About Ivey Photography

Founded in 1977, Ivey Photography was once a small boutique studio in Dallas, TX.  Since then, we have changed into a volume-based photography business.  We actively serve over 25,000 families each year.  We still offer a wide array of products and services to meet our client’s needs, but our school and sports division is the fastest-growing segment of our business.  Our company is owned and operated by PPA Master Photographer, Chris Smith.  Chris is one of only 16 Texas-based photographers to actively hold three Professional Photographers of America degrees (Master of Photography, Photographic Craftsman, Master Artist).

Health and Safety, Privacy, and Student Identification

Our goal is to provide a secure, safe, and enjoyable experience for everyone we photograph on a school campus or athletic field.  As parents ourselves, we know that student security is priority number one.  We take the job of protecting student data and photographs very seriously.  Our secure data systems provide unique, password-protect access for authorized parents/guardians only.  Students on the FERPA lists are strictly invisible to anyone other than administrators or authorized guardians.  Ivey Photography will provide a secure access point for campus and district administrators to access images and applicable data for internal use (ID badges).

COVID-19 has obviously shaped the way we handle so many aspects of our lives.  We have developed a system of contactless photography that allows us and our subjects to keep a safe distance for as much as possible.  We have moved to “virtual team” photographs where all of our teams are photographed one player at a time and then composited together.  We are asking parents to minimize paper order forms to prevent passing documents and payments between students and staff.  And we never have contact with students with our posing, using clear instructions to adjust poses and positions.

 

Fall Underclass School Photography for Yearbooks/ID Badges (PK-11)

The key to high-quality underclass photography is technical expertise, attention to detail, repetition, and preparation.  We are confident that our image quality is second to none.  For yearbook directors, better quality means consistent lighting, posing, and head size, making your yearbooks look even better than they already do.  For parents, better photography means more satisfaction and higher purchases.  In the fall we generally photograph all students in grades PK-11, along with any staff or administration who require an updated portrait.

Our speed and efficiency mean picture day runs smoothly for you.  A 750-student picture day on 3 cameras generally takes about 3 hours of your day, when students are lined up consecutively.  If you photograph in a set class period (English/Social Studies), we allow for approximately 250 students per camera, per hour.  Each subject is greeted with a smile, a mirror, and a concise set of directions to help them pose properly.  We do our BEST to avoid glasses glare in camera, and we’re always conscious of issues with hair, clothing, or posture that can lead to a less-than-flattering result.

We use a QR Code system to positively identify each student and staff member we photograph.  Those images are cataloged with name, ID number, grade/position, and a unique access code for parents to use for ordering.  Upon completion, the images are sorted and cataloged online.  We offer an unlimited type of data export for your yearbook, student information system, and webmaster needs.  Yearbooks most commonly need PSPA exports, where student photos are named FirstName_LastName.jpg, while Skyward (student information systems) are more commonly required to use StudentID.jpg format.

Parents and students are able to access their images using a unique access code for each session we photograph.  Once they’ve logged in using the same email address each time, they have access to ALL of their student’s photos for that school year, including fall yearbook, spring, and any sports or club photos.

Revenue Share/Fundraising

Regarding fundraising and revenue sharing, Ivey Photography guarantees a minimum of a matching revenue check to your previous provider for each campus for the first year.  Our average revenue share is 15% of Net Sales (gross receipts less processing fees, tax, and shipping).  After we renew the agreement for year 2 and beyond, we will have actual sales data to use to base a fair and equitable revenue share for your district’s campuses.  We know that fundraising is an important part of school photography.  We aim to increase your revenue share by improving image quality, parent participation rates, and average order dollars while maintaining a profitable position for ourselves.

Spring Photos

For our grades PK through 8th, we offer a Fall and Spring portrait session.  We offer a slightly more styled portrait opportunity in the spring semester.  Our goal with the choice of our set is to make it as universal as possible so that every student has an opportunity to shine.  The alternative look gives parents a second chance to purchase an updated studio-style portrait without having to pay studio prices.  Grades 9-11 are traditionally only photographed in the Fall Semester.

High School Senior Portraits

Our contract senior portrait process is different from what the national companies provide.  Every high school yearbook has a special place for its seniors.  We pride ourselves on providing the absolute premium image for each of our seniors.  We currently photograph over 1500 seniors each year.  Most of our contract senior sessions take place at our studio in Midlothian from June 1 until October 15 each year.  Online booking is available with appointments open from Tuesday-Saturday each week.  Students are offered a formal yearbook photo and a cap & gown photo session at no charge, with no obligation to purchase.  The images are provided at no charge to your campus yearbook director.

Since senior portraits are such an important part of every senior year, we offer a variety of session types to enhance the experience here at the studio.  Interestingly, and although there is a free option, less than one-third of our seniors elected for only the “required” portraits.  Thirty percent selected an extended cap & gown session, and 40% elected our premium or outdoor session options.  We do offer on-campus services, but they are limited to the required portraits used in your publications.

 

Ordering and Delivery Services

Online Ordering

We have moved to an online-only system for all of our portrait sales.  We do have and can provide, paper order forms where required, but paper orders are not included in the revenue share totals.  We encourage you to push your parents to order online.  Our systems work great on mobile, and a computer is not required to order.

Portrait packages and products are normally delivered 2-3 weeks from your campus portrait date when a batch order is complete.  All orders have the option to be shipped to home, where service times are faster, ranging from 2-7 days.  Parents may incur a shipping fee when choosing the ship-to-home option.

Campus Administrators and Yearbook Access

Campuses are provided with access to yearbook photos within 30 days of their last scheduled retake date.  Administration images for student information systems are provided in a separate format along with the yearbook photos.  We will need your system’s requirements for photos and data delivery.  Our online portal is easy to use and provides a variety of services, custom to each campus or administrator’s need.

Sports Photography

Sports photographs are such an important part of your campus life.  Whether you need team, individual, banner, or action photos, we’ve got you covered.  Sports photography was the foundation of our business almost 20 years ago.  Today, the process has changed with digital capabilities, but it still comes down to great lighting, interaction with the athletes, and good timing.  Take a look in the gallery below for just a few examples of our work.

We do not charge any fees for our standard school photography.  Our goal is to partner with your district/campus and provide photography services that are parent-driven but also capture the images that are required by yearbook directors, coaches, teachers, and administration.  Each campus may schedule their group, staff, or sports team photography with us as needed.  Student purchases from sports, team, or group events are considered a part of the revenue share for each campus.

Special event photography rates or products may be quoted on a case-by-case basis.  Special events include proms, banquets, or other district events and may require a fee or minimum student purchases.

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