Looking for Information on how to do Proofs for Preschools

[kayla_segerstrom_perez]

<p>Im looking for suggestions, comments, and information on who, what, where, how much, and how effectively you do proofs when photographing in a school / daycare / or multiple person situation<br>

I did a 2 day set for a Preschool, There were 130 kids total, and I had on average 3 to 6 different shots of each child. I printed out proofs on my laser jet (they looked like crap) and then stapled my paper order form, an envelope, and the 8.5 x11 printed proof sheet together and the school placed them in each childs folder to send home. I requested that the parents look at the proof sheet, fill out the order form, and return the order along with payment by a certain due date. I also uploaded all the photos to an online proofing website and gave the parents info on finding the site, I did not make online ordering avail.<br>

My question is, I prefer to send home a printed proof sheet. In my opinion its a quick look for the parents, alot of the time if they are not really interested in school portraits anyway, they wont take the time to go online, but if they see my proofs and are excited by the photos they are more likely to buy. I figure once they see the proofs, they will get excited go online and really like them and order. <br>

How do you do it? What have been your results? Where do you get your proof sheets? Whats the cost? What do you suggest for a group this large? I do like online proofing, but I prefer printed proofs, I like the idea of "immediate exposure" when it comes to the photos. Most people think "School photos, ehhhhh, not gonna waste my money on cookie cutter, usually non flattering pictures" I do school sessions totally different than most, no backgrounds, no studio lights and no posing. So Im able to capture the childs true personality. Yes, it takes ALOT longer that way, but the results are so much more personal. Thats why I want printed proofs, so they see that my photos ARE different and they want to buy them.<br>

Thank you in advance for all your advice!<br>

Kayla</p>

[wes_d1]

<p>Hey Kayla,<br>

We do about 50 schools a year and when we do proofing we always send home a proof attached to an order form. As surprising as it may sound the online proofing never works or has very low sales. <br>

We've done proofs a couple different ways and honestly I'm not sure parents care how they are printed. Mostly we do them on photographic paper and have 1-ups printed with a proof overlay. Those cost about 8 cents each. We attach those to picture flyers with a deadline.<br>

We've also done printed proofs with different styles or backgrounds printed from a laserjet onto the flyer and those work just as well.<br>

We generally proof about 600-800 kids in an average school and we do a 4-6 pose deal so cost wise having them printed as 1 ups on photographic paper is the cheapest route.<br>

Hope this helps.</p>

[jeff_scheerer]

<p>We use a mix of online and printed proof sheets. we use darkroom assembly and print straight through the program using a oki printer. I find that when dealing with thousands of kids automation is nice. we upload to are website straight through the program. we have also seen a shift in sales recently most of are sales are actually coming through the website now because its more convient for working parents.</p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>Kayla, are your half dozen shots different setups and significantly different poses, or just variations on facial expression in a standard "school picture" setup? I've only shot these a couple of times but never offered proofs. Parents prepaid for their choice of package and I either shot one frame of each kid (if I was confident that I had nailed the shot) or shot a couple of frames and which one to print was my choice. As the parent of a 7th grader and a 9th grader I've been on the purchasing end of school photos for over a decade now and have never been offered proofs, only the choice of packages paid for up front. If you do need proofs, printed proofs and an order form would be fine. But if you are going to do them online I would definitely make it possible for the parents to order online. That way you grab them when they're excited about the pictures and ready to pull out their credit card and don't make them jump through extra hoops to spend their money.</p>