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Looks like I should have it mostly covered then! :0)
leewoolery wrote:
Besides the normal things, arrive two/three hours ahead of time to set up everything.
Can't, even if I needed to. With the start time, it would still be well and truly dark if I got there 2 hours before hand and I have to ask, WTF? would take you 3 hours to set up
I'll have it all planned at home the week before the job so I know where everything goes and everything is.
I'm pretty big on that. An hour for me on any job is heaps of setup time because I have already got it all planned and contingencys allowed for. Mind you, in that I usualy take 3 times as much gear as I need but I have learned to take what I plan on in and leave the rest in the car. At worst these days it's come down for a longer extension lead and that's about it. :0)
Here is what works for me:
-Have a league representative there to meet and organize the teams as they arrive
Check. My liason with the club will be there on the day ( an hour before shooting starts) but in fact I don't plan on her doing anything really. I'll have my wife and daughter there and they will cover it all.
-Have a staging area for next team up
Check. Daughter will be there kiddy wrangling, sorting into height, instructing poses, answering parents questions, directing them to table for forgotten envelopes etc. She knows the drill, was doing it for me when she was 12! :0)
-Have a display table with examples ( and many extra order forms )
Check. I have 20x30" posters from way back with the package inclusions in actual size and the name of the package. I'll write the price on in marker pen so they can see that too.
Envelopes are a given of course. Clearly this works the same all round the world and people are slack! :0)
-Have a cashier
-Have someone to answer questions
-Have somebody to keep parents from being near photo areas distracting athletes
Check. My wife will have a table and chair in between me and the "Public" area forming a barrier for parents so they can see but not interrupt or take too many phone pics.
She sits at a table with a computer and printer and as I shoot the teams, I hand her the card, she downloads it then prints a pic of the team on a form we have made up.
She then writes a number on each kids chest in teh pic and gets the coach to write the kids name on the corresponding line below along with coach and mangers name.
She also takes all the envelopes, counts how many, writes it on a larger envelope and seals the orders with the team name sheet. We will also have our portable Credit card machine there for the people still 10 years behind the times that want to pay that way but have a phobia about putting their CC details on anything cause someones going to run $10M up on their card.
-Have an assistant dedicated to writing down image numbers ( that is their only job for the day )
Don't need that with the way I do things but the assistants, 2 of them, ( Possibly 3 if interested daughters friend turns up to help and learn) will be on hand. Wouldn't think to do it any other way.
-Have an assistant to pose players...especially small ones
Daughter will be at the ready to wrangle the little spawns of satin so I don't have to touch, much less go near them! I'll take a gallon of hand sanitiser for her and a scrubbing brush.
One thing I did years ago was to weld up some benches about 250mm high and put a wooden top on them. I got my daughter who was then 8 to stand on them and I outlined her feet with a marker pen. For most kids I just tell them to stand on the bench, put their feet on the ones on the board and look at me. 80% of them get it right instantly and the rest usually pretty quick after one more instruction.
I will also have a poster with 4-5 poses they can look at and decide which one they want to do for a bit of variety . Haven't done that before but if it don't work with the first few teams, I can abandon the poster and go back to a one pose styling.
-Take the team photo first ( if possible ) and then individuals so everybody can leave the area when they are photographed
Check.
Always TRY to do that but of course it only takes one straggler to stuff that up because you have to wait for them. Fortunately these days with mobile phones, the parents are quickly onto it giving them the hurry up.
If we are waiting I'll do all the indv so I just need to do that one kid and the team when they finally arrive. The club has sent emails, put a roster on the site, spoken to managers and I have printed handouts to go with the envelopes as well as posters to put around the ground at the toilets, dressing sheds and canteen in advance stressing be on time.
I'll wait and hear the excuses about how people live in a bubble or walk around blind and didn't see any of these things when they turn up late.
-Have the players lined up in a row and ready to go for individuals
Absolutely! Daughters main Job!
-Give each coach a free 8 x 10 of the team and one of them with their children
I include the free coach shot but hadn't thought of it being with their kid! Great idea. That's the stuff I'm looking for! They will love that.
Simple, easy, highly effective, no extra cost and I was too stupid to think of it myself.
Excellent! Thank you for that tip I'll definitely use.
I have the team sheets already and I noticed that all the younger teams are coached by a parent and was thinking, Kinda pointless to give them a team shot when they will have one but I had included it the pitch to the club so had to stick with it.
Now with that simple but brilliant idea, ( that's probably been done for years but I hadn't thought of it!) The freebie will have a point to it!
-If there are siblings on the team, offer them a free photo button or 8 x 10
Hmm, 2 minds on that one. I can see the satisfaction value in it of course but I usually make good money on those extra shots. We don't do buttons here much and that one would be sold as an 8x12 so I'll probably stick to the normal thing of a discount on it if they are buying 2 or more packages.
Good luck with your photo day.
Thank you. No matter how prepared one is, with this sort of thing, good luck is always a valuable thing. They actually wanted to shoot it this weekend which has seen the heaviest rain and most flooding in Sydney in 10 years. Very happy I said I needed more time to prep now and I'll bet the club is too! :0)
While I've already got most of your suggestions covered, it's good to have a reminder that I am thinking it through and the one thing I hadn't thought of makes me appreciate your reply and thankful for it as it will be valuable in being seen to provide the awesome service I want them to remember.
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Jun 05, 2016 at 01:22 PM |
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