Dog photography......What do people really want?

[A Billion Clicks]

Hi all,

This is my first post and quite a long one at that! (I have also posted this in other forums to find as many opinions as possible)

I'm looking for everybody's honest opinions, no matter how brutal, in regards to pet photography and what people want and also what they are willing to spend.

I started my dog photography business at the end of last year and as we're coming out of winter and into spring I'm looking to possibly change what I offer.
I decided to completely change the type of subject that I photograph and decided to photograph what I love most......dogs!
I photograph on location, under natural light and all images are retouched and then uploaded to a private online gallery. On average there are usually approx 20-30 images to view in the gallery. Sometimes there are 50+, sometimes exactly 20. As no two sessions are the same, I can never tell exactly how many but I try to offer a minimum of 15.

At the moment I focus more on printed products such as mounted and framed prints on Fine Art paper, canvases, metal prints etc.
I have chosen the highest quality possible but in turn, this pushes production costs for me up also and therefore I have to charge a bit more to make a fairly decent turnover.
I could use cheaper materials but why have a £4000 camera and lens combo to print on 30p paper and put it in a £10 frame.
Also given the size/weight/value of the wall art, they are only ever sent to me via DPD and once I have inspected each item, are they then sent to the client.

Since I control the printing process, I know that the final image is colour corrected before it is sent to print and I can also offer a digital proof of how the image will sit before it is printed. If I offer files to people and they choose to get it printed at a high street printers and they come out too dark, I have no control over that,

My questions are;

1. As pet owners, If you were to book a doggy photographer to come and photograph your pooch on location, would you be interested in such things or are digital files the only things that people want nowadays?
2. What do you think is a reasonable amount to spend, taking into account an average of 10 hours of work per session (travel time/photography/retouching/preparing for print/uploading).

If you chose digital files then of course preparing for print and providing proofs before they are sent off would not go into my time spent.

As an example of session prices, a basic session will cost £59 and is a minimum of 1 hour of photography with 1 dog, image retouching, a private gallery and an 8 x 10 printed image of your choice on Fuji photographic paper.
Anything else would be purchased separately.

If you were to go for the other session, it will cost £299 and is 2 hours of photography for up to 2 dogs, image retouching, a private gallery and a 16 x 12 mounted and framed Fine Art print + 20% off further purchases.


Canvases start at £109 (16 x 12 size)
Framed prints at £189 (16 x 12 size)
Metal prints at £199 (16 x 12 size)

I do offer much bigger sizes as well as other products but the above prices are to give you an idea.

I would be happy to post my website but I wasn't sure if this was against the rules so I have included some the images I have taken. Some of these images had dogs on leads, some had dogs on leads AND people in the background.
If I am allowed to post my website then I shall do so.

Thank you for reading and please let me know your thoughts!

 

[JudyN]

With the framed prints, is 16 x 12 the image size, or the frame size, and is there a mounting board round the image, or does the image fill the frame?

Also, I assume 16 x 12 is inches, not cm - is that correct?

Comparing the prices with, say, a framed limited edition print, I would say that your prices seem reasonable - people might complain that it only takes an instant to take a photo but of course there's a whole lot more you have to do in the background and as you say, you have to make a living wage.

I don't think it's something I would want myself, as it's not my 'decorating style', and I also have a son who's a keen photographer and though he won't have your skills or equipment, he comes free But that's just a personal thing, nothing to do with your product or prices.

 

[A Billion Clicks]

Hi @JudyN, Thank you for your feedback!
I apologise, I should have clarified. Yes, the sizes are in inches and in regards to image size, that depends on what the person would like. I had a 16 x 16 printed which had a 4" mount so it was a 12 x 12 image size.
Although when I checked it, it seemed a whole lot bigger than 16 x 16 overall! It was huge and very heavy. I had to check the invoice to make sure I hadn't ordered a 20 x 20 by mistake.

I appreciate what you're saying and I think this is what has brought me to ask for peoples opinions with regards to printed products. Not everybody is going to have the same taste regarding frames and also, somebody else pointed out on another forum, that not everybody has the luxury to hang things on their wall, certainly not great big frames (the 16 x 12 is the smallest I do!)

I'm edging on maybe trying to offer just digital files and prints which will of course bring the prices down considerably. It's more trying to find what people see as a fair price. Id like to be accessible to as many people as possible.


And yes, although to a small number of people its just clicking a button and then emailing it across, a lot of work goes into it that people might not be aware of. I won't go into that though

Thank you again!

 

[arealhuman]

Hi. That's a good first post and I don't think there's any problems with posting your details on here (perhaps @Josie and @Oliver would confirm ). You may even be encouraged to put a post up in the products section. The photographs you've posted earlier look awesome, especially the first ball of fluff missile!

I've been thinking of getting my dog professionally photographed for a while now, he had an operation about 4 months ago and his fur in that spot has almost grown back and when it has, I'll be looking to get something done. Personally, what I'm looking for is a framed print, with also something like his paw print on the frame. My wife thinks I'm mad, but I like the idea of it!

With regards to your offerings, can you not offer all options? That way, your clients can pick and choose what they want. Not only would I want a tangible product - the print/framed print - but also the original digital files (without watermarks!) for my own use.

Cost is always going to be contentious, particularly for someone like me who is a purely point-and-click iPhone photographer (I can hear you cringing from here! ). But, as someone with a mild understanding the digital world, I also understand the work that can go on in the background. Also, have you factored in travel? These costs can mount up quite rapidly, too.

Hope that's of some use!

 

[Josie]

Yes please do join our dog friendly directory!

 

[A Billion Clicks]

Thank you @arealhuman
I certainly can offer all options. The only issue I saw with offering both is that if I offered high-quality products (therefore quite high in price) and files which are a lot less expensive, its very unlikely anybody would purchase the frames or any wall hanging product since they can just buy the files and do it themselves.
So I'm certainly rethinking my strategy in regards to aftersales. I'm leaning more on the digital side of things and still leaving the option to have things printed which could be discussed should somebody, like yourself, wish to have a tangible product.
It makes it less expensive and therefore more accessible to everyone.

This has its pros and cons though.

The major pro is that somebody who buys the files could then print it on any media they wished and also choose something that suits their taste.

The con is, I can't guarantee how it will look when it's printed. I had some samples printed at different places using the same file and each and every one was slightly different. Some slightly darker, some slightly more muted etc. This is down to the printers profile, something which I take into account if I'm in control of the printing process.
For example, take a file into a high street chain of printers, then go to boots and print the same thing and then try a supermarket which offers printing. They will all look slightly different. The paper stock is important too.

Or maybe I'm worrying over nothing and I'm being overly critical!

And hey, I'm not cringing at all. I use my phone to snap pictures a lot. It's amazing that this sort of technology is available to so many people who would otherwise be unable to photograph something. Especially our dogs!


I really appreciate all of the replies to my thread and thank you all for taking the time to read and respond!