Saturday, January 11, 2014

Don't Settle for a 'Selfie'

Class of 2015- it's not too early to start thinking about your Senior Portraits for next year. Maybe you or your parents don't think you can afford a formal sitting from a professional studio, but you don't want to settle for taking a "selfie" with your phone (who want's their arm in the yearbook anyway?)

I get it. Let's face it, there seem to be just two philosophies out there:
1) Make you wait for months to look through albums and albums of shots and then pay through the nose for prints but not be allowed to share anything you buy on Facebook, or 2) charge you an arm and a leg up front for a session that takes all day and then let you do whatever you want with what you get.

I'm different. Here's what I'll do; come to you where you live, shoot quick- hopefully just a half an hour, no more than an hour and a half tops. Gimme a week or two tops, I'll sort through the best shots, clean up a couple and burn you a CD that you can do whatever you want with.

I'm not for everybody, I don't want to be. Nothing wet and wild, no field-trips to Timbuktu, but no fantasy settings with a green screen either. At home, at school, or inn your home town. Fast, natural, the real you.

Easy, inexpensive, and authentic. Yet the experience and expertise of someone college-trained in Art and design, who's worked for local newspapers and taught Yearbook for 20 years.

What do you need in a photographer?
I'm not about weddings, I'm not about teams or proms. I am willing to shoot PR photos for your business, club, or event, I'm more than open to take your engagement pictures, baptism or confirmation. If big and glitzy is what you're looking for, keep looking. But if personal and convenient is what you need- please consider me seriously.

No surprises. Here's what I charge:

$50 initial "sitting" under 90 minutes, $20 per hour after 90min.

$15 for a CD or $35 for prints and a CD. Additional charges for multiple copies.

We'll negotiate on large orders or orders with an excessive amount of alterations and customization. But you've got to admit, that's dirt cheap.

I can charge this little because I've got a day-job, I'm not trying to make a living, just supplement my income. I can charge so little because you're paying for my know-how, not my equipment. Mind you, I'll certainly be open to tips or honorariums over and above my standard fees- but that's up to you!

If you can't afford a swank studio with lots of overhead, but you don't want to settle for having your friend or family member take your picture with their phone and running off copies on a computer printer that runs out of ink, think. Think mal●com.




DISCLAIMER: In accordance with Iowa law I can't charge for Senior Pictures of students of the Boyer Valley Community School District, where I teach, but I'd love to do what I can for anyone else in our part of West-Central Iowa.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Big City Skills for Small Town Budgets

Are you an entrepreneur or small business owner looking for a highly professional look, but you don't have either the skills set to do it yourself or a big corporate in-house department to take care of it for you? Let me work on it on my time off. 

Farm, Truck-Line, Hair Salon, Ag-Service, City, Club, Organization, Church, Cafe, Bar, Bakery/Catering Service- You name it- I'm excited to to come up with something for you!

Why pay for overhead of some design firm? I've got college training in Art and composition, 20 years of teaching experience in Art, Photography, Newspaper and Yearbook. Put my know-how and and experience to work for you. It won't set you back near as much as going anywhere else.

Book covers, pamphlets, business cards,stationary, print ads, web MeMes, even company logos or buttons- I've done it all. Don't know where to look? Don't know who you can trust to make it look professional but not cost an arm and a leg? I'm your man for pre-press or online graphics.

Let's talk. We can negotiate a price that's fair and a time line that's realistic. I've worked with newspapers and screen printers before so I know what they need. I freelance as a sideline so I can afford to charge less, up to a quarter of what the pros in the city would charge. And I'll listen to what you need and what you're looking for.