Take advantage of the Opportunity of a Lifetouch! Their turmoil is allowing many of our customers to get valuable new bookings. If you haven’t jumped into the fray yet, you already have the skills and equipment necessary to be successful. The questions are – Do you desire to grow, and can you pivot and do something new?
We want to share one idea with you which could make a real positive impact on your spring cash flow. Does shooting hundreds of subjects and averaging $35 per subject photographed interest you? It is similar to what you have done with graduations before – but with an important twist.
Typically, we think of Graduation Photography as pictures taken of graduates as they receive their diplomas crossing the stage during the ceremony. That’s how most Graduation Photography has been done for years.
Due to the pandemic, we have seen graduations done many ways during 2020. We have seen them with graduates all spread out, with no families present, cancelled altogether, postponed until August, with photos taken as they “drive thru” in their cars, done virtually, and even some done normally.
At CCP, we have had success taking Graduation Pictures days before several high school graduations because another company (LT) was contracted for the actual ceremony. We tied cap and gown pictures in with virtual senior class groups. These were done during the day at school – inside or outside – with several photographers.
Additionally, last spring this type of Graduation shoot was scheduled as a way for the students to get Cap and Gown pictures since the graduation ceremony was cancelled. Generally, the photos taken were of the graduates alone in several poses. This worked well and was very worthwhile.
Here is the key modification that really boosted our sales. We did a large public school where families were invited and could also be in the graduation pictures. The sales from that grad shoot, with families involved, had a huge boost in sales. To test what we observed, we then did some other non-grad related spring school shoots, invited the parents, and again the sales were far better than a normal shoot.
How does $21,544 in sales at nearly $35 per student photographed in a high school sound to you? We shot 624 graduates, 1/3 of them had their families present, and 2/3 of the sales came from them. WOW! Inviting the parents to the shoot turned out to be a great move.
We shot those pictures during the day – and that limited the number of parents who could attend. Going forward we will shoot from 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm to allow some time for more working parents to be included.
Some schools normally have senior class groups taken with all the students seated together on gym risers, or even outside on bleachers. Many taken like that aren’t being taken right now due to Covid concerns. The opportunity to take individual cap and gown shots instead and then create a virtual group is terrific.
The Virtual graduating class provides a good reason for a school to schedule individual Graduation Pictures. We have booked several in OKC for this spring. CCP will give the school a big banner as a booking incentive.
To be clear – we are suggesting the following 5 things:
- Let schools being done by Lifetouch know you are available to help them right now
- Book and photograph cap and gown photos early this spring – don’t wait for commencements
- Conduct the shoot using PhotoMatch from 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm so working parents can attend
- Cutout graduates and create a virtual group as another reason for the school to have the shoot
- Make yourself a nice chunk of extra money to help make up for events lost to Covid!
Learn more about this type of Graduation Photography, the latest CCS software tools, and other profitable market segments by joining us during the CCS Virtual Winter Meetings on Wednesday, February 24th and Thursday, February 25th.
Click here to register for the meeting
Sincerely,
Jack
