Sample photo packages for school shoot

[wingnut]

I am shooting the graduation class photos for my daughter's

elementary school. The school was not happy with the big photo-mill

studio that has done them in the past. I need to put some sample

photo pkgs together, but am coming up with a blank (wallets, 5x7's,

etc). Is there a kind of typical package that is offered, something

I could base things off of?

 

Thanks.

[timcorridan]

make sure the faculty gets photos for free, and youve got a job for life...

[austinphoto]

Hi: 1-8x10, 2-5x7, 8-wallets. That is 3 units @$1.50 each, each package should cost you $4.50. Try Austin Photo http://www.greatlab.com. We do a great job with school packaging.

Abe

[ben_rubinstein___mancheste]

Even better, if you are using CS/2 then use the 'picture package' setting under file/automate and it will do it for you, all printing on 8X10" which should net you a good discount.

[wingnut]

Thanks. I am using CS2, and was going to use the picture package feature. I was just wondering if there was a typical package(s) that I could quote on. I am being lazy I guess.

 

Thanks again.

[ben_rubinstein___mancheste]

Best solution is to ask them what they are used to getting, i.e. what the parents are used to paying for. What had you been paying for in the past and what are your friends paying for their kids photos from school. No use offering packages that are not what the client wants or is used to paying for.

 

I'm in the middle of trying to negotiate this myself with my old elementary school which hasn't done individual photos for 10 years, this is the research that I've been doing even before approaching the head of the school.

 

I don't know about you and what kind of margin you intend to make, it may be worth keeping in mind that the profits from doing this kind of thing are usually made by having contracts with many schools over many years. Again I don't know how it works there but in my town the parents are presented with a package of photos, 8X6" and wallet sized, together with strut mounts for each print and then send back the ones they don't want together with the money to the school. You have to factor in that upfront you are paying for the prints and the strut mounts, many of which will be returned with no profit at all. If you've had to gold block the strut mounts with the schools name and year then they are not recycable either. Personally I didn't see any profit at all in it, working on a worst case scenario of just about breaking even on costs. But, it's great publicity for me in the community and therefore the cost of my time can be classified under advertisment.

[wingnut]

Thanks Ben. This is a slightly different situation. I was approached by the school becuase I was always at functions taking pictures of events and then giving the images (on disk) to the school for yearbooks and such. The principal talked to me at the beginning of the year and asked me about doing the graduation shots. It is now fairly close and I am just doing the research into what the parents received in the past. I think I can turn a modest profit, but it is also something of a low-stress thing for me and good PR as well.

Thanks.