It sounds like leagues are already asking different questions of their photographers for this upcoming Fall season. Are you prepared for this new world?
We are in an unprecedented times and this Fall is going to be different than any we've seen in the past. Now is the time to prepare and make sure you are ready to provide Contactless Fall sports pictures so the leagues book and with you. If you prepare and do the hard work now it will be a successful one.
We are here to help! Be sure to sign up for email and push notifications to be notified when the next blog post is released. Here are 4 tips for contactless Fall sports pictures you can implement today your schools and sports leagues.
Tip 1: Socially Distant Groups
We have been doing these for over 6 years now and call them Extreme Sports and Extreme Teams. The world has changed and this is fast becoming the new norm and not just a way to separate yourself from the competition.
If you are not already offering this service for your leagues, this gives you an opportunity to update your look and provide contactless Fall sports pictures. The individuals can be shot on green screen, HiLite, or extracted from any natural environment. The old way of doing things just isn’t going to work as it has in the past. This season you will need provide the services your schools and leagues are asking for. Plus some other added benefits of Extreme Teams:
- Socially distant group photography
- Cool new products designed specifically for extracted images
- No worries about the weather! Shoot indoors anytime!
- Consistent images! No more worries about the sun!
- Works with all sports!
The key to doing successful Extreme Teams this Fall is going be be in the the preparation you are doing now. Want to learn more about Extreme teams ? Check out this blog post we did several years ago and brought over from our old server:
Extreme Teams – Digital Team Composites
Tip 2: Prepay Ordering Online
Eliminate the contact and the handling of envelopes, checks and money by using an online prepay system. Our favorite one is Prepay Systems. We have been using Prepay Systems successfully for over 2 years now (before Coronavirus) because of all the benefits that it adds for both he the studio and the leagues.
Prepay Systems’ advance shopping cart has been specifically designed to provide photographers with a tool to increase their online service offerings while expediting payments from customers. PLUS there are a a lot of other benefits you get from Prepay Systems. Here’s some of the benefits you will see by implementing Prepay Systems for this Fall season
- No handling of envelopes, checks or money
- Great opportunity to up sell your packages. It just works.. “would you like an apple pie with that”?
- No envelopes to distribute (save time and money)
- API driven, for direct lab integration
- Eliminate data entry
- Parents love the easy of use and not having to go to the cashier table on photo day.
- Higher order averages. Yes, we have seen higher order averages when parents prepay online
Tip 3: Contactless Posing
No touch posing of players. Here’s a few tips that will, help you achieve contactless posing for this Fall season.
1. Having a posing guide for each sport on hand is essential and also helps expedite the process. The players will pick their pose before they come to the individual photography station and know how they want to pose.
2. Having marks on the floor to show them exactly where to place each foot will also help expedite the process. Most players will see the mark on the ground and automatically place their feet in the correct position saving a lot of time and direction.
3. Directing the pose “no touch” styles. When they have their feet in the correct position, now it’s time to fine tune the pose. This can be done by having the player mirror you, hand directions also work great. For example, chin to the left – while you are moving your hand in the direction you want them to move their chin. With the younger payers.. sometimes we play Simon Says. Simon Says “chin up”, Simon Says “Smile”… all in a days work.
Once everything is lined up and focus locked, I will typically place my head to the left of camera and talk to the subject to get a good expression.
Tip 4: Online Proofing & Re-orders
We are now offering both online proofing and online re-orders as a way to provide leagues with a completely contactless order and re-ordering solution. This is no longer an option, it’s just expected that photographers provide online solutions for their schools and sports leagues. The beauty of this is that everything is completely automated. This means that when an order comes in it is automatically sent to the lab for fulfillment and mailing to the customer… the studio never has to touch anything.
Are you leaving money on the table? You can increase sales by posting all jobs online for easy re-ordering. This is an excellent way to pick up additional sales from customers who did not purchase on photo day as well as those who need to order more product or would like other family members to order.
We are in an unprecedented times and this Fall is going to be different than any we've seen in the past. Now is the time to prepare and make sure the leagues book and with you and that it’s a successful one. What are you doing different to prepare for this upcoming Fall season?
