Any ideas for where to buy affordable and good quality prints for a photoshoot?

[SergeTheBlerge]

So I may take on this shooting job for a church in my area. It's for a confirmation Mass for 8th graders, and I will need to shoot one shot per kid as they're up at the alter with the priest. One group shot at the end as well. The prints require a package per kid of 2 8X10s, 2 5X7s, and 8 wallet sized - all of the same shot, and lastly 1 4X6 of a group shot. The church says they can only afford to pay ME no more than $25 per kid. As in, after my own paying for the prints they'll only give me $25 max pay per child. Therefore, I'd like to pay as little for these packages as possible and make the most profit. If I CANNOT make a decent enough profit I think I'll just reconsider the job entirely. It would be good for practice but too little is too little.
Does anyone know of any place, online or on site where I can get a good deal? Any advice helps. thanks!

[rpcrowe]

I haven't used any commercial processors for a long time. I did a google search...

https://www.google.com/search?q=phot...hrome&ie=UTF-8

I have used Shutterfly in the past and was satisfied. I used Walmart for Christmas cards one year and the results were barely acceptable.

I suggest that you select a company that is used to doing school and prom packages...

[DanK]

Bay Photo. Their prices are reasonable, their service is good, and they produce excellent work. I rarely buy prints from a lab, but I and others I know have used them and have been pleased. I still use them for things I can't do myself, for example, metal prints.

[rpcrowe]

IMO, a simple. flat lighting setup with virtually no changes between subjects might be the best way to go. I would do a custom white balance setting to reduce PP requirements. Canon has this capability and I expect other manufacturers have provided similar capability.

Setting the kids a ease is very helpful as is having a plain, unobtrusive background. Do you have lights or will you ave to rent these? That could eat into your profits.

[Manfred M]

The group shot calls for completely different lighting than the single speedlight that you are thinking of using for the individual shots. Commercial photographers who specialize in class / team pictures have the equipment and expertise to do this type of work as well as having either the printing equipment or third party suppliers that specialize in creating these packages.

You seem to be getting ready to subsidize the church for their photo needs.

PS. I did a quick search for prices on line and found this one that is about 3 years old:

http://www.ashleymatteo.com/school-picture-price-list/

[Shadowman]

Those price lists just include the base price, taxes and delivery costs are added on later. My thinking is that only someone who does their own printing could tackle a job such as this and even if the photographer/printer lowballs the standard lab costs they might not want to get stuck with this project on a yearly basis.

[DanK]

I'd only add one thing: check into reviews of quality, not just price. Not all labs are the same.

Some labs, including Bay Photo last time I used them and Adoramapix, give you two options: they do the color correction, or you do it yourself. If you do it yourself, the price is cheaper. I always do it myself, not to save money, but because I want control over it. If you do that, some labs will provide the ICC profile for their printers and the paper you choose so that you can softproof more accurately.

[Shadowman]

One other consideration to think about is sales tax on the transaction, I know the lab will charge the photographer but if you resell the images to the church you may also have to charge an additional tax. You should be able to deduct the amount you paid to the lab and just have to remit the sales tax from your sale to the church. U.S. law only, some states might be exempt.