Ever had a picture taken for a church directory?
Have you been on any kind of a team and had team pictures taken?
Does your school have a yearbook?
Have you attended your school Prom and had pictures taken there?
Chances are, the photographers and services provided came from Lifetouch, a nationwide company with its headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
Jimmy Fallon in a school picture and today
Lifetouch began in 1936 with two salesmen.They realized the Upper Midwest was mostly rural and did not have a lot of photographers. Following World War 2, they hired many returninig veterans. As their business grew, they offered loans to the vets for houses and cars, which enticed more people to want to work for them. Selling points from the beginning included enlargements, first a 3 x 5" and then a 5 x 7" size, and they were offered in attractive cardboard folders so that no frame was necessary.
The founders of Lifetouch found a niche: What if we set up in a school and let students have their pictures taken as a part of their day? Parents love pictures of their kids, and they don't have to make any appointments or take their kids anywhere but school. The company would then have several hundred potential orders all at once. As technology advanced, so did the company. Different cameras, color tinting, and continuous printing pages helped the company move forward and stay at the head of their field. They then expanded to lots of other uses for photographers in churches, retail stores, and businesses. Eventually, the company reached all 50 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It is employee-owned.
Currently there are over 500 positions open at Lifetouch. They offer training for 'new' photographers, and also have positions such asThe founders of Lifetouch found a niche: What if we set up in a school and let students have their pictures taken as a part of their day? Parents love pictures of their kids, and they don't have to make any appointments or take their kids anywhere but school. The company would then have several hundred potential orders all at once. As technology advanced, so did the company. Different cameras, color tinting, and continuous printing pages helped the company move forward and stay at the head of their field. They then expanded to lots of other uses for photographers in churches, retail stores, and businesses. Eventually, the company reached all 50 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It is employee-owned.
Tyra Banks even looked good in a high school picture
- Marketing
- Graphic Design
- Process Engineer
- Sales Associates
- Human Resources
- Automation Engineer
- Communications
- Event Planner
Lifetouch has recently been acquired by Shutterfly, an online photo printing company that makes products with your own pictures on them, including canvas pictures, books, calendars, mugs, and other such personalized items that you can order by uploading your photos and placing an order.
- Lifetouch is the owner of J C Penney Portrait Studios
- As part of the J C Penney Studios, Lifetouch sponsors iMemories, wherein you can have your photos, in any form, scanned for future preservation https://start.imemories.com/jcp/
- They also do pet portraits
- Businesses can hire a Lifetouch photography crew to come out and take pictures of their employees for online or business card use, or pictures taken at conferences or award ceremonies.
When your dog is so cool you need posed pictures of him
Even if you wouldn't be interested in photography, what can you learn from these enterpreneurs? Do you have an idea that might be successful?
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