2015 Ottawa Comiccon is done! Photos below.

Dropbox Folder

Bonus: Youtube video of photo slideshow from the convention – this has every customer that came to us that week-end.

A few things to ponder for the next time…

We were non-stop busy, and we actually made money for the first time at a con – but still not enough to make it worth while in a foreign city due to travel and hotel costs.

So how do we make it worthwhile if we go, say, to Montreal or Toronto? Do we raise prices? I feel that our $20.00 price point is good. Maybe we just need to adjust the service a bit.

Do we do smaller venues to keep building brand awareness?

Do we offer different packages, so that the customers who take up more time pay more, proportionately?

I would like to expand on the service, and bring in someone to process photos while I shoot, and shoot while I take a process photos or take a break. But that means paying someone to come in and work, someone with skills.

One expansion would be to sell photo shoot packages outside of convention hall hours. For example, a cosplay group would hire me for 30 minutes after the exhibit hall closes, and we find a spot outside the hall to set up the shoot, like in a hallway or mall.

We should push the $50.00 week-end photo pass to people who come back more often, or who are in large groups. We did a few of those this week end, and I think the customers were very happy with the amount and quality of pictures.

Do we offer printed photos? I still think not. Good printers, ink and glossy paper are very expensive, not portable, and would require the photos to be processed on the spot before printing. I think what I offer is a little too involved to get all that done on the spot. And frankly, you can get your pics printed on your own right from your computer by going to Black’s or any other online printer.

The backdrop is a constant source of frustration. Before, I had a grey carpet, and cloth backdrop. The problem is the seam between the carpet and the backdrop – looks terrible. So for this con I got a disposable paper infinity wall, which puts a gentle curve behind the subjects. Black, unfortunately, marks up terribly with all of the white dust everywhere in that place – and the backdrop kept shifting and buckling, and in the end, for over $75.00, we didn’t have enough on the roll to do three setups. The last day, only the top half was fresh. So I think we will buy a grey cloth backdrop for the next time, and a steamer to get the wrinkles out.

Studio lights were also a source of ennui – the ones I use are very big, and require power. Before the next con, I will use the profits to purchase smaller, battery powered lights. The booth was just too crowded with all those lights.

I shoot tethered, which customers love. They can see a preview on the 27″ screen, and all the photos are downloaded to my Mac as they are shot – nothing stays on the camera. The cable is a pain, however. My next camera will be the Canon 6D, which has wireless built-in. I will explore wireless tethering for the next convention.

I need to advertise my other services more aggressively at the cons, too. I do weddings, parties, graduation and school portraits, regular and corporate portraits, action photography (sports, paintball, etc), family photos, pet photography, product photos, boudoir, cosplay, etc. I love doing backup shooter work on weddings and other events – candids are so much fun to capture. I am very good at directing models. Contact me for more info!

Does anyone have any other comments or suggestions?

Bonus: Day One Photos are in this video treat.

Please remember…

The photos are copyright Richard Dufault

I permit you to use these photos for personal use. If you use them for promotional purposes, you must give me credit. Use www.richarddufault.com as the credit.

If you want to use these photos for commercial purposes, or for reselling, let’s discuss. I am very reasonable.

If you find any of these photos offensive, please let me know.

If you don’t want anyone to see your photos, please let me know, and I’ll either send them to you via email, or create a private folder for you on Dropbox.