Gone are the days when Sports Day and a couple of egg and spoon races were the only school events to look forward to. In education, a lot of school success can be measured by the extra-curricular events they put on and the experiences that they encourage their pupils to be part of. There are a lot more options available to children. This bodes well for our next generation of superstars and it’s also great news if you have a school photography business too.
A big part of effectively upselling your service is about always being on the lookout for new opportunities. It’s well-worth grabbing a meeting with the schools you work with and finding out how you can help create more value for them and your brand.
Let’s look at some events you can look out for:
Proms and Leavers Events
Proms are all the rage these days and the American import now dominates the school calendar. The biggest night of the year is a milestone for school leavers and it’s a great event to get involved with and photograph. You can also offer extra services like school leavers hoodies to celebrate the end of an era.
First Day of School
Who wouldn’t want to look back on their embarrassing haircuts and massive school bags in years to come? Offering to photograph children on their first day in the classroom can be reassuring for parents and gives them the chance to remember a momentous day and share it amongst friends and family. And it’s obviously a great, sentimental souvenir for children when they’re older.
Awards Ceremonies
Capturing photos of pupils when they’re being rewarding for their success is a winner for most doting parents and guardians. Having a photo on the mantelpiece of their children being awarded for their hard work is a lovely idea. Offering to take photos, so parents can share in their children and the school’s success is worth asking about.
Trips and Speakers
Schools go on lots of varied and exciting trips and also have a range of external speakers that come in and speak to students. Parents and potential pupils will be impressed by photos of extra-curricular activities and speakers, so advise schools about the benefit of these types of photos for brochures and their digital marketing output.
School Productions and Sporting Events
Some of the most creative and fun school-based photography you can capture will probably revolve around sporting and drama-related events. Photographing children going out of their comfort zones and succeeding in extra-curricular activities can give a school some great shots and encourage others to join in and show what children have done in previous years.
There are lots of other events and reasons for school photography that go on throughout the year. It’s about offering to show the school in an even better light and giving them some fantastic shots to show off to parents and children, old and new. If you’ve got good digital skills then you can even offer to put together blogs or social media content using the photos you take at events.
If you don’t ask then you won’t get, so being open and communicating with the schools you work with can lead to more events and new angles. Building good relationships with your clients can go a long way and hopefully they’ll call on you when they need photography for a whole range of events.
Read more: 5 Tips for Upselling your Photography Services
