It is senior portrait season for the class of 2009, and even in tight financial times, the school photography industry seems economy proof.
Across the industry, discounts have become more common but sales have not decreased, said Harvey Parido, president of the Professional School Photographers Association International.
"The senior portrait market is resilient. It's a once-in-a-lifetime moment and even with today's cutbacks, buyers are still interested," said Parido.
Packets can cost hundreds of dollars. But they are a necessity, not a luxury, said Sacramento-area parents who sat – some of them for hours – watching their children pose at Prestige Portraits in Elk Grove.
Sara Wing, 17, of McClatchy High School did yoga poses she perfected during some shots and brought along a teddy bear she has had since childhood.
"I'm going to make my parents spend a lot of money," she said, smiling. "I want a big one for my house and a bunch of little ones for my friends."
Digital technology and cultural trends have changed the school photography industry, and in the past two years, digital technology has caught up to the quality of film, Parido said.
Students also expect to be able to get their photos digitally so they can be uploaded to a broadening range of online sites and hand-held technologies.
Thirty percent of printing households used the Internet to make prints in 2007, up from 25 percent in the preceding year.
On the visual side, students don't just get plunked in front of a draped background, heads tilted with a fixed stare into the distance. Senior portraits are a much more complex, custom-made affair, looking more like fashion magazine pages than yearbook pages.
"We spend thousands upon thousands each year just to keep things up to date," said Elizabeth Russo-Ugarkovich, operations director of Prestige.
"If you want to be successful in this business, you need to pay attention to marketing," she said. "Fashion magazines, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, American Eagle, what are they doing? And that's what we try and follow."
The Russo family has been in charge of the Citrus Heights and El Dorado Hills territory of Prestige Portraits, for the past 46 years, Russo-Ugarkovich said.
Each year, the family spends $50,000 to $75,000 on new sets and props.
The waiting room is full.
Some of the more popular sets have been the Moroccan lounge with its pillows and light tent overhangs, the spiral staircase and the rustic porch. There is the more edgy oxidation (a rust-red wall) or the street scene. A plain, white wall is also ready for more traditional clients.
Madison Ramsden, 16, is a cheerleader going into her senior year at Franklin High School in Elk Grove. A few days before her shoot, she consulted with friends about what to wear.
"That's my girl," said Sue Ramsden, Madison's mother. "We had to budget for this, but it's $300, $400 for a photograph of a time of an incredible transition from being a kid at home to being a contributing member of society. This is a rite of passage."
