I was approached by one of the fraternities at my alma mater to have their annual composite board made for them. After doing a bit of poking around and research, I'm realizing that I definitely want no part in handling the layout, composite design, order fulfillment, etc, but I would like to do the actual photography.
If anyone here offers composites as a service, I'd like to farm out the entire post-production to you. I shoot to your specs and deliver the files to you... you handle everything from then on. I will need to see references, past examples, etc.
Alternatively, does anybody know a professional company that offers this service? The first couple I found on google (FraternalComposite and UniversityPhoto) seem to have a vertically integrated product line and require the use of in-house photographers.
FCS (Fraternal Composite) does have in-house photographers AFAIK. They are also a horrible company to do business with and their quality is inconsistent. When the work product was good, it was pretty good, but when it was bad it was an embarrassment.
Since just a few companies have a monopoly on this type of work, I think it will be difficult to find what you are looking for. But not impossible of course.
Have you thought about trying to get in on the sorority bid day and fraternity rush photo market?
It depends on the individual organizations, of course, but many of them, especially sororities, are motivated by price and the ease of working with the photographer and ordering prints. Usually quality is not a huge factor for these organizations in my experience... they just need photos, they need them quickly and cheaply and they appreciate working with someone who is familiar with these types of events. If you are Greek as well, that really helps.
