Is there money in LF portrait work?

[Immekeeby]

Ive tried iCash, spaces and apostrophes dont work.

Ive tried kBank, wasnt what I was looking for.

Ive tried vBCredits, too much stuff packed in.

Is there anything just basic like iCash, but actually works?

[Mark Sawyer]

Is there anything just basic like iCash, but actually works?

I think the Monty Python people wrote a song about this...

[John Kasaian]

A gal in my town was doing a booming business in Platimum/Palladium LF portraits with an 8x10. Her clients were well heeled and could pay the bucks. She advertised with calling cards and samples left in a few ultra high end frock shoppes, and extolled the permenance of platinum prints as a sales "hook."

Oh and she's a very talented photographer too!

I haven't heard anything about her since the economy went in the tank though.

[Greg Blank]

There is a market if your work appeals to the client- regardless of price or the format- keyword "Uniqueness". Doing LF portraiture in and of itself, is not a practical business model. Which does not mean someone can't make lots of money that way,....but acquiring the skills to do it porfitably and have a stream of paying clientele, is a very long path if you have not done portraiture and have basic LF skills.

Portraiture and weddings will always be the easiest route to make money with a camera. But you give up a lot by being in demand.

After perusing the recent View Camera newsstand copy with the wonderful pictures of wet plate and Tintype's, I was wondering if there was still a viable market for LF portrait work, whether Alt or not. I've read over and over again over the last decade where LF cameras came to the market from studio use being apparently replaced with MF possibly, and eventually with digital recording. It seems now that the use of LF might be so unique that a person could garner a name if good enough with technique. I know that the market so to say is in the dumpster, but I still wonder. Mostly because it looks as if I'll be a partner in a different type business, but where I can set up a backdrop in a rather large unused space.

[Greg Blank]

Added disclaimer: If you can afford to.

Leave the low end to the bottom feeders.

[D. Bryant]

A gal in my town was doing a booming business in Platimum/Palladium LF portraits with an 8x10. Her clients were well heeled and could pay the bucks. She advertised with calling cards and samples left in a few ultra high end frock shoppes, and extolled the permenance of platinum prints as a sales "hook."

Oh and she's a very talented photographer too!

I haven't heard anything about her since the economy went in the tank though.

Got a link to her website? I would like to see what she is doing.

Thanks,

Don Bryant

[Robert Skeoch]

I'm going to chirp in with my view on this.

The fact that it is LF is irrelevant. Who wants to look at a boring but grainless photo. It's all about the impact of the composition.

There are only two types of portraits.

Those that are paid for by the sitter, or their family and expect the person to be portrayed in a positive manner.

Those that are paid for by someone else.... such as an Art Grant or an Editorial Magazine/Publication. They don't have to make the sitter look good, since he's not paying and allow the photographer much more freedom and creativity.

If you're style/look of the photos was best expressed through a LF then it could work. If your style was forced to work with LF but could easily be done with a blad or digi, then it's going to be tough sledding.

Whatever your style, if you put together a strong portfolio of 8-12 images, and let the magazines of the world know of your existence... they could call when they needed that look.... as long as the look wasn't the same as everything else out there.

I always think of Chip Simons and the portrait work he did on a blad with a fisheye. He made a great career and a few bucks shooting in a style many people would say was an un-workable solution... but there was enough work to keep him busy.

-rob skeoch

[Mike Putnam]

It sounds like a lot of marketing and networking would be required for large format portraiture. No one in my area is using LF for portraits, of course most aren't using LF for landscapes either. It seems like lots of work to create and or capture a very small niche market. I suspect you would need to be really committed/wedded to your bellows to justify the expense and inconvenient workflow of LF. It sounds cool though!
Mike Putnam
Mike Putnam Photography

[John Kasaian]

Got a link to her website? I would like to see what she is doing.

Thanks,

Don Bryant

Alas I don't have a link to give you. I never saw her website (if she had one) She used soft portrait lenses for her work and would hang a few up in the high end frock shoppes (generally kids or family shots in the client's yard, but sometimes in a studio) and leave a stack of business cards and pamphlets extolling the virtues of platinum palladium. I do remember that people spoke highly of her work and IMHO the praise was well deserved.

[srbphoto]

Yes, there is a lot of money in LF Portraits.


The film company, paper company, chemical company, etc. will make plenty