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All,

Vertical Visions is planning to take over the photo concession at Bridge Day 2009. After years of discussions with several talented photographers/jumpers, I feel it's time that we keep this work "in the family". I have a few questions that hopefully some of you can answer:

-What did you pay for an 8x10 and CD last year? Was the price fair?
-How many LCD monitors were present for viewing photos? Was this enough?
-What other items would you like to see at the photo booth (posters, etc.)?
-Are there new camera angles that you'd like to see?

Many thanks for your replies.

Maybe a camera setup directly above the platform, (photographing the exit, facing down) and or the diving board with a wide angle. Maybe put on a pole with a remote fire?
-mi dos centavos

Like this?



It's already being planned. Now if I can just find someone to sit there for 6 hours and hit the remote shutter release button a thousand times.

get three people 2, one hour shifts. Give them staff passes.

Last 2 years I bought the photos and CDs.
Prices each year were about $100 - $120
for the whole package.

The fairness of the price: little steep but ok
Number of screens to preview images: fine
Process of locating the images: some hassle


I would suggest focusing on selling images
on CD and not printing the images to paper
to lower your cost/hassle hence you could
offer good prices & more people buy them.

You will have already expended the effort to
capture the photos & each CD is like 7 cents.

Examples:
High Price Model $100 x 85 = $8,500
Moderate Model $50 x 200 = $10,000

i got 4 8x10 photos for $60.00. that seemed a little too expensive. i ask about a quantity discount if i bought more but was told no. it would be nice to be able to get a package deal on the photos. they already had all of the prints there in boxes so it seemed weird to me that they were unwilling to negotiate the price. i guess they had rather trash them or keep them than sell for less than $15.00 each.

Thanks for the comments. We will dye-sub print on demand and offer CD burning as well as package deals.

We'll also change the way we punch badges at the exit point: Badges won't be punched until the jumper is on the boom truck and we'll punch a small hole through a specific time period (10:15-10:30am). Jumpers will later be able to search all photos in that time period quickly. All cameras will be synchronized so that all images from your jump will be next to each other.

How many LCD's (kiosk viewing stations) did they have last year?

I think the high cost puts people off. I found I kept putting off buying some until the urge to buy them faded. Make them reasonably priced and more people will buy them which means more profit at the end of the day. The more photos of yourself (only your photos) you buy the cheaper it gets would be the best model; This make the cost easier to swallow. More money in your pocket at the end of the day if everyone buys up all the pictures rather than a few people buying a select few photos. You have to realize that every one has friends there already taking photos. So you have to sell them on the quality of your photos and the reasonable price. Why it could mean I'd even leave my camera at the hotel.

+1 on the last two posters.

the previous photogs took some really nice shots but they wanted a fortune for them. I have not bought pics from them (but bought some from your site, as it was a much better package deal) in the last 3 years since I would have spent close to $200 each year for all the pics I wanted (5-7 jumps each year)

And it's fucked up that they would rather destroy the already printed 8x10's rather than sell them at a discount.

Lastly, I would say setup something online where they many of us that can will be able to buy digital copies online - that should lighten your load A LOT.

Nowadays, this seems like the way to go. Either just sent a copy of the digital file or cut a deal through one of the many online photo processors and have them process and mail the hard copy image. It beats dumping a lot of capital into printers/ink/paper/etc... for a once a year event.

Like the last 2 posters, I question the need for hardcopies. First, after drunken revelry, I wonder how many hardcopies end up with fingerprints, smudges, creases, etc. Second, some folks might enjoy editing the picture, cropping, etc., on there own.

I did like the previous vendors attitude of "you buy a CD, you can use it as you wish." No copyright concerns.

I think focusing on burning cd's would be far faster and cheaper. I bet some newbies would post them on FB the same day!

Great idea ! Thanks once again for all the awsome work you do every year to make this happen !

Thru the years I've spent anywhere from 125 to last years where the 4 way chipped in for the one shot on CD.

Quality has always been great!
CD or on-line would definitly be way to go !

camera angles could be improved upon...
wide angle from within the girders, shots from the boats or river, candid shots before and after the jumps would all be nice.
Actually I see a huge missed opportunity that only BASE jumpers can fill. The shot that every jumper is looking for is the air-to-air POV. You could offer personalized photographers for a fee. Jumpers could reserve a photo jump slot for a small sitting/jump fee, if the pictures suck the fee is returned... minus a small administrative fee for time spent
Or You could offer 4 levels of picture pricing. Low, Medium, High and Premium. Low price pictures are the non-jumping pics taken throughout the weekend. Medium prices are the normal jump pictures. High prices are the air-to-air shots or the super creative angles. Premium pictures are the party shots that people will pay to be destroyed... things like the naked speed packing, flaming beer farts and balloon races.
Have package deals to mix and match so the whole family can be accommodated
It's time for the next level of photos at Bridge Day!

ps-I'm available for hire

I would pay extra if base 75 was the camera man! yeahhhh

Great idea!

I'm glad to hear this in general.

The rafting guys didn't always get good angles. Tom Sanders got the best angle many years ago, as for exit. He was off to the side, close, with a wide angle, shooting vertically from slightly above. You could see the bridge and the crowd, the platform and looking down all the way to the bottom of the steel structure of the bridge to really show what was going on. Some of the rafting photos showed nothing but the jumper. It could have been someone jumping off a roof for what the photo looked like.

Another great angle, although hard to get, is from the landing area, with a 400 or 500 zoom lense up to the platform. But it's nearly impossisble to time because you can't tell when someone is about to jump.

Thanks Jason. Looking forward to BD again this year.

Karen