4th annual "Free Shoots!"
A lot of you are aware of these and some are just hearing about them for the first time. Every October, I hold some type of free/charity shoot for a couple days and shoot all day long and have people sign up for 20 minute slots and they essentially get free photos. Free to use for the web (FB, Instagram, Blogs, Twitter, etc). If they wish to print, they can purchase the photos at a super discounted price and everyone is still happy, but there is no obligation to buy.
In the past couple years, I would have the sessions edited by the first week of December (because I had paying clients as well, so free shoots would be in last priority but I would always get them out in time for Christmas cards) but I think a lot of people were very anxious waiting over a month for their free photos and some not very happy haha.
Because I shoot mostly film now, for portraits especially, I don't want to shoot any of the free sessions in digital this year. This will also help on editing time, as my lab returns the scans of the film to me pretty near how I want them to be and I only have to do minimal edits. So how does this affect this year's 'free shoots?'
1. You'll still receive digital files.
Pretty self explanatory.
2. You have to pay for the film and processing up front.
Yes. So. Basically not "free shoots" anymore. Free in the sense I'm not making any money until you buy printing rights still? ;) Pricing will be explained later.
3. The amount of photos per roll is not guaranteed.
Each roll has 16 shots. I'm pretty darn good, but sometimes I'll have 1 frame or so where I miss focus or something. So, when you get back your images and you have 15 images, I'm not liable for that 16th image :)
When:
October 10th (possibly the 11th, depending on how much interest) from 9am - 6:20pm
Where:
TBA. They will all be in the same location. Because I have people coming every 20 minutes it has to be in the same spot. It will be shaded and pretty :)
Rules/Guidelines:
You must first decide on the amount of rolls you want in your session. I can probably shoot up to 2 rolls, maybe more, but it depends on the type of session you are. Then email me at us@weareroz.com to choose your time slot. It may or may not be available and I may have you choose another one or tell you all spots are filled (they fill up fast). I will then send you an invoice from PayPal to have you pay for your film up front. I have to purchase the film beforehand to make sure I have enough rolls, so that's why I'm having you do this as soon as you book your time slot. I will only hold your spot for 1 hr after I've sent the invoice. If you don't pay, I'll open it up for another person to grab. Reason being: there's so many people who will tell me they don't get paid until next month and then they never pay and I can't do that when that spot could have been filled by someone who could pay right away ;)
Time slots are every 20 minutes. So for example: 9, 9:20, 9:40, 10, 10:20, 10:40, 11. Don't sign up for a 10:30. That's every 30 minutes. Sign up on the 20 minute slots.
I'm taking my veterans first. Meaning, people who have done the free shoots with me over the past 3-4 years. This totally doesn't mean I won't take any new people (I had this same rule last year and I got plenty of new people in!) it just means I'm being loyal to those who are loyal to me :)
Paying for the film/developing does not include the printing rights. You are still free to use the photos on the web, but they will be sized and sharpened for web and watermarked. Do not crop out that watermark. I know that FB forces you to have a square profile photo, and that's ok if it doesn't show in the profile pic, but when you click on the photo it can make it bigger and the watermark should still be there :)
Pricing per roll: Now this depends if you want them rushed or not. My lab's normal processing is about 7 business days (sometimes a little more if they are in a busy streak). It takes about 2-3 days to get there. I get the scans back via email, so we don't have to worry about shipping back. So if you're cool with that time scale, it's $21/roll. Each roll has (up to) 16 images. If you'd like my lab to rush it, it's still 2-3 days to get there, and about 3-4 business days in the lab, on time. That pricing is $28.50/roll. I'm not charging you shipping since I'll be sending all the film together in a big package. Once I receive all the film back, I'll be spending probably a couple weeks or so to edit and then you'll get your images back in record time. No waiting until the first week of December.
Pricing for printing rights: $5/image + tax. I'll convert them to b/w as well at no charge. You have to buy the entire album. So if you bought 1 roll, and I returned all 16 images to you, you would be paying $80 + tax for your album for printing rights. This money is paid after you see the images and decide you'd like to purchase printing rights.
Let the emails roll in!
Remember, if you don't get a spot in these sessions, I'm doing my Fall Mini sessions! You can pick your own date, location and have the perfect light for your session :) If you book today (Labor Day) and pay in full, I'll give you an extra 10% off as well!
