Hello --
Who has had experience with Photographers and Photo Book production companies ?
I have spoken with the Dunning Company (http://www.photomemorybooks.com/) -- they hire a local photographer, and put the book together. The price of $25 for a 16-page color book seems high, but maybe that's the way it is. Dunning seems competent. The photographer and reunion book people who we had at our last reunion did a medium-not-great job.

Lots of us will have our own cameras, of course, but many people like to have a formal portrait taken. At previous reunions, I was the unofficial photographer and posted dozens of photos on the web. This year I am the Chief, and may be too busy to be taking photos -- too busy talking and enjoying myself.

Any ideas / experience / comments ?
Thanks !

We had a local photographer who has 3 or 4 helpers.
He charges $150.00 a day.
Our reunion activities consisted of a golf outing Friday afternoon, a mixer [dutch] Friday evening, a noon mixer/lunch on Saturday, and ‘the main event’ Saturday night. He was there for EVERYTHING!
He takes video and digital pix.
His video’s – he has a camera with light on a tripod with wheels – wanders through the crowd, does short interviews, etc.
They take tons of stills.
DVD’s were of the move through the crowd and interviews.
CD’s were the stills and literally hundreds of pictures.
Each sold for either $10.00 or $15.00 each.
Well worth it in my modest opinion.
The reunion committee does NOT get a cut of his sales, we have no idea how many he sold, nor do we care! LOL
(I think I have found my retirement job!)

We THOUGHT about a printed book – for about 15 seconds, and have absolutely NO reservations about the choices we made!

Thank you, Steve -- Your photographer seems absolutely outstanding. My question would be: How do we find such a person ? Not by looking at "class reunion photographers" and not by wedding photographers. Any clues ?

Steve - that was a good price and great coverage.

Fred:

Talk to local camera stores (do they still exist?), check for local photo clubs.

Talk to the local newspaper photographer -- either freelance it themselves or they know advanced amateurs who could do the job.

OR Pay my way and I'll do it.

Hello there,

I use PhotoShow for all my events. You can then make a MPEG and burn them for everyone. You can choose your theme and how you want them to look. Here is a link to a recent event that I had . . .

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/yp8bg2EU?source=em_ps_show_recipient

Lucille Wingard

Let me be clear: Who has had experience with Photographers and Photo Book production companies ?
There are nation-wide and regional companies that specialize in these things, and I have only found the one (Dunning).

The other suggestions are good, but we're looking for a photographer who will do professional-quality work.
There are probably wedding photographers who do reunions also -- and there's a ton of wedding photographers out there. Our reunion is in downtown Philadelphia.

Anyone with experience on this ?

Still not exactly "the experience" you are requesting, but I'd also contact the Marriott Concierge or Sales office - they may have names of photographers who have covered events there in the past.

John Chidester wrote:

Now John's offer is one that you can't beat! One thing that you will have using John, is someone who has probably done this sort of thing a few times in his life, that newspaper & photo club photographers don't have.

Just a little pointer or two. If you want it done right -- pay the money to have an outsider (someone other than fellow classmates) take all the photos as Steve did! That $150/day is a real bargain! When interviewing a photographer, ask them if they know how to write "storyboards?" If they are doing anything with video or making a video with "stills," they best know what storyboarding is and how to apply them in your production.

Putting together your own album from everyone's personal photos is okay, but that means some really critical photos may be missed or your classmates became too distracted to really enjoy themselves.

Fred Weis wrote:

Fred,

It's really a shame you and I are so far from one another. I would certainly consider working with you. However, I'm not all that sure a "wedding" photographer is what you should go with, unless they can meet the criteria I specified earlier. Honestly, a long time news photographer would be your better bet. If you are downtown Philly, why not see if any of your TV broadcast stations have any videographers who "moonlight" their services. A lot of these guys know how to "storyboard" on the fly. I did when I freelanced with a local TV network station and got extra money for doing so.

Good Luck!

That's gonna cost you a bundle..especially a color 16 page book.
We did a Memory book..with scanned pics did all the cut N paste work..and sent to a printer..it cost us around $6 to print in black & White with a color front cover and front cover page.
1 of the peeps on the committee knows someone that will publish a book..not sure how much..but it takes him a long time to publish it. The guy does awesome work....and very reliable. He's also a graphic designer..I think that is what you are looking for.
Why don't you just get great photographer and videographer(Wish we would have hired one for our reunion to take video). Then put the book together yourself after the reunion..take it to a printer..it might be a lot cheaper. Just a thought!!

We are planning on having a semi-professional photographer (retired, actually a parent of a classmate who has volunteered to help out) and then creating our own memory books at www.mypublisher.com. They often run 40% off sales so we will wait to place our order when they are having a sale. Luckily we have guidance from friends who had their 20 year reunion 2 years ago who are willing to help us out.

Fred,
I wish I had a good answer for you about finding someone to take your pictures. Like anything, references and proof of work would be something I would insist on if they are 'professional.'. Are there any colleges in the area that might have a photography degree program? We have never done a 'photo-book,' but it does sound interesting, but our committee simply thought it would not be of much interest to the bulk of the classmates.
Oh, another thought - how receptive would your classmates be to submitting their own pictures, and someone making a DVD of them, and selling them, and the funds going back into the class kitty?
Whatever you folks do, please let us know here. I am always looking for something new, different, etc.

My 35th reunion three-day event is in two weeks (yikes), so I can't give you the end results, just what I have ordered (and hope to see happen).
I have hired a photographer ($900 for entire evening). I will own the photos. Plan to post on the website, and also take the headshots and some other photos for our memory booklet.
I have hired a videographer ($850 for entire evening). I will own all the video, and he will edit and make a DVD of evening highlights that I can copy and sell. My videographer will carry 'cue cards' (suggested by John C. !!) for those alumni who don't know what to say ! Our hired MC is going to interview alumni throughout the evening, also have twelve trivia questions that will be asked throughout the evening with prizes to go with.

So much more is going on during my evening dinner/dance event. I am really excited (and nervous).

Our reunion memory booklet ... I made on powerpoint. It will be an on-line booklet (except for some people who want a hard copy and will pay for it). The book is 98 powerpoint pages (which has two 4.25x5.5 pages per powerpoint page)so far in draft form. Includes introduction, table of contents, agenda, acknowledgements; a page or more with photos of each -- school tour, social mixer, high school football game, motorcycle tour, shopping/lunch downtown, golf outing, museum tour, dinner/dance (4 pages), family picnic, alumni softball game; pages on teachers who attended, in memory, guests who attended, regards from classmates not attending, donating individuals, donating businesses; and finally, a senior photo of all our graduating class (with a 'now' photo taken by our photographer, personal info they want to share, and a brief paragraph from the person.

As for a booklet you can order on line, this may or may not be the type of info you are looking for ...
I have two programs from the scrapbook company Creative Memories called "Memory Maker" and "Storybook". They work together. I make the layouts on my computer at home, then send them online to Creative Memories to print.
I have made scrapbooks that are fun and crazy, or very formal. The cost ranges from $35 on up per book, depending on exactly what you order. I usually end up spending $50 for one hard cover book.
I do not plan on using this method at this time, but never know what I will decide after the reunion ! For those people who want a hard copy of the booklet, I am going to take my powerpoint to OfficeMax and have it copied with a thicker shiney paper for the outside cover.
If you'd like, I could scan a page from one of my Creative Memory books to show you. Or, you can get on line to Creative Memories to see for yourself! I do have a local dealer that I use, and if you so choose, I could hook you up with her. She is extremely helpful!!
There are many on-line scrapbook companies that you can accomplish this same thing with.
That is my two cents about that ! Sorry if I rambled too much, or gave you too much info that you really didn't need or want to know.
The best to you, and enjoy your event!

Wishing you best wishes on your up-coming event Melodie...

IMO You have covered the 'memory' side of the event very well. Wondering about the economics of it -- but that all depends on how many people will be attending.

A few people on my committee want to have a 'memory book' available AT the event -- basically profile and contact information. My belief is that this would be better provided post-event as a PDF (mailed copy for a charge to those without Internet.) The printing cost would be significant even if it's in black and white.

My thinking is to generate a PDF book of the event with color photos, contact information etc. Again, something that those with a connection can view online, save if they wish or order a printed copy or a DVD for a fee post-reunion.

But I've got almost a year to be persuaded either way.

Once it's over and you've de-stressed, please share the outcome of your efforts with us.

Hmmm - I don't have an opinion on this yet myself, but this thought comes to mind* -

Our classmates have the option, when posting their profile information on our respective sites, as to whether or not they want to make that info available to anyone, or just those classmate/guests who are registered on the site. These 'books' will remove that 'privacy' feature, correct?

Also, what do you do for classmates who attend your reunion who are NOT on your web site?

* - - [Sorry - I guess this is the former Detective & Private Investigator' coming out in me]

[quote="John Chidester"]Wondering about the economics of it ...
... 'memory book' available AT the event...generate a PDF book of the event...
Thanks for the comments, John.
1. About the economics...I will let you know how many turn out. Right now there are 103 paid; 160 registered. I need at least 180 to make it almost even for me.
The cost is $80 now per ticket; goes up to $100 per ticket in 10 days. I do have other items (such as the photobooth and prizes) that is not included in the cost. But also have $800 in donations so far.
BTW, I have also invited teachers at $50 per ticket (food only).
2. Memory book. No memory book at our reunion. I have a powerpoint slideshow which I am having played with music right before dinner. People don't look at those closely until they get home anyway (unless they have nothing better to do at the reunion party). The memorial pages in the reunion memory booklet have photos, names, and a paragraph.
For a black and white copy of the 100 powerpoint pages, my printer quoted me a price of 6 cents per page. They are better off getting on line to see the colored pages!

At the reunion, I will have my computer and a projector. I am going to:
#1 play a slideshow of people/school then, photos of those who 'HERE TONIGHT', teachers in attendance, and "now" pics of us that I've taken from the website.
#2 play the memorial slideshow before dinner
#3 show off our website, and how to log on. After the reunion, I am hopeful that more people will sign on to the website because they liked what they saw.
I will share with everyone after our event, Sept.17-19.

Lucille Wingard wrote:

Thanks for sharing. I watched it all. I like the outcome and that viewers can download individual photos (apparently at no cost).

YOU as the subscriber to the service can download MPEG movies and transfer them to DVDs at no cost, but others would have to pay to get a DVD sent by the company (is that correct?)

You selected the music, I assume -- was it from choices offered by the Photoshow? (I'm thinking of music copyright and licensing issues here.)

And I was half-way through watching when I figured out this was NOT a class reunion. But I was sure thinking the theme was a great one! And the ladies were looking very decked out!

Thank you, Everyone, for your comments. There are so many ways of doing the photography.

John Christman: Agreed, a wedding photographer is not what is needed. The ones I talked with (just to see if this was something up their alley) had base fees in the $1750-$2500 / day area. Nope... not that.

Melodie: I am amazed at what you are doing, and how thoroughly you are handling this. Thank you for the detailed info -- and, yes, please stay in touch on this to let us know your results, after your reunion. In terms of the budget, it seems as though you are spending around $10 per person for the photographer and the videographer.

Steve, re Privacy: At our reunion in 2002 (we didn't have a 30th, we had a 32nd, to coincide with turning 50 years old) I took several hundred candid photos. I posted over 200 photos on the web, using pbase as our host, and included Firstname and Lastname for each person in the photos. About six months ago -- that is, 7-1/2 years later -- several classmates (3 friends) wrote to me, disturbed that their names could be googled to link them to Cheltenham High School. Well, big whoop... but it bothered them. So I removed the last names on the titles.
If the photos are posted in galleries here, behind a password, I don't see how people would object (except for one).

How things have turned out (so far):
I wound up calling and "interviewing" 8 or 10 photographers. Most are not suitable. I contacted our high school's Class of 1959, who had a successful reunion a year ago, and got a good recommendation from them -- an amateur photographer, skilled and conscientious, reasonably priced... and they were happy with him.

Then, perfection: A classmate recommended the photographer who handles sports, events, proms, school photos, etc. for the township where she raised her kids, as well as neighboring towns -- about 8 high schools. It turns out the guy is competent, versatile, and pretty much can do it all. He will come with an assistant, make a setup with background and lights for the posed formal photos, leave his assistant there doing the posed photos, and then take the candids. He'd recently done his wife's reunion, and said he took 700 shots. He'll make prints for a reasonable cost -- $6 for 5x7 and $10 for 8x10 -- and will bring a couple of dye sublimation printers for on-the-spot printing. (Dye sub is considered superior to regular inkjet printing.) He will post the photos on a password-protected gallery on his website. People can order prints right off his website. We'll get copies of the original images on DVD. What more could we want ? His fee for the 5-hour event is $200.

For anyone in the Philadelphia area, his website is:
http://www.drcphoto.org/index.html

As far as an actual book goes... we'll see if one of our classmates wants to do the design work. In 1990 (20th), 1995 (25th), and 2002 (32nd), I put together books that were somewhat like the memories listed on the Profile pages here. The difference was: I got the entries from people by snail-mail (on paper, in an envelope and a stamp -- how archaic) and I typed in the paragraphs.

If anyone really wants a photobook done by a one-stop-shop do-it-all outfit, I haven't found anyone other than Dunning. I'd think there'd be more out there, but I couldn't find them. The place that did our photobook in 2002 is gone. Dunning hires local photographers in your area. There is no upfront fee. Classmates will get a 16-page booklet, in color, at a cost of $25. 8x10 prints, or 2 5x7s, are $25, or less in a package. Dunning is at: http://www.photomemorybooks.com/
This is not what we want, but may be suitable for other classes.

Fred,

Glad to know there is at least one place in this country where wedding photographers aren't going hungry. Thanks for sharing all your "finds" with us and here's wishing your program comes off without a hitch and is your best one EVER!

Our reunion committee used the Dunning photography 4 years ago. They send out a photographer..I think someone local..our guy was not good. He spent maybe 3 hours and did not get picture's we wanted. The book itself is ok not real good for the $25. The worst part was they promised the book in 6-8 weeks and after 4 months we still did not have it. The class after us also used them and the same occured. We are not using them for our reunion next year. I love the idea of a Photo Memory Book ..we don't know what we will do yet so this thread is helping me

Kimberly -- thank you for sharing your experience with Dunning. I'm sorry that you had to go through this.

Based on the difficulty I experienced in finding a "right" photographer, I would suggest that people see who is doing the high school sports photography in their area, or the school portraits. That, and ask other classes what they did for their reunions.

-- Fred

Kimberly, you have a BIG class !

Have you put feelers out to your classmates? My husband is not a professional photographer, but he has a digital SLR camera and takes great photos. So, he is my *official* photographer. He didn't go to school with me, so he doesn't know very many people and this keeps him occupied while I am catching up with everyone. My point is, maybe one of your classmates has a significant other who also enjoys taking photographs.

Fred Weis wrote:

I'm currently completing a 100 page 8.5x11" four color cook book. Printing prices are less than 1/5th of the price you have been quoted for a 16 page booklet. If you'd like a very competitive price, send me an email. phhs.1961@gmail.com. Let's compare specs and quantities and let me get you a quote. Include your phone number.

I have used Dunning three times now. First of all, it's nice to have a photographer that doesn't charge you! No obligation to buy photos, either. They're very professional and do a great job!