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Rangefinder
Magazine
Whether you call them “Debutantes,” “Quinceañeras,” “ Sweet Sixteens” or any other title, the transition from childhood to womanhood has been celebrated by different cultures, in many different ways. The Latin tradition marks this celebration at the young lady’s 15th birthday. Differences from country to country, and depending on the socioeconomic status of the family, dictate the grandeur of the celebration. For most Hispanics living in America, this could be compared to a wedding, or sometimes bigger; as many parents would say, “…it will really happen only once in her lifetime.” The word “Quinceañera” (name for the girl-turning-15—“Quince” meaning the number 15 in Spanish) is becoming a familiar term in many American cities. Nobody really knows the origin of the celebration. It is understood that for many cultures this will be the first Ball or Dance the young girl will attend. In essence, it is the presentation of the girl to society. It is marked by the appearance of the Debutante accompanied by her father and initiating the festivity with a first dance; many times joined by a group of friends, like a wedding court, who will perform a series of choreographed dances. In many counties, a mass or religious service is part of the celebration. In today’s modern society some traditions remain while others vary. Mostly depending on socioeconomic status, teenagers today have different ideas as to the celebration. For the higher social group, parties are simplified, sometimes doing away with all formalities. Many choose to go on trips. In our city, Miami, Debutante Cruises are becoming more and more popular. This is where a group of friends get together and have a Debutante Ball aboard a cruise ship. Regardless of their choices, the day will be celebrated.
Like any other social celebration, the “Quinceañeras” will require photographic services, besides covering the event itself, also for the complementary portrait sessions and the traditional wall portrait. This is where we come in. Not only will the girls having “the big Ball” will require our services, but tradition indiindicates that even when they have chosen not to have the big party, the girls will still want to have formal portraits and usually an album of photographs, which we may call a “Debutante’s Portfolio.” What 15-year-old girl would not want to be a model? Well, this is her chance to be photographed in different outfits and locations, creating her own “portfolio.” In many cities, this will be the equivalent of an elaborate high school senior session, only done earlier and creating an elegant album. In the first 25 years of my photographic career “Quinceañeras” made up approximately 40 percent of my business. In the last two years, I have decided to specialize completely in these events> and they have become my main source of business, to the point that I have significantly reduced my number of weddings, replacing them with “Quinceañeras.” Besides becoming an additional source of income to our business, and an extension of services to our clients, one of the long term benefits of photographing debutantes is that these same clients will soon become our high school seniors and later our future brides. This is the kind of repeat business that most photographers will like to establish.
Another fact to bring into consideration is the ease of promoting to this group. Unlike brides, these girls turn 15 all at once, within their grade group. Similar to high school seniors, our promotion efforts are directed to large groups of friends needing the same services. Once you sign one up, doing a good job, many others will follow within a short period of time. For weddings, we need to wait until another friend or family member gets married to have another client, and this could take years. In traveling to different cities presenting my educational seminars, I have been approached by photographers who are not familiar with the concept and have been asked by their clients if they offer these services. Many photographers have asked me for information and ideas to promote and cater to this market. The tradition is not only expanding with the Latin population, but when the girls bring their photographs to school and share them with their peers, other non-Hispanic teenagers are becoming interested in the concept and try to imitate their friends, going to their photographer and asking for Debutante portraits. Having an understanding of the entire concept is the first step if you wish to target the market. As in the wedding business, this concept involves more than good photography, we are dealing with emotions and expectations beyond standard portraiture. An awareness of our clients needs will be essential if we intend to succeed in this line of photography.
It is important to visualize the concept and match it to the kind of services you now provide in your business, especially when trying to price the work. The parties are comparable to weddings, as they require often the same effort and will produce equal financial revenues. The “portfolio,” or album, for those not having a party, takes care of our slower time. Since they do not need to be done on a specific date, we book these sessions for weekdays only. They are promoted at a lesser price than the regular coverage because there is no need to attend any function on a weekend. These sessions could be compared to an extensive portrait session, going on location and with different outfits. In addition, these are some of the things you should know when dealing with Debutantes: What do these girls want? Glamour, attention—they want to “look and feel” like professional models for a day, and they want to create an album of images to show off. What should the session include? From headshots to full length photos; studio, as well as location sessions; a variety of outfits, formal, elegant, casual and sporty, sometimes even swimwear. Depending on your location and clientele, consider professional make-up and hair styling, changing styles with every different outfit.
Including professional make-up services with the sessions has been a definite plus for my clientele. We are all aware of the difference that professionally applied make-up will create in our photography. Most of these girls do not know how to use make-up correctly at this age and they will not admit assistance from their mothers. Besides this also adds to the entire fantasy of the day. How do I break into this business? The next concern is how to promote this new service to our clients. The first step will be to make samples, photograph girls and display their portraits and albums even if they are not real clients. Introduce the concept and create a desire. Tell your clients “how everyone is doing it…” Let those same sample Debutantes promote you by showing their photos to everyone and conveying how much fun they had doing it. Advertise; promoting exclusively this concept in some of your adds, using teenage images and telling how you specialize in this kind of portraiture, (fake until you make it). In smaller communities promotions could include mall exhibits, participation in school events and newspapers; even creating contests, pageants, or Debutante’s Balls. One simple thing to keep in mind is that these potential clients are very easy to find, they all go to school. Promoting to brides could be more difficult since we have to find them in very different places, but our debutantes are very easy to track down, they are already grouped and located for us, usually in just one classroom.
How do I price this? Once you have taken care of the promotions, the next question usually is how to package and price these portraits. Although pricing techniques vary from studio to studio, these sessions could be considered as a combination of the way you would price a wedding selection and an extensive portrait session, depending on the coverage desired by the client. These packages should include albums, wall portraits, gift folios, wallet-size photos and anything you usually offer to your wedding clients. If only portraits are requested, although featuring an album, keep in mind that it will be done on a weekday, therefore let your prices reflect a difference from your normal weekend coverage. Now that you have a better understanding of this tradition you will see the applications of it in your own business. Keep in mind that this is a new area to introduce in your studio and it will require time and effort to promote it and be successful. Also remember that it could be a very profitable addition to your services, providing not only an immediate new source of income, but also a way to attract new high school seniors and future wedding clients. The knowledge of your own territory and clientele will give you a better idea of how to target the concept in the most successful way. Most of all, dare…and be creative. Robert Lino will be a speaker at WPPI 2003, to be held Feb. 1–6 at BALLY’S, Las Vegas. His program will be an all-Spanish presentation entitled, “Mas Allá de la Tradición.” Robert can be reached by e-mail at RLINO@worldnet.att.net.
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