Tis The Season for Holiday Portraits

It’s that time of year again. The time of year when the colors are changing and the leaves are falling. Depending on where you are the temperature is getting cooler and maybe even some snow. It’s also a pretty busy time for people to start thinking about a family portrait. Many people give the gift of holiday cards personalized with their family photo. You can get them at just about any photo printing lab and the cost is very reasonable. Maybe your friends and family knowing that you love photography ask you to do their holiday portraits. What should you expect? Should you charge or not charge and if so how much? All great questions and why not turn your hobby into a money making machine? Your learning new skills and you can put them to good use.

When I started out I had a very hard time charging anyone for anything. For one I hated to ask for money and second, when I did ask, I didn’t feel my skills were up to par for the amount I was asking. The first you can solve with basic research, the second you can only solve with time and practice.

Holidays are a great way to get new shots for your portfolio and to broaden your skills set by incorporating new techniques into your photography. If you haven’t done that many photos and you want to get more experience now is a great time because holiday portraits don’t involve a lot of prep work (usually everyone decorates their own house) and people are willing to let you shoot them with your camera. Ask your friends, if they haven’t asked you already, to see if they would be willing to let you take their photo. Then if they like them suggest that they create a holiday greeting card. This can be a great way to let other people know that you are interested in photography and with any luck they will ask you to take their photo too.

Incorporate kids and pets in the photo. Kids and pets can be some of the hardest subjects to photograph but that’s what will strengthen your photography skills. Don’t be so worried about posing your subjects but rather let the scene play out naturally and see what happens. The candid photos are the ones that everyone falls in love with. Remember that when you are thinking of how to set up. Just let the baby go and see what happens. You’ll be surprised.

In regards to charging for your services, charge what you feel you should. When I was starting out I went cheap. I felt that the experience I was getting was worth way more than the money they were giving me and it was. It helped mold me and shape my photography skills. If you want to get paid make sure that it is enough to cover your expenses that way at least you are breaking even. When you start to lose money it starts to not be fun anymore and if it’s not fun then what’s the point.

Until next time, Happy Shooting and Happy Holidays!

-Robert Hillis