[Hacker]

(This thread has been copied & cropped to just the discussion on Equestrian Photography, with kind permission of Colin - Pixalo)

For those that don't know me I'm 45 and started photography just over a year ago with a D70 and kit lens, with the intention of getting some good pictures of my wife and her horse, and all the other usual stuff like kids etc. Now building up a small collection of lenses (added a Nikon 80-200mm AF-S this week) and a D200 is top of the wish list.

I particularly enjoy macro work but in the last six weeks I have started as an event photographer at equestrian events and it's going better than I expected, I have had a show to cover every weekend since and I'm booked until the end of August.

Colin.

[Dave]

How's the old horse trial photography going ? you enjoying it ?

[Hacker]

Originally Posted by Dave

How's the old horse trial photography going ? you enjoying it ?

Hi Dave, it's going better than I imagined, getting plenty of referrals and recommendations and I'm selling a few now, did about 52 10x7's in my first month which paid for the new lens.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Hacker

Hi Dave, it's going better than I imagined, getting plenty of referrals and recommendations and I'm selling a few now, did about 52 10x7's in my first month which paid for the new lens.

Maybe I should pop along to some Horse Trials in the Cotswolds area . From memory was it the last shot in your 1st post that got someone to introduce you to the Events co-ordinator or something. Just remember you got into it very quickly & obviously are successful

[Dave]

Just been looking at your site Colin & noticed you have set it up with Paypal payments. Out of interest what % of shots are bought via this method ?

Also at the events how do you advertise....a board by you when shooting , or leaflets ?

Also noticed you don't crop shots or adjust in any manner before posting on your site. I note you state this will be done when shot is purchased. I assume this was a trade off for time spent processing all shots, vs any potential loss of sales ?

[Hacker]

Hi Dave, I'll try and answer all your questions. I've found Paypal indispensable for the website, it saves having to set up secure pages to take payment, I don't have to worry about Data Protection issues, PCI and I don't have to set myself up as a merchant with Visa/ Mastercard etc. It allows me to take orders from customers using credit/debit cards (they don't have to have a Paypal account) and out of all the images I've sold only two have been paid for by cheque. All the images on my Clikpic website are given a unique number which is on the payment notification I get from Paypal which makes it easy to find the image which is a bit of a godsend as I've already got over 1,000 on there.

At the events I've now got an A-board (30"x20") which I usually set up beside the secretary's caravan or the tea van, I made up some poster prints using the special offer from Photobox last month and they cost me about £6 each. I use business cards which I leave on top of the board but I also try and get round to chat to competitors in between rounds, I think this gives a bit more of a personal service but it also has the added benefit of shooting informal portraits which I've sold quite a few of, I've also ended up taking shots of dogs and I sold a 15x10 just this week of some scruffy mutt. In order to stand out I bought a high-viz waistcoat from the Site Supply Company with Photographer printed on the back (£7 )and this has also proved effective as I get quite a few people approaching me asking me to take pictures when they are competing.

All of these are relatively inexpensive ways of promoting yourself on the day and it seems to be working as I'm starting to get invitations and referrals as people get to know me. To give you an example, I did a show last weekend for a club I'd been trying to get in with since I started, they are a very busy and active club and have a regular photographer who, in my wifes opinion, is not very good. He couldn't make it last week so I managed to wheedle my way in, the organiser was very offish prior to the event but once she had seen my pictures she has invited me back for two more events in the next couple of weeks, I also offered her a free 10x7 print as a thank you, maybe that's what swayed it.

I don't do any processing prior to uploading because as you quite rightly state it would be too time consuming, I just re-size and add the watermark, what you have to remember is that the competitors will be looking at these completely differently to how you or I would view them, we are after photographic excellence, they just want a good shot of them with their horse. This I think is why some photographers on the nequine circuit do not offer good pictures, I think they get complacent and lazy, my wife has bought some which were terrible (this was before I started photography), however if you offer images which are that bit better word of mouth soon spreads. I don't want to compromise my integrity and I'd much rather supply quality over quantity.

If you are thinking of going down the same route I'd recommend the Equine Affairs website, it costs a little bit to join but gives lists of all the events and organisers in your area.

I hope this has been helpful and if you've got any more questions drop me a mail or PM me. I'm no expert but I've learnt a hell of a lot in the last few weeks.

[Dave]

Thanks Colin for detailed response, which shows you are going to continue being successful because you have some Business Nowse on top of Photographic Skills. Gary has mentioned before that to be a pro you need to be a ruthless business person.

I think how quickly you are getting recognised & making a profit is an inspiration to us all. Well done mate

[Dave]

Forgot to ask, who do you use for printing & do you get them sent to you 1st for inspection, or straight on to customer. Always a tricky one this, as you don't want extra overhead of sending prints out if at all possible, but then again you want to ensure standards are met. I've read some print services send prints out for you, ensuring the invoice goes back to yourself.

[Hacker]

I use Photobox and cannot complain about their service, I haven't had one bad print back from them. I tend to put an order in once a week around Wednesday night/Thursday morning which means I get the prints Friday morning, it allows me to do a quick QC check before I post them out. By ordering in batches it keeps the postage down, it's only £1.50 whether it's one print or nineteen and it also allows you to take advantage of their bulk discount, for example last week I ordered twenty two 10x7's and a 15x10 and the total bill was £34.75. That order was for sales totalling over £300 but obviously I have other costs as well (Paypal, envelopes, postage etc). Another advantage of using Photobox is that they take payments from Paypal so I can just pay them directly from my the print sales I have made.

Photobox can send the prints out to customers but at £1.50 per print it would eat into my profit. In time I would like to offer on-site printing but that means a huge outlay for van or caravan, decent printer and staff that are PS literate and more importantly can be trusted to a) get the images just right and b) not rip me off when cash purchases are made.

Heh heh! Now I've given away all my secrets I hope you're not going to set up in competition down the road.

[Dave]

Good point re P&P !!. Did you buy special cardboard envelopes to send your photos out ? Be just your luck the new Post Office charges for "size" of envelopes will catch you out now

No competition from me........ I can't stand horses The only shooting I would do would involve glue at the end of it . Only joking all you Red rum lovers.

Great your willing to share your experiences with others, as it can be applied to most forms of photography if someone decides to try & make some money from it

[spxxxx]

How does clikpik give them the unique number or do you do it manually ?

Say you get a request for number 967 how do you locate that print ?

Thanks Simon

[dod]

Missed this earlier but great info Hacker.

I'd agree about paypal, it's a huge benefit for a small start up. I've integrated a similar cart into mine and well over 90% of customers use it. I use photobox as well, and try to do exactly the same as you in terms of combining orders to save postage costs, not always possible though.