MPS Foto - Your Best Choice for School and Sports Photography

MPS Foto, Ohio Bird Sanctuary Team Up!

2011-12-14T13:18:00.000-08:00

OBS executive director, Gail Laux
shares some valuable time with Ohio students

We're proud to announce that MPS Foto will be working with the Ohio Bird Sanctuary during the 2012-2013 school year! It's a project that has been in development for some time and we're excited to kick it off! The text from the official press release is below...

Mansfield-based school and sports photography company MPS Foto has partnered with the Ohio Bird Sanctuary in a move designed to boost availability of outdoor and biodiversity education in schools.

The photography company will offer a special benefit for area schools that choose MPS Foto as their school picture provider. The company will provide 25% of all OBS programming costs, up to $100.00 per school year.

“We’re an Ohio-owned company that serves schools and families all over our region. We know from personal experience that the OBS is a tremendous educational resource within our community, and it only made sense that we partner with them to help kids receive a well-rounded education.”, says company vice - president and OBS board member, Jay Allred.

Gail Laux, executive director of the Bird Sanctuary sees the partnership as a win-win for everyone involved. “When MPS Foto brought this up to us, we thought that it made perfect sense for everyone. The schools benefit from reduced programming costs, and the OBS gains a partner to help further our mission of providing wildlife education to area young people.”

For more information about participating in this program, schools may contact MPS Foto at 419-529-9010 or at fotosales@mpsfoto.com. To schedule programming with the Ohio Bird Sanctuary, call 419-884-4295 or visit them on the web at www.ohiobirdsanctuary.com.

Introducing Foto Fusion Yearbook Software

2011-11-04T09:06:00.000-07:00

We publish a lot of yearbooks for our K-8 school customers. They are a fun and affordable way to provide a lasting record of a child's year in school. We only publish in full color, offer tons of fun options like personalization, custom covers, and will even handle all of the design and layout for our customers.

Some schools, however, want to design and build the book themselves. There are tons of advantages to doing this -- it saves money, the finished yearbook is a more complete look at the year -- except for one thing. The software.

If the school volunteer wasn't a professional designer, they've often had to make the compromise between really cool design and ease of use. We're happy to announce the end of that problem. LumaPix Foto Fusion removes the compromises and makes it easy, affordable and fun to make a school yearbook that looks fantastic. Contact us to learn more about MPS Foto Fusion.

Kevin Honeycutt at the OASSA

2011-10-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

photo courtesy of Kevin Honeycutt

This past week, MPS Foto was one of the exhibiting companies at the annual fall conference of the Ohio Association for Secondary School Administrators. The conference usually hosts around 300 secondary school administrators from around Ohio for a couple of days of professional development, networking, and head-above-water thinking. We're obviously there to help grow MPS Foto and meet new people, but an important side benefit is being able to learn more about the issues facing today's school administrators. Seeing the challenges faced by Ohio schools allows us to better understand how we can fit our service to meet the needs of our customers.
One of the themes that rose to the surface was how to best use technology to meet the needs of 21st century learners. This year, we were able to sit in on part of the keynote presentation by Kevin Honeycutt, who is booked solid with speaking engagements on the innovative use of technology in schools. What a revelation. Mr. Honeycutt was more than entertaining and funny -- he was inspiring. His technique of demonstrating exactly how teachers can use simple and inexpensive technology like the iPad to engage their students was amazing. But here's the thing... I wonder if the reason Mr. Honeycutt is in such demand is directly related to the fact that so many adults (myself included) are amazed by what he does. What I mean is that technology flips the script on just who is educating who these days. My nine year old officially knows more about Windows Movie Maker than I do, and that requires an open mind and a tiny ego in order to keep up with her and be part of her digital life.
Which is why we're forwarding links to Mr. Honeycutt's videos and other resources to the administrators and teachers we know. How do your kids use technology in the classroom?

We Have a Winner!

2011-09-24T08:24:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Christine Thompson of Clear Fork Middle School! She was out winner of the August 2011 $100.00 gas card giveaway. It won't be long before we announce our September winner. Remember to pre-pay for your pictures online and you'll be automatically registered to win!

MPS Foto Buys Your Gas!

2011-08-04T11:06:00.000-07:00

Guess what? Now purchasing your school pictures online is more than just convenient. Buying online can fill your gas tank. Each month in 2011, starting in August, every person who pre-pays for their photo package online will be registered to win a one hundred dollar gas card! Here are the details.

-Each order placed will represent an entry.
-We will randomly select a name from all the orders placed that month and notify the winner via e-mail.
-The winner will be selected at the end of each month.
-You may only win once.
-The gas card will be at a station convenient to the winner's location.

So who will be our first entrant? Will it be you?

2011 - 2012 Sports Products

2011-07-16T15:05:00.000-07:00

We cannot believe it either, but high school sports photography is only a month away. Late in 2010, we decided that it was time to freshen up our product line and offer some new twists. MPS Foto is already known for offering some of the coolest, most high-quality sports products. Now we're taking that reputation up a notch with our All-Star sports line. All-Star products still feature the wildly popular UltraGloss metallic paper -- one customer described it as "high-def TV for sports pictures" -- but now with a wider selection of products and also improved values on photo packages. We've uploaded some samples below for you to check out.

All-Star Buttons - Available in sets of two, or singles.


New for 2011-12, The 10x30 All-Star Team Pennant


All-Star Team / Individual Bag Tags

All-Star Press-Printed Trader Cards

All-Star Magazine Covers

All-Star Individual Calendars

All-Star 10x20 Sports Poster

All-Star 8x10 Memory Mate

All-Star 10x20 Memory Mate Poster

All-Star Dry-Erase Message Center. Magnetic Back Sticks to your Fridge!

Maintain Your Caffeine Buzz with an All-Star Mug.

The Kids Are Alright

2011-05-31T11:57:00.000-07:00

Prom season has come and gone. We would be lying if we said that sometimes we shake our collective heads at how old we feel when we go to photograph high school social events! Maybe it is just the soft focus (clever photographic reference) through which we view our own young adulthood; but often heard are the words, "Man, proms have sure changed since my high school days!". In many ways that sentiment is probably true. But really, has it changed all that much?

If we remove our our prejudices about what has changed, proms today appear to be what they have always been: A celebration of the transition from childhood to adulthood. Both have their parties and celebrations, but a prom leans decidedly to the grown up side of things. And when you see it that way, you can really understand how it is a learning experience for how to behave in the world. The kids get all dressed up, go to a nice dinner, visit with friends, and then go dancing. The big difference is that they're better dancers and know how to work their cell phones better than most adults.

What is fun is how the in-between nature of the kids comes out in the candids we take. The pictures really show how these young adults waver between the kids they are and the adults they are becoming -- moving in milliseconds between one and the other. Their enthusiasm is infectious and fun to be around. And that makes us feel young, too.

Here are some of our favorite pictures from this season.

2011 Spring Pictures Go Green

2011-03-03T13:32:00.000-08:00

We count ourselves lucky at MPS Foto. You see, we are a division of one of the country's most respected school and sports imaging labs in the country, Marco Photo Service. We share a building, management teams, employees, and technology. Being part of a larger whole gives us access to all kinds of smart photographic minds and forward-looking technology.

This spring, we're introducing a new program to our elementary and middle school customers that uses green screen background replacement in place of traditional backgrounds. This technology helps us offer more options to families, while at the same time keeping prices very reasonable. Our photo crews benefit too, with a simpler set up that allows them to spend time posing kids naturally and capturing a great expression. It comes back to one of our core beliefs, which is that we will not use technology for its own sake. It has to deliver a real benefit to our customers. We're positive that this program does exactly that.

San Francisco Chronicle on School Photography

2011-01-29T05:32:00.000-08:00

Getting my daughters ready for school picture day can be a real exercise in diplomacy and patience, especially considering that it's one of the few days in the year they can get out of their school uniforms. This great blog from the San Francisco Chronicle does a great job of laughing at the process, but also sees one of the overlooked values in traditional school photography -- the consistent visual mile marker it provides from year to year as a person grows. And even, sometimes, how it can connect generations. It's worth a look.

When a School is More Than Test Scores

2010-12-22T06:13:00.001-08:00

The other day I was visiting a Columbus high school. This school is not one you hear about a ton. It is not particularly large, is an older building in a modest neighborhood, and doesn't boast incredibly high standardized test scores. In many ways, it is a typical public high school. I was not there on business really, but rather to deliver a small holiday gift and to thank the assistant principal for all the help he gave us during the school year. It's a yearly ritual I really enjoy. Just dropping in and saying thank you.

When I walked into the assistant principal's office I was a little surprised to see him there in his alma mater's sweatshirt, sitting behind his desk and sharing lunch with three students. He is usually a pretty buttoned up guy, serious enough to have just pushed himself to get his PhD. Turns out, it was college spirit day at this school and he was chatting with three seniors about their plans for the next year.

This might sound odd, but in the school picture business it is easy to forget about the people we are serving. The sheer number of kids we photograph each year makes it necessary to clump them into large groups in order to logistically deal with what we're doing. Conveniently, that happens naturally with schools and leagues; they are, by definition, groups. Each group is a customer and each one is different.

In my case, I constantly make quick business judgments and evaluations about potential clients based upon all kinds of factors -- the school grounds, the neighborhood, the demographics, academic performance, the cleanliness of the building, how the teachers and students interact, and on and on. Some of these judgments are based on hard economic or academic data, and others are just gut feelings and quick observations. The judgments I make lead me to decide whether MPS Foto wants to do business with a school or league. In other words, I ask myself, "Can MPS Foto create a school picture experience here that the client likes and can afford and can we, in turn, be profitable and happy too?" Basically, I'm grading our customers. It may seem coarse, but it's a necessary first step to understanding the environment in which we may be working.

Which brings me back to the three seniors in the assistant principal's office.

These three kids were just exceptional. Two of the three had already chosen colleges, the third was leaving for Europe that summer to go backpacking. One was accepted into a fast track pre-med program at a university in Michigan where she would study to become a doctor. The other was headed to a prestigious university on the east coast. All were funny, obviously smart, confident, and engaging. They are undoubtedly going to succeed beyond everyone's expectations but their own.

I walked out of the school that day smiling to myself, renewed by the simple fact that these young women were reaching so far beyond the measurements I or someone was assigning to their school, and thus to them. It was a great reminder to take the time to look beyond the metrics and data and to try to learn about and understand the character of the kids we interact with every day. The surprises are often a lot of fun to discover.

Have a great holiday, everybody.

One Mom's Thoughts On School Pictures

2010-11-02T09:23:00.000-07:00

At MPS Foto, we're constantly trying to improve the overall value of what we provide to schools and families. A great way to do that is to listen to our customers, and then try to react in a positive way to what we hear. We also believe it's important to recognize people who provide feedback to us or our industry about their experiences with school and sports pictures. On that note, we wanted to share this with our customers.

Below is a really thoughtful piece from a Mom in Maryland, Kym Byrnes, who epitomizes our customers. She's comfortable with digital, values the immediacy of the digital pictures she takes, and yet, sees the past easy, off-the-cuff assertions to an evenhanded examination about what she likes (and doesn't) about the school and team sports photos she receives.

In the excerpts below, she addresses key themes such as:

Value and customer service...
"A friend of mine suggested that school pictures are a racket. She has three children in elementary school and was frustrated that the school photographers don't give a multiple child discount. She laughed that she doesn't even really want the school pictures, but feels obliged to take them."

The importance of choice, and control over purchasing decisions
"Pictures do come in handy to give grandparents and put in gifts... But those picture packages from school are not cheap, and in some cases I've been forced to make a decision without even seeing them! How do I know if I want one 8-by-10 or 36 wallet size photos if I don't even know if I will like the photo? "

The relevance of printed pictures to today's mom
"My sister has given me my nephew's school and sports photos over the years and, to be honest, I never really know what to do with them."

The effect of peer pressure and obligation
"Maybe, like my friend, I feel obligation to purchase class and sports photos because I don't want my kids to feel left out when their friends turn in their orders and get those envelopes to bring home. "

The appeal of non-photographic items
"I've never been interested in trinket items -- keychains and mugs and trading cards and other things that, to me, resemble promotional items businesses hand out at marketing events."

In am age where customers can just blast a company and bad-mouth a product through a quick Facebook post, Ms. Byrnes instead gives our industry (and thus, MPS Foto) a thoughtful critique. One we will listen to and learn from.

High School Event Coverage

2010-10-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

Serving the photographic needs of a high school is probably the most complex job a school picture company undertakes. There are lots of different stakeholders in the process and they all have different needs. Parents need school picture packages that look great. District technology departments need images formatted to import into their systems. School admins need id cards delivered quickly and accurately. Athletic directors need their photos available in time for sports program deadlines. And finally, yearbook advisors need to trust that the events we cover will yield great pictures for their yearbooks.

We're fortunate to have some really dedicated photographers on staff at MPS Foto. We thought you might like to see some of the work they've done the past year or so.

September

2010-10-03T06:29:00.000-07:00

September is in the books. And this one was a doozy. MPS Foto was fortunate to be able to photograph eleven new schools and leagues in September, and see our overall number of photography bookings more than double over 2009. This all added up to to our busiest month ever also the most stressful by a long measure.

We introduced new computer systems at the camera, printed id cards on-site, debuted new sports products and services, published our first-ever high school sports program, launched a new web site and Facebook page, and hired over a dozen new employees. Change is a constant for a growing business, but it brings with it the risk of failure. And in our business, failure in September is no different than betting the house in Vegas and coming up snake eyes. So much is at stake for our customers and our company during September. September is the month where our largest high schools are photographed and where we deliver their id cards and sports pictures. Both items have to be on-time and correct the first time. September is when our vehicles travel more miles, our alarm clocks are set earlier, and our employees register more hours than any other month. And we're happy to say we made it!

We were not perfect in September, but we're proud of how we handled the small setbacks. Our team stuck with our core beliefs of exceptional customer service, great value for parents, and kindness to kids, and that - more than anything - made it a successful month. Thanks to all our customers and team members, we've had a great beginning to the school year!

Does Youth Sports Take an Unfair Toll on Kids?

2010-09-12T04:48:00.000-07:00

This series of articles in the Columbus Dispatch about youth sports ought to be required reading for anyone who has kids involved in youth sports. The series examines the toll that youth sports can take on student athletes, looks at the history of youth sports in Central Ohio, and offers some fascinating insights. It goes much deeper than the usual story on a crazy parent punching a referee. As a parent and someone that works with kids in sports every day, it has been easy to see that the positives for kids in athletics can be enormous. There can be negatives too, though. This series provides a balanced look at both.

Check it out before it comes off the web.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/special_reports/stories/2010/youth_sports/index.html

Thoughts from a Mom on Her School Pictures

2010-08-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

We scour the web for articles or blog postings like these, because they help us cut through all the marketing mumbo jumbo and really help us understand how our customers feel about school pictures. Theirs from many years ago and their kids. Worth five minutes as you get ready for your pictures. Courtesy of U8MyCrayons.

Welcome to the New mpsfoto.com Blog

2010-08-09T18:30:00.000-07:00

If you've visited us before to make a purchase or check out MPS Foto, you might be looking around and saying "Hmmmm, nice new digs." Or you could be a first time visitor who is just learning about MPS Foto. Either way, welcome aboard! Our new web site has expanded and grown along with the company and we're proud to have it represent us on the internet.

You're visiting our blog at the moment. Our mission here will be to create a place where we can share some thoughts on school and youth sports photography, and examine trends that might be affecting you and how you think about the service we offer. You can also keep up with us on Facebook, where we'll focus on faster moving, quick updates about what we're doing, what's coming up, and cool stuff that just happened.

We're excited for this new step in our development as a customer service organization and we look forward to the opportunities it will give us to connect with you. Thanks!