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September
8th, 2006
In Memoriam:
Doug Edwards (1961-2006)
Longtime CCS customer and Chappell
Studios employee, Doug Edwards, passed away on Sunday
morning, August 27th after a courageous
battle with cancer that transpired over the past year.
A graduate of UCLA, Doug originally entered the CCS network
as the campus manager for Steve Counts’ Memory Lane
Photography based in Santa Monica, CA. After working for
Steve for several years Doug purchased a few of the campuses
from Steve and proceeded to work the greek market while
also shooting senior class groups in the Los Angeles area.
Of working with Doug, Steve Counts remembers that, “You
could have the nastiest, hardest photo assignment and
ask Doug to do it (because you didn’t want to),
and he would attack the assignment with a positive outlook
and come back saying that everything went just fine”.
After being self-employed for a number of years, Doug
worked as a contract photographer for Jolesch Photography
and also for Chappell Studios beginning in 1995 before
signing on full-time as a regional representative for
Chappell in the Spring of 2003, where he worked until
his death.
In the words of Chappell Studios founder, Jim Davis, “Doug’s
greatest attribute was that he was always full of sunshine
and positivity. It was a pleasure to work with Doug. Everyone
just enjoyed the opportunity to be with him. Doug worked
hard to serve Chappell and especially all of the photographers
in his region. Just the thought of him brings a smile”.
Doug is survived by his wife Lorraine and his children,
Alexander, 6 and Vincent, 3, as well as his father, Dale,
also a Chappell photographer. Doug was active in fraternity
life before he graduated from UCLA in the early 80s. Doug
lived and enjoyed the Southern California lifestyle including
beach outings with his family in his lovingly restored
ancient red Toyota Land Cruiser, and building and racing
his remote controlled cars.
Campus
Bid Days: A Rite of Summer (Part I)
by Brian
Speers
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Officially, campus bid days began this year on
August 13th in Auburn, AL as Allen and Susan Patterson’s
Auburn University greeks carried on a long-standing tradition
that also continues to be a great tradition for CCS customers
as well, namely, a big payday from a well-oiled effort
to sell group pictures. Over the course of this season
we have seen have been many new improvements, creative
innovations and some great photography; and some surprises
along the way.
Here’s a selection of things that the CCS photo
crew noticed while on the road during the month of August.
University of Alabama-CCS
customer Gary Limmroth – If you’re
looking for innovation, Gary’s bid days are always
a good place to look. This year Gary added a new ingredient
that was really cool—REALLY COOL! Searching for
a way to challenge the oppressive heat and humidity that
always accompanies bid day in Tuscaloosa (last year the
heat index was 114°), Gary turned a cold shoulder
to the heat—literally—and purchased Personal
Body Cooling Vests for all of his group shooters.
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The concept behind these cooling vests
is to lower the core temperature of the body so the wearer
can perform more easily in a heat stressed environment.
The ice packs which insert into interior pockets are good
for about 2.5 hours before they need to be re-charged
(refrozen), which occurs in 15-20 minutes in ice water!
Typically, these vests have been used by Race Car Drivers,
Mascot/Costumed Characters, Roofers, Welders and other
trades where performance in extreme heat can be enhanced.
The Military, and Uniformed Police and Fire Fighters have
also been the benefactors of this frigid and frosty invention.
Though weather in Tuscaloosa on bid day wasn’t as
extreme as last year, the vests proved to be a welcome
advantage for all that had the opportunity to wear one.
It also made it easier to spot fellow photographers on
sorority row!
Gary’s quantity discounts lowered the per unit cost
to about $130 plus shipping. A huge ice chest purchased
at Sam’s to recharge the ice packs cost $60 and
the costs to have the vests screened with the ZAP logos
on the front and back was $85.
University of Florida-CCS
customer Gene Mangiante – Having
just purchased the campus business at the University of
Florida in June, Gene wanted to create a special benefit
for all of his
CCS customers
Allen Patterson and Charlene Barth get their
Gator reward following their
bid day shoot. |
group shooters after their group shoots
were complete. Knowing that there was going to be a surprise
after the shoot, most group photographers were speculating
as to what it might be. A Frozen Margarita machine was
high on everyone’s list but it just wasn’t
to be.
As each photographer returned from their shooting assignment
they were treated to a massage—yes, a real masseuse
massage—by a team of two women who had a need to
knead, but didn’t rub anyone the wrong way! Everyone
got 20 minutes apiece with the two manipulators of muscle,
etc. and walked away energized and relaxed enough to shoot
another group if they had to. This was a bid day first
and, hopefully, Gene has started a new tradition at the
Gators campus.
Louisiana State University-
CCS customer Ken Ramsey – “Things
that get measured get done”. If you’ve been
around CCS long enough you know and recognize the words
of Steve Mulvaney, a featured speaker at several CCS seminars
over the years. An often overlooked but key ingredient
of bid day is assistants. They are the roadies, if you
will, recruited from fraternities and elsewhere to do
the dirty work on bid day like hauling benches and chairs,
moving branches and trees and, generally, trying to make
the photographers day a little easier and less stressful.
Frequently, they are people who down the line become Party
Pics photographers once they see how it all works.
This year, Ken Ramsey decided to evaluate his assistants
as a way to recruit good workers to his business. At the
bottom of a form that he created for group shooters to
mark their group shooting sequence, there was a space
for photographers to rate their assistants on a 1 to 5
scale. This allows Ken to measure the effectiveness of
each helper and, perhaps, recruit his future employees
rather than just hiring them.
Digital Groups
One of the most evident technical improvements we saw
this year while traveling around was that nearly every
group was shot 100% digital. There were a few campuses
that were shot digitally with a film backup, but for the
most part, high megapixel (10.2 MP and higher) Canons
and Nikon cameras seemed to be the order of the day. We
expect that by next year there will be no bid day groups
shot on film!
“Pre-Selling”
your Bid Day Photo Group Shots
“Good communication is as stimulating as black
coffee”
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Though bid day sales take place on just one day
of the year for each campus, for one CCS customer
the communication and sales process starts long
before those sorority girls begin filling out their
order cards. At Gary Limmroth’s Alabama campus
one of his most effective tools for raising his
impressive sales is a two-page newsletter that he
publishes during the week prior to bid day. Though
its content is ripe with valuable information the
subliminal sales effects cannot be overemphasized.
Here are some of the highlights of his newsletter:
Personalization – There are separate
editions written for each sorority that zero in
on the shooting aspects of each house. Bushes, trees,
lighting situations and parked cars in front of
the houses are addressed.
Weather Forecast – The probability
for intense heat/humidity and for thunderstorms
is addressed with advice for what to do if the shoots
have to move indoors.
Schedule – Each house is told when
they will be photographed and whether or not they
will be shot in the first wave or the second wave.
This includes the importance of having the group
shot on bid day, since re-creating the excitement
would be difficult, at best.
Hydration – Due to the extreme weather
conditions the girls are reminded to drink a lot
of fluids with special attention paid to the number
of bottles of water they should have on hand for
each new member and active.
Once Gary covers the practical elements of bid day
he then subtly leads the girls into his sales preparation,
a subliminal “pre-sell” with NO mention
of prices.
Order Card – Each aspect of the order
card is explained including the importance of marking
the appropriate class designation and clearly printing
your name and email address.
Shoot Sequence – He tells them in
what order each class will be photographed and that
they will be doing a formal and crazy of each class.
Offer – Gary explains that the Deluxe
Package is a great value and will save them $12.00
without even mentioning the price of the package;
and explains that “this is like getting a
FREE 8x10”. He also explains that lamination
will be offered and encourages the girls to make
their photos more memorable by inviting them to
use props for their crazy shot.
Candids – A complete explanation
of the ordering process for candids expressing the
importance of their email address and how ZAP, Gary’s
company, uses the email address as a prime source
of communication for all matters regarding photographs.
Finally, Gary finishes this small gem of a newsletter
with a reiteration of the fact that there will be
no price increase this year, and then closes with
a statement of thanks for their business and their
loyalty over the 34 years that he has been operating
a business on their campus. In addition to the newsletter,
he also uses the powerful communications tools in
the QEMS software to keep
The Results of all this preparation speaks for itself:
Gary has the highest sales per house that CCS
has ever heard of in all the years we’ve been
doing this. It is all about SALES, it is all
about COMMUNICATION and preparing the sororities
for all that is going to happen to them on bid day.
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Pearlized Products in the Sports
Market
by Dana
Hill
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If you are looking for another competitive advantage
when booking sports teams and leagues, then consider Pearlized
Paper. This premium option is Kodak’s metallic paper
and creates a picture with a luminous glow. And with the
vibrant colors of sport uniforms and green fields, sports
images on Pearlized Paper look incredible.
Positioning Pearlized Paper as a premium option to your
standard paper and combining it with Quick Retouching
is a way to offer your sports customers the very best
you have to offer. It is a way to have a Deluxe product
line with Pearlized paper and possibly Quick Retouching
and a Standard product line with the same products on
standard paper. And we know from both the Glamour Shots
portrait market and the Grad market that when these two
options are offered, a certain segment of customer wants
that premium product. In fact showing a team or league
a comparison of the same image – one on standard
paper and other on pearlized – is a very impactful
demonstration.
The success of Pearlized Paper in the Grad Market has
proven that even a short description of the product on
an order form or on your website can be enough to move
that sale up, perhaps something like “Pearlized
portraits are produced using an advanced type of photographic
paper that has a luminous sheen. This adds depth and dimension
to your portrait and is a notable enhancement over standard
paper.”
Most sports products are available with the Pearlized
Paper modifier. The cost of sports products on Pearlized
Paper are 50% higher than the same sports product on standard
paper. A complete price list below –
Item Unit
Price Pearlized
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If you have not seen an example of a pearlized picture,
you need to see the difference for yourself. By Monday,
you will be able to order pearlized sports products on
the sample site, www.picmyphotos.com, password –
samplessamples.
Which Party Pics®
Poses Sell?
Click to enlarge |
by Steve
Foisy
Are you curious about which Party Pics®
poses are being purchased by your customers? Go to your
QEMS (Quicpics Event Management System) admin page, then
select REPORTS/SALES by EVENT. Select an event from the
list and you will see each image and the quantity purchased
.
Browse All Images Option Available in CORE RACE
The option to browse all images is now available in CORE
RACE in addition to its availability in CORE GRAD.
To activate this option, go to the event QPPlus Settings
and select the “Customers can browse all images”
option.
Hiring,
Training and Keeping Employees!
by Darwin Drake
Today it is much easier to hang out the “Help Wanted”
sign.
Craig’s List and My Space are popular and effective
locations to find help. Recently we advertised on My Space
and hired seven new candid photographers. My Space was
a low cost and instant means to finding new employees.
We used this brief copy for the ad: "Want to make
money going to parties? Call or e-mail for details."
So, once you have a new photographer, how do you train,
monitor and motivate this person to stay with you, and
to justify the cost it takes to get to where you trust
them to work for you? Don’t leave anything to question.
•Give them written instructions on how they will
receive jobs from you and what you expect from them. This
includes the time involved, number of images per hour
you expect and how you pay, appropriate dress and professional
behavior. Keep advancing their level of knowledge in photography
and digital equipment.
•Once the expectation of what they produce is to
a level you are happy with, can you keep them by just
raising their pay? Most of us like the occasional “Good
job”. When critiquing, are you motivating or trying
to killing the spirit in which they exist? Make sure you
leave them with a positive message with the desired goal
in mind.
What I have seen work the best is, “Good job, but
next time let’s change to this way.” in an
effort to improve sales. Call them, e-mail images or sit
down and look at their images as soon after the event
as possible to keep it all fresh. Ongoing training is
critical and it important to remember that replacing employees
is costly because they have to make the beginner mistakes
all over again.
Lab Service Times for the week of 8/27-9/2
by Bo Lewis
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