Rangefinder Magazine
February 2005

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Profile: Ellie Vayo by Linda L. May
Successfully Marketing High School Seniors

The biggest fear high school seniors have, when it comes to their portraits, according to this Ohio image-maker, is, “What if they don’t turn out?” Ellie Vayo is so confident that teenagers will love her work, she offers a “satisfaction guarantee,” which is just another reason why her studio is the place Ohio seniors flock to for their senior photography.

Ellie Vayo Photography was started in 1979 by Ellie in her Mentor, Ohio, home. Working hard through the years, Ellie grew her business into one of the most successful portrait studios in the nation. About a decade ago, Ellie purchased a historical building on half an acre of land in a high-profile commercial area and created her ideal studio. Although Ellie specializes in high school seniors and underclassmen, she also photographs babies, children, family and weddings for former senior clients.

Her goal is to build lifetime relationships, so clients continue hiring Ellie Vayo Photography as they grow up, get married, and have children of their own. Currently, she’s photographing second-generation high school seniors, having taken their parents’ pictures 20 years before, so she is accomplishing her goal.

Ellie holds Master of Photography and Craftsman’s degrees from PPA, as well as API. Over the years, her outstanding images have won numerous print exhibit awards, including the J. Anthony Bill Award for the most outstanding portrait in Ohio. Three of her images have traveled with the PPA Loan Collection and were published in the Loan Collection book. In 2004, Ellie won first place in the All-Ohio Folio Competition, which she usually judges instead of entering.

Her most notable contribution to this industry is the creation and development of the Ellie Vayo Senior Yearbook Album, through General Products of Chicago. This unique album provides a creative format for displaying previews and pricing information, and is a hit among her teenage clients. Since adding this innovative product, Ellie says that senior orders are up over $100 each.

Sharing her creative ideas and business methods with fellow image-makers through seminars and workshops is another way she gives back to this industry. This past year, Ellie had a book published by Amherst Media titled The Art and Business of High School Senior Portrait Photography, which is a behind-the-scenes look at what makes a successful senior studio.

In March 2005, Ellie will be a featured speaker at the WPPI Convention and Trade Show, presenting a two-hour, high-impact seminar titled “Producing a Sensational Senior Digital Experience,” sponsored by Fujifilm. Her program includes tips and information on how she works with high school seniors in this new digital environment and continues growing her studio even during difficult economic conditions.

Interior design was Ellie’s original career choice, until she took a photography class in high school and fell in love with it. Working part time in a studio reinforced her desire to become a professional photographer. Instead of attending college for photography, she educated herself. For two years before she opened her studio, Ellie read, studied, attended seminars and schools (like Winona School of Photography), took a few business courses in college, and practiced taking pictures of her children. The first studio was in her home because her children were small. From there, she moved to a shopping mall location. Finally, nine years ago, Ellie Vayo Photography moved to the freestanding building it presently occupies.

Creating a warm, pleasant environment for clients is more important than most people think, according to Ellie. That’s why her studio is very homey. The 1940s stone cottage captures the essence of comfort with its Victorian décor and a fireplace that warms the reception area during winter. Beautiful, framed portraits hang above the mantle and couch, just as they would at home. Scented candles and music help clients feel at ease. A small refrigerator stocked with bottled water and soft drinks adds to the enjoyment of the portrait experience.

The 5600-square-foot structure houses three camera rooms, two sales rooms, three dressing areas, a make-up room, production and framing space, and offices. The studio grounds have been carefully landscaped with flowers, shrubs, and trees, as well as special outdoor sets for shooting, including a barn, waterfall, gazebo, beach scene, a Gothic set with a firewall, stone steps and rustic wooden fences. Eleven employees, including seven full-time workers, help Ellie keep the studio productive. Cindy Wiseman is a full-time photographer, who also does production and some digital work. Harvey Horton is another full-time photographer, who specializes in digital imaging as well. Jessica Hupp is the full-time make-up artist, who benefited from the recent construction project. Last year, a new, larger camera room and a separate make-up room were added onto the back of the building. Prior to this construction, the entire building was only 3600 square feet. Now, Ellie has an extra 2000 feet of working space, which she needed because of the rapid growth of her operation.

In January 2003, Ellie Vayo Photography became a fully digital operation. As a result of the digital, Ellie has added innovative products to her list of offerings, including the popular “Illusion” series senior portraits shown here. Fujifilm S2 digital cameras are used exclusively, with a variety of different focal length Tamron lenses, which she prefers for digital capture. For indoor portraits, Studio Master strobes with softboxes are combined with natural window light. For the new camera room, she added giant Larson light boxes and Photogenic studio lights. On location and outdoors, Vivitar and Sunpak flash units are used. Seven Dell computers are networked together, so the workflow is smooth. In-house printers produce beautiful photographs, up to 11x14 inches. However, Buckeye Color Lab does most of the printing for this studio, using Fujifilm’s Studiomaster Pro.

A beautiful building means nothing if it is not filled with happy consumers. Ellie Vayo is very keen on marketing and getting the word out about her studio, so her beautiful stone cottage is bustling with paying clients. Between herself and three photographers, about 1000 seniors are photographed annually. Besides all those seniors, Ellie Vayo Photography also covers sporting events, proms, homecomings, and cheerleaders, maintaining a high profile in local schools all year around.

Regularly, Ellie travels to Coral Gables, Florida, where she photographs sports and special events for the University of Miami. Because she travels to Florida so often anyway, opening another location there made sense. So, this past year, she established a branch office in Miami. Every month, Ellie travels to Florida, where she spends a few days covering the appointments booked down there, and enjoying the warmer weather during the cold Ohio winter months. The studio also shoots 10 weddings a year, as well as executives, family groups and undergraduates from two contracted high schools.

A large display ad in the local Yellow Pages, combined with direct mailings, a web site, a portable display case in the nearby Great Lakes Mall, charity work, and the Student Ambassador Program, keeps the appointment book full.

“We have student reps, or ambassadors, in several schools who hand out business cards and brochures, and show samples of our work to classmates. For their efforts, the reps get their senior pictures free. Right now, we’re pulling from about 17 different area high schools. Mentor, OH, is located on the east side of Cleveland, in the suburbs, so our market area is much greater than the 55,000 here in town. The Student Ambassador Program is very effective for us,” Ellie says, smiling.

If the past is any indication of the future for Ellie Vayo, her business will just keep expanding and growing. She works hard to keep on top of the operation and stay one step ahead of the competition. Building the addition was her latest goal accomplished, so she has no immediate plans to take on another construction project. Getting the new space decorated and in move-in condition has kept her busy for the past few months. However, she is now enjoying her beautiful new addition, so all the extra hassle was worth it. Working the bugs out of the digital imaging process is also ongoing. In 2005, Ellie hopes to be able to email orders to the lab, have them finished and sent back quickly, eliminating the need for CDs. “We’re fine-tuning the digital workflow with Buckeye Color Lab,” Ellie explains.

“Switching to digital is hard work, but photographers should not be afraid to do it. Hire the people who can do the work for you. Don’t spread yourself too thin by trying to do it all yourself! This is a high-volume operation. So, there’s no way I could do everything without a competent staff,” Ellie concludes.

Readers may contact Ellie Vayo at Ellie Vayo Photography via email at: evayo@evayo.com; or view her web site at: www.evayo.com.

Join Ellie Vayo on Monday, March 21, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. for her program at WPPI 2005 titled “Producing a Sensational Senior Digital Experience.”

Linda L. May is a freelance writer/photographer based in the Midwest.