Where to buy senior portrait photo folders from?

[wsu_danielle]

I'm wondering where you purchase your folders at? What is a good price for 3.5x5, 4x6, & 5x7? I've been looking around and have found a few websites but I want to go with someone reputable.

Thanks!

[wsu_danielle]

Also, does anyone have a "senior rep" contract I could use? I would like to try having one this year.

[Xposurepro]

We avoid using the individual print folders but the place were we order our boxes and a few other packaging items has them Pro Studio Supply - Online Photographer's Discount Store

Odds are you're too late to be investing into a rep program for this year. We're already looking through apps to get our class of 2012 reps lined out. You're best investment will be to spend some time developing a full blown rep program that suits you, your target areas and competition. Once you know all the details of how your rep program will operate then you will need to write up a specialized contract that fits your program. Simply printing a rep contract and grabbing some last minute reps will most likely end up hurting more than helping .. you'll be wasting time and money fumbling when you could be plotting out your master plan.

[wsu_danielle]

Originally Posted by Xposurepro

We avoid using the individual print folders but the place were we order our boxes and a few other packaging items has them Pro Studio Supply - Online Photographer's Discount Store

Odds are you're too late to be investing into a rep program for this year. We're already looking through apps to get our class of 2012 reps lined out. You're best investment will be to spend some time developing a full blown rep program that suits you, your target areas and competition. Once you know all the details of how your rep program will operate then you will need to write up a specialized contract that fits your program. Simply printing a rep contract and grabbing some last minute reps will most likely end up hurting more than helping .. you'll be wasting time and money fumbling when you could be plotting out your master plan.

Thanks for the link. I will check them out!

As for the rep program, I should specify that I'm not going "full blown" this year anyway. I want to slowly break into that side of "the biz."

I coach volleyball at a local high school and one of the players is both pretty and perfect personality-wise for a "rep." We've talked and she said she would love to do it. We have discussed terms, etc. She's really the only one I'm going to use this year. I'm hoping she can get me 5+ clients. (More is great but I'm not hoping for miracles here. )

Next year I'll probably look into doing a whole rep program. For now I just plan to KISS.

[Xposurepro]

quick tips for if you plan out a program this fall ..

don't give reps free packages .. gives them no reason to do their job
be interactive and dont try to just reward them with money .. the demographic is more interested in fun than money.
more reps the better .. minimum of 1 rep per 100 students in a school.
supermodel reps look good on your website but making a ordinary girls with a lot of friends look beautiful makes you money.
don't forget a few guy reps.
FACEBOOK !!!! USE IT !!!!
force them to use a shot with logo on all online profiles for the entire school year.
Don't be afraid to fire the crap reps as soon as they show signs of not caring. LOL

[wsu_danielle]

Originally Posted by Xposurepro

quick tips for if you plan out a program this fall ..

don't give reps free packages .. gives them no reason to do their job
be interactive and dont try to just reward them with money .. the demographic is more interested in fun than money.
more reps the better .. minimum of 1 rep per 100 students in a school.
supermodel reps look good on your website but making a ordinary girls with a lot of friends look beautiful makes you money.
don't forget a few guy reps.
FACEBOOK !!!! USE IT !!!!
force them to use a shot with logo on all online profiles for the entire school year.
Don't be afraid to fire the crap reps as soon as they show signs of not caring. LOL

Thanks!!! Great tips!!!

Question about not giving them "free packages." Do you mean don't give it to them if they don't bring in referrals or at all? I was thinking I could do all the photos, edit some to have logos for them to put on their myspace & facebook pages and then ONLY give them their high-res images for their referrals (maybe 1 for each referral up to a certain #, if they even get that many, and then other rewards of some sort after that...?).

LOVE the idea of making them use the pics for their online profiles!!!!!!!

[tzimmerman]

Our reps we are doing this year are getting $15 print credit per paid referral. They payed their session fees, and if they get 10 referrals, their session fee becomes print credit as well, 15 referrals gets them an accordion book and print box, 20 gets them a softcover book.

It sounds so stereotypical and wrong, but making a "normal" girl look amazing in her pictures does land you alot more business than making a "pretty" girl look amazing. Everyone expects the "pretty" girls to have great pictures, its consistently getting great results with someone who doesn't know how to pose flatteringly, or carry themselves, or have a natural smile, thats what lands you the business. Deep down kids are insecure, and they are looking for that photographer that they trust to make them look amazing.

[Xposurepro]

Originally Posted by wsu_danielle

Thanks!!! Great tips!!!

Question about not giving them "free packages." Do you mean don't give it to them if they don't bring in referrals or at all? I was thinking I could do all the photos, edit some to have logos for them to put on their myspace & facebook pages and then ONLY give them their high-res images for their referrals (maybe 1 for each referral up to a certain #, if they even get that many, and then other rewards of some sort after that...?).

LOVE the idea of making them use the pics for their online profiles!!!!!!!

We do not give a full package free no matter how many people they bring in. We give small rewards that get bigger the more referrals they have but they don't add up to a full package. Our reps are technically clients with benefits. They get a lot of perks but we will still end up turning around a $20K profit off our reps themselves and not the referrals they bring in. Give them free packages and you will end up with the type of reps who are looking for a free deal and nothing more. When it comes down to it they want to be reps for us because they see it as an honor and we are very interactive so we have a lot of fun activities throughout their senior year.

We have 1 mandatory rep session and they get 5 FB pics w/ logo .. optional sessions are scheduled throughout the year. If they show up to a rep photo event they get another 5 FB logo shots.

Nobody ever gets access to digital files. We didn't hand over our negatives pre-dating digital .. no pros did .. nothing has changed there. When somebody asks we simply say we do not give or sell files. It's never an issue.

[Biomech]

^^ This, I bought a lot from one place that was double the cost. They were better, but not worth double the cost :P

Assuming we're talking about the same things, I get mine from Richard Frankfurt Photographic