Evaluation

Customer Feedback- Tamar Valley Westerners
I had some amazing feedback from the group, they were pleased and interested to see what I knew about photography. They were also very cooperative with having there images taken and were very supportive to get the images I was after. I was asked to come back with images after they had gone through the editing process and had been printed. I had to have finals printed for my Final Major Project so I used them and took them to the leader of the Westerners. It was very hard to read his reaction at first because there wasn't one, he just looked intently at the images asked a few questions on how they were edited which apart from the basic slightly brighter or darker, there wasn't any. He then asked how much they were printed which I told him, he then asked how much I would sell them individually. I had never been asked this before, I wasn't prepared which made me instantly panic and worry. I needed to make a good return from printing the images so I said £10 a print. He then said right from each person that's in the images I will get them to pay £10 for a print maybe two just as long as I can use these images for a poster and if people wonder where they got the images from I will fully credit you. I instantly agreed as I have never never sold that many prints before and would be good experience on what people would be willing to pay for future sales. As soon as they saw the prints they thought they were superb and instantly wanted to buy them. I made orders for a further 8 prints. To make sure the images got to them safely I put them into clear sleeves so they looked more professional then just handing over a rolled up print. They were very pleased to have had there own copy of the images from that night and thought the £10 a print was very reasonable. This has been the greatest experience so far as I have had further orders for more prints and even starting to charge different prices for different sizes. The most popular has been A3 for £10 as they like the images taken, printed and presented professional so it's something special that they want to put in a frame and have in their home. To have the feedback that they want to put it in their homes in frames gave me the confidence boost I needed to see if I could do this as a career in freelance photography. This is still on going because I've been asked if I'm coming back setting up a mini studio as some want even more prints. I will be doing it again but at a later date when I'm not so busy with college work.

The overall experience from work based learning project has really helped me to define what a freelance photographer does and what is involved. It has made me see the equipment that I am going to need if I am to be a freelance photographer and give me confidence in talking to people. Getting to know the students on the BA year has given me a real insight into what is needed for the next year (even though I'm now terrified but excited!) just wish I could have gained more from experience from the exhibition. I was wondering whether this course of work would actually be useful for my future, but it turns out it was one of the most valuable for my learning. From it I have a greater understanding of business, work ethic and talking confidence to people.