Family Days FAQ’s
Q: How does it work?
A: The school choose a day (more if take up is good). The school/club then promote the professional family portrait sessions at school photo prices to all parents. All the school needs to do is book parents in to a 10-15 minute slot on their chosen day.We normally recommend you charge a £10 booking fee, the school/group keep all of this. After the session we take the contact details from the parents, when the images are ready we liaise with the parents issuing a unique password for each family. The families can then view and order their images via the website – we then arrange for the final products to be sent direct to them – no involvement from the school. We then have the lovely job of presenting a cheque to the school for the money raised.
Q: How much money will the school/club raise?
A: We recommend you charge a £10 booking fee and then also share with you a percentage of the profits from all of the orders once everything is complete, so the more booked on the better the fundraising all for virtually no work from the school.
Q: What does it cost the school?
A: Nothing, not a penny. The idea is that it raises money for the school not costs it money. There is no risk to the school at all.
Q: Does it take a lot of work from the school or committee?
A: No. All they need to do is communicate and promoted the event to the parents and book them into a time slot, that is it. From the moment the parents and children arrive we do the rest – we even send the final images direct to them so the school don’t have to handle packs of photos or money etc.
Q: How much does it cost the parent?
A: Once the portraits have been gently retouched and the final post production work is complete the photographs will be displayed for the parent online, password protected. At this point the parents can decide what they would like to order and how. The great thing here is that the costs for images etc are approx 70% less than normal studio portrait prices.
Q: How long does the portrait session last?
A: Each portrait session normally lasts about 10 – 15 minutes, it’s a fast but fun session. We always do various poses and combinations to give parents a good choice
Q: Who can be in the sessions?
A: Anyone the family chooses. It could be just the children, the whole family, grandparents, the children and their friends, it really doesn’t matter- it’s whatever they want to use the session for.
Q: How long does the whole event take?
A: Hard to say really. Each portrait session lasts about 10 – 15 minutes, depending on the numbers booked in and the time we can have the room/hall. So in a small group it is easily done in a day or evening. In a school for example this may have to spread over 2 or 3 afternoons from 3.30pm to about 7.30 – all depends on the number of mini sessions we have booked. The more the better.
Q: What happens after you have taken the photos?
A: After the shoot, we carry out all of the retouching and post production work on all of the images. The images for each family are put into a private collection online and we then email each family with a unique password so they can view and then order their images online. Once everyone has purchased, we process the orders and have the products sent direct to them. Once all orders are in we tally up and present the school/club with a cheque.
Q: What does the school need to do once you have done the photography?
A: Nothing, this is the great thing – we do it all. The school simply help book people in initially and then do the rest. No photo packs for the school to handle to and from with children. No money coming into the school or club or having to chase for bits to be returned. Simple. We do the lot direct with the families.
Q: Are you CRB checked?
A: Yes.
Q: Are you experienced with children?
A: Being a father to three and working with schools and clubs of children of all ages I would say I am very experienced and skilled at working with children but more importantly understanding them and helping them relax so I can get the best out of them. I am also the Chairman of our school’s PTA and a Governor at a Thatcham School, so am experienced at working in and around children and fundraising for them.
Q: Do you need help from school on the day?
A: No, but normally a little crowd develops so if we need a hand with something then there are normally people we can borrow…. It is good if someone can direct parents and families to where the studio is set up so we don’t have to pause and go finding people.
Q: How can the school/club maximise on the fund raising?
A: Having said that we don’t need help, the school can benefit from people helping us. If any of the parents work for companies such as Vodafone these can be very key to your fundraising. This is because many companies, such as Vodafone, provide matched funding for events like this if a member of their staff has been helping at a fundraising event – this can add hundreds to what is raised.
Q: What can the parents buy?
A: Parents can buy small or large prints, Canvases at vastly reduced prices and they can also buy the entire collection on CD which is great for them and a very popular choice. At various times of years we may add something like Christmas cards as a product that people can order – but again we welcome any ideas you may have.
Q: Who can book this fundraising service?
A: Any group who needs to raise money. This works very well for pre-schools and nurseries, schools, children’s clubs like scouts/brownies or the junior versions, sport clubs and even playgroups.
Q: How many images will there be for each parent?
A: Again this varies, but we always aim to present a minimum of 6 images for each family sometimes this number is a lot higher, it often depends on the family and the number of people in the group. The idea is that it’s a mini photo shoot – not a school picture, so there will always be a good selection of images for the family to choose from – the more the better.
Q: Can families bring their pets?
A: Yes, if the school or location are happy with this is it is fine with me, pets are welcome, we recognise they are part of the family, so whether you are bringing up the dog or the pet lizard (which make great shots) as long as they are fed, watered and have been to the pet loo then bring them along.
Q: Are the parents committed to ordering one of the images?
A: No most certainly not. This has always been very important to me, we have always wanted my photography to be for everyone and with no pressure of heavy sales processes.
We don’t charge for the sessions, our job is to create beautiful photographs that we want people to love. If, and it has never happened yet, but if somone didn’t like their images, then we couldn’t and nor would we want to, have to force them to purchase.
We hate the thought of anyone resenting anything they had brought from us, having a portrait from Adam hillier Photography is about the whole package, the entire experience including loving the final images.
Q: What should the families wear?
A: This really is up to the family, and depends what they want out of it. Some like to keep the children in school/club uniforms and some prefer to change and be more informal and relaxed. It’s their personal choice.
