articles/Events/backtoschool-page4

Back to School - part 4 of 1 2 3 4 5

Published 01/08/2009

It's probably very obvious, but if you are photographing September - November the proofs need to be in the parents' hands in time for them to make their order and have the prints back to the group before last posting dates for overseas Christmas delivery. I know of a couple of people who actually take and print the orders on the day of photography - but this does impose new problems.

It will take a mum three times longer to choose what she wants than to take the photos - and some may have unrealistic ideas of what their children look like 'That's not my child's smile!' You may need extra people to sell and produce the work - but it does let you work much nearer to Christmas.

Many companies now produce proofs on the day, and offer online ordering, so finished prints could be in the post the day after the photos are taken.

Many children also go to a number of groups, clubs and activities: Cubs, Scouts, Brownies, Rainbows, Boys Brigade, football, hockey, karate, bands, dancing...the list is very long. These offer a huge opportunity to the single operator for a number of reasons:

Unsocial hours - evenings and weekends. Companies have problems getting staff to do these, particularly as they are so busy during the day at key times.

Numbers - A Cub or Brownie pack often has a dozen members. It takes about the same time to set up and clear as a school - but there are few to photograph. We have taken as little as £80 and as much as £300 from a single pack. However, there are often two or three groups meeting in the same building on the same night - eg Rainbows, then Brownies, then Guides - so you could easily take £500 in an evening.

Time - Photographing two teams before a match means you might have under 10 minutes to take a team photograph and individuals per side.

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