Reservoir Zods.
Three Kryptonians from the year 1984 arrive on Earth to challenge the Last Son of Krypton.
Hilarity ensues.
We have come full circle. Just one year ago, I asked myself – is it possible to make a go of it, shooting cosplay portraits at a major pop culture convention?
The goal was twofold: First, to create a service where cosplayers could drop in, get their photos taken, and have rapid access to their images through file sharing. Second, make we needed to make money doing it. If we were going to run this like a business, we had to make money doing it.
We considered various options. We decided we needed a booth to call home. This way, our customers would come to us. In a booth, we could control the light and the background, and offer a tethered computer/monitor experience. We decided not to offer prints onsite. The cost of producing high quality prints at a convention just didn’t make any sense to us. Also, we didn’t want to try to compete with the prints that the photo op people produced on their commercial machines. Besides, I think the last thing a cosplayer wants to do is carry a print around all day. We considered different file sharing methods (like CDs and USB keys) – and decided that since we are in the 21st century, and everyone uses mobile technology and file sharing… we would use an online solution: upload to Dropbox!
I booked a double booth at 2013 Montreal Comiccon, got my gear all lined up, got business cards and flyers, and went for it. So how did it go over?
The initial reaction from most cosplayers was surprise.
It wasn’t free? There were no prints? You see, there were vendors with booths at that con offering free photos with a 4×6 print – I think one was a local radio station. Some vendors offered a very low price but asked for more money for high res photos after the fact. That’s all fine – there are many different business models in photography: for example most commercial outfits charge a sitting fee, then charge for the choice of images, then charge for individual prints, etc. I just decided I was going to charge cosplayers one time for the initial point of contact – for which they got my skill, my booth set-up, and high-resolution images, all paid for up front. No surprises, no upsell, just nice images. Don’t get me wrong: I am not judging how other photographers do it; there is no right way or wrong way to do convention photography – I just wanted to offer a cost-up-front kind of deal.
Even so, many cosplayers just wouldn’t go for it.
Others thought about it, and still others told us it was a great idea! Cosplayers spend a lot of time, money and effort getting ready for the cons. They walk the halls, attend panels, and get asked, every ten feet or so, if someone can take their picture. But they rarely end up with good, studio-quality images they can use for themselves. Sure, sometimes they do – there are some great photographers walking the halls, taking photos just because they love to do it – but why take a chance? Our set-up includes controlled studio lighting and a dark backdrop to put the focus squarely on the subject. We shoot tethered to a Mac, which means you see a jpg. preview of the final image right after the shot. No blinking or derp faces – unless that’s what you’re going for.
Some background on why people were so surprised at being asked to pay for photos:
Historically, pop culture conventions like Comiccon, Pop Expo, Fan Expo, et al. attract photographers like no other kind of activity. There are so many shooters at these conventions that it sometimes looks like a paparazzi shooting gallery at the Cannes film festival. There is no typical shooter – the gamut ranges from curious con-goers holding up iPads and mobile phones to grizzled veterans wielding tens of thousands of dollars in photo gear. Some take pics and walk away. Others hand out business cards. Some try to set up small shoots along the walls to try to cut out the crowds in the back, while others just blast away, hoping for the best.
Cosplayers LOVE the attention they get from photographers. It’s a form of recognition when people ask for a photo of your awesome cosplay, and it feels good. So why on Earth would these people want to pay us for photos they can get for free? Well – we control the light, and the background, and we pose you to look as good as possible. We show you your images. We upload them for you to retrieve later. We’ve built up a bit of a reputation as well for quality, and that can only improve as time goes by.
We process the images using Lightroom, and upload them to Dropbox right from the convention floor (in some cases, you might have access to your images as quickly as half an hour) but when it gets busy on Saturday, expect a delay until the next morning!
So how did we do at that first convention?
It depends on how you gauge success. No, we did not recoup our expenses. Not even close. But then again the goal for that first con was to try to figure out the business model, and to see if people would go for it. So we got noticed, shot some great images, and got the ball rolling. By Sunday, people were looking for us based on the images we had posted on Dropbox, and from word of mouth. One lady told us it was the best $20.00 she had ever spent at a con. That meant a lot to us.
We decided that the first attempt was encouraging. We knew we had to build up our client list, build up the trust, and get people to start looking for us. We booked a double booth at Pop Expo in Ottawa a few months later. We upped our prices, and got ready for the show. The first day went like gangbusters. We were busy, we took in money, people were looking for us… and then Sunday didn’t go so well. Long story short: we didn’t recoup our money there either, but we did better than at the previous con.
We are returning to Pop Expo again this fall, so look for us there!
We went to Comiccon this May in Ottawa. We adjusted the pricing, adjusted the offering, and went for it. We were extremely busy, lots of people were looking for us, and guess what – we actually turned a profit. Not a huge profit, but there it was. The light at the end of the tunnel. Also, we started realizing ancillary benefits – I started to get bookings for photo shoots outside of the cons, for cosplay, glamour and (possibly) a wedding or two!
In the meantime, we took a booth at CoTiCon (Cornwall Tiny Convention) to give our new smaller studio lights and backdrop a shake. I am happy to report that my new gear works REALLY well. The lights are so nice to work with, and give us that mobility we lacked at previous cons. The small cons are so much fun, partly because we don’t have that pressure to recoup high booth costs. So we do much lower prices, and just enjoy the day. CoTiCon was fun too because it was just two weeks before Montreal Comiccon… a good trial run for our new gear.
So now we’ve come full circle: We are all set to go back to Montreal. We’re hyped. Our new studio lights and backdrop are tested and true. So all we need is you to come in great numbers to make my dream a reality. Bring it!
Mike Sullivan and Thea Nikolic portray vintage Lois and Clark in this fun photoshoot in downtown Ottawa, where we showcase one of the few free-standing phone booths that remain in this city.
Good old Clark is minding his own business when Lois comes by and enlists him to go on a dangerous assignment. Hilarity ensues!
Check out my Facebook page for more images.
I’ve obtained access to a really nice studio space in Hintonburg and plan to set up for basic studio shoots for the day, from 10am to 4pm, taking advantage of the great light in that room.
The place is called The Studio Cafe and it’s a place for artists to hang out, display some art, and create art. Crystal Beshara, owner, is keen to get people in to see the space, and to help artists get seen.
Confirmed date: June 14. I’ll be onsite from 10am to 4pm.
This is a great opportunity for you to get grad photos done if you already have your dress or tux – cosplay, glamour or even just basic portraits!
My basic price would be $10.00 for a quick, 5-minute shoot, which would generate a few good quality images uploaded to dropbox in high resolution. I can book you for a longer shoot – ask me about pricing.
Part of the service you get – if the shoot is one that generates enough images – is an Apple photobook in PDF format. You can also order a print at a cost of approximately $3.00 per page. Book are expensive. These are printed and bound by a third party, and come in about a week. These books look really good – take my word for it.
Here are the sample pages from a book I am having done for my favorite 2014 Ottawa Comiccon photos: The Book
Grad time is near – if you’re looking for innovative and fun grad or prom photos, contact me! I do house calls, meetups, and even onsite photos at the event. My specialty is photo booths and portraits – contact me for pricing. Group rates are available.
Bonus: Youtube video of photo slideshow from the convention – this has every customer that came to us that week-end.
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?
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.
A madness has taken hold of my psyche. A pull towards the Dark Side. A twitch leading me to a place where everything is made better, simply, by adding a lightsaber in there somewhere. It’s just good sense. It all began at Montreal Comiccon, where I offered to add the lighsaber effect to anyone using my photo service at the con. It got to be that I could do a lightsaber in seconds, and then… I got my own lighsaber at Value Village, a thrift store in my home town. It was a simple extensible GREEN bladed lighsaber, and it was pretty old and beat up. I cleaned it, repainted it, and a bond was forged. My mission became one of Lightsabering every image I could get my hands on from among my family and Facebook friends. So send me your lightsaber image and I’ll add the lighsaber effect… for free.
The whole series is on my Facebook page.
You can also hit me up on Twitter @oshutterphoto, or just search the web for #lightsaberoftheday.
Sith Girl by Jon Fisher. Lightsaber by Richard Dufault.
I look way more bad-ass WITH a lit lightsaber.
Just saw the JJ Abrams Star Wars – Force Awakens trailer – so I got my wife Joanne to do a lightsaber test.
Here is a more involved test – with me. Let me know what you think of it!
My daughter Catherine recommended for me to check out G-Anime, a smallish anime con in Gatineau, QC, at the Palais des Congrès. It was a good opportunity to do some walking around, shooting some candids, and handing out business cards. Anyone in this photo series gets a discount if they come to see me at Ottawa Comiccon in May.
Click on the link below to see all of the photos from G-Anime on my Facebook page.