Hi and
thanks for looking in.
You may
have picked up one of my leaflets outside of the Head To Toe hair salon or you
may have just linked to this blog from my website or Facebook page so please
lend me your ears while I explain to you why photography can cost so much, or
so little.
The
purpose of this blog is to reassure you that walking into a photo studio need
not be something that should worry you when it comes to cost.
I hear
stories all the time about people who have visited high street studios and been
blown away by the cost of the "end product". Some young ladies I know
have said they have spent over £2000.00 for a photo sitting and have had to
take out a direct debit to pay for their photo products because of the enormous
cost.
I will
not go on too much because I am sure you know that most high street studios pay
vast sums of cash to marketing companies to boost sales and profit.
These big
studios are a well oiled machine that employ staff for Marketing, The photographer,
a digital adjustment artist to cull and spruce up your photos and sales person
who works on commission who needs to pressure you to spend as much as possible
so that they can earn a living
If you
have gone for the full makeover package then add to the above a hair stylist
and a make up artist.
Thats a
minimum of 4 staff and up to 6. Throw in a receptionist and an accountant and
staff cover for annual leave and sickness and the cost of the business expenses
increases.
Then you
have to consider the studio rent, I recently enquired about a small shop in
Castle Bromwich that would have cost £16500.00 per anum plus business rates and
utilities.
Then of
course there is equipment, (Dont get me started on lens costs) software, hardware
and insurance expenses and again this all has to be factored into the cost of
the end product that YOU pay for.
PHHHHHEEEEEWWWWWWWW
Are you
still with me ?
Ok so
thats why when you walk into one of the high street or franchise studios you
walk away with some lovely products for the price of a decent second hand car
or a nice holiday in the sun.
How EMP
started
Let me
tell you about myself and Emotional Moments.
My name
is Geoff Tustin and I am a 56 year old father and grandfather. I worked most of
my life in factories and on building sites before spending 25 years as a
postman.
When my
first child came on the scene 31 years ago I did what all proud parents did and
took her to have some photographs taken. The photos I must say were lovely.
They cost me the best part of two weeks wages at the time but it set me
thinking about photography and, being a closet entrepreneur I thought "I
can do that". Shortly after I enrolled in a correspondence course in
photography and purchased my first SLR camera from an ad in the Birmingham
Evening Mail.
From the
course I became fascinated by the arts of composition, lighting, posing and the
developing of pictures. The years passed and my fascination continued into the
digital age.
When I
was offered my redundancy at Royal Mail I thought right, this is it, I have
over 25 years experience of studying photography and taking pictures so I
invested my redundancy money into some serious equipment and even took 3 more
courses to achieve the qualifications I needed to give me the confidence to try
it full time.
I
searched for a trendy name and finally came up with an available web url emotionalmoments.co.uk and I was up and
running. I spent the first two years with Debra my partner visiting clients in
their own homes to take photos and slowly started putting together some print
packages. This was great experience working with restricted space and we had
some good results and feedback.
After the
last course I completed at The Brooks School of Photography in Poole, Dorset I
decided to look around for a small studio. I was amazed that on the course, 5
students were using a space smaller than my own living room. I discovered that
you can get some fantastic pictures in a small space with a bit of creativity
and some good equipment.
Studio
Found
Debra was
in a hair salon in Castle Bromwich one day and a chance conversation with the stylist
let her know that the salon had rooms for hire upstairs. Alas the rooms were
too small but we dragged in my builder brother-in-law Dave and he converted two
rooms into one by removing a studded wall.
I set to
work installing laminate flooring, Deb started the painting and pretty soon we
had our first working studio. That was over two years ago and from then we have
gone from strength to strength building a business whilst continuing my
photographic education. (You never stop learning).
We are
still growing and have expanded in wedding photography, and Event photography
covering events at parties. proms, dance groups and sports groups.
I
invested more into top quality equipment and now the business is growing. And
its growing because we can offer quaity images at REASONABLE
PRICES for the following reasons.
- All the staff I mentioned
above, sales, photographer, marketing, digital manipulation person are one
person. (Me)
- I do not pay extortionate
high street prices for studio rent. I have a very relaxed arrangement with
the hair salon.
- I do not
pressure anyone into buying anything they do not want.
- Together with Debra we offer
a friendly service. Most of our clients become good friends and several
have returned many times because they know the products are reasonable and
they can be relaxed without the presence of a salesman.
- We offer a100% Money back, no quibble guarantee if not delighted with the images taken in our studio.
So, If
you come into our small studio you have absolutely nothing to lose. For just
£15.00 we offer an unlimted time sitting with a free 8" x 6" mounted
print.
We ask
you to return one week later to view you photos where you can choose your free
print.
Then we
will offer you your images on a range of products from Canvas wraps,
photobooks, acrylics, MDF and aluminium wall products, framed prints mini
albums and coffee table books. All at prices that will surprise you.
And
remember, if you are not satisfied with the
images we offer you we will give you your mony back and you still get to keep
your print.
You have absolutely nothing to lose but some real emotional moments to
gain.
Look at the testimonals on our website
www.emotionalmoments.co.uk
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