Weather, Wobbles and Product Lines....
18th March 2013
In: Blog
Given the current long drawn out winter we're currently experiencing, I can understand perfectly why people are reluctant to want to book up a location portrait session. To be fair, it's not much fun for anyone standing out in a bitterly cold wind trying to look relaxed and happy. From a business point of view, it's another kick in the teeth from Mother Nature. Last spring we experienced a period of very beautiful, warm, dry sunny weather. My initial optimistic outlook for a busy summer turned out to be short lived, with widespread hose pipe ban soon triggering the mother of all wet summers. Great!
I was busy, but I could have been much busier. I received umpteen enquiries with the promise to book "when it stops raining", but it just didn't stop!
The problem I have is this. I specialise in outdoor portraiture, shooting images of mainly children and families. I do this because I have a firm belief that these type of sessions are more relaxing for children and parents alike, due to the fresh air and wide open spaces. Relaxed subjects give us better images, everyone wins…..Only if it rains and blows or is too cold, it isn't fun, and no-one is relaxed...so sessions get postponed.
Once a couple of weeks go past with nothing to show for the booked shoot but a reallocated date, it can be very easy to think about re-thinking my product line.
I can't help thinking that I should offer family studio style portrait shoots along with the outdoor ones. Weather proof the situation. but to be honest, whenever the thought of offering large indoor shoots crosses my mind, I think back to a family portrait session I was part of. I wasn't the photographer, in fact it was before I started up in business. It was a shoot our family were having done as a present for my grandparents, and involved myself, my wife, Mum, Dad, two sisters, brother-in-law, two babies and a toddler…..all in a studio…a very hot, airless studio…..on a rainy day….welcome to Hell! That experience has been etched in my memory, probably forever. The result of me offering anything similar would be a million miles away from my goal of a relaxed portrait session. A family of five squeezed into their front room trying to look happy and chilled??
I think I've got it right. I'll only offers packages that I love to shoot. Babies, boudoir, fine art portraits of individuals are all indoors, absolutely. Anything else and outside we go…all I have to hope for is that it will stay dry on the occasional weekend..please!!
I was busy, but I could have been much busier. I received umpteen enquiries with the promise to book "when it stops raining", but it just didn't stop!
The problem I have is this. I specialise in outdoor portraiture, shooting images of mainly children and families. I do this because I have a firm belief that these type of sessions are more relaxing for children and parents alike, due to the fresh air and wide open spaces. Relaxed subjects give us better images, everyone wins…..Only if it rains and blows or is too cold, it isn't fun, and no-one is relaxed...so sessions get postponed.
Once a couple of weeks go past with nothing to show for the booked shoot but a reallocated date, it can be very easy to think about re-thinking my product line.
I can't help thinking that I should offer family studio style portrait shoots along with the outdoor ones. Weather proof the situation. but to be honest, whenever the thought of offering large indoor shoots crosses my mind, I think back to a family portrait session I was part of. I wasn't the photographer, in fact it was before I started up in business. It was a shoot our family were having done as a present for my grandparents, and involved myself, my wife, Mum, Dad, two sisters, brother-in-law, two babies and a toddler…..all in a studio…a very hot, airless studio…..on a rainy day….welcome to Hell! That experience has been etched in my memory, probably forever. The result of me offering anything similar would be a million miles away from my goal of a relaxed portrait session. A family of five squeezed into their front room trying to look happy and chilled??
I think I've got it right. I'll only offers packages that I love to shoot. Babies, boudoir, fine art portraits of individuals are all indoors, absolutely. Anything else and outside we go…all I have to hope for is that it will stay dry on the occasional weekend..please!!