include us in their list so we can open an account with them. Most likely you had to use your Charleston address because PR does not appear anywhere on the list. 😞
Hi, I am a fan of your You tube channel, I am opening a photography business with every thing I have learn from you guys!!! I live in Puerto Rico an I am trying to open and account in Saal Photo buy when I go to enter the state it will not give me the option of Puerto Rico and I can't finish creating the account, do you have and suggestions? Thank you so much for all your help!!!!
Is everyone going to gloss over the fact that there might be some legal issues with randomly taking photos on whatever street corner or spot one might do this style of paid photography? 🤨 I know that you don't need a license to do street photography on a regular city street that isn't the front yard of some private establishment, but there must be some kind of law in place that pertains to those who charge for their "street photography." And then there are other questions, such as what happens if the person you are photographing gets hurt in the process, and whether or not they must sign some sort of waiver/contract. This video is a great start, but these points do still need to be addressed.
YEah the newwboarn thing is cool. But 90% of newborn photographers (IN hospitals) are contracted with the hospital and have to rent an office at the hospital to be on site. so there are WAY more expenses involved than just "going door to door" at the hospital.
ive used zenfolio for about 8 years now. its pricey but the same deal as Saal. im going to seriously look into this new version of drop-print-ship... zenfolio offers the identical services, galleries with whatever title you prefer, any kind of product, your choice of % or $ over their cost to print etc etc etc but if Saal is free, hmmmm time to explore
What did you use to connect your a7s3 to your tablet or device without direct tether? I was under the impression most proprietary connectivity with these camera manufacturers was still lacking useability.
How would I begin to get in with this? I've had some experience with off camera flash and portrait photography and would like to do some school portraits but don't know where to start?
I've worked many jobs as a photographer including school portrait and newborn photography usually these industries are dominated by companies that just want to pay young college kids minimum wage to set up and run the camera all the photos are uploaded and sent to third party editors and then delivered to the client. It's hard to get in as an independent photographer you would need a whole team at school shoots usually, you're photographing 500+ kids a day.
And you aren't guaranteed to keep most of the money or that there are people who give birth every day. Same with the New York cowboy, his extrapolation of money made does seem extremely optimistic. I like Lee so I'll watch his videos, but the examples he brought seems a bit optimistic in regards to how much you can earn. This video screams a bit "I have a quota to meet and I need to make a video". Not hating though, it's part of the RUclips hustle they have to do to get the sponsors
@@ChristofferLund I did the school photography thing for Life Touch before and after they went digital for 3 years, Then with Gusckus School Photography in New Hampshire for one year on the other end of it working in the editing dept. No way an avg. person can start that up and make money anytime soon, Its a WHOLE different ballgame that requires a team of people to succeed. So in the end, You're not making as much as you would have assumed from this video,
I'm curious, what keeps photographers who have personal relationships with staff and doctors at a smaller hospital from setting something like this up? I can understand huge markets, massive hospitals, and corporate owned hospitals (maybe most are now corporately owned), but if you live in a town of 20,000 people and might be friends of friends with the right people, what makes hiring Life Touch more desirable than Kathy Kamera who is friends with your daughter and photographs the t ball team as well? -P
The Saal digital link you provide seems to only allow you to register if you are in America?? is this an international offer? I'm in the UK, but I can't find an equivalent link on their UK site.
Hi from Portsmouth. I use Pictime which is a good alternative if that helps. i mainly use to host client photos for download, but they provide access to UK print shops if you wanted prints etc
A guy set up at a busy golf course on a weekend ... he shot (with permission )the guys hitting off at the first tee ... had a printer in the car and his wife would print them off and he sold them at the 18th for $10 ea + $10 for the digital files ... a lot of guys who weren't interested at the 1st hole were impressed with the prints and bought them at the 18th ... $30-40 per group ... a group Teeing off every 5 minutes ... he cleaned up!
There is one thing you are missing. The location access. Yes it may look like you just rock up to a tourist spot or a hospital. But I bet if you do this someone is going to to go what are you doing here? The shire/county or the hospital. They may want a licence purchased or permission. This may have some restrictions etc. I do know in the states you need a commercial licence to shoot professional. This could be a barrier to entry.
Guaranteed, every one of these types of gigs has overhead… likely in permitting to the city or to the venue. Here in Hawaii, commercial operations are so locked down, none of this could happen.
I'm sure you can get away with it on the beach if you dress like the other beach goers and carry your camera in a floral bag. You can handle all the digital stuff later, or send it right to your phone.
Location Photography, Weddings, Schools all are on toss as compare to earning today. Mobile and individual capability of holding a DSLR is taking away the cost part from a professional. Some bit of percentage cant define the full industry back step on making money from this industry now. Today all are professionals holding HD mobile camera, and none need a professional eye and been paid.
You would need permission from the Hospital to do that kind of photography and with COVID still active and the higher up muckily mucks trying to implement it again, it would be hard as hell to just walk in. You don't just walk in. But a good idea if you can get the permission.
As a volume school/sports photographer who manages a locally owned I'm not sure I love my industry being called lame...I actually teach volume photography all over the country. We're not secretive.
School photography is a racket. It's an arrangement between the photographer and a school or a school district. It's also the least quality and mindless shots. Top tier Hollywood wedding photographer that I used to work for before he retired charge a minimum of $25k a wedding session. Several were in the $80-$120k. He was booked every weekend two years in advance.
How would I begin to get in with this? I've had some experience with off camera flash and portrait photography and would like to do some school portraits but don't know where to start?
Yeah no to school photography. Been there done that (as an employee with no benefits). The worst is no health insurance. Fortunately i was 26 and had a few months before being kicked off my parents plan. Never in my life did i have pink eye till i worked school photography. It was a nightmare and i couldnt work even though i gor sick BECAUSE of the work. We always had to keep the gear in our cars and the hours were insane(ly early) for minimum wage basically. I traveled so much and the city schools were the worst cause the parking situation and carrying all the gear in. Absolutely wouldnt recommend. Actually, i think the company i used to work for went bankrupt a year or two after.. lol. The owner also did everything cheaply lile telling us to drive 40minutes after our jobs everyday to drop off the sd cards in like 2018. We shared barcode scanners that cost like $40 because he didnt want to buy more. And he wanted us to alwaya be on the clock even though we finished the school for the day. He didnt want to pay for like proper office expertise either lol. So it was just a failing bad thing. My co workers were also like depressing to be around generally lol. One coworker literally was (nuts tbh) and barelt had enough money to fill her car to get to work. I also did the events and got paid cheaply too even though i have event experience but it was money at the time. Lol the owner wanted me to wait arounf 2 hours to do a 2 part event for 1 pay. Like no. The only good things that came out of it was POSING experience. I literally fixed everyones little details, hair, bowties, posing, at the wedding group shots over the weekend. And also most importantly it is was DETERMINED i get unemplpyment during the pandemic. Especially with those bonuses 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
It’s not the photographer who makes money with these kinds of jobs, it’s the company that employs the photographers. I’ve done school sports and newborn hospital photos. My pay for both were commission based. Definitely not getting rich from these type of jobs.
Wow. I really hope that the photographer that just walked into the room in the hospital and asked to take pictures of your baby was someone who was screened and authorized by the hospital. Maternity floors are supposed to have security to keep random nobodies from coming in and wandering around.
this is probably how u start from hobby to slowly a full time thing but as u grow and get more experienced with photography u also understand don't undervalue yourself , because you'll be running after tourist for the rest of your life instead the clients coming to u . its fine in the begging but not forever. built up your name and reputation with your work . u left your job to be independent ,if u overworking yourself for 20 dollars , u should have just stay in that office
You basically can't do a lot of this stuff in Belgium. It's called privacy laws. You can't just go around shooting images of people without a signed contract.
The greatest part of this video is the mindset you have. This is about photography for BUSINESS, which separate from my PERSONAL work.
Lee, my old youtube friend who dont even know me, let me just tell you that this is the video I didnt know I was waiting for for the last 2 years. It just sparked so many ideas in my head. Thank you!
Wow, thanks
Story time. Several years ago my local school district contacted me about becoming their photographer. I did a bit of research on the topic and found many horror stories from former school photographers. I went in for a brief meeting and left with a comically thick contract to read. The terms were alarmingly bad. Firstly, you would not be paid. Secondly, you had to be available to photograph all school functions (even travel to events) and obviously the yearbook photos. You had to provide all the outfits for the yearbook. If anyone failed to show up, you had to agree to schedule virtually unlimited re-shoots until everyone was photographed. Parents could choose to purchase prints of their kids (your only source of revenue) but the school would take a massive percentage of the profits (at least 40%). You get screwed at every turn and the contract kept adding insult to injury. You'd essentially have to employ several full-time assistants to do everything required and the best-case scenario you might break even if you were extremely lucky. They probably bankrupted many previous photographers and it's no wonder they had such a hard time finding someone desperate and naive enough to fall for their scheme.
"provide all the outfits for the yearbook"? So you had to bring clothes for the children? How daoes that make sense?
I call BS. They just gave you a wish list buddy, not an actual contract that any professions photographer ever fulfilled before. Just say no, and then use their wish list as a template to tell them what services YOU offer and how much YOU charge for these various services and leave it at that. Let them say no to you. They’ll respect you more. No one respects a service provider who accepts a crazy contract full of ridiculous terms like that. You’re not an employee. You’re a specialist service contractor.
Clients can ask for anything they like. You don’t have to agree to their terms. Or you can agree to the terms but set a price for some of the conditions you find particularly egregious so that it’s worth your time and hassle to provide the services they’re interested in.
Just because they want it and write it up and call it a “contract” doesn’t mean you have to agree to it. Clients can be crazy. Even institutional ones. Sometimes they need to be educated about what’s reasonable and what is not.
P.S. No one works for free or shoots events without being compensated for time and materials. No sensible small independent contractor goes out of pocket on expenses and for personnel like assistants to extend credit to an institution like a school board, and they’re crazy to expect anyone will do it. You’re not a bank running a line of credit for their operations and payroll. No … free … work. And where do they get off thinking they should “wet their beaks” on your client billing to the parents? Sheesh. Wonder how the parents would feel about that … sounds pretty crooked doesn’t it?
I got engaged in Times Square. I did arrange for a friend to take pictures but they came out kinda crappy. All of a sudden this guy walks up and says "I took photographs of your engagement". Shows them to me on his camera, they're incredible! Says he charges $160. Done deal, easy decision!
Such a cool business but it requires you to be out there all day (but you get to pick your hours). Curious how much of the proposal did he catch? Talk about having to be FAST! -P
I’m a semi retired fashion photographer Los Angeles and my money was always made through shooting catalogs which is seasonal in between times I was shooting models for their portfolios and other products I I’d not make a ton of money but I made a living and I got to travel around the world on someone else’s dime
A few months ago I got the contract as the photographer for a family weekend with the University I live near. Just simple photos at the mascot statue. The school paid me a nominal fee to show up and shoot, then I got to sell all the photos on my website with no kickback. They even had volunteers to help direct, coordinate, and pose people. All I had to do was set up my tripod and click the shutter. I batch processed everything and threw them onto my website for $20 a pop. Then I spent the next month seeing purchase notifications come through. It was great.
and my experience has been "hey if you want to show up for this big event, youre FREE to do so and if you sell some prints, good for you." and then i show up, work all day and sell 2 prints. maybe. ive been doing PJ work since the mid 80s, worked for Gannett and my college and in the Air Force. i even had one organizer tell me "we dont want you profiting off the kids (band and sports) so youre FREE to come shoot and then we'll discuss how much youre going to share with us."
i cant win for losing....
and you must be so proud of yourself!
Hi John,
Most likely the newborn photographer worked for a company that has a contract with the hospital. The photographer does not keep all of the money you pay, in fact not a whole lot of it. The other issue is the photographer shows up to work and there were no births for that day. Thirdly, there are at least 2 photographers on duty, so all is split. Other independent photographers are not be allowed to just come in and pop into rooms to get clients. It's great for someone learning because they provide excellent paid training.
I do agree that what they provide is priceless although a bit limited to what other photographers can do.
Also the hospital newborn photographer is limited by the number of babies born in the hospital on any given day during the 8hrs that they are there.
Hospitals make alot of moeny from other things they would want something from your pay, That best way to collaborate with hospitals is to offer them your services for thier social media and such. There are so many ways to go about something if you put your mind to it. Issue with no birth - very rare, the photographer doest have to be be present during the birth itslef, Photos can be take later hr too.
@@birjub9647 Yes, of course. The best case scenario is to arrange with your client ahead of time and cut the hospital out of the pay equation. Shoot the maternity and then arrange to shoot the birth.
I was only pointing out that trying to get clients who are already in the hospital is nearly impossible unless you are vetted and employed with one of these companies that have arrangements with the hospital already. Also, when you work for these companies you would make significantly less than if you had your own clients.
How would you go about doing that. I don’t think any of my local hospitals have that service. Could you approach the hospital directly?
@@aliciaarroyo6 I guess so. But I would check if they have a service first. I think these companies might be franchises.
I'm dying at the photos you all chose for the school portraits 🤣🤣🤣
I remember in 1987 when I was in Tae Kwon Do, there was a photographer that would travel around to all the Martial Arts Studios (city-by-city). He had his wife assisting. They would schedule a date, pay the Martial Arts Studio a percentage for promoting the event, throw up a blue seamless backdrop, and start running all the kids through like cattle (about 2 minutes each). This was before digital so the photographer would come back for a "viewing" a week later for all the parents to come in and order prints. He was cleaning up! Those parents would order everything with their kids face on it. I am sure someone is doing the same thing now with a system like you are describing. The only difference is I remember how competitive the parents were at the ordering phase... I one bought the top-tier package, the rest would join in.
I started my photography hobby by shooting on tourist destinations. I live in Rovaniemi and Santaclaus is a huge tourist attaraction here. We did the photography for free, but we sold the pictures starting from 25€ to 40€ depending on what people wanted. Somedays I had to work with a line of many hours and offseason I might had to do a day without a single paying customer.
You can pay a few people to stand in line/pretend that they're standing in line to buy a picture. I think this will encourage others to do the same thing.. maybe?
And that’s the flaw in the logic presented here: you can’t extrapolate an hour across a week, month or year. It’s just as volatile as the rest of the industry
Thanks for this great video, man! It was interesting for my photography students and gave them new perspectives on what they can do with their degree. Keep up the good work!
While I was a struggling college student I shot any and every gig I could find. All was pre-digital so I had to work fast to get returns. The best gig I got was working with I guy who got contacted to do high school and college graduation photos. We also shot sorority and fraternity photos. We worked long hours but the money was excellent. This was in the mid 1970s and I learned a lot.
You went above & beyond. Thank you for this video!
Best practical videos that I have seen in awhile. Thanks for the useful business tips, that can be implemented for little money and can make real money.
Only if you're the owner/working for yourself. Some of these are the lowest paying photography jobs if you're working for someone else. 🙂
Yes- this is the direction I was hoping for. Thanks for posting some great leads as I'm only starting in photography.
I gotta think the studio model (using newborn photography as an example) is the more sustainable. The other way is surely a good way to make some money, but the burnout has to happen far quicker than when you actually put time & effort into your work, right?
burnout is a term invented by people who are too lazy to work
I miss your critique the community videos. Hope to see more in the future. You guys had that legendary video of Ansel or Facebook photos then just dropped off
We moved the critiques to the live channel. We had maybe a year after the Ansel video but yes, we haven’t had one since Sept since Lee and I haven’t been in the same room since then (hurricanes, babies being born, holidays). I’ll be back soon and we will kick it all back up. -P
@@FStoppers Oh that's cool! I didn't know you had another channel, I'll go check it out. Thanks for the reply
My wife is a Wedding photographer who takes this approach. More weddings per year for less money. She's pushing 600 weddings under her belt at an average of less than $1000 each (including Bridals). She shoots fast, and edits fast but has top-notch customer service skills. She also doesn't put artificial limits on how long she's at weddings, for most weddings she stays until the bride and groom drive off. As a result, she has a 100% customer satisfaction rating, and dozens of clients who hire her for all their following family photography year after year, (something she doesn't even market).
600 weddings / year by herself?! How is that even possible? .. I mean, how many hours generally she is at a wedding? .. wow 🙈😳
This sounds like a recipe for burnout. Has she tried increasing her rates? Someone with 600 under their belt who stays the entire duration could be charging a lot more
You probably meant to say 60 weddings a year. 600 weddings averages 11.5 weddings a week. Not possible whatsoever
If my wife told me she was doing 600 weddings a year id say she was cheating on me 🙃
@@BuhdFrankDaTank93 huahhahahaa
Yea man I was walking around the Rockefeller Center tree and there was not one but a whole group of photographers taking photos of people. They even had a cart with a laptop, and they were shooting with some sort of tethered setup into lightroom, had their little credit card scanner and everything, really impressive.
They’re either legit with a permit, or guerrilla style.
@@JohnMacLeanPhotography they were in a public street, so I’m not sure of the rules, NYC doesn’t really have many rules around photography that are actually enforced with consistency. But it was so crowded they almost blended in
Hong Kong had this too when we were there years ago. I think there were 30 booths all with similar umbrella setups and printing stations. It was pretty funny but once sunset happened, everyone was taking photos of customers against the HK skyline.
Permitting is another issue altogether. Man I hate the bureaucracy governments place on people. If you have a business license for your town and permit for sales through that business, you should be able to sell anywhere in your city as long as you aren't building some sort of physical store front. Walking around with an assistant and no gear that permanently stays on the ground should be okay but your luck my vary. -P
@@FStoppers I'm guessing it's mainly due to liability reasons, and of course financial. ;)
And they shoot awful shots and no one cares. People buy the shots regardless. There were so many around Rockefeller Center this year.
I use saal digital for photobooks didn't know I could do a gallery to. Thanks for pointing that out
This video was amazing! So much great content and information. ❤
Sports Volume photography makes a lot. Ive shot with 2 guys in two different models.
1 guy hired me to shoot with him. A soccer league airg 600 players. Took us 2 weekends and he probably made 18k+. Of course he paid me and others who helped. Maybe cost him 4k.
Another guy hired me to shoot at a soccer tournament. 80 teams. We go and take 2 team pictures.
If 7 parents buy then 2 teams are $25. Print on location.
7x25=175. 175x70 (lets say 10 teams didnt buy)= 12k+. This dude flew in from another state just to run this hussle.
Fast pace with quick edits and prints but that's 2 days of hussle for 12k.
I took that approach and it works really well. I charge what I would pay and it works great
I tried signing up for Saal-Digital but it appears to be USA residents only? Is there a Canadian version? Thanks
Great stuff, thanks for sharing
I have learned to approve every order before it goes to lab because depending upon the size of the print, there might be a crop. I had a customer not pay attention and have the top of the head cut off and I had to reprint for free.
This was the situation when I worked at Ritz camera. Most people have no idea how print ratios work. -P
This video was on point and soooo on the best time for me, thank you very much!!!!
thanks for introducing us to SAAL. i was already having frustrations with a certain famous stock photos site.
Does Saal-digtial is for only USA can it be use and download from Puerto Rico as well
I would like to know if I can use Sal digital Gallery, here in Brazil.
You forgot to mention Event Photography (sports events, shows, etc) and also Theme Park Photography (you know, where a fixed camera captures you freaking out on a roller coaster, LOL). So yeah, there are a lot of options for photographers to make a ton of money (although some would argue that's not really photography anymore).
What lense you using here???
Great video, ready to make a gallery and start making some money, thanks for sharing.
Very valuable information.
Too many photographers think that in order to make money must be creative and think of photography as an art. Yet, the ones really making money are those who use photography as a product and one that is useful to the buyer. I have seen many photographer RUclipsrs teaching how to be more creative in getting that high paying photo or gig. For the first time, here is a video that tell others about product photography. Like the person who photographed your baby, today’s photographers need to see how to bring value and a need to their work. School pictures have been around for many years and yet many photographers I bet feel that it’s beneath them. I have seen this myself. I was a working school photographer for a few studios and made a good living doing it. Wedding photographers could belittle be for doing that type of photography, but I was alway working year round; their are many untold secrets to this type of work. The smart wedding photographers were the ones who knew how to hired as a contract photographer during their down time. After all the best way to make money is to sell a product. That’s why Amazon is doing well. They sell products at a high volume and fulfill a need to the consumer.
Is Saal can use in Australia?
So how do you get people to see your gallery?
Which mic is that !?
Hey Lee, Thanks for sharing this info! Definitely gets me thinking about how I can make some extra $$
Would the Saal gallery work in Jamaica
Smugmug has offered online purchase/storefront services for over a decade. It was also one of the first photo sites to let you store large format files **and** actually retrieve the originals later, unlike many early photo sites which locked you in (making only downsized copies availalbe) so it became a popular site for pros/semi-pros. Full transparency - I'm not affiliated w/ SmugMug... I've just been using them for many years.
SmugMug has big subscription fees though
Great info.
Man, the babies in the hospital got us every time. I’ve always told my wife that when I retire from my job, that’s what I’m gonna go do.
I’ve been thinking about doing this at high school sporting events in my area. Maybe 2023 is the year!
How much are people charging for this service exactly?
every time? Every 9 months?
i do this type of stuff for local strongman competitions. coaches let me photograph their events and sell it to the athletes. It can be lucrative depending on the number of competitors, but I use Pixieset instead of Saal. same difference though.
Thanks for sharing PIXIESET! Would love to know of any other hosting/galleries for run-n-gun photographers
@@justinflownow there are a few, shootproof and zenfolio come to mind as far as galleries go. But I don't use them. Pixieset integrates the gallery nicely with the rest of their studio management system. If you want a referral code happy to share it.
This seems exactly like what I was looking for, but sadly this seems to be US only. Is there an equivalent in Canada?
We were using Smugmug but I think I'll check out Saal.
Good story, and great ideas. Thanks, I'm going to make it work for me.
Does anyone know if the Saal gallery works in the UK? Thanks
Yes, I just added the UK links to the description. -P
Weird, Fstoppers is in Puerto Rico but Saal does not offer service to Puerto Rico. If they sponsored this video they should at least include us in their list so we can open an account with them. Most likely you had to use your Charleston address because PR does not appear anywhere on the list. 😞
Hi, I am a fan of your You tube channel, I am opening a photography business with every thing I have learn from you guys!!! I live in Puerto Rico an I am trying to open and account in Saal Photo buy when I go to enter the state it will not give me the option of Puerto Rico and I can't finish creating the account, do you have and suggestions? Thank you so much for all your help!!!!
Let me ask them. I'm not sure they ship or work in Puerto Rico. They do have different "portals" for different regions of the world. I'll find out. -P
@@FStoppers Thank you very much 👍 Let me know 👍
Life touch dominates the school photography realm.
Is everyone going to gloss over the fact that there might be some legal issues with randomly taking photos on whatever street corner or spot one might do this style of paid photography? 🤨 I know that you don't need a license to do street photography on a regular city street that isn't the front yard of some private establishment, but there must be some kind of law in place that pertains to those who charge for their "street photography." And then there are other questions, such as what happens if the person you are photographing gets hurt in the process, and whether or not they must sign some sort of waiver/contract. This video is a great start, but these points do still need to be addressed.
YEah the newwboarn thing is cool. But 90% of newborn photographers (IN hospitals) are contracted with the hospital and have to rent an office at the hospital to be on site. so there are WAY more expenses involved than just "going door to door" at the hospital.
I think Sall Digital is exactly the kind of hands-off dropshipping type of photo selling site I've been looking for. Checking them out now!
ive used zenfolio for about 8 years now. its pricey but the same deal as Saal. im going to seriously look into this new version of drop-print-ship...
zenfolio offers the identical services, galleries with whatever title you prefer, any kind of product, your choice of % or $ over their cost to print etc etc etc but if Saal is free, hmmmm time to explore
From where I am, people wouldn't pay 30 cents for a photo. Let alone $30.
Where r u from?
@@alexdiaz4244 He's probably from pakistan, or detroit
How does the Saal-digital site work? How does the money part work? How do I get paid
You just connect your bank account.
Commercial real estate photographer here. I do over 100 jobs a month and comfortably clear 6 figures 😁
What did you use to connect your a7s3 to your tablet or device without direct tether? I was under the impression most proprietary connectivity with these camera manufacturers was still lacking useability.
Monitor plus
I’m school photographer you are so right they will not tell you any information,but I will
How would I begin to get in with this? I've had some experience with off camera flash and portrait photography and would like to do some school portraits but don't know where to start?
I've worked many jobs as a photographer including school portrait and newborn photography usually these industries are dominated by companies that just want to pay young college kids minimum wage to set up and run the camera all the photos are uploaded and sent to third party editors and then delivered to the client. It's hard to get in as an independent photographer you would need a whole team at school shoots usually, you're photographing 500+ kids a day.
Can the Saal Photo Portal be used by other International shooters, outside of the US, EU ?? I'm Down Under, Australia ;)
The photographer doesn't just walk around the hospital, There are companies that contract out photographers to local area hospitals.
And you aren't guaranteed to keep most of the money or that there are people who give birth every day. Same with the New York cowboy, his extrapolation of money made does seem extremely optimistic.
I like Lee so I'll watch his videos, but the examples he brought seems a bit optimistic in regards to how much you can earn.
This video screams a bit "I have a quota to meet and I need to make a video".
Not hating though, it's part of the RUclips hustle they have to do to get the sponsors
@@ChristofferLund I did the school photography thing for Life Touch before and after they went digital for 3 years, Then with Gusckus School Photography in New Hampshire for one year on the other end of it working in the editing dept. No way an avg. person can start that up and make money anytime soon, Its a WHOLE different ballgame that requires a team of people to succeed. So in the end, You're not making as much as you would have assumed from this video,
I'm curious, what keeps photographers who have personal relationships with staff and doctors at a smaller hospital from setting something like this up? I can understand huge markets, massive hospitals, and corporate owned hospitals (maybe most are now corporately owned), but if you live in a town of 20,000 people and might be friends of friends with the right people, what makes hiring Life Touch more desirable than Kathy Kamera who is friends with your daughter and photographs the t ball team as well? -P
"Newborn babies popping out left and right" he is a straight shooter and I appreciate it 😄
My baby was straight down the middle 😂 -P
@@FStoppers It's not nice to punt babies
The Saal digital link you provide seems to only allow you to register if you are in America?? is this an international offer? I'm in the UK, but I can't find an equivalent link on their UK site.
Hi from Portsmouth. I use Pictime which is a good alternative if that helps. i mainly use to host client photos for download, but they provide access to UK print shops if you wanted prints etc
A guy set up at a busy golf course on a weekend ... he shot (with permission )the guys hitting off at the first tee ... had a printer in the car and his wife would print them off and he sold them at the 18th for $10 ea + $10 for the digital files ... a lot of guys who weren't interested at the 1st hole were impressed with the prints and bought them at the 18th ... $30-40 per group ... a group Teeing off every 5 minutes ... he cleaned up!
That's a great success story. I wonder if he had to get permission or some sort of licensing to do that.
@@OneAwareness1 As far as I know he just asked the golf course manager in advance
There is one thing you are missing. The location access. Yes it may look like you just rock up to a tourist spot or a hospital. But I bet if you do this someone is going to to go what are you doing here? The shire/county or the hospital. They may want a licence purchased or permission. This may have some restrictions etc. I do know in the states you need a commercial licence to shoot professional. This could be a barrier to entry.
Yes, school 📸, lots chaching. Try club photography for the school ( bank).
Waaaaaaa these tips ! Frickn gold !!!!
Guaranteed, every one of these types of gigs has overhead… likely in permitting to the city or to the venue. Here in Hawaii, commercial operations are so locked down, none of this could happen.
I'm sure you can get away with it on the beach if you dress like the other beach goers and carry your camera in a floral bag. You can handle all the digital stuff later, or send it right to your phone.
Yeah one 1hr at a daycare 42 student photos $1200. Electronic Delivery - Parents can be headache though.
This would've been great if they had it for Canada also but it's only for USA in North America.
How tf do you get into a hospital with a camera to even do that. I feel like the hospital would have a huge issue with that..
Ok, very helpful video for me squeezing my brain out on how to monetize my work. Thanks a lot!
The most shocking part of this is that a grown man needs a phone to tell him what 3 x 170 is! ;-)
Probably asked ChatGPT
Raw or HR jpeg?
The hospital photographers are an organization with a contract not just a freelancer, it’s an employee that only make 23%.
Location Photography, Weddings, Schools all are on toss as compare to earning today. Mobile and individual capability of holding a DSLR is taking away the cost part from a professional. Some bit of percentage cant define the full industry back step on making money from this industry now. Today all are professionals holding HD mobile camera, and none need a professional eye and been paid.
You would need permission from the Hospital to do that kind of photography and with COVID still active and the higher up muckily mucks trying to implement it again, it would be hard as hell to just walk in. You don't just walk in. But a good idea if you can get the permission.
Pixieset and SmugMug >>>
Great content🤙
Can Canadians create an account?
how do i withdraw the money to my bank acc
How can you get into a hospital without having visiting rights?
As a volume school/sports photographer who manages a locally owned I'm not sure I love my industry being called lame...I actually teach volume photography all over the country. We're not secretive.
Looks like you stuck with the MacBook permanently.
Great content, too bad Saal Digital has no options for Asian countries 🙁
School photography is a racket. It's an arrangement between the photographer and a school or a school district. It's also the least quality and mindless shots. Top tier Hollywood wedding photographer that I used to work for before he retired charge a minimum of $25k a wedding session. Several were in the $80-$120k. He was booked every weekend two years in advance.
Damn, one shoot per weekend would be $1,300,000/year.
This is a great and helpful video, thanks for sharing great information and opening our minds to possible new business opportunities.
I am a volume sports and school portrait photographer... and yes its hard at first, but its on auto mode for me now $$$
How would I begin to get in with this? I've had some experience with off camera flash and portrait photography and would like to do some school portraits but don't know where to start?
Yeah no to school photography. Been there done that (as an employee with no benefits). The worst is no health insurance. Fortunately i was 26 and had a few months before being kicked off my parents plan. Never in my life did i have pink eye till i worked school photography. It was a nightmare and i couldnt work even though i gor sick BECAUSE of the work. We always had to keep the gear in our cars and the hours were insane(ly early) for minimum wage basically. I traveled so much and the city schools were the worst cause the parking situation and carrying all the gear in. Absolutely wouldnt recommend. Actually, i think the company i used to work for went bankrupt a year or two after.. lol. The owner also did everything cheaply lile telling us to drive 40minutes after our jobs everyday to drop off the sd cards in like 2018. We shared barcode scanners that cost like $40 because he didnt want to buy more. And he wanted us to alwaya be on the clock even though we finished the school for the day. He didnt want to pay for like proper office expertise either lol. So it was just a failing bad thing. My co workers were also like depressing to be around generally lol. One coworker literally was (nuts tbh) and barelt had enough money to fill her car to get to work. I also did the events and got paid cheaply too even though i have event experience but it was money at the time. Lol the owner wanted me to wait arounf 2 hours to do a 2 part event for 1 pay. Like no.
The only good things that came out of it was POSING experience. I literally fixed everyones little details, hair, bowties, posing, at the wedding group shots over the weekend. And also most importantly it is was DETERMINED i get unemplpyment during the pandemic. Especially with those bonuses 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Most school photographers I’ve ever met weren’t killing it. It doesn’t seem to be that lucrative of a business.
I am slammed with school portraits and yes, there is a ton of money in this. I am booked everyday.
It’s not the photographer who makes money with these kinds of jobs, it’s the company that employs the photographers. I’ve done school sports and newborn hospital photos. My pay for both were commission based. Definitely not getting rich from these type of jobs.
Love your watch 😅
Wow. I really hope that the photographer that just walked into the room in the hospital and asked to take pictures of your baby was someone who was screened and authorized by the hospital. Maternity floors are supposed to have security to keep random nobodies from coming in and wandering around.
this is probably how u start from hobby to slowly a full time thing but as u grow and get more experienced with photography u also understand don't undervalue yourself , because you'll be running after tourist for the rest of your life instead the clients coming to u . its fine in the begging but not forever. built up your name and reputation with your work . u left your job to be independent ,if u overworking yourself for 20 dollars , u should have just stay in that office
You basically can't do a lot of this stuff in Belgium. It's called privacy laws. You can't just go around shooting images of people without a signed contract.
First you ask them if you can take a picture for fee, then you give them the contract before you shoot the picture.
Happy new Year Guys ❤️👍😁
Regards from Europe from my channel 👍😁
ZoomStoppers!!