Prom Event Photography - Dilemma

Gilly B

Gilly B

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Gillian
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I have covered a few Balls / Proms / large reunions etc to date by setting up a studio and backdrop at the venue and with the help of an assistant, displayed images on 17" monitor and took orders and payment on the night. Which worked quite well.

However, this year I have been asked to cover 2 prom events in July and 1 in September and they requested that we print on the night. I researched event printers and have now invested in a HiTi Dye Sub printer (£1500) and practiced and all set to go. Now, one of the event organisers for 1 of the Prom nights has thrown a spanner in the works by requesting that all the photos are displayed on a webpage for viewing and purchasing post-event.

I am asking if anyone has any ideas of how to set a webpage up for viewing and ordering. My own website does not allow that many images to be uploaded unless I pay mega bucks.

Or, does anyone have any bright ideas to suggest. Thank you.
 
I see you use clikpic - I think that if you have invested £1500 in a printer then the subscription package that clikpic offer at £180 is a small price to pay, they are really very good and maybe if you can live with only uploading 5 files at a time it's only £80.
 
I thought you might say that. I just wanted to bounce ideas from the Forum. So, what you are saying is be flexible and offer both printing on the night and online viewing. Drat! I have just renewed my subscription as well.

Thanks for your comments - much appreciated. I will do it.

By-the-way, if you search lily may on face book and look in the portraits gallery, you will see the last event I did which was Oscars themed Ball. Great fun. Gillian
 
Hi Gilly,

You can get e commerce templates or any simple photography template with wix.com and pay a monthly price if you need to store masses of images, you can trial it for three months which should belong enough to use as a one of event.

You can upload picures and edit all online without much web skill, your outlay that way would be minimal given you've already investedagreatdeal in these two projects. Worth checking out
 
Although printing on the night is very important to your profits, you really do need a fall-back for those that either didn't bring money or those who want reprints etc.

There are lots of offerings out there. One of the most popular is everybody smile. Terrible name, but functionally a very good system and not expensive.
 
Hi Gilly - I'd like to get a look at that gallery of yours from the Oscar's night - I have something very similar coming up and would like to see what you did with it. I tried searching for Lily May as you said, but haven't found anything obvious...
 
Aw, thanks guys for the information. I will research the possibilities before making a decision.

SpennyK - Odd that you are unable to find it. Try searching lily may photography or search Gillian Brench and find me through my page. Am I allowed to put a link on here to the gallery. If you have trouble, send me a pm and I will e-mail you the direct link.

Thanks again Guys - always helpful.
 
Try these guys:

http://www.onlinepictureproof.com/

You can sign up for a 30 day trial and give it a go and its a monthly contract if it suits you. My wife moved her site from clikpic over to them.

Just out of interest, how do find the HiTi printer, reliability and quality?

Steve
 
vv cephei said:
Try these guys:

http://www.onlinepictureproof.com/

You can sign up for a 30 day trial and give it a go and its a monthly contract if it suits you. My wife moved her site from clikpic over to them.

Just out of interest, how do find the HiTi printer, reliability and quality?

Steve
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Yes, I was impressed. The speed is very quick and the quality - well if you don't dwell on professional print lab quality, then they are what they are.

The format on the night is a 9x6 in a strut mount and placed in clearface bag £10.00 If say, a large group of 10 came up then it is £50 for 10 copies - adjust the numbers accordingly. The photo is dry instantly in leaves the printer and you can spill liquid on it and it wipes off. From a customer's point of view, it is shot in a studio environment, will last for years and not bad for a Tenner. Of course it is not going to compare to a studio portrait shoot that is then printed via a lab - but they don't pay a tenner for it either.

Once I got my head around that, then it is fine and the customers are happy. The company I purchased the printer from are event photographers themselves and cover huge functions in London and the SE and usually run 10 of these printers during the evening with a 1,000 guests.
I only have about 100-150 guests!
Hope that answers your query. Gillian
 
vv cephei said:
Try these guys:

http://www.onlinepictureproof.com/

You can sign up for a 30 day trial and give it a go and its a monthly contract if it suits you. My wife moved her site from clikpic over to them.

Just out of interest, how do find the HiTi printer, reliability and quality?

Steve
Click to expand...

I'll check this out - Thanks
 
Gilly B said:
Yes, I was impressed. The speed is very quick and the quality - well if you don't dwell on professional print lab quality, then they are what they are.

The format on the night is a 9x6 in a strut mount and placed in clearface bag £10.00 If say, a large group of 10 came up then it is £50 for 10 copies - adjust the numbers accordingly. The photo is dry instantly in leaves the printer and you can spill liquid on it and it wipes off. From a customer's point of view, it is shot in a studio environment, will last for years and not bad for a Tenner. Of course it is not going to compare to a studio portrait shoot that is then printed via a lab - but they don't pay a tenner for it either.

Once I got my head around that, then it is fine and the customers are happy. The company I purchased the printer from are event photographers themselves and cover huge functions in London and the SE and usually run 10 of these printers during the evening with a 1,000 guests.
I only have about 100-150 guests!
Hope that answers your query. Gillian
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info
Steve
 
If you want something quick simple and free to get you out of a hole, gallery2 will do it. Check my site in my sig.
 
Hi Gilly - I found the album, thanks for the link.
What sort of a function was it? There are lots of different types of people there.
 
Try JAlbum. It's free, and can be set up with many different skins to add to your site. It can be quickly and easily set up so that customers can buy photos from the page they are displayed on and the money goes straight into your paypal.
 
Selling on the night will always generate more sales, will they not allow you to do both? Sell on the night for those that want images then and afterwards web sales? Or are the organisers trying to increase their income?

Don't forget to watermark the images (use lightroom or similar) and don't upload high quality images!
 
SpennyK said:
Hi Gilly - I found the album, thanks for the link.
What sort of a function was it? There are lots of different types of people there.
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It was an Oscar's Night themed charity ball. It was great for a small village in Mid Wales. They had a Red carpet outside, and the villagers who did not get a ticket, were all outside pretending to be the press and screaming fans. Guests were having to sign autographs etc. It was brill!
 
clairewadey said:
Just realised where I recognised the name of your company, a few of my friends from my hometown (Newtown) have liked your facebook page, and I recognise a few people in your gallery. Good Luck with your events.
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Thanks and Hi Claire x
 
snapzz said:
Gilly
Can I recommend you invest in a day here: http://www.eventphotographysolutions.co.uk/the-profit-from-seminars.html

Jeremy who has already replied to your post is one of the speakers and with Mike Weeks are both very experienced in Proms. This will be money well spent and could answer all your questions plus help avoid many pitfalls.
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I am unable to find the location of the event this coming weekend on your page. I must be blind! Yes, I am very interested.
 
khitomer said:
Selling on the night will always generate more sales, will they not allow you to do both? Sell on the night for those that want images then and afterwards web sales? Or are the organisers trying to increase their income?

Don't forget to watermark the images (use lightroom or similar) and don't upload high quality images!
Click to expand...

I have just gone back to the commitee and offered both printing on the night and uploading to the web for viewing. Good point about low res upload - thanks. Gillian
 
I would have liked to have gone on this too, but can't make Saturday - will there be any in June? (sorry for thread hijacking Gilly!)
 
Jerm said:
Excellent - look forward to meeting you on the day.

J
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Drat! in my excitement of booking - Hubby has just burst my bubble by reminding me that we won't be back home until 3am on Saturday morning from a charity ball Friday night, and that I won't be fit to drive the 2hrs 12mins. to Leamington Spa.

I am going on your site now to send a message to change it to the Sunday if possible.
 
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