I like to design my own trading cards and magazine covers. I let the parents (or the player!) supply the text for magazine covers. For pre-made/template stuff you might check out the sports and events products at Miller's.
Yeah I think I can count on one hand how many mugs, mousepads, buttons, luggage tags, etc that people have bought on their own. One year I did packages that included either a refrigerator magnet or a keychain fob. People seemed to like them but since I stopped doing packages only a tiny few people order them. I don't push that stuff though because the margins are low.
One thing I would love to offer is smartphone cases, but SM doesn't offer them. :-/ I guess I could self-fulfill those orders.
-Jack
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
I have to wonder if most of the photogs selling the merchandise items are doing so as part of a package. My anecdotal experience has been that those items simply don't sell in any quantity otherwise. People think so little of photos in general, it doesn't surprise me that they wouldn't think past prints. I think you have to lead the horse to the water.
As for self-fulfillment, it's simply not an option for me as this is not a full time job for me.
-Jack
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
I just watched a workshop on Creative Live with Will Crockett, and he says the hot setup is now Hybrid Photography. It's stills, video, audio, and graphics combined into a video or slide show. What he says sells for him is a few photos, combined with a few seconds of video and audio put into a slide show. I think he stated in the workshop that he uses Photodex's ProShow Producer to create his slideshows, or as he calls them eCards. If you want more information on this go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha9xkeAjk4c or http://discovermirrorless.com/ The second link provides a lot of info on creating these files and how to market/sell them. This is something I will be looking into further!
GaryB
GaryB “The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!” - Ansel Adams
Thanks for the heads up on this. I looked at a couple of Vids you linked and some others as I had not seen or heard of this before. I need to learn more about it but I'm not sure it is appropriate for T&I here at least. It looks like it would take some time to create. Getting the stills and even some audio shouldn't be too difficult but the video aspect leaves a question in my mind. If you were doing the vids of the kids playing, that would be a nightmare.
Other thing is putting it all together and what sort of money you can get for it?
I can see more potential in the idea for things like corporate events where I might be shooting 25 guys at a golf day rather than 250 kids in T&I.
I might start a Thread on this so I can learn a bit more about it.
For me and where I am, T&I needs to be fast as the pic taking is seen as largely an inconvinence in having it done and they want it done quick. One thing that also bothers me with the Hybrid ( Who thinks up these stupid names? ) is they don't seem to be getting much for it. One of those vids the guy quoted 90 min on site shooting a restaurant and whatever editing and was selling it for $299.
Frankly, I'd want about that much for gertting out of bed and going there let alone the 90 min on site and then editing it. Maybe I have got it wrong but seems low returns to me. You still face the real cruncher of selling it as well and this would have to be volume to make it fly profitably.
ATM, My traditional T&I works pretty well. The shooting system is fast and well liked, the production is pretty quick and the returns are the best I have heard anyone claim from this work. That said, one always strives to improve and be the best.
Anyway.... I do appreciate making me aware of it though. I need to learn more about it but there could be something in it for other markets. Just not sure about T&I as yet but when I am not so ignorant as to how this works I may well change my mind. The ultimate decider like everything though is how the clubs would take on the idea. Here they still won't accept graphic layouts for the team shots that don't have every kids name listed.
That said, I could always pitch this as an alternative to the traditional T&I coverage. That way I wouldn't care which way they went, I'd still get the gig one way or the other.
The guy on CreativeLive does what he calls eTrading Cards that has 2 photos and a very short video, that also has the kids name, Jersey #, position, batting average, and team logo. It's all done with a template, and then uploaded to a site that renders it for the smart phones, and that is where the customer receives it, if I remember right. He said from the time he starts to shoot the photos and videos and uploads them to the site, they are ready in like 10 to 15 minutes. He also does the same thing for business cards. Just think about $299.00 coming to you every 10 to 15 minutes. What would that come out to in your average shooting day? ;-)
GaryB
GaryB “The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!” - Ansel Adams
Just researching some more about this Hybrid photography......
Please forgive my extreme ignorance but it appears to my uneducated mind to be a slide show with an embedded Video clip. I have seen pro show mentioned several times. I have been using that for ... like ever!
That has the ability to incorporate Vid clips and has backgrounds and the ability to export to all sorts of formats from HD TV, computer and web display. I did a wedding in November where I put a highlights of the day together during Dinner and they played it after the speeches. Titles, backgrounds, music, vid clip and pics from the day.
Is this what this hybrid is or am I on the wrong track and more ignorant than I thought??
Just researching some more about this Hybrid photography......
Please forgive my extreme ignorance but it appears to my uneducated mind to be a slide show with an embedded Video clip. I have seen pro show mentioned several times. I have been using that for ... like ever!
That has the ability to incorporate Vid clips and has backgrounds and the ability to export to all sorts of formats from HD TV, computer and web display. I did a wedding in November where I put a highlights of the day together during Dinner and they played it after the speeches. Titles, backgrounds, music, vid clip and pics from the day.
Is this what this hybrid is or am I on the wrong track and more ignorant than I thought??
What he is doing is creating a template that may use 2 or 3 photos and a short video with some audio. All he has to do is take a few photos and some video and drop the files into his template, output it and he's done. Where he claims to make most of his money is selling to the corporate world, in the form of eCards, or as you and I call them, digital business cards. If you go to http://myecard.pro/featured-ecards you can see some examples of what he sells.
BTW I've been using ProShow Gold for quite a long time as well, and I'm getting ready to upgrade to their latest version of ProShow Producer, which gives more editing ability for video files, and has more transitions and effects for the photos.
GaryB
GaryB “The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!” - Ansel Adams
Yea. I think it would be easier to have 2 shooters to do a full team, but one could do it if you can create a routine, like shoot the video first, having the kid just standing there and state his name, jersey #, and position. Then shoot some action stuff, then end with portrait(s). Then move on to the next kid. This way, when you import to the computer, you would know that the last thing for a certain kid will be the portrait(s). What I would do is create one and have it playing where your clients are coming to order/pickup their prints and take orders for the video slide show. That way the only ones you will be creating are the ones who definitely want them. Like I said earlier, Crockett makes most of his money selling these things to the business world, namely real estate agents.
GaryB
GaryB “The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!” - Ansel Adams
Yeah I think I can count on one hand how many mugs, mousepads, buttons, luggage tags, etc that people have bought on their own. One year I did packages that included either a refrigerator magnet or a keychain fob. People seemed to like them but since I stopped doing packages only a tiny few people order them. I don't push that stuff though because the margins are low.
One thing I would love to offer is smartphone cases, but SM doesn't offer them. :-/ I guess I could self-fulfill those orders.
These guys offer phone cases and have the rest of the stuff ,plus do studio made templates
I use them excellent service http://www.hhcolorlab.com/
Just came back from the test shoot with a friends son for the slide show idea.
Amazing what you learn even when you have done something a bunch of times before put put a different spin on it.
First thing I picked up on was the background Noise for the Video Clip. I got the young fella talking and I could hear Coaches screaming and yelling in the background more tha the kid. I have an external Mic for the camera and reviewing the files I can hear the kid better and the background less than I thought.
That's a win.
Other thing I did for the Vid was have him just kick the ball round a little in front of me. Picked up a lot of background with that and hard to keep the little fella not too far away and facing the camera.
The Crash test subject was 7 yo so near the start point age wise but it was enough to realise this could be a challenge to get what I need time wise.
I think at this point without even putting anything together, I'd definately need a 2nd shooter doing the vids. As such I'd have to offer this as a preimum product to start with at least and then refine my technique for shooting at least and see how it went from there. Doing every kid in a team at this stage does not look particularly practical.
BUT, you have to try these things to learn and see what other ideas or modifications you can come up with that may be more suited to the market. I'm very big on tweaking the dials but this looks like a good base to start from.
Marketing and selling this Idea may be a different thing though. Will be hard to explain it to people when they have never seen it before. I can always put a computer playing clips near where I am shooting to show the parents and see how that goes.
I do T&I for a couple of Pony clubs I used to do action shots for at their events. I think this may be a bit more suited to that market because the numbers are limited and I can get plenty of footage of them riding and jumping after the "Formal " Pics are taken.
Well, I'll start putting this together and see what I learn there. Glad I did a couple of poses, I'll need something to pad the clip out with. Something else learned.
So how did you do with the test clip? Any chance to seeing it? You may give me some ideas as well!
I came up with a way to increase your profits with this. Instead of putting it on a CD/DVD (added cost and wasted time burning) Bluetooth it directly to their smart phone! If they don't have a smart phone, and want it on CD/DVD, then raise the price for that. Also, another way to advertise it would be to put one on your smart phone and when someone comes up to you to ask questions, say, "Hey! Want to see something new we are offering?" If they say sure, then pull out your phone and show them the clip. After viewing the clip, tell them approximately how long it would take to produce, and the price for both options (Bluetooth & CD/DVD). I would definitely require payment in advance for something like this. That way you won't be producing these for people that will never come back to pick them up.
As for the audio problems you mentioned, I researching remote audio options. In Will Crockett's videos, he uses a shotgun mic, placed just outside of the frame. I'm thinking about the tiny mics that clip to your shirt/tie and send it to the camera through a radio transmitter, to eliminate having to use a long cable. Let us know what you end up doing to resolve the background noise.
GaryB
GaryB “The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!” - Ansel Adams
Haven't finished it Gary and wasn't intending to at this stage.
It's done what I wanted, given me the heads up of what I have to do/ pay attention to in doing thse and shown the faults. It's not going to be presentable as a demo so I was just going to work on a template for future use. It's clear that doing the things individualy would be too time consuming at least untill I become a real guru with it so in the meantime doing a slick template and using that to start would be the way to go.
I won't go for a clip on mic myself, I see too much hassel in putting it on and off. I think a better alternative would be a mic on a boom, be that wireless or corded.
Obviously cordless would be better but I'm thinking of everything that's going to be on the camera. Flash remote, Mic remote..... I built a setup for my underwater event work and went to LED Lights rather than flash which was so much better it wasn't funny. I was thinking all I have to do for the vid slide shows is take the underwater housing off the light bracket and put the SLR straight on.
That is going to get to be one mutha of a rig with the mic and flash remotes as well.
Lot to shooting Vid and stills at once!
What are you using to create your template? That is something I need to learn to do. As far as the shooting goes, I'm planning on using 2 cameras. 1 for video and 1 for stills. As far as LED's go, they have come a long way in the last few years. I can see them possibly replacing flash/strobes in the near future. The only thing that would need to be on the camera would be the remote audio. If I had an LED light I'd use that for both the stills and the video, and I'd have that off camera. BY using LED for both, the white balance would be the same for both the stills and the video, and would blend together better with less work, when putting it all together. I am going to be doing one for a friend next weekend as a test. I'll keep you posted on the results.
GaryB
GaryB “The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!” - Ansel Adams
Comments
http://www.millerslab.com/
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
One thing I would love to offer is smartphone cases, but SM doesn't offer them. :-/ I guess I could self-fulfill those orders.
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
As for self-fulfillment, it's simply not an option for me as this is not a full time job for me.
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
GaryB
“The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!” - Ansel Adams
The guy on CreativeLive does what he calls eTrading Cards that has 2 photos and a very short video, that also has the kids name, Jersey #, position, batting average, and team logo. It's all done with a template, and then uploaded to a site that renders it for the smart phones, and that is where the customer receives it, if I remember right. He said from the time he starts to shoot the photos and videos and uploads them to the site, they are ready in like 10 to 15 minutes. He also does the same thing for business cards. Just think about $299.00 coming to you every 10 to 15 minutes. What would that come out to in your average shooting day? ;-)
GaryB
“The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!” - Ansel Adams
Please forgive my extreme ignorance but it appears to my uneducated mind to be a slide show with an embedded Video clip. I have seen pro show mentioned several times. I have been using that for ... like ever!
That has the ability to incorporate Vid clips and has backgrounds and the ability to export to all sorts of formats from HD TV, computer and web display. I did a wedding in November where I put a highlights of the day together during Dinner and they played it after the speeches. Titles, backgrounds, music, vid clip and pics from the day.
Is this what this hybrid is or am I on the wrong track and more ignorant than I thought??
What he is doing is creating a template that may use 2 or 3 photos and a short video with some audio. All he has to do is take a few photos and some video and drop the files into his template, output it and he's done. Where he claims to make most of his money is selling to the corporate world, in the form of eCards, or as you and I call them, digital business cards. If you go to http://myecard.pro/featured-ecards you can see some examples of what he sells.
BTW I've been using ProShow Gold for quite a long time as well, and I'm getting ready to upgrade to their latest version of ProShow Producer, which gives more editing ability for video files, and has more transitions and effects for the photos.
GaryB
“The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!” - Ansel Adams
GaryB
“The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!” - Ansel Adams
These guys offer phone cases and have the rest of the stuff ,plus do studio made templates
I use them excellent service http://www.hhcolorlab.com/
So how did you do with the test clip? Any chance to seeing it? You may give me some ideas as well!
I came up with a way to increase your profits with this. Instead of putting it on a CD/DVD (added cost and wasted time burning) Bluetooth it directly to their smart phone! If they don't have a smart phone, and want it on CD/DVD, then raise the price for that. Also, another way to advertise it would be to put one on your smart phone and when someone comes up to you to ask questions, say, "Hey! Want to see something new we are offering?" If they say sure, then pull out your phone and show them the clip. After viewing the clip, tell them approximately how long it would take to produce, and the price for both options (Bluetooth & CD/DVD). I would definitely require payment in advance for something like this. That way you won't be producing these for people that will never come back to pick them up.
As for the audio problems you mentioned, I researching remote audio options. In Will Crockett's videos, he uses a shotgun mic, placed just outside of the frame. I'm thinking about the tiny mics that clip to your shirt/tie and send it to the camera through a radio transmitter, to eliminate having to use a long cable. Let us know what you end up doing to resolve the background noise.
GaryB
“The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!” - Ansel Adams
What are you using to create your template? That is something I need to learn to do. As far as the shooting goes, I'm planning on using 2 cameras. 1 for video and 1 for stills. As far as LED's go, they have come a long way in the last few years. I can see them possibly replacing flash/strobes in the near future. The only thing that would need to be on the camera would be the remote audio. If I had an LED light I'd use that for both the stills and the video, and I'd have that off camera. BY using LED for both, the white balance would be the same for both the stills and the video, and would blend together better with less work, when putting it all together. I am going to be doing one for a friend next weekend as a test. I'll keep you posted on the results.
GaryB
“The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!” - Ansel Adams