In the fast-paced world of volume photography, every season brings both new opportunities and challenges. From school portraits to dance recitals, photographers juggle tight schedules, quick turnarounds, and the constant balancing act between creativity and efficiency.
But what if the photos you’ve already taken could keep earning long after picture day ends?
That’s exactly what two photographers discovered when they switched to PhotoDay. By reimagining their existing workflows, they created fresh, exciting products for families and unlocked new revenue streams from photos they’d already taken.
Here’s how they did it, and how you can, too!
Case Study 1: How One School Photographer Turned Fall Portraits into $84K in Holiday Sales
Turning leftover fall portraits into a festive success story.
“We already had the portraits. We just needed a way to make them feel new again.”
This professional school photographer had a smooth fall portrait system: one pose per student, 35 schools, and a reliable pre-pay model. Capture, sell, deliver, done.
However, once the initial sales wrapped up, so did most of the earning potential. The photographer wondered: What if these same photos could have a second life?
The Challenge
After the fall season finished up, their goals were simple yet ambitious:
- Re-engage parents with something new and exciting
- Create another sales opportunity from existing images
- Avoid additional sessions or manual re-editing
The challenge was clear: find a scalable, low-effort way to bring fresh energy and new profits to familiar photos.
The Solution: Turning School Portraits into Holiday Magic
This is where PhotoDay came in.
The photographer tested a creative new idea: transforming fall portraits into holiday keepsakes. Using PhotoDay’s knockout tools, they removed backgrounds and replaced them with holiday designs. Then, they:
- Knocked out every student’s background in minutes to create clean, transparent portraits
- Uploaded all 35 schools to PhotoDay as new galleries
- Created a holiday themed background collection for parents to choose from
- Partnered with schools to share the gallery links with families, highlighting the new seasonal options
With PhotoDay, parents could browse, customize, preview, and order prints or digitals directly in an online gallery storefront—no forms or manual fulfillment.
The Results
The response? Overwhelmingly positive. PhotoDay made it easy to deliver a whole new kind of magic for everyone: parents, students, and the photographer’s bottom line.
Between October 31 and December 31, the photographer:
- Generated $84,000 in additional sales
- Received over 2,000 new orders
- Achieved all of it with no additional photo sessions
By reimagining how to use fall school portraits, this photographer turned what’s normally a seasonal slowdown into a revenue boom.
- Reuse what you already have: One photo session became a whole new product line.
- Holiday themes sell: Seasonal backgrounds drive excitement and gift purchases.
- Frictionless workflow: PhotoDay made it easy for families to view, personalize, and order online right from their phones.
- Big returns, low effort: $84K in extra income is life-changing, especially without extra picture day or printing costs.
Using PhotoDay’s knockout tools and background collections, they engaged families in a fresh, festive way that earned them an extra $84K in just two months.
Case Study 2: How One Dance Photographer Earned an Extra $12K Switching to PhotoDay
Simplifying sales, reducing waste, and boosting profits—all in one season.
“Once I stopped guessing what parents might buy, everything got easier…and more profitable.”
A professional dance photographer had been serving 11 dance studios each year using a speculative print model during the busy March-June season. The speculation approach includes printing photos before orders are placed. Each dancer received:
- 1 – 8x10 print
- 2 – 5x7 prints
- 8 – wallet-sized prints
Families paid a $20 deposit per dancer in advance, and the photographer sold additional sheets with a “buy more, save more” pricing model. While this system worked, it wasn’t efficient. It required upfront printing costs, manual labor, and guesswork about what parents actually wanted.
The Challenge
To help make his business more profitable and streamlined, this photographer wanted to:
- Cut down on speculative printing and waste
- Streamline ordering and fulfillment
- Test a more modern, online sales approach to boost post-event sales
After researching his options, he chose to test this approach with PhotoDay, an all-in-one marketplace solution for volume photography.
The Solution: Trying PhotoDay
Once he decided to give PhotoDay a try, the results were almost instant.
Over the summer, he:
- Created 11 PhotoDay jobs, one per dance studio
- Uploaded all dancer images into public galleries
- Enabled FaceFind and View All Photos for easy browsing
He asked each dance studio to share the new gallery links with parents, explaining that this was a new, more convenient way to order.
The Results
Parents loved it. Without the old barriers of pre-orders and speculative prints, families could view their dancers’ images online instantly, order only what they loved, and enjoy flexible print and digital options.
Between August and December, the photographer earned $12,000 in additional revenue—all from a smoother, smarter process without any pre-printing or manual sales management.
- Digital galleries drive engagement: Parents loved the convenience of viewing and ordering online.
- More profit, less waste: Post picture day sales through PhotoDay boosted profits significantly and eliminated potential print waste.
- Simplified workflow: No more manual sorting or speculative costs.
- Easy communication: Studios and families appreciated simplified gallery access and automated reminders
PhotoDay changed how he sold photos and redefined what was possible for his business.
Shifting from a speculative print model to PhotoDay’s online gallery system helped this dance photographer transform his workflow—saving time, reducing waste, and earning an extra $12K in just a few months.
PhotoDay worked for them. It can work for you.
Both photographers started with the same question: “How can I make more without working more?”
PhotoDay helped them find the answer.
By shifting to PhotoDay’s online platform, they found new ways to sell, simplify, and succeed. Whether it was transforming fall portraits into holiday keepsakes or moving dance photos online for effortless ordering, PhotoDay enabled them to turn everyday images into extraordinary results.
Because when your workflow works smarter, your business shines brighter—and your customers feel the magic, too.
