School Portraits with Heart!
Questions about your portrait order? Please use the “Contact” button in the lower right
Photo Expressions is a “boutique” provider of school portraits, serving schools in the Lower Mainland, Kelowna and Victoria.
Home of “Express Proofs”. View and order your school portraits on your phone or computer – on photo day!
And home of “Multi-Pose” – up to 4 unique poses from traditional to contemporary to showcase your child’s personality
Multi-Pose plus over 100 background choices = something for everyone!
Is your school getting tired of the “same old” school portraits?
Maybe it is time to explore something fresh!
And here’s an idea – school portraits that parents and students love, without headaches for school admin!
Please note, all sample portraits on this page are from live photo-day shoots!
In our image-saturated world, parents want more than just the “Classic School Head Shot”. Photo Expressions delivers for the modern parent with multiple creative poses for every student.
“Classic” (still needed) AND “Contemporary” (modern and fun)
All this choice is put together in a “best-in-class” online ordering experience.
We receive 1 support request (eg. how do I order my online portraits) per approximately every 200 orders. That’s and average of 1 to 2 support requests per school!
I switched to Photo Expressions last year at my previous school. I had become dissatisfied with the quality of pictures and the impact on my secretary. It was immediately apparent that this company cared about quality and customer service. Every picture really captured the essence of students and staff and they went the extra mile to ensure all students were featured in their best light. The impact on my secretary was awesome in that she really didn’t have to become involved in 500 forms! With the company being local, I was also able to easily follow up with any questions or special requests. Perhaps the best vote of confidence is the fact that I hired Photo Expressions for my new school.
Let’s talk Photographers.
Here is how the Big Photo Companies work:
- Put ads on Indeed in August, hire would-be photographers and provide 1 or 2 days training (pay is close to minimum wage)
At Photo Expressions, our core photographers are year-round, full time professional photographers. In the off-season, some of our photographers might shoot weddings (one shot 70 high-end Indian weddings in 1 year!), do high-end portrait work, shoot real estate and fine art, etc. All this means with Photo Expressions you get
Truly Professional Photographers
Hyper-Local Service
Service is a local phone call away (604-477-7399 is the dedicated number, we’ll pick up or call right back). Or online message/email. Or, just come and visit our Port Coquitlam studio/lab!
Big Photo Companies work by “head count”. Their “territory managers” look at each student as a number. We couldn’t tell you what our head count is, but we can tell you the name of every Principal and Vice Principal we work with, and many secretaries, teachers and students as well!
Schools love when we drop off Christmas treats and personalized thank-you’s.
Parents love when we personally drive an order to their house during Christmas break (not a habit, but extreme customer service is a specialty).
Secretaries and admin staff love when all school portrait-related inquiries are re-directed our way.
Teachers love when we run free photography workshops for their classes.
All of this to say, if you like being treated as a valued partner, and not a number, you will like working with Photo Expressions.
An “All-In-House” approach
Quality control. Timely delivery. Cost control.
These all require an in-house approach to production. Photo Expressions was actually a lab for 12 years before starting in school photography.
All of your products are produced in-house, by experienced lab techs (how does 25+ years of experience sound?) on state-of-the-art equipment. But not too state-of-the-art. We still use traditional photo paper instead of inkjet because – it looks better!
The Photo Expressions staff go out of their way to ensure that the school and the students have a fantastic photo experience. We receive high quality photos and outstanding service.
Prices you can afford
The in-house approach means cost savings are passed on to our partner families.
Photo Expressions does not have to pay:
- Shipping costs from a central lab (some Big Photo Companies do), or markup costs on lab prints (most small photographers do)
- More shipping costs when fixing mistakes (they happen – we fix them quickly on site)
- A good chunk of revenue to our sales force (we don’t have one!) or middle managers (don’t need ’em!)
It all adds up to lower than average costs on portrait packages and specialty items.
Experience – Family Owned and Operated since 1983
With decades of experience in school photography, we have seen it all (and thankfully can count on one hand the number of times we’ve been thrown-up on). This experience ensures schools get the service, quality and products they expect. Why expect less?
Bells and Whistles
With experience comes the knowledge of every extra “service item” a school could want – and the invention of a few new ones!
If you can name a school service item, we can provide it:
- Class photos (free to all students and staff)
- Whole-school panorama photos
- Student photo exports for MyEDBC, yearbooks, library, etc.
- Student directories
- Student portrait stickers for emergency forms, class placement, medical forms, etc.
- Free portraits for staff
- Photography workshops for classes
Reputation
Why no sales force? We have grown our business organically through excellent word of mouth.
Google reviews are a relatively recent happening, but let’s compare those of Photo Expressions to some Big Photo Companies:
Much-needed funds for schools
Every portrait purchase and every photo day is automatically a school fundraiser! Generous rebates are paid to our school partners based on sales.
School yearbooks and our “Created By Kids” art fundraiser program are also available to all our partner schools.
Get what you deserve
In our opinion, it is a great privilege to be allowed to enter a school building and create portraits of the students and staff – one that we never take for granted.
You deserve this. You deserve to be treated like a valued client, not a number. You deserve outstanding quality portraits at fair prices. You deserve local, personal service. You deserve an experienced and reputable school partner. You deserve for the process of securing your “forever memories” to be enjoyable and not painful!
So… interested? Let’s talk!
We are happy to talk with Principals, admin staff and PACs, to give you the assurances you need to move forward.
Here is how to reach us:
604-554-0892 (direct line to Ron, our General Manager)
Or, fill out the form below to get the ball rolling. We look forward to hearing from you!
Please note, all sample portraits on this page are from live photo-day shoots!