Posing for Greenbacks

Camera sales were lagging, too, as consumers took advantage of deep-discount chains opening in the area.

"I came to the realization that in the minilab and camera store business in a highly competitive area, you were not going to survive just doing processing and developing," said Levine. "The marketplace was changing too much and there was a need for me to carve out a niche to survive."

After contemplating expanding his inventory or purchasing expensive digital equipment—an impractical $120,000-$130,000 investment at the time—he decided the solution was to change the name and the mission of his business. He would open a moderately priced portrait studio and rename his business "Hartsdale Camera and Portrait Studio."

"What attracted me to the studio was the low-cost entry," said Levine. "I already had a camera. If I made a mistake and the studio did not work out—I put $3,000 into lights, another $1,000 into background, and other equipment—all that could have been sold off."

Levine, however, was initially reluctant to follow through with his plan. He was confident in his ability to take a good portrait because he was an experienced photographer himself. But he did not have an enlarger. The largest portraits he could produce in-house were 8x10. He saw this as a potential showstopper. But after attending a Photo Marketing Association seminar given by Shirley Stevens, Levine’s attitude changed.

"It was that actual seminar that got me off my butt, you could say," said Levine. "Shirley was able to motivate me by saying, ‘If you need to out lab it, just do it.’"

With his misgivings out of the way, Levine went to work. He carved out a 9-by-12 foot space in his store for the studio by removing a display case and adding two office dividers. He then added his camera, a lens, lighting system, backdrops, and poles. His total investment: Less than $5,000. This was in September 1992. In just four months he had recovered his investment. "By the end of December I had paid for the studio," Levine said. "Profits before the portrait studio were flat."

After only four short years, profits from the studio have increased eight times to $40,000, accounting for at least 15% of the total sales of his store last year, Levine said.

"Overheads are paid by other parts of the business. So it became a profit center."

Levine made sure to keep the studio physically separated from the rest of the store. This prevents his studio customers from being distracted or feeling that they are being watched as they pose. He does, however, make sure that when customers enter his store, they are aware of the portrait studio and the quality of its work. To do this Levine employs a window dresser who creates a display in the storefront windows, basing a theme around three or four portraits.

Levine also displays his work by hanging portraits on the inside walls of the store. "I’m not loath to point them out to people," he said.

Finding the most effective way to advertise the studio has been a case of trial and error. Levine tried direct mail and newspaper advertisements. They were not very successful. Radio advertising, however, has brought in customers, and local community magazines have been extremely effective, including a family-oriented magazine that focuses on families with children under six. Levine has also found considerable success through advertisements in a Japanese publication because of the large Japanese population in the area.

The Yellow Pages has also worked well, he said, because his advertisement stresses quick service.

"One of the advantages of being a minilab is having everything on site. So, we promise proofs in an hour and finished packages in three days—we can push it out. I call the portraits PDQ, for pretty darn quick."

Levine even does special requests for same-day pictures, usually black and white professional head shots, without charging extra as long as he can fit it in without any major disruption to his schedule.

Yet, the advertising that is most successful, Levine said, is word-of-mouth. He said it helped his store immensely during its first year, before he brought his advertising strategy into focus. "I get very good word-of-mouth," said Levine. "I have customers who have come back to me every year since I have been open."

Part of this customer loyalty is based on price. Levine has set his prices slightly higher than department store portrait studios, yet lower than other well-known studios.

However, Levine said he earns customer loyalty also by staying one step ahead of the competition in portrait quality and with the actual portrait process, which many people traditionally view as an ordeal only slightly better than getting a root canal.

"It is a better experience (than other studios)," said Levine. "It is more personal. It is geared more toward the customer. I think it helps that I generally like kids. I don’t thing this is something you can fake. It is not an assembly-line process even during my busiest days."

Levine is even willing to take a loss by not charging the sitting fee to a customer who is not satisfied with the proofs, even though Levine increases the likelihood of capturing an acceptable image by shooting a whole 24-exposure role in one sitting.

"I can either reshoot, or we part as friends," said Levine.

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