Canadian School Photographers are Loving the Profits Generated from their Scene Machines!
Two
Scene Machine systems are among the most important tools Brian and
Debbie White of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada use to acquire school
contracts and increase sales. Brian and Debbie are not
newcomers to the school picture business. They started their Pro
Photographics operation 10 years ago covering schools in Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick, and Montreal. Brian was a leader in moving
to digital but realized that going digital was not enough. He
felt a strong need to clearly distinguish his offering from competitors
who were catching up to him. Brian says, “I felt that every
photographer in my area was doing the same old thing that had been out
there forever, and I needed to find a way to be truly different.”
Brian
first heard about the Scene Machine Virtual Backgrounds system several
years before he actually placed his order for two systems. After
seeing a Virtual Backgrounds exhibit at the Professional Photographers
of Canada trade show in Halifax, Brian was hooked! Brian states,
“Once I made the decision to go with the Scene Machine, I couldn’t wait
for the equipment to arrive. I got the equipment just before
school started. We got our systems running almost immediately and
put them to the test by photographing 2,000 kids in Montreal in 2 ½
days. There wasn’t a hitch - everything was perfect. There
was no looking back.”
Brian
White’s competition did not sit still for very long. Several of
them have tried to compete by offering background choice through the
use of the green screen process. “The results are not the same as
with using the optical VB system. We get the total image at the
moment of capture and not after post processing. We see it live
in the camera. It saves time. We can control the focus and
the size of the background. Green screen is not as clean
especially around the hair. It just made sense to go with the
Scene Machine. When we leave a school, we’re finished. We
don’t have to mess with trying to plug backgrounds in and trying to
make them look real,” says Brian.
“Using the Scene Machine has helped us secure contracts that otherwise would have gone to one of the national companies.
Administrator
s
get it. Parents love it. The kids love it. We give
the kids a choice of six backgrounds. They choose the background
they want from a color photo card. We use the six shooter carousel to quickly select the background for each child. We take
two shots and select the best expression to print the package. We
are really getting as many school contracts as we want.”
Brian
finds that many photographers resist using the Scene Machine.
They find it difficult to understand and are afraid of the
process. Brian states, “You hear negative comments about
it. It’s all foolishness, really. Photographers just have
to do it and they will find out how easy it works. I love what we
are getting from it. And, I appreciate the great service we get
from your company. VB is very dedicated to being helpful to
customers.”
Looking
down the road, Brian dreams of the day when he can open a high end
portrait studio along with his school work: “I see endless
possibilities. Many portrait studios just don’t have a lot of
creativity to offer. The Scene Machine will definitely be the key
part of my studio.”
Brian
states, “Many school photographers refuse to consider the many benefits
of using the Scene Machine to enhance their business. The Scene
Machine immediately became part of our tool box that sets us apart from
our competition. We use the Scene Machine for 100% of our school
work and our business has doubled!”