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In her area, Peggy said beach scenes were most popular with her clientele, even though it required a 60 or 70 mile round trip for her to arrive on location. On the East Coast, the best light
at the beach is at dawn, so she often makes 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. appointments. Peggy said she often lets families pose themselves, with only a few suggestions from her. She finds that the resulting naturalness of the
subjects if more desirable than fussing with every little detail, such as the exact positioning of hands, etc.
When asked how they handle the clothing coordination, Peggy said she requests the families wear
colors that reflect those in the scene, for beach shots for example, she recommends blue denim and white. She mentioned requesting that the clients wear timeless, traditional clothing styles, not fads, because they
become dated so quickly.
She uses a 150mm lens on the Hasselblad for families, which puts her quite a distance away from the group, so rather than trying to yell suggestions to them, she just tells them to
have fun. She sells the family sessions as being a fun experience.
Establishing good volume in baby photography leads naturally to family portraiture in a few years, if the parents were happy with the
photos. She tries to get the babies posed with Mom or Dad, or both, which leads to larger print sales than just babies by themselves. She books babies every half hour, which is about as much as the babies can last.
She feels more comfortable with natural light, and so tries to utilize window light whenever possible in the studio or in homes, preferring it to soft boxes. She talked about using the front window at one of
her studios for kids portrait sittings - the passersby can see the photo session, and then she puts the kids prints in that front window until the order is picked up.
Peggy recommends working with an
assistant, who handles the camera - loading, framing, setting the exposure, etc. - freeing her to devote more time to the subject, concentrating on the posing and expression and "talking them up."
Her studio
sells a "Kid's Club" package, which brings in lots of sales. It consists of a General Products album, with eight photos taken over time. She gives Kid's Club families a free family sitting each year, but then they
must buy prints at her regular prices, not the lower Kid's Club prices.
Peggy also offers a lower cost kids promotion, which they call Quick Takes. Each time they run the promotion, they create one new set
in the studio - a beach scene, swing, etc., and take only 3 or 4 exposures of each child. Peggy has a staff photographer photographs these kids, and they sell just a package of 1-8x10, 2-5x7s and 6 wallets, with no
session fee. Since they change the set each time, they get many repeat clients coming back for their newest background.
Each March Peggy runs a special promotion for kids' photos with live animals, which has
proven especially popular. She gets a baby lamb, chicks, baby ducks and rabbits, and often uses combinations of several different animals in the photos. She said she has her two assistants on "poop patrol." She also
has parents sign a release that disclaims any liability from the kid's contact with the animals, and always points out that the animals are untrained.
She has two studio locations, and uses the Fotovix for
proofing (with a 52" TV) in one of them, and spoke enthusiastically about selling that way. She said it still is very necessary to point out the different uses for the different poses – "this one would be best
for grandma, while this one would be perfect for Dad's desk, but this one should hang over the mantel."
Peggy talked about the best ways to advertise, and how to get families to come into the studio. She has
had good success displaying at Patio and Garden Shows - because men attend these, and they are often good impulse buyers.
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