Keys to success in the high school senior portrait market
The high school senior portrait market is a highly competitive one. Getting your brand message to stand out in an over-saturated market can be a challenge, especially to a demographic that won’t be sold to. Senior portraits have been the main part of business since 1998 and a lot has changed since I started. Here are a few keys to success in the high school senior portrait market
Advanced knowledge of fashion posing and lighting. Todays seniors are sophisticated. You need to know how to pose seniors and how to use lighting to create fashion looks, similar to the ones used in fashion magazines. Good enough isn’t good enough anymore. You need to be able to produce images that cannot be created by the average person with a camera. Study the latest fashion magazines, especially ones your senior clients read. Get rid of cheesy props and outdated backgrounds.
You need to be able to relate to your clients, put them at ease in the camera room, make each person feel and look comfortable in front of the camera. This is as important as your camera and lighting skills.
Keep up and be aware of the latest trends and styles that are important to high school seniors. Where do they shop, what tv shows do they watch, where do they spend most of their time online? What magazines do they read. You need to know this and study these things.
Be where they are. Facebook is a good example and is a great tool for building a senior portrait business. Build a relationships with seniors and don’t just sell to them. This is a generation won’t be sold to.
Authenticity. What makes you unique? Why should seniors choose your studio? Don’t just go to other photography sites and copy what they’re doing. The most popular brands with high school students have a brand that is unique to them. It’s not so much what or who they are, just that they are being themselves. Even some of the most popular brands are kinda dorky. But they are loved because they are authentic. Nobody can be “you”
Savvy Marketing – your marketing must stand out. If you do not have design skills, then consider hiring someone to create a look for you. It’s not as expensive as you think and it could mean the difference in how many seniors you book. The design elements of your campaign should be consistent throughout every aspect of your marketing. Your website, blog, catalog, e-mail header.
Create an Experience for your client. A great client experience is still our most effective form of marketing, and it begins the moment a client visits our website, calls the studio or walks in the door. The decor, the music playing, the images displayed – every detail matters.
To stay relevant in the high school senior portrait market, we need to stay on top of the latest techniques, fashion trends and marketing strategies to get clients in the door and offer something that can’t be found anywhere else.
Each day this week I’ll share some more tips and ideas for high school senior photographer. Tomorrow: Marketing ideas for the school senior photographer
Category: Marketing
