I am an amateur photographer with a primary focus in nature photography. However, a few years ago I attended a local car show that attracts over 300 cars / owners and took casual photos. This is now the third year that I have attended and my images have improved every time that I go despite less than ideal photography conditions (low light, heavy crowds, ropes around cars, etc.).
For about the last year I have been tossing around the idea of marketing photographic services to automotive enthusiasts. My feeling is that many of the people who show their cars have a significant investment of not only time and money, but also heart and soul into their cars. As a result, they might enjoy some quality images of their car(s) that they could display in their home / office. It might also be beneficial to have quality images in the event they want to sell their car.
Starting out I would only expect this to be a way to earn a little extra income and help pay for my nature photography hobby. However, I also hope that it might also lead to more in the future...I have other ideas too.
I have some friends that I have known for several years who participate in the car show and am considering asking them if they would be interested in a photo shoot of their cars. Since they are friends I would only charge them for the cost of a print if they were interested after seeing the photos. I would use this as an opportunity to develop a portfolio of my work that I could then market to others. Hopefully it would also be a way to develop a reputation through word of mouth.
I would be interested to know if any of you have done anything like this and how you charged for your services. I see this as a different market than fine-art nature photography which is more targeted toward a product (a fine-art print). However, automotive photography (at least how I am envisioning it) is more like a service not unlike that provided by a wedding photographer. In this case I would think I would charge more based on my time with an additional fee for any prints that the client would request (at a much lower mark up than a fine-art landscape print since I am charging for my time). However, as I mentioned I am also an amateur photographer and don't have any experience, or more importantly, an established reputation as a photographer. Consequently, I don't really feel comfortable charging the same rates as an established photographer while I am starting out.
In conclusion my questions are:
1) Have any of you done anything like this?
2) How did you charge for your services (including suggestions for rates if you are comfortable with that)?
3) How should I handle charging for my services given my lack of experience or reputation as an experienced photographer while I am starting out?
4) Do you know of any resources for marketing these kind of services? Maybe it would be very similar to portrait or wedding photography from a marketing standpoint. What do you think?
Why not have some business cards printed up with a nice car image on them ? Then go to the show, shoot all the images you want and put the best on your website for people to order. They will have your card so that will not be a problem. The only downside is you need to go process quite a few images in a short time and get them up on your site.
If enough folks visit your site, you may get business from a specific owner to have his vehicle photographed in a specific location.
Also, do some low light car images to have on your site to show them what you can provide besides the normal stuff. Use gels inside the cars for the night shots to light up the interior enough to see but not overpower
It's a really tough gig, in my experience. My wife works for an antique auto museum that helps host an annual car show. About the only folks who buy shots from the show are, very occasionally, the owner of the car you photographed. And they always seem to think because you photographed their car they should get a photo for free. As for cars in the museum, the museum sells a book with petty good photos, and obviously, I can't match the price.
I don't want to be unnecessarily discouraging, but be aware there are these kinds of challenges.
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read my post and to comment. Just as a matter of clarification - my idea is to market custom photo shoots geared towards automotive enthusiasts rather than to sell images from the car show (pun not intended, although I kind of like it . ). I envision capturing images that would transcend snapshots from a car show and that would be more in the category of automotive art that showcases the owner's car in such a way that they would be proud to display it in their home or office.
I view the experience that I have gained while taking images at the car show as a learning experience, but the end result is not anything that would represent the quality of work that I would want to provide due to the limitations of shooting at the car show (such as shooting at very high ISO due to low light, inability to use a tripod because of crowds, unwanted elements in composition such as ropes around cars or crowds, etc.).
I see this as an untapped market for which at least locally there is really no precedent. At the same time while there are a number of local automotive enthusiasts judging by the participation in the car show I am only making assumptions that there would be a demand from the owners for quality images of their cars.
Brian, as Jim said, this is a tough market. My passion is photographing old cars, trucks and tractors in the weeds and showcasing them in exhibits. There is no specific tie to one person, but a lot of folks can relate to the car or truck. I hear stories about the cars I photograph and then folks tell me their stories. It brings back great memories and seems to work well. How about marketing yourself to the show as their show photographer just to get your feet wet? For the past two years I have been the show photographer for the North Carolina Mountain Corvairs for their annual car show. I charge a flat fee for the two days of shooting plus they pay my hotel room. I photograph all the cars in the show, plus the owners, and then put them on my website and take orders through my website. I do get some orders but not as many as you think.
It's like any other job, you need to find that "niche," be as good as you can be and then market the heck out of it. Have you exhibited your work anywhere? You might consider seeking out coffee shops, restaurants, galleries, local craft shows, just to see and hear the reactions from potential customers.
If you have a few minutes, you may want to check out my website to see my work on these wonderful cars. I've had two solo shows and now my work is on loan for six months to the North Carolina Transportation Museum and then will move to the City Gallery in North Charleston, South Carolina. I enjoy sharing my work more than the $$ and I love talking to people. There are just so many avenues for our work, you just need to find what works for you.
Best of luck. Keep in touch if I can offer any other help.
Discussion
4 repliesFor about the last year I have been tossing around the idea of marketing photographic services to automotive enthusiasts. My feeling is that many of the people who show their cars have a significant investment of not only time and money, but also heart and soul into their cars. As a result, they might enjoy some quality images of their car(s) that they could display in their home / office. It might also be beneficial to have quality images in the event they want to sell their car.
Starting out I would only expect this to be a way to earn a little extra income and help pay for my nature photography hobby. However, I also hope that it might also lead to more in the future...I have other ideas too.
I have some friends that I have known for several years who participate in the car show and am considering asking them if they would be interested in a photo shoot of their cars. Since they are friends I would only charge them for the cost of a print if they were interested after seeing the photos. I would use this as an opportunity to develop a portfolio of my work that I could then market to others. Hopefully it would also be a way to develop a reputation through word of mouth.
I would be interested to know if any of you have done anything like this and how you charged for your services. I see this as a different market than fine-art nature photography which is more targeted toward a product (a fine-art print). However, automotive photography (at least how I am envisioning it) is more like a service not unlike that provided by a wedding photographer. In this case I would think I would charge more based on my time with an additional fee for any prints that the client would request (at a much lower mark up than a fine-art landscape print since I am charging for my time). However, as I mentioned I am also an amateur photographer and don't have any experience, or more importantly, an established reputation as a photographer. Consequently, I don't really feel comfortable charging the same rates as an established photographer while I am starting out.
In conclusion my questions are:
1) Have any of you done anything like this?
2) How did you charge for your services (including suggestions for rates if you are comfortable with that)?
3) How should I handle charging for my services given my lack of experience or reputation as an experienced photographer while I am starting out?
4) Do you know of any resources for marketing these kind of services? Maybe it would be very similar to portrait or wedding photography from a marketing standpoint. What do you think?
Thank you in advance for any feedback.
Brian Schrayer
Why not have some business cards printed up with a nice car image on them ? Then go to the show, shoot all the images you want and put the best on your website for people to order. They will have your card so that will not be a problem. The only downside is you need to go process quite a few images in a short time and get them up on your site.
If enough folks visit your site, you may get business from a specific owner to have his vehicle photographed in a specific location.
Also, do some low light car images to have on your site to show them what you can provide besides the normal stuff. Use gels inside the cars for the night shots to light up the interior enough to see but not overpower
Good luck.
Andrew
It's a really tough gig, in my experience. My wife works for an antique auto museum that helps host an annual car show. About the only folks who buy shots from the show are, very occasionally, the owner of the car you photographed. And they always seem to think because you photographed their car they should get a photo for free. As for cars in the museum, the museum sells a book with petty good photos, and obviously, I can't match the price.
I don't want to be unnecessarily discouraging, but be aware there are these kinds of challenges.
I view the experience that I have gained while taking images at the car show as a learning experience, but the end result is not anything that would represent the quality of work that I would want to provide due to the limitations of shooting at the car show (such as shooting at very high ISO due to low light, inability to use a tripod because of crowds, unwanted elements in composition such as ropes around cars or crowds, etc.).
I see this as an untapped market for which at least locally there is really no precedent. At the same time while there are a number of local automotive enthusiasts judging by the participation in the car show I am only making assumptions that there would be a demand from the owners for quality images of their cars.
It's like any other job, you need to find that "niche," be as good as you can be and then market the heck out of it. Have you exhibited your work anywhere? You might consider seeking out coffee shops, restaurants, galleries, local craft shows, just to see and hear the reactions from potential customers.
If you have a few minutes, you may want to check out my website to see my work on these wonderful cars. I've had two solo shows and now my work is on loan for six months to the North Carolina Transportation Museum and then will move to the City Gallery in North Charleston, South Carolina. I enjoy sharing my work more than the $$ and I love talking to people. There are just so many avenues for our work, you just need to find what works for you.
Best of luck. Keep in touch if I can offer any other help.