Demopolis Prom 2025
So....you may have seen me over the last couple weeks advertise a mini session for the Demopolis Prom. Originally the weather forecast showed rain all day. That forecast changed about 36 hours before prom. The rain was now coming later that night. So, my whole strategy around helping people capture beautiful prom photos, despite the rain, was unnecessary.
Anyways, I had planned to use the cover at the Trustmark bank as my set-up spot for the rain and luckily it's also a beautiful location when sunny. It's not really thought of with so many other quintessential Demopolis photo locations such as the lighted alleyway or the fountain in the center of the square. So I felt comfortable more-or-less "hogging" the space. No one approached wanting to use it, so I think I was okay doing so. The white background and stately columns are really elegant + the subject absolutely POPS. Its one of my favorite photograph spots to showcase people. Here, let me show you. Meet Trenten and Olivia. Aren't they an absolutely stunning couple??
I honestly thought this one was going to be a decent success with more people trying to get photographs from me than there was time. I was worried I wouldn't be able to meet all the demand. I had to eat some figurative crow (for myself) on this one. While I did have two people book with me, no one walked up for photos. I had a whole set up ready to go - on camera flash, external flash with tripod, a loveseat, umbrellas, a table with a signup sheet, cash for change, bottled water even, etc. I did not put a sign out, so maybe I was difficult to find or maybe people were too shy to ask my rates? Maybe it was unclear of what service was going to be rendered? Maybe $25 seemed outrageous to some? I am not sure. Either way I left the night feeling like a failure because I didn't meet the goal I had set.
Also...a minor detail...I lost money ha ha. I spent $97 on clear bubble umbrellas and FB ads and I was paid $75. I also spent probably 10 hours in total between preparation, marketing, photo time, and edit time. But hey, I will reuse the umbrellas, I now have some prom promotional photos, and maybe I picked up a couple future clients. I thought this was potentially a great opportunity to build connections with high schoolers which would lead to future gigs (graduation photos, eventually engagements, even weddings), which is why I charged as low as I did.
The original advertisement was $25/group of 4, which included ~10 minutes of shoot time with a 5-10 image guarantee, same day turnaround
My major win from the night was I got to work with some lovely new clients, and now I have prom portraits to add to my portfolio. I ended up spending 30-45 minutes each with the two groups that booked with me and we went to several different spots for shots. They ended up receiving galleries of ~60 images each. I really enjoyed working with them and I hope they felt like I treated them well.
Note: I am careful with posts I submit of minors, and therefore only showing photos I have received written photo releases from if a minor is present in it. There was another group I have some lovely shots from, but do not intend to share since I do not have all of their parents contact info for photo releases.
Gorgeous...Am I right? They made my job of showcasing them a breeze. They also redeemed this experience for me and made it enjoyable.
Now that I have processed my galleries and had time to reflect, I think I need to be less hard on myself. I had no idea what the prom landscape looked like for Demopolis. Here are my learnings:
- I learned that all the 'popular' seniors (whatever that word means, that's just how it was relayed to me) attended a pre-prom party at the Demopolis Country Club.
- I dabble a little in Facebook ads and learned I cannot advertise to anyone under 18. Therefore, I was restricted in picking up clients of that age group via Facebook (the two clients I did pick up, actually were both older sisters that found me)
- I am relatively unknown in Demopolis and am very disconnected from the high school groups. A challenge I must navigate!
- Wow, some people in Demopolis are REALLY into prom (I mean...a huge pre-party for one, several other professional photographers out and about, some peoples' entire family came out for their kids prom photos, absolutely stunning looks, and even a horse drawn carriage).
- Teens these days REALLY love taking photos with their cars/trucks.
I think that's all my thoughts. I am a very open and honest person and just felt like laying all my thoughts out from this adventure. My final final thoughts are that I will likely not be doing a walk up prom mini session again next year - my ego and pride can't take a bruising like this two years in a row. I will possibly do scheduled prom sessions, but not a mini-session.
If you read this whole post, you're a real friend - feel free to reach out a let me know what you thought.
Or, if you live in Demopolis, Greensboro, Tuscaloosa, or surrounding areas and YOU need prom photos, please reach out!
This post was originally posted on March 11th, 2025 and was migrated to my new site.
