School Photos

[magaz]

I was going to write a big essay post on this, but pretty much everything I was going to say has been covered allready.

your forgetting aswel the years of training that most professional photographers go through, at their own cost (in most cases) I'm in my 5th year studying the subject, (doing my BA) and it's cost me thousands... my Degree cost me around £3000 just in fees...

and my BA is costing me another £1200, This money has to be recouped somewhere...

The cost to set up even a small business shooting schools etc will go into the thousands, there is so much kit and equipment you have to buy,
Camera body, lenses, transmitters/sync leads, studio lights, backdrops, bags and cases, batteries, photographic media (cards/film etc)

then you have to factor in transportation costs, and if your working with kids your going to have to have them police checks done,

as for output, not all photographers have in house printing... the "worked" images are often sent off to a lab for printing, which adds to the cost. then theres the admin side of things. I've worked in a studio that specialized in social and wedding photography, and the amount of time I spent trawling through orders cutting prints, mounting them and prepping them for sale could have been a full time job. So if the photographer hasn't got another assistant working on that he/she is using time they could be producing more work outputting previous work.

It's a hard job, it's not just "turn up set up some lights and press a button" people have to remember that it is a real job that requires real skill. And the people doing it have to make enough money from it to eat and pay the bills just like the rest of you!

This isn't a rant, btw...

[West Ender]

Originally Posted by lancsdave

Maybe the school itself is adding more of a commision on ? does anyone know what sort of percentage the schools actually make on these ?

Cheques have to be made to the photographer, not the school. As far as I know the school gets nothing out of it. My daughter is on the PTA committee and I don't think any contribution is made, to school funds, by the photographer. If there's another way for him to contribute, I don't know what it is.

[Gayle]

The school benefits - whether it's given to the PTA or the school - there's a commission or a fee paid to the school or it wouldn't be worth the disruption of classes.

[Jae Swift]

Originally Posted by Lilly

No, you just get a tiny thumbnail of a thing.

It also has 'sample' accross it to stop people scanning and blowing them up.

Can't blame them I suppose.....their business must have taken a battering since the arrival of scanners etc.

Thats where photoshop comes in

[Benipete]

You do get to know the price,The choice is simple,Buy or Don't,Can't see the problem.

Take your own.

[emamum]

Just got tys...what a stupid time to be asking for money!! I want them but dont think i can stretch with it being so close to christmas!

[West Ender]

They are always done in this term so you'll buy them for Christmas, Emma.