can you help with my research ?

[kitipampa]

hi there girlies,
I am normally a lurker as I am TTC, but i have never posted ( shame on me i know )
I am a photographer and i am just trying to start my own business as a maternity and baby photographer, as part of my business plan I need to do some market research, and I thought that this would be the perfect place as you are all quite candid and chatty

I hope you wont mind answering the few quick questions below. I promise i will not contact / PM anyone that responds, Im not trying to sell anything ( I havent even included a link to my site or anything). It is purely for research

so here goes

Have you ever had professional photographs taken ? Y/N

Would you consider having Maternity Photographs taken ? Y/N

Would you consider having Newborn Photographs taken ? Y/N

How much would you be willing to pay for maternity photographs ?

£0-£100 £101-£200 £201-£300 £301-£400 £500+_

How much would you be willing to pay for Newborn photographs ?

n/a ? 0
£0-£100 ? 1
£101-£200
£201-£300 £301-£400 £500+_

Thanks in advance !

Sure. My answers are:
N (except for wedding)
N
Y
0
Up to £150

Good luck.

Have you ever had professional photographs taken ? Y/N
Y
N
Y

N/A

£0-£100

N (except weddings)
N
N
N/A (£0)
N/A (£0)

But if someone gave them to me as a gift I'd use them - maybe you should consider marketing to people who might give these as a gift (i.e. friends/colleagues from work, etc)

brilliant idea Lenny, i could look into doing gift vouchers ! I knew you girlies would rock !

just wanted to thank you for your responses ! Keep em coming ! I need about 20 or so !!
many thanks

Have you ever had professional photographs taken ? Y

Would you consider having Maternity Photographs taken ? N

Would you consider having Newborn Photographs taken ? N

How much would you be willing to pay for maternity photographs ?
n/a

How much would you be willing to pay for Newborn photographs ?

£100

TBH I think newborn professional photos are a waste of time . Slightly older babies yes but newborns aren't exactly attractive... DS was all scrunched, purple/blue/red and his skin was flaking off! We have some wonderful ones from when he was 3/4 months though and they are lovely. I wouldn't limit yourself so much... it's more about showing the diversity of photographs you can produce, and also how well you can listen to a client spec - one person will love a little newborn photo naked scrunched up in daddy's hands, another will love a 9 month old poking out of a flower pot, another will like an artistic shot of pregnancy bump, another will love a vibrant natural family shot... you need to show you can do the range in an affordable price bracket. Hope that helps without sounding discouraging.

Yes to all 3. I agree about £150 - any more and it feels like a bit of a major investment! The price depends upon what you get (ie how much is sitting fee, whether you get photos included and if so how many).

Also, whether I would pay for something like this would depend entirely upon the style of the photos - anything too staged or cheesy would put me off completely. I like the more reportage style that's used at weddings a lot.

I agree with the comment about gift tokens - would it be possible to put together a really basic package for a manageable fee that might appeal as a present (ie under £100)?

Just as an aside, I'm sure you've covered all of this but it's really important to know how to put people at their ease. When I had mine done I had the photographer (who I knew...) really telling me off for not relaxing. I'm pretty wooden in front of the camera and but they seemed to expect me to 'strike a pose' and be completely comfortable with the whole process with no encouragement or direction from them. Thought that was worth mentioning as it really put me off having something similar done again!

Best of luck with the business. Hope all goes well. (I'd quite like a link to your site, btw!)

im loving all the great suggestions ! Thanks Weegle and Prinpo for the brill advice ..
Prinpo if you really want the link you can CAM me and I will send you it.
Keep the replies coming as I am still in need of a few more
Regards

Have you ever had professional photographs taken ? Y

Would you consider having Maternity Photographs taken ? N

Would you consider having Newborn Photographs taken ? Y

How much would you be willing to pay for maternity photographs ?
n/a

How much would you be willing to pay for Newborn photographs ?

Up to £300

Agree with other posters though, what I would be willing to pay depends very much on what I am getting - is this just a sitting fee or does it include photos, photo albums, etc.? I think the idea is great - personally, I would recommend offering different packages at different price points (each of which can be customised to a certain degree).

I also agree with previous posters that I might not want photos of my newborn per se, and probably would be more keen after a few months.

Good luck!

1. Y - wedding.

1. N.

1. N.

1. N/A.

1. N/A.

1. Y
2. Y
3. Y

4 - i had maternity photos taken at about 6 months with my other half - we paid £700 for a beautiful wall hanging which has 4 pics on. A hell of a lot of money - and no we're not rich by any means - but feel is one of those things you should do (not all will agree i'm sure), but first pregnancy and an experience we will never forget.

Doubt very, very much we will have maternity pics in future pregnancies but will most def have newborn and then prob more at 6 months as think they will be invaluable!!!

Not sure how much we will pay for baby pics as prob won't have much money at all once baby arrives and also have a friend that has recently got into photography so hopefully get some cheaper ones

Hope that helps!! Good luck

Hi

Y
N
Y
Up to £300, maybe less for a newborn, perhaps £150

N
N
Y
£200-£300 for 3m+ but also would love as a gift

Best of luck!

Thanks for all your responses girlies !!
If anyone else wants to join in please feel free !

Have you ever had professional photographs taken ? N

Would you consider having Maternity Photographs taken ? N

Would you consider having Newborn Photographs taken ? N

How much would you be willing to pay for maternity photographs ?

£0-£100 Nothing

How much would you be willing to pay for Newborn photographs ?

n/a

When I was setting up my business (as a children's photographer) I visited and googled all the loocal photographers in my region to gauge what prices/ packages they were offering before I set my prices.

I'd like to think I am more than reasonably priced while still making a (quite small at the moment) profit.

Mother and toddler groups are great for getting your name known, and be prepared to go that extra mile for clients, that is what will make you stand out above the rest.

Best of luck (unless you are setting up in Edinburgh, then I will be very cross )

Oh and Gift Vouchers are a HUGE seller

Hi

I would completely copy the answers weegle gave. My dd was absolutely gorgeous at 3 months + but i wouldn't have wanted professional newborn shots as she was shrivelled purple and a bit flaky, bless her!

Also, second what prinpo said about putting your clients at ease. My brother and i chose a photographer from the lovely natural shots in the window of small kids leaping around totally at ease and natural. We then ended up in this really awkward session where he had absolutely no rapport with either adults or kids and we ended up with horrid group shots that we didn't want at all. Dare i say it, that being able to get the best out of your sitters is possibly the priority...even above the photography skills it seems to me....? (shoot me down...!)

I would agree with that completely tetley, you can be the best photographer in the world, but if you have no skills relaxing your clients, it's a disaster.

Have you ever had professional photographs taken ? Y - for the local bonny baby competition when Tom was a year old

Would you consider having Maternity Photographs taken ? N - maybe if I actually got a proper baby bump!

Would you consider having Newborn Photographs taken ? Y - but can't really see me getting out of the house to have them done

How much would you be willing to pay for maternity photographs ? £0

How much would you be willing to pay for Newborn photographs ? £50

I've been thinking about starting my own mobile photography business part time. DC2 is due xmas day, so will have to wait a bit now, lol.

Nippersnappers .. you can relax, I am not in Edinburgh ! but any tips you have on running a P biz would be gratefully received, right now struggling with suppliers for Albums.. any thoughts ?

Bexie- Good Luck if you decide to go down that route

Thanks everyone else for your answers. It has been very helpful and you have given me some great bits of advice.
All i need to to now is get pregnant so that i can join you all on this board !

If it's digital albums you are after I have used www.mypublisher.com in the past and they are nice books, you have complete control over the design. There is also www.fotobooks.co.uk which are fantastic but don't have as many 'baby' backgrounds. I don't offer standard photo albums so can't help you with that I'm afraid.

A nice, well presented website is a must. Mine is www.nippersnappers.co.uk if you want to get some ideas.

Where will you be based?