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Madera -
In the past few years we’ve seen schools
built near certain developments to repay developers support of
successful school bonds, restaurants given contracts to provide
food despite not being the “best price” and here Madera Unified
goes again
with awarding one business the exclusive right to shoot
senior portraits.
Despite there being a half dozen
photographers in Madera who have been providing senior portrait
services, Madera High School has awarded Van’s
Photography Studio an exclusive right to shoot portraits for this
years senior class. How much does Madera
High School receive for this exclusive agreement? Nothing!
Now of course Madera High School
Yearbook advisor Alison Lindsey says students can have their
senior portraits taken away where but she also says the only
photos that will appear in the yearbook are those taken by Van’s
Studio. Does that make sense to anyone? Doesn’t Ms. Lindsey
know the senior portrait is the one that is published in the
yearbook? Any other portrait would just be another photo.
First year Madera High School
Principal Kent Albertson said Ms. Lindsey was concerned that there
was no uniformity to the portraits her yearbook staff received. He also said in past years
Lindsey's staff received snapshots taken by parents that couldn’t afford
professional photos. He said for these reasons he approved the
exclusive agreement with Van’s but would revisit it next year.
Tess Neely of Van’s Photography
Studio said Lindsey approached her last year when many of the
seniors failed to turn in photos for the yearbook. Van’s setup a
portable studio at the school and shot photos of the seniors at no
charge but students were offered the opportunity to purchase Van’s
professional prints.
This year Lindsey decided to offer
the exclusive right to shoot the senior portraits appearing in the
2009 Madera High School Blue & White Yearbook to Van’s
Studio provided that Van’s agree to take one photo of each senior
at no charge. Like last year, Lindsey did not contact any other
photographer nor was this exclusive agreement offered to any other
business. It was awarded to
Van’s without being put out to bid or even trying to get the best
possible price for the students and their families for prints.
According to Ms. Neely of the
seniors Van’s Studio has shot, so far 50% of them have bought
print packages. The average price of a package at Van’s
Studio is $199 and if the trend continues with all the
seniors Van’s Studio stands to make over $40,000 from senior portraits
this year. That is more than many teachers make a year.
Once Van’s has those seniors in
the studio, the other half a dozen photographers in Madera don’t
stand a chance of making a living on senior portraits. If you
don’t think Van’s was given a golden opportunity to drastically
increase their bottom line, how many of you have received a coupon
for a $4.95 photo package from J.C. Penny’s, Sears, Wal-Mart or any
other studio? How many of you have gotten away with only the $4.95
package? I know one of the arguments I would have with my wife was
how that $4.95 package became a $120 package in a matter of
minutes. But really could I blame her, I have cute kids.
Van’s Photography Studios is
Madera’s most expensive photo
studio. Many of the other photographers in town cater to the folks
that can’t afford to pay Van’s high priced $46 a
page price. Jillian Photography located in downtown Madera only
charges $15 a page. Valley Pix, the sister site to Madera Online
that provides community photography, charges $12.50 a page.
Ernie’s Photography charges $13 a page. Al’s Photography shoots
senior portraits for migrant students who can’t afford anything
else.
Here is a secret I am sure Van’s
doesn’t want the town to know. That $46 a page price is for (1)
8x10, (2) 5x7’s or (8) wallets and it only cost $1.65 to produce.
Now Van’s will tell you that the $46 also includes touch-up. Now a
day’s touch up means two minutes on Photo Shop to remove a pimple
or blemish and every one of the photographers listed above also
provide that service for their much lower price.
That is a nice profit margin and
it’s even nicer when the school gives you exclusive access to the
415 Madera High School seniors. It’s
even nicest for Van’s since the district also gives them the
exclusive for shooting graduation photos at the high schools and
junior high schools. How much does the school get for this
exclusive agreement? Nothing, it is yet another sweetheart deal.
Then there is the issue of
security. Madera High School is forcing every senior to go to one studio. Has every employee of that
studio been finger-printed and had a background check? A couple
years ago a photographer was arrested at another
Madera studio for taking
inappropriate photos of girls changing clothes with a hidden
camera. What would be Madera Unified’s liability if this would
have happened at a studio the school had an exclusive agreement
with? Will all of Van’s employees go through a background check
like anyone else who is contracted for student services? Who will
pay for that background check?
What happened to the free market
system in Madera? Students must be able to look for the best price
for their photos. Are we going to say that the girls can only buy
their prom dresses from one store? How about all the boys must
rent their tuxes from William Carol? Not every student can afford
$199 for senior photos but they still have the right to have
senior photos. The other photographers in Madera have been
providing services at a more affordable price. Why would the
school want to take that away?
What happened to photographers
having their own style? Photographers are artists. Like any artist
that works with any other mediums they each have their own style. To
want everything to be uniform just takes away the creative control
the photographer has with his art. Could you imagine an art
gallery with paintings that all looked a like?
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