Rick Harding
The Prom King
Rick
Harding’s father, Fred, started Harding Studio in 1946. As Rick took
over the business, he found himself growing tired of fighting for the
San Antonio prom business by continually lowering his prices and not
having anything really special to offer to ensure that he got the
contracts.
Frustrated, he decided that he was going
to quit doing proms if he could not find a way to sign up the best
proms without being the cheapest bidder. He chose to build his prom
business around custom created backgrounds. Initially, he used large
cardboard murals as backgrounds. Then he discovered the Virtual
Background concept. With Virtual Backgrounds, he could promise the prom
committees that his new technology would enable him to create any
imaginable background setting to match the theme of their prom. For
example, if the theme was "Evening In Paradise," he could produce a
choice of spectacular sunsets, complete with a beach, ocean waves and
even some palm trees!
Whatever their theme, he had a variety of spectacular backgrounds. The
plan worked. Rick soon began getting one prime prom after another and
eventually he purchased a total of eight Scene Machine Virtual
Background systems to generate the backgrounds for all the proms he was
booking. Some of his largest proms required three simultaneous shooting
stations. The larger proms could easily generate in excess of $10,000
in one night. An entire Virtual Backgrounds system would be more than
paid for in one single night! Now, years later, he continues to get his
choice of the best proms in the area without worrying about having the
lowest price. His prom package prices range from $15 to about $50. The
students listen to his proposal, look at his samples and sign the
contracts, enabling him to bring in hundreds of thousands of prom
dollars.
During some parts of the season, all eight Virtual Background systems
are in use. Rick explains, "Prom contracts are never automatic. You
have to go after them every year. There are always new students and
sometimes new advisors. I do have competitors who try their best to get
the contracts, but if I can get the students to let me make my
proposal, Harding Studio usually gets the contract." Rick is
continually upgrading his methods. The students get to not only help
choose the background, but they can even get intimately involved in the
creation of the background in that Rick now uses Photoshop to create
backgrounds that don’t even exist. For example, he can combine many
different elements into a background, taking into consideration student
suggestions.
While it sounds like a lot of work, Rick reports that most of his
custom prom backgrounds take between thirty minutes and an hour to
create on his computer. The students love to have input and Harding
Studio likes the rewards. At the same time, Rick is making his life a
little easier by inserting some of his props into his background slide
rather than having to bring the props to the affair. Proms are
definitely not the only thing the studio does. Harding Studio is one of
the largest senior and school photographers in San Antonio.
Virtual Backgrounds is involved in 90% of the work produced, helping
Harding Studio be one of the most successful operations in the ninth
largest city in the US. Rick Harding now makes available to other
photographers(outside of San Antonio) his custom background slides,
promotional materials, and instructional materials. He can be reached
through his Web site at www.hardingstudio.com.
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