Well, Bruce is back with another terrific post. He’s been contacted by a high school senior who’s been asked to do senior portraits by some classmates. Bruce’s response is perfect, but it’s not just for senior photographers. He’s raised some terrific points for brides who want to use Uncle Harry, who’s got the same gear as a professional.

Not everybody will agree with Bruce’s response. What I liked the most was that he took the high road with a positive twist on what he brings to the party, but knowing the issue wasn’t just going to disappear, gave the student a good solid answer to the original question.

See what you think…

Here is a copy of a message I received: Talk about a true picture of the problem….

hi Bruce, I have a question for you, as a sort of beginning photographer.

I have friends who have asked me to do their senior portraits and to give them a quote. The problem is that I don’t know anything about pricing senior portraits. I have done shoots with people, but I’ve only ever done payed work with sports.

What are your suggestions?
..
August 31
Bruce Berg
_______, thank you for writing me. I really appreciate your situation.

I think what is happening right now is that many of your classmates are confused about what a real senior portrait is. It is not hiring someone with a good eye or who has a good camera. For over 30 years there have been those good amateur photographers, but it has always been very different from hiring a true professional.

Facebook has hurt the true definition of a quality portrait…it has become the “latest/current” picture. Something that is beautiful thru time, that lasts and has impact is different than “new”.

Here is what I’d say, “I appreciate your interest, but if you really want a great senior portrait, you need to hire a great full time professional. Here are some people you should call…..(and give them 2 names).  If your family doesn’t have much money, I’ll be glad to do it, but realize it is not what you’d get from a professional (For example, I have spent easily 1000 hours learning how to pose people, 3000 hours learning lighting, 2000 hours nuances of composition, plus lens selection and how to minimize large noses, lengthen round faces, enlarge one of the smaller eyes (90%  of us have one eye larger than the other), and have easily $50,000 in backgrounds/sets/lights. I think you get the ‘picture’ !!!)

If they are in that last situation, I’d charge them $100 for 2 outfits, $75 for 1 and give them the disk. The problem is, do they know how to size the head for proper inclusion in the year book? I have a yearbook session for just $65 which is 1 outift and includes the image for the yearbook.

Hope that helps! Keep in touch and good luck.

Sadly that look lasted way too long , but you have to admit, it takes nerve to publish my own senior head shot, right down to the horned rim glasses hiding the unibrow!  ( Once a year you guys can handle it!) Fortunately, this look finally died and in the last ten years the market for seniors has exploded.

From the senior’s perspective, a portrait session is about capturing their personality and their interests. It’s about a photograph that reveals their personality!  What happens too often though is the photographer forgets about Mom and Dad.  You still have to provide a beautiful image and often, as good buddy Dean Collins used to say, “Beauty is in the eyes of the checkbook holder!”

In this short video with Clay Blackmore, Software Cinema, (coincidentally founded by good buddy Dean Collins) takes us through some terrific bread and butter senior poses. Sure, you have to meet the mindset of the client and create outstanding images, but you still need to know the basics. You need to understand lighting, posing and composition when the situation calls for a good solid portrait.

And if you think Clay makes it look easy here, think about what it might be like to attend his four day workshop in April! I don’t know of anybody who can teach this stuff better than Clay, giving you a whole new resource in your skill set from which to draw!

Looking to learn more? Check out Software Cinema’s complete lineup of the very best educators in photography!

“If I can see the world through my client’s eyes, then I can sell my client what my client buys!”

This goes a lot deeper than just putting yourself in their shoes.  You’ve got to literally work to see things the way your clients do and that includes their perception of you.    It’s all about building trust.  It’s about listening more than talking.  It’s about putting your mind’s eye into high gear and visualizing how they want their images to look.  You’ve got to sense their concerns over cost, while at the same time their aspirations to have something that’s unique to them and expresses their personality, life style and passion for life.

When I interviewed Kirk Voclain several months ago for an article in PDN he talked about the key to success in photographing seniors.  It was all in talking with them and watching for the most natural expression when they hit a topic they loved.  I’m probably paraphrasing a little, but Kirk’s comment really stuck with me:

“Skip, there are a lot of mediocre photographers out there who make a great living photographing seniors, because they make the sessions fun!”

Think about that for a second…now raise the bar and be more than just a mediocre photographer, listen to your clients, see the world through their eyes and don’t forget about “fun”.   “Fun” is that all too often lost word in business today and we all need to work to put it back!

Kirk Voclain:  It’s funny, years ago I was ready to have Kirk locked up!  LOL – Here’s the scenario.  Hasselblad had a booth at the PPA National Convention, long before it was known as Imaging USA.  They had a theater in the round on the trade show floor and Kirk was doing a presentation.  Every time he spoke we’d lose all the photographers in our booth!  It drove us all nuts. 

But what I missed was his message and he was simply way ahead of his time.  He’s grown to be a remarkable speaker and teacher, but more impressive is the enthusiasm with which he gives back.  At WPPI three years ago he participated in the Champagne Shoot Out, an event involving four photographers in four different corners of the big ballroom all presenting at the same time.  The program ended, three of the four photographers shut down and left, but Kirk continued to teach for another  hour, until security finally asked him to leave.  Kirk’s passion for teaching is virtually unmatched and I’m so proud we were able to get him on the schedule for Summer School.

In his program on August 10 Kirk is going to get you thinking about how to put energy into your senior shoots.  He’ll tie it all together with techniques for lighting and posing as well.  It doesn’t matter what your photographic specialty might be – this is about having fun with your subjects and knowing the results so well that you never have to second guess and wonder if you got the shot.   Remember, you don’t need to lock in an entire high school to build a reputation and create a revenue stream with the senior market.  You just need a handful of kids who love your work!

I interviewed Kirk for a short profile in PDN’s Focus on Portraits, just released and due on line next week.  The secret to his success – just make the session fun for your subjects.  I found two great examples on YouTube of Kirk working with his seniors.  Watch them both and you’ll see how much fun they’re having!  Fun wins out every time for natural smiles and expressions and nobody does it better than Kirk!

You need to have Kirk in your network.  Check out his website at www.kvphoto.com.  And his blog, although he’s not a fanatic about it, has more great videos to watch and also his teaching schedule.  You’ll find Kirk on Facebook too.

Jerry Weiner is in the spotlight tomorrow and while many of you might not know him, he’s got some great business components for this year’s summer school that we’re going to put into 15 minute “doses” – all guaranteed to help you make your business stronger.

If you’ve taken one of Lori’s programs you know the only thing more impressive than her images is her enthusiasm and passion for photography.   Oops, there’s one more impressive quality – she’s a marketing machine, but all done with incredible common sense, utilizing one of the largest staffs in the photographic industry – her clients!   Check out the ideas she’s sharing in today’s blog on “No Cost Marketing”.

We are all marketing all of the time or at least we should be!  YOU are your business and why people choose to use your business over another.  Remember this when out and about.  Learn to recognize your target client and strike up a conversation.  This is powerful marketing!  There are many other things we can do to market our businesses that we may not be taking advantage of.

We all know that it takes more to gain a new client than it does to keep an existing client.  What are you doing to stay in touch and in front of your clients?  What things are you building into your workflow to keep your studio name “out there” and in front of the right people – people who already love you and your work?

Newsletter

Keep your newsletter to one or two great ideas.  If you are emailing it out, remember that people are very busy and don’t want to look through a bunch of fluff.  Keep the newsletter simple, with links to your blog or areas on your website if they want to read more.  

Blog

Blogs are a great way to get a bit more personal and let your clients know what’s going on in your world.  When you add a new client to your blog, be sure to send them a link and encourage their friends and family to take a peek.  This gets your client marketing for you!  We email our client a “blog card” with an image and link to the blog.  We encourage our clients to forward this to their friends, and many tell us they have sent it to their entire email database! 

Website

Take the blog card idea a step further and send your clients an email anytime you change your website and it includes one of their images.  Send them something designed, with your info on it and a link to your website telling them to check out their image.  Don’t forget to encourage them to forward to their friends!

Hand-Written Notes

A hand-written note is a lost art!  I know how I feel when someone writes a sweet note to me and it comes in the mail!  I especially always loved when my kids would get mail and watching them get so excited!  This led me to putting note writing right into my workflow.  Our clients get notes after the first phone call, after the session, after the design appointment (sale), and 3 weeks after they’ve had their completed order. 

Word of Mouth

George Silverman, who wrote The Secrets of Word-of Mouth Marketing said, “Word of mouth is the most powerful force in the marketplace, more powerful than salespeople, advertising, and all other marketing elements put together!”

What are you doing to encourage your clients to share their experience with you?  Plan a referral program and thank your clients for talking about you.  In our studio, clients get $50 in portrait credits towards their next session with us.  We mail them a thank you and gift card, and enter the information in Successware (our studio management software). The info is there the next time they call and we can thank them again.  Our clients also appreciate not having to keep track of their referrals.

During slow months, why not offer a double referral?  Send out a newsletter to your favorite clients, and let them know that anyone they refer between January 1 and March 30 (or whatever time is slow for you) will get twice the portrait credit!  

Press Print Products

I want press print products in my clients hands at every opportunity!  These items, whether they are announcements, thank you cards, play date cards, book marks – you name it – they are all powerful marketing tools in the hands of our clients!  For years I’ve considered Christmas my favorite marketing season, and the beauty is, my clients are doing the marketing for me!  

When a “mommy” comes in with her little people, we will get play date cards in her hands to hand out at her Mommy Club, church, pre-school, etc.  Our high school seniors all get cards designed with their images plus our studio info.  I use the “rep cards” from WHCC and the cost is just $12 for a set of 50.  For $12 I have the potential to reach 50 new clients! 

Many of these products I add on as a little surprise at no charge for our favorite clients.  Here are just a few ideas of print press items you can get in your clients hands and get them excited about marketing for you:

announcements                greeting cards

thank you cards                 gift tags

senior minis                       appointment cards

rep cards                            411 cards

play date cards                 update cards

moms calling cards          kids “business” card

save-the-dates                  book marks

Looking for more great ideas?  Check out Lori’s PhotoTalk Forum for more help and support.