Any photographer worth their salt should be familiar with portrait photography, but they’re likely less familiar with high-volume photography, an offshoot of traditional portraiture that focuses on providing large quantities of professional-level headshots. The most common clients for this type of work include schools, sports teams, large corporations, government-run entities, and basically any other organization that needs a sizeable amount of quality headshots in a short amount of time. Because of the economies of scale, high-volume photography can be profitable and reliable work for photographers who know their craft. So what are the biggest advantages and disadvantages to this type of assignment, and how can prospective photo-takers decide if it’s a worthy field to explore? Read on, as we dive into the major project types, gear, workflow, deliverables, and more.
Four Major Client Types
There are countless kinds of organizations that might request high-volume photography work, but for today we’ll focus on the four largest categories: schools, sports, arts-based groups like dance teams and theater troupes, and corporate clients (both privately owned and government-run). Regardless the client, the goal is to provide a large number of professional portrait photos they can use in directories, marketing material, ID cards, and more. Each client comes with their own quirks though, so certain high-volume photographers may choose to further specialize and focus in on certain sectors.
Schools will always be the classic example. Picture day rolls around and kids are lining up for standardized photos that will be used in yearbooks and sold to parents as keepsakes. Many schools also use them for identification purposes, and graduating classes may have a second round of photos in their cap and gown. Schools can present a numer of challenges: They often hire the same photographers for many years in a row; the kids can be challenging to manage; and even a small mistake in labeling can snowball into thousands of incorrectly tagged photos. However, the benefits to working with schools include the regularity of work and greater potential for profit upsides, as many schools will let photographers in on the profits from prints. With many parents ordering a high number of prints for friends and relatives, this can be a major financial benefit.
Sports teams are similar in that the format is relatively straightforward and the families of the athletes will likely order several prints, but the scale is smaller. You may have to get more creative with backdrops, props, and group shots because players might want to incorporate the tools of their trade and get their real-life court or field featured in the background of the photo. This also applies to arts groups like dance teams, marching bands, and theatrical companies. You may have to navigate shots with multiple subjects, props, and unique backgrounds. Though this keeps things exciting, it can eat up precious time in the planning and execution stages. The key with these clients is getting a full scope of their wants upfront, and carefully planning how ambitious the shots can get based on the amount of available time.
Working with corporate clients incorporates elements from all the previously mentioned categories. The backgrounds are usually standardized, with color backdrops and matching framing, but the props and uniforms can vary widely. Firefighters might want an American flag in the background, while a tech company wants dynamic, multi-color backdrops. These photos are likely to end up in marketing material, company directories, and ID badges, so it’s important to talk to your client upfront and iron out all the wants and needs before planning the shoot. Places like amusement parks and cruise ships might even have you set up temporary portrait studios for their customers to utilize. No corporate client is the same, and your goal should be to find a style that complements their environment and keeps them happy.
Basic Gear, Composition, and Tools
No matter who your client is, your basic gear should remain consistent. You’ll need a dependable camera capable of capturing sharp, clean photos, one to three lenses to achieve the framing you need within a given space, and one to three lights that can provide a flattering, consistent look for the entirety of the shoot. All other gear will depend on the context and needs of the specific shoot. Are you providing a backdrop? If so, is it a consistent single tone, a chroma key for image replacement, or a unique, multi-colored backdrop that reflects a specific mood? Are you bringing big lights to compete against the sun outside, or smaller lights for interior spaces? Are you tethering your camera to a laptop for immediate post-processing, or siphoning down the gear to be quicker and nimbler for group shots? The answers to these questions will come through detailed pre-shoot calls with the client, as well as analyzing examples they like or dislike to zero in on what exactly the visual composition of the frame will be.
The most common examples of gear unique to high-volume photography are custom firmware upgrades and barcode scanners. High-volume focused firmware upgrades unlock extra camera features like in-camera masks for standardizing framing and composition. These are useful for making sure your subjects head is always in the same portion of the frame (essential for clients that might automate crops for end products like ID cards), as well as creating templates for group shots and roster images. These firmware upgrades also often unlock compatibility with barcode scanners, allowing you to embed important metadata in an image file so it’s cleanly and permanently matched to its subject. Instead of having to keep an exhaustive log of which images capture which subjects, barcode scanners automate the process. Other tools like label/thermal printers should be added into these workflows, but we’ll go into more detail in a gear-centric standalone piece.
So why are those frame lines we mentioned earlier so important? When companies and schools are ingesting hundreds (if not thousands) of images, they want the formatting to be incredibly consistent. Trusting your eye is simply never going to be as reliable as using in-camera masks and guidelines. Going over these with the client before the shoot is essential for making sure there are no surprises or disappointments on the day of the shoot. Once the shutter starts firing, you want to avoid making any compositional adjustments for the rest of the assignment, except for switching between group and individual shots. Same thing with camera settings and file organization–locking in a structure beforehand and sticking to it is paramount. Making minor color and exposure changes afterward may be necessary when dealing with different skin tones and lighting conditions, but the better you match everything in-camera, the more time and money you’ll save afterward.
Business Operations and Deliverables
So, what is the key to success in high-volume photography? It comes down to clarity and consistency. Over the course of your first few gigs, it’ll be incredibly important to create a reliable and repeatable workflow that will help you overcome challenges with clients, subjects, and scheduling. How many prep calls do you do? How long do they run? How much time do you need to set up and break down equipment? All of this will vary, but having fallback answers for clients will help you work toward routine. The most important element with high-volume is organization. Get a list from the client beforehand of everyone you’ll photograph, as well as their ID number or some sort of code to associate them with (ideally in spreadsheet form).
Also ask your client to provide you with an assistant for the entirety of the shoot itself. This person will help you navigate an unfamiliar space, manage your subjects, and keep everyone happy so you can focus on the photos. Make sure the client gives you a large enough space to achieve the framing they desire, as well as adequate AC power sources and an area to store your gear. Getting the client on the phone and walking through the shooting schedule beforehand, as well as a general map or layout of the space, will save you countless headaches and surprises. Visual information they can give you about the space–photos, video, or an in-person walkthrough–will help you decide what gear to bring, how to allocate time, and prepare you for potential problems.
Specify beforehand whether you’ll be handing off the raw photos or doing final tweaks and exports yourself. Platforms like ProofPix and GotPhoto can standardize delivery and print ordering, but some clients may want to handle all of that. Also decide what exactly the client will be able to do with the photos. For example, will they be selling the prints or will you? Who owns final rights? Every situation and contract will be slightly different, so it’s useful to review standard agreements beforehand and go into client conversations with a plan of what to discuss. Sometimes prints will be your only source of profit, sometimes the shoot itself has a flat rate and the client handles everything that comes after.
We’ve only scratched the surface of high-volume photography, so further research and planning are essential before you jump in. What are some other tips and tricks you think people should keep in mind when starting out in high-volume photography? Let us know in the comments section below!
