Possible Job!

[SabrinaO]

I've been asked to photograph the kids at my sons old daycare/preschool. In the email they said they want "school" pictures of the kids at both branches. There must be 20-40 kids at each branch. I'm thinking about getting a muslin backdrop but I want an actual classroom to be the "backdrop". I really don't know how to respond because i've never done this before. I don't know how much to charge, how to do the proofing etc. Maybe its just too big of a job right now? If anyone has any tips please respond. Thanks in advance!

 

[PhotoWrangler]

The proper response would be...

"This isn't something that I am well versed in, perhaps I can refer you to a properly experienced professional." Then you tag along to gain the experience for the next gig that comes along....

 

[tirediron]

I think you may be on to something saying that it's too big a job right now? Do you have a business license, lawyer-reviewed contract and liability insurance? Don't even THINK about touching a job like this unless you do!

That said, these aren't difficult jobs, but they do require a set work flow. I agree that a classroom is a better backdrop than the traditional blue 'spattered' muslin.

I do something similar each year with a local animal charity and a 'Pets with Santa' shoot - it's two full days on non-stop shooting. I have two assistants; one to wrangle the animals and one to record information. The way it works: Person comes in to the venue with pet (child) and meets assistant #1 who records name, tel #, e-mail address, pet's (child's) name and description, she then directs them to a seat in the line. Assistant #2 takes the next person/pet from the line and gets them into position, checks for hair, positioning, etc. I shoot the pictures and at the end of the day dump the cards to my laptop, and burn two copies onto DVD.

Once everything's shot, I begin processing. I make several copies of the information list that assistant #1 made to use, and then edit each set of images as required, and save the edited .jpgs to a separate directory. Once that's done I burn each directory to a CD for distribution.

I have a little more flexibility since I'm doing this pro bono; you will need to add the extra step of creating a proof gallery; these days that's usually done on line, so what I would suggest is to use an application like jalbum to create individual galleries for each child. Set up a web-page with a form that the parent can fill in with how many of each image in what size and e-mail directly to you. One tip: Make sure that you publish the same number of images of each child to avoid parents asking why you didn't take as many of little Jimmy as you did o f Little Johnny.
Good luck.

 

[tirediron]

The proper response would be...

"This isn't something that I am well versed in, perhaps I can refer you to a properly experienced professional." Then you tag along to gain the experience for the next gig that comes along....

Excellent suggestion!

 

[ghache]

Dont take the jobs if your not comfortable with all of this.

This is totally different than a portrait session with a familly of 3.

You will be dealing with 60-80 clients and the school wants a specific look for thier pictures.

School portraits are easy in the sense that you will need to put 12-14 different poses together and execute them 60 times in a row (seems like this is what the school wants). do the client proofings, the printing, payments ,delivery and all the other things that can come up.

You could be making a good chunk a money on this but there is not much space for **** ups for a job like this because your name will be on the line (especially if you live in a small city).. Its alot more work than you think it is. However, if you do a good job, a large % of these clients will remember you.

 

[PhotoWrangler]

That said, these aren't difficult jobs, but they do require a set work flow.

If forty kids under the age of 10 isn't difficult.... you must have the patience of Mother Teresa.

 

[tirediron]

If forty kids under the age of 10 isn't difficult.... you must have the patience of Mother Teresa.

:lmao: Me? Patience???? Me???? :lmao::lmao::lmao: What I meant was technical difficulty; the actual shooting is formulaic; determine lighting plan, exposure, poses and shoot. Wash, rinse, repeat. The actual child-wrangling. Well, let's just say there's a reason I don't have children of my own!

 

[SabrinaO]

Thanks all! You are really giving me something to think about...

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

How much thinking did you do prior to posting?

It's an honest question.

 

[tirediron]

I suspect it's a question to which she already knows the answer, but was just seeking confirmation.

 

[Derrel]

I have shot the "retakes" for my kid's school for the last two years...it's not that difficult...all I have had is one other parent volunteer as the "fetcher" of the kids, and the name-writer...23 kids one year, 21 the next...several kids each year were special needs children who required a few more frames to get looking their best. It's pretty simple to do "school pictures".

As to the "blue background"...although it might not be the most-elegant, it is the most-preferred by customers...and a classroom as a backdrop??? That's going to be VERY busy-looking. One does not need a blue backdrop--I use a deep blue gel on a 7 inch reflector, with a grid and diffuser, and I fire that at a gray background.

One umbrella 30 degrees off to the side, a second umbrella right next to the camera, pointing straight at the kid. That is "school picture lighting" that matches our school's commercial school portraits, so the retakes I shoot match up perfectly with the ones the commercial school portrait people take. The two umbrellas give two big, bright catchlights in the eyes, which most parents seem to like...it makes the kids look "bright-eyed". This does not require much lighting power: I use a Speedotron Brown LIne 400 watt-second pack, so, as you can see, it does not require much flash power. In fact, LOW flash power works well on kids.

 

[CCericola]

Hi Sabrina!,

Ok, I did daycare through highschool pictures for years. Sounds like they want something better than say LifeTouch's prepay method. (who I never worked for but heard a lot of negative reviews from parents and teachers after we took their business)

Find out what the director and parents want as far as backdrops. They may want a blue backdrop. That's ok. These kind of jobs are not about artistic portraits. They are about getting a real smile from toddlers that don't know you from Adam.

When I did a few daycares on my own without the support of a company behind me and this is what I did. You can do the same or tailor it to your needs.

1. You need to be a registered business and have insurance. Kids love to touch things they are not supposed to and there is always a risk that your equipment or children will get hurt. Also, a lot of daycares require for their insurance that any vendors that come to the daycare are not only insured they also have a background check on file with the police. It can be a pain but it is a reality of doing anything with kids.

2. The less wires the better. Granted my lights were plugged in but there were no sync chords. I used radio triggers. I had a 5x10 canvas background that can be set up using 1 background/stand. 10' long because even thought the older kids could sit on a stool for a traditional school photo the babies couldn't so I had an extra long canvas so they could be on the floor. Or I had them on a baby poser draped in fabric. I also had a few props. An antique school desk, apples, books...

3. Take a set of 8-10 poses with and without props. So I knew who was who I had a teacher write down the child's name on a list and I would give her/him the first image number of that kid. So I knew when I went into bridge (didn't have lightroom at the time) it was very easy to identify and rename for each kid.

4. Don't forget groups. These were weird. Some schools wanted a background and others would like them taken in front of a bullatin board or out on the playground. I hated when they wanted a background because I had to set up a large muslin and it was a pain. If they want group shots talk them into not using a muslin background. Just keep a list of image numbers and group names. You can then go into photoshop and add their school name and year on the photo later if they want.

5. Ok, so, you have shot the school. You get back and download your cards. You delete bad pics. You rename using your master list. I would do basic retouching but nothing heavy.

6. Now when I did this the first time I did not have online proofing. I had to print proof sheets (8 poses per sheet) and an order form. Dropped them off at the school. Gave them an order deadline and then picked up the order forms and money on the deadline date. Later on I used Millers on-line proofing. Actually I made more money when I had the proof sheets and order forms but you can do it anyway you want.

7. Ok, so I have the orders, I offered additional retouching for a charge so if the parent's paid for it I would retouch the photos. I then ordered the photos and picture envelopes and had them delivered to me in bulk. I then went through them with a fine tooth comb and made sure the orders matched and were good quality. I would then re-order any mistakes. Once I had all the photos in picture envelopes with the kid's name on the envelope I delivered them to the school and scheduled a make-up/retake day with the director about 1-2 weeks later.

8. Retake day comes around and I shoot kids who were absent on picture day. Now the parents bought pictures from proofs so I did not have a lot of retakesa as opposed to companies that prepay school pictures and parents don't get to choose so I would really spend less than an hour doing make-ups and retakes. I would then send the proofs to the schools and a deadline for orders.

9. On the dealine I would pick up the orders and do the same thing as before.

10. When I delivered the last batch of pics I also gave the director a check. For day cares and schools pictures are a fundraising opportunity because school picture companies offer a percentage of sales to the school. But really all you have to do is calculate that percentage into your package and print prices and you are good to go and the school is very happy.

Now all of this seems daunting I know, but schools can be cash cows if you have a good system. The downside is the parents that are never happy no matter what you do or the parents that complain just to get free pictures. The director of the school will side with the parent because the parent is their client so no matter how much of a pain a parent is you have to hold your tongue and kill them with kindness. Now that doesn't mean letting them get away with not paying for things. But a 20% or 30% discount can go a long way to keep people happy. Not to say there won't be someone that wants a refund but in the long run. refunding a few packages to keep everyone happy will not cut into your profits too much.

If you have any other questions you can post them here or PM me if you don't want the information out there on the net for parents to find.