Not only are we well into the wedding season now but with the school hols rapidly approaching many peoples are booking family photo-shoots. Family photo-shoots have also been one of my popular photography training course options as it's an ideal way to get started on the road to becoming a professional photographer. So, I'm sharing a few photographs from the recent Bald family photo-shoot which highlight some of the great pictures you get from a home photo-shoot and also how you can achieve high quality professional studio style images in the comfort of a clients own home.One of the most enjoyable aspects of being a wedding photographer in Edinburgh is when my wedding clients go on to have a family and I come back to photograph their new arrivals and children. Billy and Natalie were married in 2010 at Melville Castle and their daugther, Freja, was a very small flower girl. Since then Freja has been joined by a little sister and we had great fun doing their family photo-shoot a couple of weeks ago.
I have a small mobile digital studio which is versatile enough to be set up in almost any room no matter how small. Whilst it may be quite compact it is still state of the art and allows me to produce superb high quality photographs all in the comfort of a clients own home, so it ensures everyone is comfortable, relaxed and it's stress free for everyone. It is no problem at all to book clients into a studio for a shoot if they wish, but with children and pets I always recommend doing a home photo-shoot instead as it is far easier to get natural, relaxed pictures where the subject is in their own environment.I do not apply any strict time restrictions especially with children and pets as I always work to their time frame, but generally around 45 minutes is sufficient to get a good variety of photographs which will include various different poses, styles and combinations.
I can utilise several different backgrounds but for family shoots the 'Venture style' high-key white background is pretty good. Being a digital studio I'm also able to apply different effects and back drops in the post production, too, something which is rarely done in a traditional photography studio. Clients can then choose which styles they prefer, they might keep the special effects, apply the same effect to all of their photographs or go back to the originals. It's amazingly flexible!
All the photographs here used a four light set-up, however, for those booking a photography training course looking to make money from photography I can start you off by teaching you a very simple one light set-up using a single speedlite or flash gun which is very cost effective enabling you to start earning money straight away without forking out for a large expensive kit. One-on-one training for a professional photographer like this is £125 for a half day course (£195 for a full day) which means even if you set your initial prices at the budget or low end of the market, say amongst the £45 per shoot photographers, you'd earn your investment back in your first couple of bookings. Non-professional Photography Training courses in Edinburgh (Beginners to Advanced) is £90 per half day and £165 per full day. More details are on the Training tab on my website.
For a family photo-shoot in Edinburgh it is £90 which includes your own private online gallery, your favourite photograph as an A4 mounted enlargement, and then if you wish to purchase any of the other additional photographs you are free to upgrade accordingly.
