Digital Scrapbooking - Yes or No?

[WonderNinja]

Hi:

I'm trying to get some feedback on whether digital photographers do a lot of (or any?) digital "scrapbooking", i.e., memorializing their photos in virtual "keepsake" pages/books, using specialized software.

Or do you mainly post to your own websites and/or online album sites (like Webshots)?

The reason I'm asking is that I'm trying to develop what I think may be an untapped "niche" market for one-on-one, Scrapbooking-For-Hire services (I won't go into the business details here, as I know this isn't an "advertising" forum - though I will list the website URL in my "signature tag" below!). The biggest question, of course, is, "Is there a market?", followed closely by, "How do you REACH that market?"

In terms of the second question (assuming a market may exist), does anyone have any suggestions about where to find folks who might have an interest in scrapbooking - virtual/digital or even real/paper - but don't have the time, skill, nor inclination to do it themselves?

I thought I'd start with photography sites, particularly those that specialize in digital photography, then move on to more specific venues that might correspond to "event" type scrapbooks, like wedding, graduation, retirement, etc.

Basically, to summarize, I'm looking for comments and suggestions from those who take a lot of digital pictures.

Thanks for reading this post,

Todd
http://www.wonderninja.com
Buy and Sell YOUR Personalized Services!

 

[martinh188287]

Already do this with photo cd's.

I make up a CD/DVD that can be played on the TV, for sending to friends, family etc and keep one for myself if i want to.

Still keep the original images as well. Album just makes it more convenient to watch.

 

[Theresa K]

Hi:

I'm trying to get some feedback on whether digital photographers do
a lot of (or any?) digital "scrapbooking", i.e., memorializing
their photos in virtual "keepsake" pages/books, using specialized
software.

I do 'regular scrapbooking' with my digital photos.

Or do you mainly post to your own websites and/or online album
sites (like Webshots)?

Yeah, but I want something more permanent for my non-computer people.

The reason I'm asking is that I'm trying to develop what I think
may be an untapped "niche" market for one-on-one,
Scrapbooking-For-Hire services (I won't go into the business
details here, as I know this isn't an "advertising" forum - though
I will list the website URL in my "signature tag" below!). The
biggest question, of course, is, "Is there a market?", followed
closely by, "How do you REACH that market?"

I think there is a HUGE market for traditional scrapbooks with high school seniors who have non-talented mothers.

In terms of the second question (assuming a market may exist), does
anyone have any suggestions about where to find folks who might
have an interest in scrapbooking - virtual/digital or even
real/paper - but don't have the time, skill, nor inclination to do
it themselves?

I would start with your local high school, see if they would be willing to send a mailer out to the senior/junior classes. I have heard of people paying $1000+ for paper scrapbooks for their kids open houses.

I thought I'd start with photography sites, particularly those that
specialize in digital photography, then move on to more specific
venues that might correspond to "event" type scrapbooks, like
wedding, graduation, retirement, etc.

I also think there may be a market for newlyweds who can't afford a traditional pro photographer/album. I am doing the photography for my brother-in-law (much to my dismay - my hubby volunteered me) this summer and I plan to do a scrapbook for him and his new wife, since they won't have a traditional album

Basically, to summarize, I'm looking for comments and suggestions
from those who take a lot of digital pictures.

Thanks for reading this post,

Todd
http://www.wonderninja.com
Buy and Sell YOUR Personalized Services!

--
Theresa
The Digital Junkie! (w/an Oly C-5060 & FL-40)

 

[Nanette Freeman]

Take a look at this site it will give you an idea of what can be done. I am working on a project of redoing old faimily albums that are falling apart digitally and retouching the photos that are fading away.

http://www.scrapbook-bytes.com/index.html
NIkki

Hi:

I'm trying to get some feedback on whether digital photographers do
a lot of (or any?) digital "scrapbooking", i.e., memorializing
their photos in virtual "keepsake" pages/books, using specialized
software.

I do 'regular scrapbooking' with my digital photos.

Or do you mainly post to your own websites and/or online album
sites (like Webshots)?

Yeah, but I want something more permanent for my non-computer people.

The reason I'm asking is that I'm trying to develop what I think
may be an untapped "niche" market for one-on-one,
Scrapbooking-For-Hire services (I won't go into the business
details here, as I know this isn't an "advertising" forum - though
I will list the website URL in my "signature tag" below!). The
biggest question, of course, is, "Is there a market?", followed
closely by, "How do you REACH that market?"

I think there is a HUGE market for traditional scrapbooks with high
school seniors who have non-talented mothers.

In terms of the second question (assuming a market may exist), does
anyone have any suggestions about where to find folks who might
have an interest in scrapbooking - virtual/digital or even
real/paper - but don't have the time, skill, nor inclination to do
it themselves?

I would start with your local high school, see if they would be
willing to send a mailer out to the senior/junior classes. I have
heard of people paying $1000+ for paper scrapbooks for their kids
open houses.

I thought I'd start with photography sites, particularly those that
specialize in digital photography, then move on to more specific
venues that might correspond to "event" type scrapbooks, like
wedding, graduation, retirement, etc.

I also think there may be a market for newlyweds who can't afford a
traditional pro photographer/album. I am doing the photography for
my brother-in-law (much to my dismay - my hubby volunteered me)
this summer and I plan to do a scrapbook for him and his new wife,
since they won't have a traditional album

Basically, to summarize, I'm looking for comments and suggestions
from those who take a lot of digital pictures.

Thanks for reading this post,

Todd
http://www.wonderninja.com
Buy and Sell YOUR Personalized Services!

--
Theresa
The Digital Junkie! (w/an Oly C-5060 & FL-40)

 

[WonderNinja]

martinh:

Thanks for your reply.

I would guess this is probably how the majority of digital photographers "archive" their photos. However, I'm still hoping there are a certain percentage who desire a more "elaborate" presentation, either on real/paper scrapbook pages or virtual/digital pages. We'll see!

Thanks again,

Todd
http://www.wonderninja.com
Buy and Sell YOUR Personalized Services!

Already do this with photo cd's.
I make up a CD/DVD that can be played on the TV, for sending to
friends, family etc and keep one for myself if i want to.

Still keep the original images as well. Album just makes it more
convenient to watch.

 

[WonderNinja]

Theresa K:

Thank you so much for your thoughtful and detailed reply.

I was quite hearted by your response, especially the potential market for scrapbooks for newlyweds (which I was somewhat aware of) and scrapbooks for high school seniors (with a potential price tag I certainly was NOT aware of!).

Good luck, by the way, with your "volunteered" wedding photography assignment. One thing's for sure, it'll be the best gift the couple will receive!

Thanks again for writing,

Todd
http://www.wonderninja.com
Buy and Sell YOUR Personalized Services!

 

[WonderNinja]

Nanette:

Thanks for the link! I had not visited this site before, and it was VERY useful to get an idea of what can be done in the (relatively new) field of "Digital Scrapbooking".

Thanks again,

Todd
http://www.wonderninja.com
Buy and Sell YOUR Personalized Services!

Take a look at this site it will give you an idea of what can be
done. I am working on a project of redoing old faimily albums that
are falling apart digitally and retouching the photos that are
fading away.

http://www.scrapbook-bytes.com/index.html
NIkki

 

[Severian]

Todd,

FYI -- at least one PC/printer company has observed this market and seems to be taking the tack of "sell 'em some software, and they can DIY".

Check this out:

http://h30039.www3.hp.com/scrapbooking/home/index.php

So, yes, I think there is a market. But others see it too.

Severian

 

[WonderNinja]

Severian:

Thanks for the excellent heads-up tip. I hadn't heard of this site - or, more importantly, this approach to digital scrapbooking. I found the site very interesting to puruse.

So, it looks like I'm going head-to-head with HP, eh?

Bring it on!

Todd
http://www.wonderninja.com
Buy and Sell YOUR Personalized Services!

P.S. Of course, I'm not actually going head-to-head with HP. In fact, anything that spurs interest in digital scrapbooking will probably be, in the long run, a good thing. At the very least, perhaps it will inspire a few people to sell their newly acquired digital scrapbooking skills on a website designed for that very purpose - a website like...

Todd,

FYI -- at least one PC/printer company has observed this market and
seems to be taking the tack of "sell 'em some software, and they
can DIY".

Check this out:

http://h30039.www3.hp.com/scrapbooking/home/index.php

So, yes, I think there is a market. But others see it too.

Severian

 

[Severian]

P.S. Of course, I'm not actually going head-to-head with HP. In
fact, anything that spurs interest in digital scrapbooking will
probably be, in the long run, a good thing. At the very least,
perhaps it will inspire a few people to sell their newly acquired
digital scrapbooking skills on a website designed for that very
purpose - a website like...

Absolutely agree. HP is clearly interested in selling ink, paper, scanners, PCs and digital cameras, ultimately. The software is most likely a means to further those ends.

I haven't tried the software, it does sound interesting. (I recently had a small family project that tempted me to do it, but I didn't .. this time).

There's probably a huge market for the overall "Creative Memory" challenged. Meaning, people who enjoy the finished output of such things, have a lot of pictures (digital or otherwise), some good ideas but just no time to put together the whole thing.

For those people, even easy to use $29 computer software won't push them over the brink to do it.

Personally, I have to think such a thing would appeal to the same sort of folks that hire interior decorators ...

Severian

 

[WonderNinja]

Severian:

There's probably a huge market for the overall "Creative Memory"
challenged. Meaning, people who enjoy the finished output of such
things, have a lot of pictures (digital or otherwise), some good
ideas but just no time to put together the whole thing.

For those people, even easy to use $29 computer software won't push
them over the brink to do it.

Your analysis above is, in a nutshell, what drove me to try to capture a piece of this potential market.

Of course, the BIG challenge now is how to reach these people and let them know such a service (Scrapbooking-For-Hire) may be available to them. My intention is to post to groups/sites that attract people who might be interested in specific "event" type scrapbooks - weddings, graduations, retirement, etc. We'll see how it goes!

Thanks for your post,

Todd
http://www.wonderninja.com
Buy and Sell YOUR Personalized Services!

 

[Glen Barrington]

It would seem to me that photographers would be the last people to be interested in this. I would suggest young adults who want to pay someone to give parents and grandparents "personalized" gifts

Hi:

I'm trying to get some feedback on whether digital photographers do
a lot of (or any?) digital "scrapbooking", i.e., memorializing
their photos in virtual "keepsake" pages/books, using specialized
software.

Or do you mainly post to your own websites and/or online album
sites (like Webshots)?

The reason I'm asking is that I'm trying to develop what I think
may be an untapped "niche" market for one-on-one,
Scrapbooking-For-Hire services (I won't go into the business
details here, as I know this isn't an "advertising" forum - though
I will list the website URL in my "signature tag" below!). The
biggest question, of course, is, "Is there a market?", followed
closely by, "How do you REACH that market?"

In terms of the second question (assuming a market may exist), does
anyone have any suggestions about where to find folks who might
have an interest in scrapbooking - virtual/digital or even
real/paper - but don't have the time, skill, nor inclination to do
it themselves?

I thought I'd start with photography sites, particularly those that
specialize in digital photography, then move on to more specific
venues that might correspond to "event" type scrapbooks, like
wedding, graduation, retirement, etc.

Basically, to summarize, I'm looking for comments and suggestions
from those who take a lot of digital pictures.

Thanks for reading this post,

Todd
http://www.wonderninja.com
Buy and Sell YOUR Personalized Services!

--

OK, I'm off my soapbox now. Who's got my medicine? WHO'S GOT MY MEDICINE!!! ARRGHHH!!!!

 

[WonderNinja]

Glen:

I guess when I'm referring to "photographers", I'm using the word in a broad way to indicate anyone who takes pictures, i.e., not just hardcore "shutterbugs" (like the kind who might belong to dpreview.com!) - though I think even some of the pros might occasionally like an elaborate keepsake for some of their photos.

"Young adults who want to pay someone to give parents or grandparents 'personalized' gifts" is indeed a good market target. Now I just have to figure out a way to reach them!

Thanks for your reply,

Todd
http://www.wonderninja.com
Buy and Sell YOUR Personalized Services!

It would seem to me that photographers would be the last people to
be interested in this. I would suggest young adults who want to
pay someone to give parents and grandparents "personalized" gifts