Lessons From A Cat Show
I spent a weekend working at a cat show in March. My remit was to capture moments during the event, and offer portrait sessions for feline attendees. I thought I’d share a few lessons here, which won’t just apply to show photography.
- The cats are used to shows. My original plan was to have a separate room set up as a studio, so the animals had somewhere quiet to be photographed. They really didn’t mind though, and were all very relaxed. Original plan shelved, I worked instead in the main show area. This meant I had a smaller area in which to work, but also meant that I was more accessible to people who wanted photographs.
- The event followed a strict routine, meaning I could manage my time between portrait photos, and working around the show to capture pictures during the day. In a private room, I’d have missed many of the picture opportunities from around the show.
- Attendees included rescue cats, family pets, therapy cats, cats which lived on narrow boats, and cats which holidayed with their families. I admit that I hadn’t anticipated such diversity; it was lovely to talk to the guardians and find out more about their animals. I don’t think any of our rescue cats would tolerate the crowds at a show, but I was pleased to meet so many rescue animals at the Swindon event. Talking to people can add context to your photographs, and introduces the personal touch with clients which avoids making things seem too much like a conveyor belt.
- People will expect to benefit from special offers and reduced rates. How you handle this is a personal choice. My approach was to say that the photo sessions during the show were free, with people paying for images they wanted after the event. Unless they wanted to buy images, people didn’t have to pay anything for the service. There were nevertheless people who tried to negotiate much lower prices. I don’t find this to be the case when people book a studio session. They know they will pay for the studio time, and they know the price ranges for print and digital options when the work is complete. It’s not just the two days of show time which you are putting into the photographs. It’s the photo processing and development afterwards, and the subsequent communication with clients. I also return to this post from last year, in which I discuss pricing plans, and what it is that you’re trying to cover with your costs. My advice is to find a way of offering something (free session for example), but stand firm on the print prices. Don’t undervalue your work.
- However you choose to share pictures with people after the event, think about watermarking your work. I don’t tend to watermark. However, this time I watermarked the client photos, with any purchased images being provided at a higher resolution and with no watermark. Images were provided on password protected pages on my website. I still found some people cropped off the watermark and shared the images without crediting me as the photographer. This was disappointing, as I like to feel there’s a bond of trust between any professional and their customers. My lesson here is that next time, I’ll use larger watermarks to cover a greater portion of the image.
Overall, it was an enjoyable weekend. I met some lovely people, and was in my element working with so many cats. All experiences offer the chance of learning, and lessons from the show will carry into other assignments. Finally, and much to my husband’s relief, I made it home safely without adopting any new cats over the weekend!
What a shame that people cropped the watermark off! Such an important point though about making sure you don’t undervalue your work.
Thank you! I don’t tend to use watermarks as I feel they detract from the pictures, and suggest you don’t trust people not to steal images. This was a new experience and a lesson though. In terms of pricing, it’s tempting to reduce prices to the extent that you make a loss. Word will then go around that you offer cheap photography, and however good your work is, people will expect to pay low rates for it. One of the show organisers forewarned me about not underpricing my work. Apparently a photographer at another show offered such a cheap deal that anything they made would barely have covered the USBs which they loaded the digital files onto for people. This then not only sets expectations that they will always offer cut price work, but that any photographer will cost a similar amount for the same service. As you say, it’s so important not to undervalue your work.