Profile: Chris Nelson by CharMaine Beleele
Senior Faces That Speak From Fall Creek

The fighter stands ready, his samurai sword poised over open flames. The debutante catches light in the swirling folds of her skirt. The swimmer peers at us intensely through the wet tangles of her hair. These images are not from the latest martial arts movie, high fashion magazine or MTV video. These images are the “Faces That Speak” from photographer Chris Nelson’s high school senior portraits. Like the slogan on his “Session Planner” booklet, these faces have “Style That Shows.” A senior session at Fall Creek Portrait Design takes the 17- or 18-year-old client on a lifestyle voyage of self-discovery, individually designed to reveal “expression, mood, personality and imagination.” Likewise, a quick trip to see the senior slide show on the web site of Chris Nelson’s Fall Creek Portrait Design might cause any photographer to cast new eyes on the “landscape” of high school senior photography.

Since 1991, Chris Nelson has been designing images for these young adults in which he “portrays the essence of a person doing what he or she loves.” He takes the responsibility of the senior portrait very seriously. Chris states, “In modern life, it is possible that a person will experience wedding photography two or more times, but your senior portrait, like your high school senior year, comes only once.” At the end of 2001, when Chris was solidifying some of his senior techniques and packages, one of his high school senior clients, Ashley Kosharek, became so enthralled with the energy of the portrait studio that she was inspired to work for Fall Creek Portrait Design. “I like helping to create the marketing pieces, and I really enjoy working on computer enhancements. The seniors bring energetic attitudes to the studio. We know they’re having fun, so we have fun too. I really believe in our three-phase system for high school senior success.”

The Three Phases of the Fall Creek Senior Experience
Chris explains the three-phase success formula that has brought him over 170 seniors this year alone, averaging $800 to $900 per sale: “For us, the senior program boils down to three steps: The first step must be to create the images. In this step, the senior comes to the studio for a consultation, watches the slideshow, and discovers all the options available during a session.” For the on-location shots, Chris has scouted out some places that create magazine-style backgrounds that are “cool.” As they watch the senior slideshow, prospective clients will see the quaint wooden bridge, the 1953 Pontiac, the beach and the rusty steel and rivets of a railroad yard. At this point, the student only has to make one decision: Does he/she want the Ultimate 2005 session or the Deluxe session? In the Ultimate session, Chris spends three to three-and-a-half hours making 30 to 50 images at the student’s choice of two outdoor locations, with up to eight clothing changes. This contrasts with the one-and-a-half hours he will spend on the smaller Deluxe session, which includes only one outdoor location and 20 to 30 images. In classes with Larry Peters, Chris learned the power of advertising the look of different add-ons during the slideshow/consultation. Here Chris categorizes such effects as high-contrast black and white, the wet look, one name/many faces, fire and fusion. On the Ultimate session, the senior gets to select any of these as a part of his/her session, but on the Deluxe plan, the senior must choose only one.

Once the images are taken, the client is ready for phase two, which involves designing the much-loved and very cool “Session Books.” This step reflects the Fall Creek philosophy of the “total session.” The senior book is the goal—the reasoning behind all the variety in step one. The images make up a personalized story and the albums to hold the story fall into four choices of Senior Session Books: the Classic—a Black Parade album (by Taprell Loomis) of 40 4x6 images; the Deluxe—a linen-covered 9x11.5 hardback magazine; the Elite—a 5x5 album designed with the latest digital imagery on each page; or the Ultimate—an 8x8 with even more room for the “coolest digital imagery.” With the exception of the Classic, all of these albums are flush-mounted books by Zookbinder.

After this selection is made then the client can progress to phase three: the selection of a package. This step includes those gift prints for grandma, wall portraits for the family and all those lovely, profitable wallets. This is the phase in which the client works with a price list of numerous packages and products. An intriguing trend in this regard is the new popularity of montages in large sizes like the 16x20 or the 20x24. The talented Ashley Kosharek shines when she helps to create these. Chris explains, “I cannot overstate the importance of sharing production responsibilities with a graphic designer like Ashley in the modern digital photography studio.” She also helps Chris coordinate the digital workflow between the camera room and their lab, White House Custom Color (located in St. Paul, Minnesota, only 100 miles away from Nelson’s Fall Creek Studio). “Mike Hanline and his crew at White House provide us with custom sizes that compliment our compositions. They will output several montage pieces within one 20x24 piece of paper.” Thus, Chris proves that a good relationship with a professional lab allows the artist to spend more time behind the camera lens, making the studio more lucrative in the senior market.

In review, the Fall Creek Three-Step System leads the focus of the client through three stages:

(1) Choose a session to create the images.
(2) Select your senior album.
(3) Purchase individual images with incentive-laden packages and unique products.
And Chris is quick to remind us that often, the key to sales is client education. Whether you are just entering the race for your share of the high school senior market or you own a seasoned studio that needs to adjust its style for its 21st-century high school senior market, you can profit from Chris Nelson’s 12 years of experience. These instructions can be coached in the following four steps, like the athlete who, must “get on your mark;” then “get ready;” next “get set” and then, after all the warm up, practice and preparation, reap the benefits of “Go!”

On Your Mark…
For Chris Nelson the idea of getting on your mark means finding your niche. You might want to be a volume studio, or you may want to keep your operation on a selective basis. This was a decision that Chris faced five years ago. He explains, “I love the creative end of what I do. I realized that if I expanded by adding a staff of two or three more photographers under the Fall Creek name, I could be overtaken by administrative duties.”

Consequently, the choice he made was to maintain a higher-end image, an individualized approach. “My images are not for everybody, and my pricing reflects this fact. I am not priced out of the market, but my fee structure prevents me from battling an onslaught of bargain hunters.” He advises, “After you know your niche, find out what the competition is doing in your area, and then be different!”

Getting on your mark means making your individual mark by finding styles or developing products that will make your studio stand out. Chris also suggests that photographers be specific in creating a studio image. In his case, everything, from location selections to marketing pieces, shouts “Fall Creek Images are cool!” Also, the teen stage of the life cycle itself deserves some study. Look at teen fashion, television and music. Michele Gauger, a photographer for over 30 years and Chris’ mentor for 12 years, says, “Chris has a real feel for the pulse of where high school seniors are going and he can apply this sense to the uniqueness of the individual.”

Get Ready!
Getting ready to photograph seniors means getting educated about the technology behind your art and getting absolute confidence in what you can do with your equipment. Chris gains variety and freshness by varying his locations, as well as techniques, such as shooting angles and lighting. He says, “Tony Corbell doesn’t know how much he did for me. His lighting lessons challenged me at a time when I was struggling with location lighting at awkward times of day. Because of my work with him and with other teachers, such as Robert Lino, Larry Peters and Darton Drake, I move the subject around the light when I work on location. In the Yucatan Experience with instructors Michele Gauger and Robert Lino, I learned to use shiny metal bleachers, rocks, concrete walls and car doors as my reflectors. I am especially fond of lighting modifiers such as the portable 27-inch Larson black and silver reflector.”

As Chris was learning, he and his fellow students were sharing lessons with each other. Michele says, “I am sure that Robert will agree that Chris’ insight, as well as that of other students, gave us a glimpse of how to add a touch of glamour while we worked with models in exotic locations.” Michele’s success as a mentor and Chris’ success as an artist has been validated by his WPPI 1st place awards in 16x20 competition both in 2002 and 2004, in the high school senior category. In 2003 he swept 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards in the 8x10 competition and snagged 3rd place in the 16x20 competition. Michele adds, “He’s got an incredible sense of artistic value in the high school senior genre. He is in tune with the likes and wants of the seniors, while being aware of the needs of the parents.”

Getting “set” means getting educated. Chris says, “Classes I’ve taken from photographers I admire have really accelerated my learning. Monte Zucker is super, and I have studied with him at least five times.” Chris has also studied with Darton Drake. With this solid background in the fundamentals of posing and lighting comes confidence. Chris adds, “I do not feel like all images in a senior session should be trendy or right off an MTV 2004 commercial. Classic images that display the face and figure in a timeless manner are also an important part of my sessions.”

Get Set!
For the “get set” step in the race for senior clients, Chris recommends sharp marketing and smart planning. For his excellent marketing pieces, both booklets and postcards, he praises Jerry Moen at Supreme Graphics in Wisconsin. Chris states, “You can save quite a bit of money if you can deliver files of your project in camera-ready condition.” In addition to direct mailing, seniors who help bring in other friends can become senior representatives of your studio. Chris says, “The reps will help you, both by acting as sellers and as models to show off your work. Treat your reps like ‘real’ employees with incentive packages and business cards. Be picky and make them interview with you as well as fill out an application.” Any senior who brings in a rep’s business card to their session is awarded with eight free wallets. The “Rep of the Year” wins $250 in cash. To show the value of a good rep, one recent winner brought 24 high school senior friends and acquaintances to the studio.

Another smart marketing option that will drive high school seniors to the studio is a mall display. For Fall Creek Portrait design, Chris keeps a high-maintenance kiosk in a local mall. High maintenance means the display prints are changed once a month, and there is always fresh literature in the racks. Chris recommends the concept: “Dollar for dollar, this is the single best avenue of advertising in which I have ever invested. Don’t fear the mall!”

Another important part of the “get set” step is the construction of a high school advertising campaign that spans the year, and Chris credits Larry Peters’ influence for these ideas. Chris explains, “Previous to my mailings, in January and February, I advertise for reps at the mall and on the web site. Then I purchase lists of senior names based on zip codes. In April my first 5x8 card goes into direct mail. This card advertises the free sessions made available only in May.”

The second direct mailing piece is the “Senior Planner,” a sleek square booklet that presents the total session concept. “The primary concern of this piece is explaining the types of images we create. Our secondary concern is that seniors begin to focus on the senior session books. In June we do half-price sessions so that later in the year I won’t be inundated with last-minute seniors. This is key to spreading out the marketing months so we can shoot seniors for seven months instead of being overwhelmed for only two months.” He adds, “After July 4, the third piece goes out. It details the galleries, montages and clusters, unique products and gift reprints that showcase the images created in the senior book. At Labor Day, the studio sends out another 5x8 card that proclaims, ‘It’s not too late and fall colors are great!’ The card also explains how quickly the studio can turn around the yearbook images at this busy time.”

With all these steps in place, you’re on your mark with a unique studio image. You’re set with education and equipment. You’re ready with sharp marketing. You’ve prepared and practiced for the race for the prize: senior contracts. Yes, there’s money at the finish line, but there are also rewards of self-enrichment and creative joy. Chris says, “Seventeen-year-olds are very anxious to make a statement about who they are, and if you can help them with it and express it artistically, they love you for it.” Now… Go! Go! Go for the gold! For more strategies behind high school senior photography, visit www.fallcreekphoto.com and be sure you attend Chris Nelson’s upcoming MasterClass at the WPPI 2005 Convention.

CharMaine Beleele, with her MA in communication arts, owns www.angelkissedphotography.com in Fort Smith, AR. She teaches communication at the University of Arkansas in Fort Smith. She is also a regular correspondent for the Arkansas Catholic Newspaper. You can email CharMaine at photoangels@sbcglobal.net/.