School Contracts - Some basics please

[ChrisPerry]

I shoot mostly weddings and HS seniors and am interested in pursuing a school contract, but know nothing about them.

For instance, assuming the school has a current contract with a photographer, how do I get in the door to talk to the 'decision maker' and how do I identify them? Is it generally a bid-job or up to the principle, distict superintendent or school board?

Does the school get anything from the photographer? Not specifically a bribe...but a donation, a percentage of sales, free photos of the sports teams or what? Any difference between a public and private/religious school? (as in getting the contract or paying a tribute, etc?)

How long are these contracts for, on average?

What percentage of kids/parents buy photos? How many kids can one photog shoot in say an hour or day? Do you need an assistant on that day? Are those cheesy plastic combs still passed out like when i was a kid?

How much work does it take back at the studio to PP or organize the order and sort/package the pics for delivery?

Thanks for any knoweldge and experience you can pass my way.

[DougAxford]

Hi Chris,

The answers you seek are very dependant upon where you live, the school level (high/grammar/elementary) and who the competition is. Once you answer all of thos, I can give you a better answer.

For example: Kickbacks can range from 10 to 50% in the US depending upon region. Younger grades are better $$. If Lifetouch is the main player, prices may be high, or impossibly low if they are trying to wipe-out a competitor.

BTW, contracts are not any guarantee that you will have the job.

Doug

[DouglasUrner]

Assuming that you are in the US, the contracts may be a matter of public record (at least for the public schools). The decision maker(s) will vary by district.

I don't know about other companies in the industry, but Lifetouch (one of the big players) is very aggressive and makes large and sweeping concessions (aka kickbacks) to schools to win contracts and drive out competitors. They invest heavily in technology and pay their front line people badly (not a whole lot more than minimum wage around here). Take a look at the craigslist in your area to get an idea of how they market themselves to potential employees.

Lifetouch seems to be selling services (e.g. staff pictures, coverage of athletic events, dance photos) as their way of getting in the door. I think there are some major opportunities for beating them at their own game and I'd be happy to talk with you off-line about strategies for schools (no point in handing ideas to the big boys )

Doug

[ChrisPerry]

I'm in Pennsylvania and Lifetouch has not touched our area

My school district and the next one over (larger and just as affluent) are both handled by different, but local, studios. Another local studio supposedly has 45 schools under contract (i doubt this number, but if you count each daycare or preschool perhaps it's true).

School boards here run each district like Hitler ran Germany - they are all on a power trip. My wife runs a drug rehab and they want to add a halfway house for kids and met with the head of the school board and superintendent and were told the school will not accept these kid as they are moslty black and will hurt test scores.
Yes it's discrimination, and yes it's illegal, but the zoning board said if the school opposed the halfway house then they'd not get an occupancy permit. And there's not a damned thing anyone can do. So keep your kids off drugs as they'll be discriminated against if they use.

So how open to public records this is I don't know. I suppose the School Board keeps minutes and I can go read back thru them. I'll see about that next week.

[DougAxford]

If "L" is not in your area, they will be soon. Robert Kerr runs Royal Photographics in Bethlehem and is 1st class and does a super job. I'm not sure how close that may be but they may be keeping "L" from running amuck. If you are competing against Robert, you probably have an even tougher job. His work is very good and they even courier packages right to the student's homes.

Generally, the kickback in that region is 10 to 20% and it's the school principal that makes the decision. Even if they say that the H&S committee makes the decision, it's the principal that you have to win over. Some principals are definitely looking for personal favors/$$, many will want something extra for the school.

Many times you can get into the school by shooting the sports teams and then, work your way up to everything. Many schools tie together undergrads, grads, teams and yearbook. This is no cakewalk.

The easy answer is this: if you are not printing yourself ($100,000++ lab) or haven't got an amazing deal from a lab, you are up against almost impossible odds. You'll need production software, and ability to shoot fast & perfectly every single shot. We normally shoot 500 kids a day per camera and the retake rate will be about 1%.

Get price lists by asking friends, relatives, customers who have school age kids to grab an extra price list. Some are per-pay, proof system or some are still spec. pkgs. Every school is different.

At least it's some info to get you started.

Doug

[ChrisPerry]

Thanks!
I'm on the western end of PA just outside Pittsburgh, so Bethlehem is nowhere near here.

My lab does an 8x10 unit for $1. I don't think I can find cheaper

So you price your packages/prints based on?
My experience as a parent with this so far has been my son - last year a private pre-school (proofs, packages started at $37 and went to 60 - individual prints available after buying a pckge- Roughly $14/unit. Now he'sin publick kindergarten - k-6 in two elementray schools is about 1400 kids - and the basic package is $9 for 3 units(!) and the big package is $26 for 5 units (more 5x7s mostly). Prepay, no proofs.

I didn't think that was very profitable till i did some math and it might just be worth the hassle!

So does the school care much what you sell, package or price wise? One could price according to the kickback, more or less, and still maintain a profit, right?

Are there written contracts for this? I assume nothing's standard, it's a go-see-your-liar, um, lawyer deal, right?

[EricC]

Chris,

Have you looked in to something like MVP? With 1000 or more kids their system is a real time saver. MVP allows you to design your order envelopes and packages. At the end of the shoot you don't have to monkey with the files, sort, size, or worry about any other corrections. Just burn a DVD and send it to them with the order envelopes. They do all of the post production and packaging.

They're at mvpcards.com

Works great for T&I, and they have services for school packages too. Just my 2 cents.

Eric