How to Shoot marketing portraits

Interviewer: Well, that was good, another sale, tell me about how did you get all this anyway? How this all come about? Male: Well, what we do is we actually approach the SGA. SGA for which it’s a Student General Association and they’re the ones who pretty well take care of everything first. That changes every year but every year the people who are in it recommend us through the next year so students are coming in so it just keeps going and going. They have sign up sheets. We took the date. These are the dates we’re going to do Grads. They make up sign up sheets and all the students go and sign up at the SGA office. Interviewer: You’re the official photographer? Male: We are the official photographers. Actually other photographers have tried to come in and then we get the likes. You know we do good work. We have their prices and have really a fast turnaround time. So when the orders are done so it’s a 10-day turnaround time and when the orders are all done we call the student. We haven’t pick it up at the SGA office. We throw off everything off the disk. SGA office, they take care of everything. So yeah, it’s been that way. We give them posters with the bright dates and stuff like that. They photocopy and they put small amount all around the university and even with their little student hand notebooks again from the beginning of the year that put that dates and therefore— Interviewer: It’s cool. Male: We also donate. I mean every sale $2.00 from every 10% from our total sales of the year. We put into a student bursary for the following year. Interviewer: That’s great but that’s important. Male: So you we have a good relationship with them in the students. Now the students like what we did. We just got a new department this year which has about 100 students because last year they went with that chain, big huge chain company progress and the students really hated it so they ended up going with that they found out among the students so just good. John was been shooting grads for how long? John: 15 years. Male: Yeah so it just kind of roll there up, right? And every year it feels older. John: Yeah. Male: So you know I’ll take this like what 15 minutes to set up? John: 15 minutes to set up and to shoot roughly10 minutes, work fulltime. Interviewer: Pretty? John: Yeah, a few minutes. Male: What are your average sales here? John: Average sale, closer to 200 bucks, 150 to 200 bucks, very timing in this work. Male: How many a couple of hundred Grads we have here. John: Couple of 100 Grads now. Interviewer: And growing? John: Yeah and growing. Interviewer: Every year grows? John: That University is broken down into various programs so there are some photographers which shoots specific programs but— Male: Now they don’t, but because it is we also do other functions. Interviewer: Are you in complication? Male: We started doing about two years now. The actual graduation we do Grad for a long graduation day for the student that missed it but when they go up and shake hands with the present and they look up to mom and dad and up there. Dad had there with long lens. We got that shot and then we print to 4x5 was in to main shot. Yeah we have one right here. We do this up for them. Now we charge the actual school. We charge the school, we say you know but we’re starting to have many students was walking through the family. We miss you already and then please keep in touch. So we have this folders made. Interviewer: So it’s another profit source? Male: It’s not a profit source but even as far as they have special functions or you know if they went to charity balls and stuff like that they end up to another iTunes, it’s just not perfect. John: You set them. Male: All right I’m going to show you. I'm going to show you the poster tomorrow. Interviewer: See you John. I’ll miss you, have a good weekend. Male: It’s not only a typical job you know. We also have four weddings of students that are here. Interviewer: Really? Male: Yeah, did you want and call us, we just give my master— Interviewer: See you later. See you all everybody. That’s all for now.