Has anyone here done beauty/glamour portraits in a hair salon?

GFP

And if so, what did you find was the best way to approach the salon owner to see if they were interested?

This is the part of photography that I hate, I much prefer the work behind the camera, but it has to be done.

I am going to start approaching hair salons this week, and I am thinking that first thing in the morning would be best. Or perhaps at the end of the day would be a better time, but sometimes they leave early if they have no one scheduled.

I am hoping that they will be satisfied with me bringing in more clients to them instead of them asking for a cut of the sales. If they do this I will let them know that I will have to inflate my prices to compensate.

I am also trying to figure out what type of packages to offer. Idealy Id like to focus on high quality wall framed prints or canvas but I think the starting price may cause the potential customers to not be interested. If I go for a bargain package of one pose, but still make it profitable they may be more inticed to go for it and then not be able to resist making a larger purchase.

What type of packages did you find they were interested in.

As for "studio" setup, I plan on using a portable background stand in the hair salon, hopefully there is space, and mostly do headshots. Most salons ive been in dont have a ton of available space so this really limits the possibilities.

Any advice would be welcome, I am particularly interested in the methods of approaching the salon owners and the deals that are normal. And I do have insurance, liability and equipment, and registered for tax.

Snowgirl

Hi and welcome! I haven't done hair salon shots yet, but I do work with one salon locally for referrals (the one I go to).

I'm thinking of approaching that shop and at least one other that I know has a bit more room to work with about a "special offering" - combined advertising - come and get your hair and makeup done and have a photo shoot right after - a 'glamour' shoot if you will.

Still working on details of my end of the pricing because it would be good to have a package price for the whole thing - hair stylist, makeup artist and me, plus model releases that would allow the stylist and makeup person (and me) to use the images in future advertising.

Anyone else have thoughts?

GFP

I know my cost of doing business and how much I need to make per day. I think Ill hope for at least 4 appointments in a day to lowball it, and devide my codb by 4 and make that the starting package for each glamour shot. Then hope for more appointments and increased sales to make it really worth while.

For example, if your cost of doing business is $200 a day, then each package starts at $50 plus tax. To make the $50 enticing but time effective for myself I'll probably just make it of one pose but give them a set of sheets, an 8x10, two 5x7 and a sheet of cut wallets. This is half of my regular print pricing but I want to get as many appointments for the day as I can. My method of upselling is to take incredible pictures and let them be irresistible to the client.

the problem with that package is its a lot of prints and they may not feel the need to buy more. I would love to offer a framed print but the cost of frames is up there and this would drive up the cost of the opening package by a lot. Plus there are no unique frame shops around here that offer good prices to photographers that I know of. If I had the money I would stock up on ikea frames since the nearest store to here is like 5 hours away so no on will know how much I actually paid for them. but I am trying to keep expenses down and as little out of pocket as possible. Perhaps after a few of these events Ill know if they would sell and get a few of them to try out.

As for marketing material I think I should make up some postcards to leave at the counter for the hairdressers to give to every client for the month before the event to get as much direct advertising as possible. This does increase expenses a bit, but I was thinking of making the postcards somewhat generic and leave blank fields on the card for a rubber stamp to put down the name of the hair salon and the date of the event. This way I can order more cards and use them for many events instead of a few cards and one event. This may look cheesy though and Ill have to find a good rubber stamp that will let me put letters for the name of the studio. The date stamp is the easy part.

I was also thinking of having the hair salon collect the non refundable appointment retainers for me, to guarantee the people will show up to the appointment, or allow me not to care when they dont.

Cygnus Studios

GFP wrote: »

This is the part of photography that I hate, I much prefer the work behind the camera, but it has to be done.

Without this part, you won't be making much money behind the camera.

GFP wrote: »

I am going to start approaching hair salons this week, and I am thinking that first thing in the morning would be best. Or perhaps at the end of the day would be a better time, but sometimes they leave early if they have no one scheduled.

Mornings are always the best time to approach any business owner, at the end of the day you simply want a cold drink and to get home.

GFP wrote: »

As for "studio" setup, I plan on using a portable background stand in the hair salon, hopefully there is space, and mostly do headshots. Most salons ive been in dont have a ton of available space so this really limits the possibilities.

If you are going to bring in studio equipment complete with backdrops, why use the hair salon?

It sounds like you are simply looking for cheap studio space. How do you feel that this type of arrangement is helping the salon?

GFP

I know you need to do that first part to make money, which is why im doing it.

I have a studio, but I doubt people will want to drive 45 min or an hour depending which salon im working with to get their pictures done. Doing it in the salon saves time and is more convenient.

This can help the salon because it may bring in more business, they can advertise it and it may set them apart from other salons in town, and if it works out and we schedule a 2nd one in the new year when busienss is drastically down, it may bring in needed income for both parties.

Plus they will get some framed prints on their walls for a while to show off their work and my work. This is more in my interest but shh.

Cygnus Studios

GFP wrote: »

This can help the salon because it may bring in more business, they can advertise it and it may set them apart from other salons in town,

Let me see if I have this right. You want to take up valuable real estate within their building, take images of their clients, have them advertise your business, and for all this they get a "maybe" of new clients?

Most salon's charge hundreds of dollars a month for a chair. You want them to set aside space for portraits and advertise your business? This is not solving a problem, it is creating one.

Business owners up and down the road have people coming to their door all the time with their hand out asking for something. In order to set yourself apart from these people, you need to become a solution to a problem that they already have, not create new ones.

How is having studio portraits taken at their salon going to help them? If this actually worked, you have people arriving at their place of business paying you money to get their image taken, and the salon owners have to stand around and hope that these customers of yours get their hair cut.

On top of this, you want to hang your studio shots on their wall? How is this helping them? Again you are taking up their space for your advertising.

I sure hope that you have one heck of a sales pitch.

Glort

I'm afraid I agree with the above comments pretty much.
I saw the original post before there were any replies and refrained from posting because I thought i must have been missing something.

I wrote a long winded reply ( even for me) where I tried to be Subtle and tip toe around what I was really thinking but the bottom line is from what I'm seeing here this is a poorly thought out idea that dosent' have a snowflakes chance in hell of ever being successful.

I have no idea what your professional photographic experience is but one thing seems evident is that you really need to hit the marketing, sales and business books before you even think of going any further with this idea.
In my worthless opinion what you are proposing fails on so many levels it doesn't matter and really needs a total re think from start to finish.

I won't elaborate any more because to detail one aspect would require going over the whole idea which is where I was headed before and is something that I feel you should have a far better grasp on from the start.

My advise is to have a serious total rethink on this whole idea if you want to get any sort of success out of it.

idiotabroad

Yea, kinda seems that it's all about you. When approaching someone about this type of adventure you have to make them see that it's all about them. I used to be a salesman. Now only if I could get my camera to take good photos I could sell them. Yes, I did just blame my camera.

GFP

This isnt an original idea, they use to do glamour portraits down here in the hair salons about 10 years ago, perhaps more.

Focusing on making this work instead of why it possibly wouldnt work, what are a few positive things I can say about this to help convince the salon owner into doing a glamour day.

I could toss in images to be used in their marketing material, that there would be a good incentive for them.

I could give them a few large wall prints that they could hang up in their shop. I know the ones ive been to love to put magazine pictures on the walls.

If the salon isnt fully booked, this could help them get a few extra appointments. Since the package deal includes a hair cut they could get extra income that day.

I could offer a cut of the sales, inflating the packages a bit to cover this expense. Id rather not go this route though.

Does anyone have any more positive things that would be great for the sales pitch?

idiotabroad

Key word is USE TO. If this was a viable idea many of us on this forum would be doing it. Were not trying to down you, just give you our business sense so you might not make some of the mistakes all of us once made. Drop off business cards there so they can hand them to the customers and offer discounts to people who use both services, do the same for them. It has to be at least equal to both parties involved. It's not a complete business plan but you should head in a different direction. And make sure that direction is your own with your own twist, that's what will set you apart from the rest of us. Good luck.

Cygnus Studios

idiotabroad wrote: »

If this was a viable idea many of us on this forum would be doing it.

Totally agree. I am a commercial photographer and deal with businesses every day. The key with dealing with businesses is to solve a problem they have. It isn't getting them to solve your problems.

If you want to share clients, you need to pay them. You seem to have this idea that you will have to charge more money. That is completely the wrong approach.

Every client that someone else sends to you is gravy money. There is NO effort on your part. If you gave them half your fee you are still ahead of the game.

If you wish to be successful in the business of photography, you need to understand that the vast majority of your time is not spent behind the camera.

In the real world, every hour you spend behind the camera is costing you money. You make money by dealing with your clients and finding new ones.

glewart

I think if you make it look like you are offering advertisement and luring in more clients than emphasizing that you want to earn out of them , you have a good shot at it. I have not done one yet as I have not yet established a good rapport, with the one I frequent to, which I think is essential if you really want to pursue something from them.

What are you thinking of by the way? I think framed prints would be their thing as they really prefer outstanding work displayed properly.

GFP

Cygnus Studios wrote: »

If you want to share clients, you need to pay them. You seem to have this idea that you will have to charge more money. That is completely the wrong approach.

I mentioned charging more money if I had to give the salon a cut of the sales, so im guessing that is what you are referring to. How is it the wrong approach to raise the price when the expenses go up? to me that is how you remain in the profit and out of the red margin if you know the costs of doing business.

Art Scott

I did this but not in the fashion you are talking.....my venture was real simple....Hair Salon supplied film and clients...I supplied camera and lights......I shot and tossed the salon owner the film...I got paid and went home....Done deal......Salon Owner had me scheduled all week long wit h3 or 4 clients per day......Saturdays were weddings only unless they could fill my card with enuff clients to make as much as 1 wedding.........worked well for about 3 yrs until Ownership of Salon got divorced and moved out of state........ They were the only truly Progressive Salon in Town as we shot normal glamour and also i shot nudes in the salon during business hours......the only thing separating me from the actual styling area was a thin veil of a backdrop.......

Cygnus Studios

GFP wrote: »

How is it the wrong approach to raise the price when the expenses go up? to me that is how you remain in the profit and out of the red margin if you know the costs of doing business.

Your cost of business is not taking the images.

Think about it like this.

Do you know your average cost of getting a client?

Factor in your hourly rate (multiply this by the hours per week that you are dedicating to photography), any advertising, any additional expense (gear, wear and tear, website, etc) and put a number to it. This is your cost of doing business.

Before you begin adding the time taking the image, editing the image, delivering the image, these factors have nothing to do with what it costs you to be in business. These costs are factored into the fee charged to the client after you have one.

If you do not know what it costs you to obtain a client, you can have no idea of profit or loss.

If someone else brings you a client, you have zero cost of business in it.

Now if this someone is bringing you extra clients with zero effort on your part and you gave them 50% of the deal, you still come out 50% ahead of where you were without them.

If you do the math, and get even more people bringing in clients for you, you make even more money with less effort and cost.

idiotabroad

Agree with Steve. If you think you can make more money elsewhere then go do it. Unless your turning people away from your studio to go do a salon shoot for less money then any business is good business. If you make two dollars the whole day that's better than sitting on your duff waiting for business to come to you and have your studio sit empty. HOWEVER if you have no customers currently as the market is saturated with people like you and I and Steve and everybody else on here than you need to come up with an idea to get customers and make money. Which brings us back to the orignal statement of no customers = no money, 1 customer = money made. So don't raise the price of anything because the salon, which will bring you more clients, wants a bigger cut. think BIG long term picture. When I first started, like 2 months ago, I had a real good friend say to me, don't be like one of those people who take million dollar photos only to die and then sell his first one.

Glort

GFP wrote: »

I mentioned charging more money if I had to give the salon a cut of the sales, so im guessing that is what you are referring to. How is it the wrong approach to raise the price when the expenses go up? to me that is how you remain in the profit and out of the red margin if you know the costs of doing business.

You seem very inflexible on the idea of giving away any of your cut which to me seems odd.

In any promotion, there is a cost ( as already mentioned) of getting that client through the door. That should be your advertising budget. Now you don't hand that money over as you would in this case but you do still hand it over one way or another.
That should already be built into your pricing unless you are trying to formulate a different price for every promotion or lead which in that case I would reiterate my suggestion of going back and hitting the books to educate yourself some more..... Which I think would be a real good idea anyway.

AS the basis of your promotion of this endeavor is going to take place within the confines of the Salon itself, I fail to see where any worthwhile number of new clients for the salon will come from. The greatest majority of the people that will see it will obviously already be there overwhelmingly as clients. There is no big advantage to the salon if the clients have their hair cut for the photos or have it cut in a months time. The clients annual spend is going to be the same.

How about letting some of the moths out of your pockets and YOU advertise the promo in the local paper or something so as to really attract new clients to the salon which would be of a benefit to them.... Perhaps.

Your current belief is they need more clients. Maybe they do, maybe not!
I know that over the years, my wife has had trouble getting into the places she wants to go to and often makes another appointment on her way out in advance for the next visit.
Rather than make summations on what YOU think these business see as valuable, I'd go talk to them first with a variety of ideas in mind and see what THEY are interested in.

When I have done these sorts of promos before, the owners of the business often see value in things I would have not thought of or considered and were a lot easier and or cheaper to give them than what I was thinking of anyway.

I think you need to recognize the message people are trying to tell you here which is stop focusing on yourself and making sure you cover your own butt and think a bit more about the people you are trying to partner and making sure they get the same benefits you are so concerned about guaranteeing yourself. :