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Original poster

Would you pay for this...?

18 replies

Stickywhitelovepiss · 30/06/2019 19:10

Please don't laugh - I actually do have quite a senior day job.

One of my hobbies is photography and compiling / ordering online photo albums (think Snapfish, Shutterfly etc. and the line). By this I mean not just inserting any old photos here or there, but the whole proper works with themed backgrounds and emblems and titles and individual photo editing and all the works.

Super super easy to do with a million and one online providers out there, but also super time consuming to do if you want a really polished product off the back of it....

I've done about 10 for myself and maybe 30 for friends and family who've asked me to compile a baby / big birthday / anniversary / wedding album etc - by which I mean not the taking of photos per se (though I love this too as a hobby), but the painstaking creation of a really beautiful themed album they can keep forever.

For free I mean, as a present to said event, or just because... Takes bloody hours if not days or weeks to get any given album "just so", with every page perfect, but I enjoy it and am happy do it for those I love. As these are friends, I'm able to closely engage and make a very custom product in line with what they're hoping for...

Several many have said I should offer this as a paid service.

I am sceptical, in that any one with half a brain and a couple of days spare could very easily do the same - but appreciate that not everyone has this (no kids here to take up my time, though have made some lovely baby / children albums for those without it!).

I would love to get an objective, constructive view on this, but at the same time please don't flame me for asking at the same time. Have been having a bit of a difficult time lately, and this is just a speculative question!

Thank you wise women of MN...

OP posts:

Knittedfairies · 30/06/2019 19:16

Tbh I wouldn't be able to afford what you should be charging for such a bespoke album. If you do decide to go with it, do not undersell yourself.

Drum2018 · 30/06/2019 19:17

As a random client, no, simply because it's a personal thing to do with our pictures. I know who everyone is, the event the photo would have been taken at, why it's relevant to the specific album etc. It would be time consuming to collate all the photos I'd want and then send them to you, explain to you who people are, what they were doing, give dates etc, so for me I'd be better off doing it myself.

However if it's just for friends and family, then you really should charge them for your time given they ask you to do it.

ComtesseDeSpair · 30/06/2019 19:19

I’m not really a photo person but know plenty of people who are and some who would buy these. I think the two main issues are that a) if these albums take you hours and hours to compile, the sort of price most people would be willing to pay wouldn’t come anywhere close to covering your time: I can’t inagine wanting to pay more than £30-£40 even for a very lovely and very customised item. And b) they’re a “one off” sort of purchase for most people and that therefore limits your market.

Original poster

Stickywhitelovepiss · 30/06/2019 19:24

Part of the service would be understanding where / when / who the photos relate to!

I’m not thinking of charging the earth here - just a token amount for what I find myself doing anyway!

OP posts:

Unshriven · 30/06/2019 19:27

I can't see how you'd be able to do it.

You don't know the people, relationships, dates, occasions.

Pinkpartyplanner · 30/06/2019 19:34

I wouldn’t pay for a company to do it but if a friend was good at it like yourself I’d offer you money to do mine

Original poster

Stickywhitelovepiss · 30/06/2019 19:35

That would be part of the consultation process @unshriven!

OP posts:

Unshriven · 30/06/2019 19:43

I think that kind of consultation process would cost more than a token amount.

And it would never be personal enough.

Olliphant · 30/06/2019 19:47

I disagree, if you were sent 100 photos of the event you could easily pick which ones were good, which ones were not. The person employing you would tell you so and so 50 th wedding. You put all the pics together and send to them to review and to add names and dates and stories ( in word ). You then receive back and do the names days and stories with lovely font and pretty etc. I think you'd make money
You'll learn as you go along. Good luck!

Tootytata · 30/06/2019 20:00

I have the same hobby as you OP! I recently went through my brother's 450 wedding photos and made a beautiful photo album for him and his new wife as a present. I love doing this but I can't see why anyone would be prepared to pay for this as a service.

I was able to make a very personal album because I was there to witness their wedding day. I knew the order of events (sometimes you don't get photos in chronological order) so the photo album was a timeline of their wedding day.

You may get the odd few people who are willing to pay for this but definitely couldn't make a living out of it. Someone will probably come and prove me wrong later!

ProperVexed · 30/06/2019 20:04

I would pay. I have loads of photos but absolutely no artistic eye or ability. My photo books are basic and uninspiring. Do it for me please!

Itellpeopletogoogleit · 30/06/2019 20:04

You could get people to fill in a form with portraits of the people involved, who they are, who their relationships are with and to what extent etc. Since this is going to be a full-on bespoke affair you'd have to ask a lot of questions.

Original poster

Stickywhitelovepiss · 30/06/2019 20:10

@ProperVexed I’m game if you are!

OP posts:

Original poster

Stickywhitelovepiss · 30/06/2019 20:12

For free I mean as a test case! 😄

OP posts:

ICouldBeSomebodyYouKnow · 30/06/2019 20:15

There are people who pay other people to sort out printed photos and put them in traditional albums.

And apparently also people who pay people to put up their Christmas decorations! (Some people have more money than sense!)

So, it stands to reason that there will also be people out there who will be prepared to pay for your skills.

You are not going to be able to make very many in a week, so you are not looking at a high-volume / low-cost business model, you are looking at a low-volume / high-quality business model.

You might want to consider the wedding fair market. Or contact some high-end wedding photographers to find out a) is this a service they already offer (yes = competition!) or b) if they get asked for this service - maybe they could refer people on to you (which could save you the cost of direct marketing).

Folk who are willing to pay ££££ for a unique wedding would go for it.

It might also be a lovely present for couples celebrating milestone weddings, or anyone with a milestone birthday. Is the funeral market going too far?

Original poster

Stickywhitelovepiss · 30/06/2019 20:18

Just to clarify, I was just thinking hippy money - not giving up my main job for this!

OP posts:

Original poster

Stickywhitelovepiss · 30/06/2019 20:31

*hobby not hippy

OP posts:

avalanching · 30/06/2019 20:35

Yeah absolutely, I make photo albums every year, no one should be relying on digital photographs, extremely unstable. I hate doing them so would love this.

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