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Back story: My grandmother passed away 8 days ago. After her funeral, I went over to help get items organized and removed from her house. I found two candy boxes full of film negatives. Many of these are photos that my dad has never seen. One of the envelopes is dated 1949. My dad would like to get a copy of these pictures so we looked into getting them developed. Many of the negatives are 2 1/2 x 3 1/4 and a few are 35 mm, so there are fewer places to work with them.
I have talked my dad into digitizing these negatives. This too will be fairly expensive, but the guy at my local camera shop recommended this scanner. I ordered it and plan to do the work myself. I play around with photography and Photoshop, so this would fall in-line with that.
My question is, do you think there is a market for this. The guy at the camera shop said to give him a card when I get going on this and he would send people my way. I don't think it would be too expensive to get going and could make me a few hundred bucks a year.
What have you done with your old negatives? Do you want to digitize them? I know that sounded like a commercial, but it wasn't. I'm just getting a feeling of what people think.
posted
It sounds like a great idea for a side-line. I don't know if you could get enough business to make it your day job, though. Especially since most customers wouldn't need to return again and again, so you really couldn't build up a steady clientele. However, if you went around and left your card at all the camera shops in town it could sure bring in some extra cash.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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As for me personally, I have probably several thousand prints with no negatives that I need to get scanned in before they deteriorate further. It's a huge undertaking to do it with my scanner and computer because it takes so long for each one. If you could come up with a way to automate that process and add it to your business, you might find more people who are interested.
Most of the family pics I have from the last 3 generations are just prints with no negatives. If there were some way for me to just dump them all in folders and bring them to you to be scanned for maybe a few cents apiece, I would. Say it cost $100 for me to get 1000 photos scanned. That would totally be worth it.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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This scanner should do a nice job of that too. Much better than my 3-in-1. I wouldn't expect it to be a full-time job, but like you said, a nice side gig. If I can use that money to buy more camera equipment, then I would be happy.
Posts: 1766 | Registered: Feb 2006
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If you're getting the scanner for yourself anyway, and you have the spare time to do the job for people, why not? As Tatiana said, it isn't the sort of thing that's likely to really take off for you, but I'd imagine that it could bring in a little money. The only headache might be doing the taxes for the money you take in. That could be enough of a pain to not make it worth you while; it probably wouldn't take too much work to look into it and find out, though.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
Ah, the taxes are easy! Just get the forms and follow the instructions line by line. Get a schedule C and just do what it says on there. The great thing is that you can deduct all the cost of your gear from your profits before you have to pay any taxes on it at all. You can also deduct mileage for your car (if any is required for your business) and a portion of your rent and utilities. Say you use a room as your business room that is 10% of the square footage of your apartment or house. Then you get to deduct 1/10th of your rent and utilities. It's kinda neat.
And if you're worried about having to make tax payments 4 times a year, instead you can just get your regular employer (if you have one) to take out extra out of each paycheck. You could claim zero exemptions on your W-4 and the extra taxes paid would probably more than make up for what you might owe for your business.
The taxes are no big deal.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
I'm sure there are some people who'd be interested. My mother keeps all of the negatives from her camera rolls just in case she needs more prints or whatnot. While I don't think my mother would be too interested in digital copies of photos, (She's kind of anti-technology) I'm sure there are others like her in that they have the negatives and would like digital copies of their photos.
Posts: 1831 | Registered: Jan 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Tatiana: If there were some way for me to just dump them all in folders and bring them to you to be scanned for maybe a few cents apiece, I would. Say it cost $100 for me to get 1000 photos scanned. That would totally be worth it.
I seriously doubt it would be worth your time at 10 cents a photo. 20 to 30, maybe, but I would keep track of how long it take you to do yours once you work the bugs out and get the hang of it before you set any prices.
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Don't underestimate the amount of time it would take you to do this. There's a reason professional services charge what first appears to be a surprisingly high fee for this.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson: Don't underestimate the amount of time it would take you to do this. There's a reason professional services charge what first appears to be a surprisingly high fee for this.
QFT ^^^
Don't sell yourself short, even if it is just a sideline.
Posts: 369 | Registered: Apr 2007
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As someone who has owned more than one business in her time...the tax situation is more complicated than Tatiana is making it sound. Be sure you talk to a CPA or someone who has experience in this type of thing.
Not just taxes but other issues...business license fees? Insurance/bonds required by your municipality? Is it even legal to run a home business where you live? Those are the types of things you need to find out before you print up business cards and start handing them out.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
On the marketing side, you may have to put down a little more cash than just what a box of business cards cost (and get those designed nice, too!). Planting the bug in peoples' heads to get their old negatives scanned may take a little more persuasion up front; you're battling the biggest competitor of all, which is complacency. It may take some fairly targeted communication to get the ball rolling. If you have an in at the photo shop, that's a big plus. But it may not be all you need to get a steady flow of customers.
Pick up a copy of Small Business Marketing for Dummies. I'm serious--it's a good book.
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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I hob-knob with many photographers in my city, and most of them have their own digital scanners (for negatives and/or slides) and make digitals for others. It's not real uncommon for people who have a large quantity of negatives they are trying to convert to just go buy the scanners themselves (just as you did).
Plus there are several labs here in town that offer that.
So like someone said - it might be a good side-job, or secondary thing, if you get the word out to people who #1) want this done, #2) don't want to do it themselves, and #3) have the money to do it at all. But I wouldn't make it a full-time venture unless you can find that you are really filling a niche in your area that isn't being served enough already.
Posts: 9538 | Registered: Aug 2003
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Are you only looking to market to individuals, or do you want the business market, too? There's more money in the latter (I don't even want to think about the invoice for the last set of historic negatives I had to have developed for my day job--I'm just happy I'm not the one who's paying), but as others have said, you'd need to put more money into marketing and insurance, too--not to mention training.
Posts: 650 | Registered: Mar 2005
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I don't really care to make this a full time thing. I would like to earn some extra money to buy camera equipment and get more into photography. I wouldn't mind doing this for individuals or companies.
I didn't think of the insurance aspect. That's another wrinkle in this.
Posts: 1766 | Registered: Feb 2006
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Well, you just made my week. I have been "going" to have my 45 year collection of 35m slides scanned and digitized any day now. I just haven't gotten around to sending off the first batch. I have been using Seattle Film Works (dba PhotoWorks) for at least 40 of those 45 years. I just clicked in to get an update on their price, thinking it might help you establish one you could use.
AND: they've sold out! It looks like they have been purchased by American Greeting Card and effective in two weeks, they are no longer going to develope, print, scan or even acknowledge the existance of film. It's no wonder small town guys are prone to take up drinking. Now what am I supposed to do? I'm not ready for digital. I love my all metal Pentax K1000.
Posts: 1167 | Registered: Oct 2005
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AT, I loved my old Pentax K1000 too. It was so simple to use. I lent it to my niece to take pictures for photography in HS and it got stolen. I have an Olympus E-510 now and it is almost too complicated to use.
I'm going to send you an e-mail with my contact info. We should talk.
Thanks. I will give him a call. I wanted to ask someone about my 501 (c) (3) for the Lego League anyway. I'm sending you an e-mail too. Please reply with a phone number.
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I didn't get an e-mail from you, but phone is a bad way to reach him right now. He works 6 days a week, leaves early, does personal business on the way to work/when he gets in, and then is working until about midnight.
However, if you e-mail him at the address in his profile (hamiltonjeffd AT yahoo DOT com) he will get back to you within a day or two. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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