A Different way of Thinking
Volume is a word that is often frowned upon in professional photography. Many pros believe that volume work equates to very little skill or creativity. Until a few years ago, that’s how I thought. After experiencing a small taste for myself, I quickly changed my tune. There’s strength in numbers. With large numbers of orders comes large sums of money. I also found that you can stay true to your brand while offering volume photography. The thought of having a paying subject step in front of my camera every 60 seconds sounded pretty appealing. My wife and I dove in headfirst a few years ago, and have enjoyed growing the volume side of our business ever since.
We began with a dance studio with 250 students. At the time, I was worried about getting in over my head. One of the biggest reasons photographers fail at volume is lack of preparation. We took the time to set up a mock shoot, and created efficient systems to help us execute and keep up with it all. We quickly learned the areas in which mistakes could arise. You really have to think ahead. In most cases, you need to treat it with the same seriousness as a wedding. Once you leave your shoot, it’s done. It is impossible to get 250 people back together after you got something all mixed up and out of order. Basically, I am trying to scare you into not making mistakes should you ever consider volume. It has to be taken seriously if you want to have repeat business. The large-volume companies are always putting down private studios by telling everyone that those competitors are not equipped to handle volume. They make it sound like we would fail miserably if we were hired for the job. It is our job to prove them wrong.
