I was wondering if anyone ever paid to have their collection photographed?

 

I'm a professional photographer and someone contacted me about having their collection photographed ( they said about 105 guns) . They want the hi res images and a coffee table style book made of their collection. I would make the book and put the text in about each gun...info they will supply. And in addition give them the hi res Jpegs for prints if they want to make them.

 

I told them I never did that type of photography before ( I have done tattoo ink bottles for a catalog, kind of similar) .

 

If you have had it done , I was wondering if you could PM me and share some details with me so I can bid on the job well .

 

Thanks

Neat concept. Let me know if any of them need hair done!

 

C

I will But , they just want pictures of their gun collection though . Catalog style , in a light box. Like this one I did of my own ( I would need a better stand though )

 

click on pic for better resolution

 

Great idea, beautiful work, and gorgeous revolver!

 

Unfortunately I only have enough firearms that I could use my Kodak Disc to take the pics!

 

Blast from the past!

I had one of those !! I had an instamatic too

 

Thanks for the compliment.

 

I'm having a hard time getting a bid together on this one. It will take me about 3 to 5 minutes per piece . At least 7 hours between setup and then taking the shots and break down. Then about 3 or 4 hours of editing. Plus the time spent conceptualizing and laying out the book. Another day or two of work right there.

 

Are there any other photographers here that anyone knows of? I thought I saw a few posting.

Now I know who to ask about my Photoshop questions!

 

What do you shoot -- Nikon or Canon?

Nikon all the way

 

I run CS5 ( soon to be CS6 I hope ) .

 

I actually have a spread in this month's Tapout magazine. As the photographer , not the fighter lol I would love to do this job for this guy and maybe get some catalog work. The children's photography is a bit slow lately ..too many people feeling the crunch so they have doing the 15 dollar Sears packages. Understandable.

I was wondering if anyone ever paid to have their collection photographed?

 

I'm a professional photographer and someone contacted me about having their collection photographed ( they said about 105 guns) . They want the hi res images and a coffee table style book made of their collection. I would make the book and put the text in about each gun...info they will supply. And in addition give them the hi res Jpegs for prints if they want to make them.

 

I told them I never did that type of photography before ( I have done tattoo ink bottles for a catalog, kind of similar) .

 

If you have had it done , I was wondering if you could PM me and share some details with me so I can bid on the job well .

 

Thanks

 

Sandy,

 

You may not believe this, but I too am a pro photog! Everything from newswork to weddings and portraits! 100 pcs will take longer than a day to do, especially if some of them are long guns requiring several lights. I've done product stuff before with everything from 35mm to 4x5. This job sounds like a work for hire situation, since you're turning-over hi-res. So you need to figure a day rate of somewhere between $800-$2K plus expenses, and then figure what a coffee table book is worth (not a shutterfly POS with NO color management). This is a big job, and will take more than a week for one person to do. Call me (you have my number?) so we can chat about what pitfalls to look out for. What ever you do, don't do anything without a contract and a serious deposit!

 

Dave

Can you work with this?

 

Are you in a hotel room?? lol . Yeah they have a tool to fix that Ray

Are you in a hotel room?? lol . Yeah they have a tool to fix that Ray

 

No

 

What tool? Does it need to be inserted?

Can you work with this?

she said she's a photographer, not a miracle worker!

Sandy,

 

You may not believe this, but I too am a pro photog! Everything from newswork to weddings and portraits! 100 pcs will take longer than a day to do, especially if some of them are long guns requiring several lights. I've done product stuff before with everything from 35mm to 4x5. This job sounds like a work for hire situation, since you're turning-over hi-res. So you need to figure a day rate of somewhere between $800-$2K plus expenses, and then figure what a coffee table book is worth (not a shutterfly POS with NO color management). This is a big job, and will take more than a week for one person to do. Call me (you have my number?) so we can chat about what pitfalls to look out for. What ever you do, don't do anything without a contract and a serious deposit!

 

Dave

 

Ah good , thanks No , I use a pro print house for my books. I don't do wedding but have done several baby books. I'm thinking if I would group them together by finish/size which will make batch editing easier too. All the handguns I would do in a product light box , then I have some Denny backdrops for the long guns. Got the lighting equipment covered.

 

What is stumping me is the stands. In my picture for my own gun up there I did a rudimentary job ..leaned the gun against the backdrop for the most part. I have the main light 90 degrees , fill 20 degrees and high for the barrel lighting , then another fill with barn doors behind me to keep the backdrop dark .

 

I'm thinking of the rates you mentioned. Problem is these days with youtube educated bought a DSLR Sam's Club warriors a lot of people are expecting you to say " 350 with all images on a CD" . Then they go plotz when you give them a price that an actual educated photographer would charge.

 

I'll PM you my number .

 

Here is my website..it is temporarily smugmug..my actual site is under construction.

 

www.cloudninephotography.me

No

 

What tool? Does it need to be inserted?

 

I can't think of anything witty to say. 3 kids screaming in my ear hole.

I think Smokin hit it pretty good. My best friend does just about everything under the sun in terms of photography, Cars, Guns, Portraits, weddings, events, magazine spreads. Even the smallest jobs take him at least a day of shooting and editing, So multiply that and your looking at a good 2 weeks of just taking pictures and editing and then what ever time it takes to put together the book. My friends going rate is 80 an hour. and usually charges around 1k for an couple hour event like weddings and promotional parties.

 

People don't really think about all the work that goes into this field. And your not exactly going to just be snapping one pic of each gun, and using the same back drop for each and get that perfect shot off in under 3-5mins. Your going to be fussing with the placement the lighting and the background on each piece. I'd have to say, if you do get the gig, you have a lot of work ahead of you. figure at 5k its 5$ a shot.

 

I think before you give a rate, you should explain what you plan on doing and the time you think it will take. You dont want to end up getting $10 bucks an hour with the amount of work you have to do.

Yeah , shooting the spread for Tapout took me 2 hours of shooting and 3 hours of editing . It was only 20 pictures or so of the same subjects . I expect to spend a lot of time on this one for sure. Guns with different finishes will each need light tweaking . I would probably do it in 2 days , then it would take a week editing I'm sure. Then laying out the book photos and entering text. 2 weeks work for sure .

 

Thanks for the help guys

Oh and hey , can you ask your friend that photographs guns what he rests them on . I have been shopping stands but have only found ones that are for safe organization , not for nice display .

He uses what ever he can throw together. Usually wood and cloth material go a long way. Your best option may be to shoot over head, instead of portrait style, just for the ease of doing 100+ guns. Having to stand the guns upright will most likely become a daunting task considering each one is different..

 

Figure out what this guy really wants, does he just want a snap pic of each gun? or does he want like production pieces? like guns with props(ammo mags accessories, military paraphernalia) i'm sure he has a ton of stuff you can use if he has 100+ guns.

This actually sounds like a really fun project. I hope you have really good luck with it.

 

Do you do any fashion stuff? Ever want to? Weddings? I know you said you don't, but will/would you? Good luck with it.

 

C

Are you in a hotel room?? lol . Yeah they have a tool to fix that Ray

 

Hammer???

Harry, you break me up!

This actually sounds like a really fun project. I hope you have really good luck with it.

 

Do you do any fashion stuff? Ever want to? Weddings? I know you said you don't, but will/would you? Good luck with it.

 

C

Thanks

 

Yes , I do fashion stuff. I haven't in over a year because I was pregnant and all ..here is a model I shoot often , I did a gallery for her in November last year in Paramus. I will probably go back to doing Fashion Week in NYC next year . Also in this album I'm linking to is a male model who is showing off some jiu jitsu uniforms they asked him to sponsor . Next week my Tapout magazine photoshoot will be available online.

http://www.cloudninephotography.me/Fashion/Models/19179095_MFLsWN#!i=1527899516&k=8F9jcc2

 

I don't do wedding because I am freelance , one person show. I know a lot of single self employed photographers do weddings , but IMO you need to have a few backup photographers and an actual studio. to do it. If I take a wedding , then get appendicitis or something the day before , the couple has no photographer on a very important day. There should always be 2 photographers rolling in with Pelican cases if they are taking 4 to 6 grand off someone. Even if you know someone who can back you up , they should have your same style and software etc. Because a couple picks you based on your work. So you kind of need a 2nd shooter and a backup plan with other photographers who share your approximate taste in photography.

 

There are plenty of one man shows on craigslist that will do a wedding for a grand or less. People are definitely taking a risk with their wedding photos if they use them. It may turn out ok , but it may not. Wedding photography is an industry in itself. People who do it should also have specific insurance. I do have indemnity , but if I did weddings at any point I would probably up my policy and have a second photographer I hired to always work with me.

I always admired the photos in american handgunner in the 80s , I recall his name but I always could spot his work a mile away

That gives me an idea..I should get some nice gun magazines to get some ideas for presentation. We have tons of catalogs and stuff ..but I should check out actual enthusiast magazines.

 

What he wants to put together in a nice coffee table book with photos and description/vitals of his collection.

 

jackdawack - yes , looking down might be a good idea for the long guns. Thanks

Please, no plastic guns in these pics?

Revolvers, 1911s and Beretta's.

Thanks

 

Oh, and CZs, Mossbergs, and AKs too.

This actually sounds like a really fun project. I hope you have really good luck with it.

 

Do you do any fashion stuff? Ever want to? Weddings? I know you said you don't, but will/would you? Good luck with it.

 

C

 

I forgot what you do for a living To better answer your question , yes I often work closely with hair and makeup designers. We should talk sometimes. Icould send work your way and vice versa.

Please, no plastic guns in these pics?

Revolvers, 1911s and Beretta's.

Thanks

 

Oh, and CZs, Mossbergs, and AKs too.

 

I'll see what I can do I have only a vague idea about his collection. I know he has a lot of revolvers and military long guns.

 

If I even get this job. He asked for a price ..when it comes to photography lately it is easy to be on completely different planets when it comes to $$ .

Handguns should be fairly easy but Rifles are where it gets interesting. Wide enough out to capture the whole gun but close enough to capture the detail.....

Yeah , I would probably do a page layout of the longuns showing small parts and full shots. Maybe he'll want to hold his long guns and be in the shot , who knows. How much I do depends on how many pages he wants to pay for..The book prices from the press go up with pages , naturally.

Found his name inchiro nagata I remember something about him putting out a coffee table book years ago