Keyrings? or other ways to make some money?

[Little John]

Hiya well I have gone on about it a few times, this wedding in a few weeks.

As its a freeby I was thinking about trying to make a bit of cash out of it after I have done all the usual wedding stuff, I'm sure the B+G won't mind my thought was to sell keyrings to the guests, everyone in their finery best tracksuits and nike 95's. possed photos out in the gardens type of thing.

I have a small syesub printer that does 6x4 and can get a few photos on one of those for a keyring with a lightroom template set up from my laptop.

Any ideas which size is best and where to get them from I probably only need 50 or so for this one there are only 150 guests there and I won't be buying one.

[[wingnut]]

Please dear god don't sell key rings at a wedding no matter how bad it may be. If you want to make some money charge the couple a nominal fee. Or use the dye sub to print some 6x4's of guests, find a nice background, natural light and grab 20-30 couple shots, print then off in a quiet moment, place in a card mount then sell them for £5, take email addy and after event mail them the digital file too. Simples.
But serious though whilst trying to make money is a good idea you will not have the time to piss arse around with things like that, the day will fly by, you will miss vital moments and weddings are a one shot deal.
My assistant was asked to set up a photobooth studio at our last wedding, now he is an event tog by trade so knows how to sell at these gigs. He brought it all, props, back ground, lights etc etc, he set up in a prominent place between bar and dancefloor, he only had 5 couples out of 165 guests come up and get photographed! And that was a free service! Not only was it a waste I had to cover the first dance by asking a guest to hold the off camera flash for me. He missed alot of good shots that night by being stuck in the photobooth.
I am aware of the situation you have said about this being a unpaid wedding but seriously to anyone else thinking of doing an unpaid wedding as first shooter, please seriously re think. Not just for use who get paid to do it but for yourselves, if your first is free and you only charge a nominal fee for the next few then you will forever be known as the guy how does cheap wedding photography and it will be very hard for you to increase your prices to make a sensible living out of it, or at least cover your equipment costs.
My first wedding was for £50 for two hours work, I got asked to cover another 3 months after that and I charged £400, I took the odd cheap job last year and ate lousy food in grotty pubs with wedding guests that would stab you. Now my prices are close to what I want to charge I eat salmon, linguinie (spelling) and work in some of North Devon's top wedding venues with great guests who work in some very handy places.. Oh plus next year I am being flown to a remote island off our coast to shoot a 3 day wedding!
But please LJ walk away from the keyring idea.

[{{909}}]

I think with something like keyrings, they are such a small and inexpensive thing that the guests may be shocked that they are expected to pay for them. However, if you are trying to push yourself as a business in this area, a keyring with the guests picture one side and your details on the other, given away free could be a very good idea.

[Little John]

Thanks wingnut, error of my ways corrected. It was my Mum's idea anyway.

I have just been to the church for the wedding rehersal and discovered the extent of my knackered 500D, the thing stopped comunicateing with the PC yesterday, recognised by windows but not EOS utility. I thought ok I can live without that but at the rehersal I was trying a few shots to get ideas of settings etc and the vicar has said I can use flash for a few shots if I need to as there are 3 huge spotlights directly above where the B+G stand so huge shadows under their chins so fill flash would lift them, nope ETTL wasn't available only TTL and the thing just blew everything out a few other things tried the 450D was fine just the 500D is knackered. I contacted canon and they have given me a list of who I can contact to get it serviced. I think I will return it to the place I bought it from first in the hope of a replacement. I just hope it comes back in time but it is useless in its current state.

909 I like the idea of the keyrings as promo items, at the moment this will be my first and last wedding if my plans work out at the moment I don't want to do this as it's way too stressful. I do like event and sports photography.