Customer Reviews

The Art and Business of High School Senior Portrait Photography

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are several good layout ideas in the book, but most of the photos appear to be from the 80's or, maybe 90's. Still has some good ideas though.

This book is ideal for those who want to get into (or even for those who are currently in) the business of High School senior Photography.

It can be a very lucrative business, if you do it right, and Ellie Vayo is definitely doing it right!

This book will help you build your business as well as increase your knowledge about creating portraits for High School Seniors.

For anyone getting into this field, I would strongly advise them to purchase this book. It can do nothing but help you in your creative process as well as your pocketbook.

Good Luck!

I read a lot of photography books to help me learn as much as possible while building my wedding and portrait photography business. Some leave me very disappointed. Not this one! I really think Ellie's book covers all the key points on how to find clients, get them into your studio, shoot them correctly, and build your business. I love the marketing ideas she presents, and she even included a beutifully designed multipage layout of her own marketing tools. Its very rare to find a book that's sufficiently descriptive, coupled with excellent images and darn near complete coverage of the business. While some authors seem to spend a ton of their time writing books that do not do their titles justice (instead of shooting), Ellie Vayo seems to have successfully compiled 20 years of experience into one concise, well thought out book. In summary, I think it's well worth the money. I would have liked to see a little more text on web marketing and maybe some administrative business tips, but those are somewhat mundane and can be picked up elsewhere.

It's also important to note that Ellie Vayo does not come across as a "know it all" or conceited. She simply lays out what's working for her. The quality of her images speak for themselves and only serve to back up her business model.

Pretty pictures and informational text, can't ask for much more than that right? Vayo is not a writer by trade, but she certainly knows the business of photography--and customer service. This book is a quick how-to read for anyone interested in the business of senior portrait photography, and the themes can be carried over to pretty much any other form of commercial photography. She just knows what she's talking about.

This is a pretty good book, but it really needs to be updated for today's photographer. The images in this book seem like they were old when the book came out. The photography seems like it is from the 1990's and so much has changed since then.

The marketing and sales info is still valid today. There are a lot of valuable ideas throughout the book

Overall, the photos would get 1 star and the marketing 5 stars, so I ended up with a 3 star rating.

The author provides several good, solid marketing ideas that can be a benefit for any senior portrait photography studio. The book is worth the investment.

The pictures are fantastic and the information is outstanding! I love it! It helps you out on how to bring in retail and customers, gives your ideas for flyers and other things. It also helps you with problems customers might have. It also helps with props and scenery. I would recommend this book to anyone who's interested in starting their own portait photography.

First I want to say I get a kick out of those that say a book is dated because it doesn't cover digital photography. Or, I notice a lot of the female reviewers especially say the photos are out dated. I think they mean that because the women are not wearing the latest fashions, the book is not relavent. As the NYIP course I took says about digital, it is all photography. Photography is capturing light. Once your camera is set up correctly, what difference does it make whether it is digital or film. Besides, this book does cover digital in the last chapter or two. Enough about that. I recently bought a Mamiya RB67 Pro S (on ebay) for the sole purpose of doing senior portraits. I did some for a friend for both of her daughters (with 35mm) and figured this was something I could do. I bought the book on senior portraits to help me to get started. I think this book gives a lot of help to market your business. I don't know if I will be going into it as much as the author did, but more as a sideline. I think the marketing ideas in this book are probably worth the cost of the book. After all, even if you are the best photog out there, and no one knows about you or you have nothing more to add than the photog down the street, why are you bothering? Ellie must have fought against the tide being a woman in business and she pulled it off from the looks of things pretty well. (I might add she produced two good looking daughters too, but I also know that only half the readers will be interested to know that.) Go ahead, buy this book. Ric in Wisconsin.

I found this book to be a good beginner guide to High School Senior photography. The author walks you through all of the elements to running a successful senior business. I do wish the author had gone into more depth regarding the marketing and the results. Blanket statements about knocking out the competition do not provide the quantitative kind of information that would be helpful. Tell me that when you sent out this particular mailer or another that you saw a 20% growth in bookings. Tangible info would be very helpful.

The bookj is really lacking in the area of digital imaging. I realize the book is a few years old, but some of the photos look like they were taken in the 80's.

I got enough valuable information to make the book easily worth the price I paid. If you are just starting out, this book will help you.

If you are an experienced studio photographer, then this or any
other book is probably not for you. If you are just beginning
or getting into Senior Portrait Photography - this book is a
great place to start. Ellie Vayo covers all aspects of Senior
Portrait Photography and gives great advice on the individual
approach to each client.