What Every Senior Photographer Should Know

If you shoot high school seniors or thinking about expanding your business in that direction, here are a few items you need to be sure you are doing to be competitive. The reality show “Survivor” describes its game’s ultimate strategy to win is to “Outwit, Outplay and Outlast” their opponent. The same strategy can be applied to winning the game of high school senior photography. Capturing the minds of teenagers these days can be challenging as you compete for mindshare against the internet, video games, music, along with the other traditional teenage distractions. High school seniors have grown up in the digital age and are experts in operating DVR’s, playing Xbox Live, socializing over the internet and text messaging faster than they can talk. How do you best reach this valuable target audience and convince them that you are the best choice to capture the memories of their final days in high school? The answer is simple – be different and embrace the trends and gadgets that have become second nature to them. Incorporating what is normal to them, rather than what is normal to you is the key to success. Here are a few things that you should be doing to attract high school senior photo business:

1. Get a MySpace page for your studio or photography business. If you’re not on MySpace then you’re not communicating on the same level with your potential high school senior customers. Setting up a MySpace page is quick and easy and helps market your services as hip, new and different from the traditional “analog” photographers. Don’t think of your MySpace page as a website; think of it as a business card specifically promoting your photography services to high school seniors. Be careful not to customize your MySpace site to look cheesy or too desperate. Stay professional and make sure your contact information is clear and concise. Have a teenager help you set it up or at least make suggestions on how it should look. Here are three examples I found on MySpace that I thought did a good job:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=159948984

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=49003091

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=13395938

2. Set-up your studio sound system to allow iPods to be connected. Today’s seniors are connected to their iPod and who they are (or want to be) is as close as their music library. Encourage your seniors to bring in their iPod for the shoot and let them choose the music that best fits the mood. Promote this feature as part of your service and make sure to remind your subjects before they come in. Need a little help on how to connect an iPod to your sound system? Then click http://tech.yahoo.com/gd/connecting-your-ipod-to-a-home-stereo/153073

3. After the shoot review the photos and create a slideshow along with an advertisement for your studio on their iPod so they can take it home and show mom, dad and their friends at school. You can use a simple $20 software package (http://www.anvsoft.com/ips/) that allow you to add photos, graphics, transitions and music to create a simple yet powerful video slideshow ready to be shown on any compatible iPod. Seniors will love this touch and it will lead to more sales and free advertising. The process is simple; Create the slideshow in the Anvsoft slideshow software, open iTunes, add the movie file (MPG4) to the Movie library, connect the iPod to the computer using the USB cable, select manage files manually, drag and drop the movie file from the movie libray to the iPod, eject the iPod and disconnect. Be sure to test this with your own iPod to ensure the process works with your set-up and that you do not erase any existing content on your customer's iPod.

4. Send text messages to remind your high school seniors about their photo shoot. Be sure to include how to prepare, what clothes to wear, etc. as part of the text message so they have all the information. Be sure to e-mail or call the parents to remind them as well, referring to the text message that you sent to the teenager’s phone. Just about every high school senior has a cell phone and it is an important communication medium for them. For those who are unfamiliar with the language of text messaging – here is a great link to help you get acquainted http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp

This should get you thinking about how to better market to your seniors and help grow your photography business. At the end of the day it is really about balance between selling the parents and selling the senior. One thing that you can be sure of is that the senior has much more say in the matter than you think. That is why these activities will help to ensure that you are covering all the bases.

THX TAFN CYO (thanks, thats all for now, see you online)