School Photographers and Photo Retouchers

No photoshoot is complete without the work of photo retouchers. Be it fashion, food, jewelry, car, model or just any kind of photography, a little magic by retouchers is always required.

Photo retouching is a process which eliminates any unwanted effects, objects and backgrounds and gives the picture a nice elegant look. There is nothing wrong in retouching photographs as long as its not overdone.

For all those wondering that retouching the image will make it look artificial, you are in for a surprise. 

Retouching is nothing but a little clean up to the image. Editing a few details here and there to get the perfect look

So why wont School Photographers send their pictures to retouching agencies? After all even they want their models and picture to be perfect too. 

For those who are wondering what school photography is, ask any high school student and see the sudden excitement on their faces. Its perhaps the most important day for them in school which they take no chances to miss. It involves taking class pictures, group and individual portraits. These are the things students and their families look forward to and keep with them forever.

They are also willing to pay a huge amount to get these photographs. These are generally clicked by school photography experts who have good experience in the field.

These pictures are taken in school, during school hours, so there are many things that may go wrong on the day. Like a stain from lunch, soiled clothes etc. The photographer knows the solution to all these problems. The answer is Post Production Services.

Post Production services are applied in every field, to every photo. It can be as simple as covering a stain, removing background images, to something as elaborate as a complete makeover. School Photographers usually give their pictures to retouching agencies since they have a variety of effects which can be added onto these pictures. 

School photographs are supposed to be funky and capture a lot of funny memories in them. Adding effects, funny captions and props is something that a retoucher can help the photographer with. Parents can give an idea of the type of mood they want in the picture and the reotucher can give them what they want.

One more advantage of keeping a retoucher on hand is that no need to keep all the props handy. If you find something missing, just tell the retoucher to add it.

Along with school portraits, yearbooks and scrapbooks have also become a trend. Retouching photos opens the opportunity to make a funky yearbook with a lot of captions and taglines.

Retouching services include Color Correction, Background Change, Cropping, Clipping Path Services, funny captions, combining pictures etc. which all make the final image appealing.

Concluding,  I would suggest that a retoucher is a must for every photographer. Hiring someone to do all the retouching services will give the photographer less things to worry about and enable him to take more pictures. 

How Does School Photography Work?

Have you always wondered why a few school photographs cost you a bomb?? Most of the parents don’t land up buying them – cause its too expensive! Well for the most part I agree with them. School photographs can cost you easily in a few hundreds. Ever wondered why?

When the rate card comes, we obviously think that the photographer must be rolling in piles o money with the amount he is charging us. Are you sure what you pay goes directly in the pockets of the photographer?

NEVER! In order to book a school, a photographer has to pay commission, like a donation. This donation amount started with a small amount, but over the years this amount has increased to almost 50%. This means, that almost half that you pay goes back to the school.

If you are the leader in the industry, it would be easy for you to “buy” the schools by offering a large amount to the school. But if you’re a freelancer, forget about doing a session with the school for free also ! Big companies often keep the schools in their pockets with a large number of photographers on hand to cover a large area.

One more thing to worry about is conflicts. Largely there are three parties that are working:

1.       Photographer  - maximize earnings and customer satisfaction

2.       School Administration – minimize cost, least disruption in the school functioning

3.       Students  & Parents – reasonable but excellent quality photographs

If you notice, all the three parties have conflicting wishes. It all comes down to how the relationship is maintained. Photographs must maintain a healthy relationship with the school if you want to establish a long term business relationship with the school.

The commission that is received from the photographer is usually used to fund school programs or sometimes photographers just provide with small things to the school like pencils, books etc. which schools are more than happy to accept!

Do you buy your school pictures? Why or Why not? 

Leave a comment and pass along / share/tweet / email this post to someone – I’m really interested in everyone’s thoughts!

School Photography At A Glance

Why School Photography?

Whether you are a Portrait Studio, Wedding, Sports or Event Photographer, School Photography can compliment your current business plan. While much of your current business occurs on weekends, School Photography is done on weekdays- giving us the time to earn some extra money!

Once considered a "seasonal" business, Elementary School photography has become a virtual year-round revenue opportunity. Limited local competition is another good reason to consider the School Photography business. While there may be an abundance of photographers in your area offering senior portraits, weddings and sports photography, in all probability there are just a handful offering services to Elementary Schools.

Also, In contrast to Senior Photography, there is a much larger potential client base. For every High School in a school district there are often 3-4 Middle Schools and 8-10 Elementary Schools "feeding" the system. When you choose to service seniors only, you miss a significant market segment that buys portraits year after year- not just once at graduation.

Entry Barriers

There's never been a more opportune time for Independent Photographers to enter the School photography market. Schools in your area may be receptive to fresh, new alternatives to the traditional business model used by the photography companies who currently serve your local schools. Industry surveys and feedback indicate that many consumers want better quality portraits, more variety of background selections, a choice of poses and a wider selection of packages than they may be getting now. Independent photographers have the opportunity to address all these concerns with a customer-centered approach that highlights your personal creativity and harnesses the potential of digital workflow.

Capital Investment

The initial capital investment in equipment to do School Photography is significantly less expensive than it once was. You probably have much of the equipment you'll need to get started. Digital cameras have made life much easier by enabling you to store a large number of files with unique names for each.

Services to Offer

Digital portrait production for school day packages is becoming available and affordable to everyone. The full range of photo services schools expect- student record photos, ID Cards and badges, digitally-enhanced composites or group photos and photo CD's for Yearbooks.

 An additional Spring Portrait program is also offered in many schools. These programs allow students the opportunity to be themselves and often feature casual posing and backgrounds. Students are often encouraged to bring small props from home to "personalize" their portraits. Backgrounds and posing props should be chosen carefully to be age-appropriate for the grade levels being photographed.

Traditional Classroom Group photos or digitally-created Classroom Composites are also offered in many Elementary Schools, and may represent another revenue stream. Consider producing these photos digitally; enhancing them with attractive border designs in the school's colors and include the school mascot, logo or crest, if possible. Adding student names under the photos makes them more "personal" and commands a higher retail price.

Unlike the comprehensive Yearbook programs offered at the High School level, Elementary "Memory Books" are by contrast, quick and easy to produce and inexpensive to buy. Most are soft-back, 32-60 pages in length and include portraits, candids, group photos and collage pages.

Commission

As a photographer, you or your company will be expected to pay some commission to the school for giving you business. Consider this payment as an advertising cost giving you the opportunity to be the exclusive photographer for the school. 

If you don't have immediate success, don't despair. It sometimes takes several seasons of relationship-building with prospective schools before they have confidence in your abilities to service their school. Increase your odds of booking new business by prospecting in smaller Private Schools and Academies. These are in less demand by the major competitors and are easier to photograph and service. This will allow you to get experience and gather great testimonials about the quality and service you provide. This will benefit your public relations efforts as you grow. 

11 Tips for School Photographers

 School photography is a growing niche. The western culture has very well started the trend of taking model like photoshoots with all the glitz and glamour.

Photographers have found this niche very rewarding as there are over lakhs of children finishing their schooling every year.

In many cities, large and small franchise studios have a monopoly on the public grade schools and high schools. However, there are many private schools, preschools and daycare centers that are open to the idea of using someone new. It not only is an amazing way to reach many families, but it can be an amazing way to generate a substantial income

Tips for School Portrait Photographers

1.       Be Organized

If you are doing this for the first time, make sure you plan and check everything before you go in action. Use a calendar to design your work schedule. Since you will be interacting with a lot of parents, teachers and students, there are chances of lot of confusions. Be sure to prepare a work flow of which you will intimidate all the parties before you work. You can conduct an informal meeting where you discuss your entire plan and service to avoid any confusion.

2.       Do not OVERBOOK

It may be very tempting to add on more schools to your client list. But this will lead to nothing but trouble. School photography is a time consuming process and you need to give the school 110%.

3.       Pricing

Pricing is a very sensitive topic and you do not want to lose out on business due to lack of communication. Make sure you tell your clients that this is a special project that you are taking and required special investment of your time, money and resources.

4.       Each Child Differently

Make sure to do something creative in the photoshoot of every child that you shoot. This will ensure complete dedication from both the parties. Even parents will not mind shelling out extra to get a one of a kind portrait of their child.

5.       Make a Story

Get them to giggle, dance and move around. Parents will purchase more when you have a sequence of shots that show their children having an awesome time.  It creates higher sales and makes people talk about you! That is the goal: make some money and get your name out there!

6.       Friend, not a Hindrance

Obviously you will be working within the school premises a lot, so make sure to maintain good relations with the staff, parents and children. They are the ones who will provide you with something that you need as well as give you company between shoots.

7.       Be sure to come back next year

There is nothing better than assurance that you will be returning the next year too to have a photo session. You want families to feel a sense of gratitude that you came to their school. You want them to be excited each year that you are coming back. When I say different, think of all the things that the typical school portrait photographer is and do the opposite—use awesome backdrops, take many different shots from different angles, let parents view before they order, and offer a few products that school portrait photographers don’t offer… Keep it simple, yet different!

8.       Manage the Quality

Keep the quality high, but not as high as your other portrait sessions. At the same time, do not do a poor job on the pictures either. You need to understand the essence of the shoot and bring the props accordingly. Instead of taking all your high end props that you use in your studio, take props that are fun, colorful and will allow the child to relate to. Make sure the props are cute and fun and chronicle the child’s age and personality.

9.       Create your Magic

Be true to you! Do not conform to what you think families will want.  Be true to your style as a portrait photographer. If you like deep, rich tones and colors then make sure your school portraiture looks the same. If you like light, bright colors then do that same thing when photographing a school. You do not want a huge disconnect from what you do in a full session and what you do at schools. If people loved what you did at the school enough to call and hire you for a full session, they are going to expect close to the same style.

10.   Retouch your Photos

Make sure to give your photographs to professional retouching agencies. By doing this, you will have time to take more pictures without worrying about retouching them. Also, giving it to experts ensures best quality.

11.   Keep  the Contacts

Since you have worked so hard with them, make sure all your hard work does not go in vain. Add parents to your mailing list and makes sure to include a little thank you note with your contact details in the final pictures. Send them offers from time to time to keep the communication open.