HELP! Graduation ceremony!

[steveng6920]

Ok I'm hoping I don't get my head bit off for asking questions but I was approached by a friend of mine who works at a medical school. They are looking for a photographer to photograph the ceremony and want kind of like the LifeTouch package deal but my thing is how do you know which student walking across that stage got what package? How do you keep track of them? Because not everybody buys a package and when I'm going through my photos how will I know which person is which? Am I explaining myself right? Also I'm not sure how pricing works with the schools...like do I charge the school a fee for my time or do I just do the packages? I hope I don't sound like a complete fool, lol!

[Tom]

It is a HUGE PITA to keep track of all that. Some people don't walk because graduations are effing boring (that was me.) You really need someone to be before they walk the stage to check names. Then you shoot the robing/hand shake, then someone greets them on the other end to make sure the names haven't gotten out of order. After that, they go to a little headshot booth where you have another photographer and another name checker. Everyone gets a headshot in their robe. Then they can go sit down and text their way through the rest of the ceremony. Then they have a couple people walking around taking candids.

I think Lifetouch gives a portion of the orders back to the school, which is how they have a stranghold on all that. They also pay people that don't really know anything about photography and give them crappy cameras, flashes and extra batteries to go with a note book of what settings to put everything on. Lifetouch probably has 5-10 people on site working to take pics and make sure the names are correct.

I would never want to organize something like that. Like I said, HUGE PITA.

[brewercm]

What is the device they use at amusement parks. I know at Disney World they scan a card when they take the picture and give you that card to keep. Then throughout the visit you just give them that card whenever they take another picture and it tracks them all to that account. Once you leave you have like 90 or 120 days to go online and order any pictures etc. you want.

This system may not be cost effective but is what they use there.

Speaking of Disney, when I was there in December they were shooting with D80's and one guy who saw me with my 90 asked how I liked it because they were supposed to be replacing all their old D80's with the D90 this year. I wonder how they go about selling all those old camera's?

[steveng6920]

LOL Thanks for the info Thomas! It does sound like a huge PITA but if the $$$ is good enough I may be willing to go through at least one! I wonder if I can ask for a roster of the names and then maybe get the people's orders before hand and have my asst (wife) check the names off of the people that got a package and keep them in order somehow...I don't know but I got a month to figure something out, lol!

[ggeen]

Wow, Thomas! Thanks for the description. Sounds like a huge PITA. I will relay my own little story. I was photographing our security and ushers (church folk) for identity badges. I had one guy with a clipboard. I gave him my starting number (DSC_xxxx) and he would fill in the name next to the number. It worked pretty well but he did miss one person and that threw the numbering off.

I believe that graduations are generally done in alphabetical order. So if you get a roster and your assistant is paying attention, then the order should be pretty close. Then just write the picture number next to the name.

As for the "Your photo card", Chrysler did that at the Dallas Auto Show. A bar code is generated on a card and then photographs are associated to the bar code (serial) number. After the show go to the online service and download the photograph. In exchange, Chrysler got you contact information for future marketing.

[steveng6920]

Ah good idea Glen!!!! Thanks!

[bondarnes]

I just completed a nursing school graduation ceremony with about a hundred graduates. There was a printed program and only one person listed did not show up to walk. We put the images online for them to order, so keeping them straight was not really a problem.

So far we have sold about $500.00 for this gig. The income isn't great, but it beats no income at all and there was nothing else booked for that evening.

[steveng6920]

That is so funny you mentioned that Don because I was just now looking at getting an online ordering system as I don't have one! I figured that would be the smartest way to do it. The only thing I'm apprehensive about is that I heard online ordering systems dimish sales...have you found that to be true?

[CaptainTom]

My .02
If you are selling packages you have two options.
1- get them to buy beforehand. You'll need school participation in this.
2- get their names and addresses and try to sell them after the fact.

The best way for a small photog to handle this would be.

1- at a minimum two photogs and one helper.
2- each photog MUST have two cameras. They won't stop the ceremony because of an error99.
3- each graduate fills out a 3X5 card before they go to the auditorium.
4- the graduate hands the filled out card to your assistant as they approach the stage. The assistant puts the card on a long string so they stay in order.

5- offer the images on line and don't worry about their names, etc. (that's how I do it).
go to my web site and view a recent small graduation.

The most important part is for each graduate to know exactly where to go to see their images....don't expect someone from the school to do this.

If you do the 3X5 card make sure to get an email address then send everyone a link.