Scott Proposki, Founder and Owner, Photos In A Minute
Scott Proposki, founder and owner of Photos in a Minute (www.photosinaminute.com), in Lawrence, Massachusetts, knows that generating buzz at events for high-profile clients requires the same business skills as creating children’s portraits: staying focused on the customer and coming up with innovative ideas for tomorrow.
Whether he’s shooting portraits at area pre-schools, appearing at the local festival event with Santa Claus at Christmas time, or capturing images that appear in marketing materials for commercial clients such as Microsoft, National Geographic, Gillette, Sports Illustrated, Warner Bros, and HBO, Scott aims to exceed his clients’ expectations with service and product innovation.
Scott often turns to ExpressDigital software to help expand his product offerings. For example, he frequently uses ExpressDigital greenscreen technology—or what he calls “Background Replacement”—to print customized, branded photos on the spot at the special events he covers.
“People like getting information and service now—right now,” he says. “That’s why printing photos in a minute and delivering quality products at events can be a very effective way to satisfy each client and gain sales from new ones.”
“Building credibility is key to growing your business, whatever your business is and a website is key to keeping existing clients in touch and informed,” says Scott, who developed his website using PhotoReflect.com.“ When prospective clients click on www.photosinaminute.com, they see our flash portfolio of different images, which has this ‘we know what we’re doing’ look—which we do,” says Scott.“ The comfort level and ease of use of our website is remarkable.”
The website recently had more visitors in one day than ever before, when the press picked up the studio’s agreement to photograph a multi-city assignment for Microsoft Corporation. “Using PhotoReflect will move your site up in search engine rankings. This feature really has helped grow www.photosinaminute.com,” says Scott.
At events, he uses Sony UPD150 printers, which output prints in just seven seconds. “Express Digital Pro has all the drives built in, so no need to worry about third-party software conflicts,” he explains. “In our studio, we print school photo orders on our two new Epson 4880 printers networked together using Darkroom Pro software as our print engine. For the big photos, we print to our Epson 9800. It’s amazing to set up packages in Darkroom Pro for a 30x40 print. In seconds we hear the Epson printer kicking in and start to print! It’s a great feeling!”
Scott has been using ExpressDigital products for eight years because they “make my job easy and fast. When I’m able to offer high-quality photos quickly, creatively, and professionally, my studio is more productive and more profitable.”
Since founding Photos in a Minute in 1999, Scott has enjoyed success by thinking outside the box to sell and promote his company. As he sees it, “Having a head for business, a knowledge of marketing and promotion, and a talent for ‘sealing the deal,’ are as important as knowing an F-stop from a shutter speed.”
And to think it all started when his high school principal called Scott into her office. After seeing his yearbook photography, she wanted him to create a multi-media slide presentation for graduation exercises. It was very effective. Scott began to realize that photography might open doors for him. “I was comfortable in the photographer role, loved gadgets, and loved looking at things differently. I’ve never really considered doing anything else.”
SNAPSHOT: SCOTT PROPOSKI
What is your favorite place to shoot?
“In the early morning or at about 6:30 or 7:00 in the evening, outside, when the light is beautiful. My favorite subject to shoot is Santa Claus; once you’re set up for seven days a week for 28 days, you can make a lot of money, the kids are great and it’s fun.”
What’s in your gear bag all the time?
“My Fujifilm Finepix S5 Pro camera with a handful of Delkin Devices 2GB cards. I like using multiple cards because if you use 5GB cards or larger and one card goes bad, you might lose a lot of images. So far, I haven’t lost one image! My Photogenic studio lights have been to many places, from one side of the country to the other. I keep my lighting kit in a Pelican case and ship it to my event locations via FedEx overnight and track them all night long!”
What product increases your productivity or profitability the most?
“I can’t live without my T60 IBM Lenovo laptop running Windows XP Pro. I couldn’t manage my business without ExpressDigital’s Darkroom Pro Software, specifically Darkroom’s Pro dongle. The dongle is the hardware that runs the software, it’s like a key to the cash register! ExpressDigital software products help me to offer high-quality photos in a minute, creatively, professionally.”
What is the best advice you were ever given?
“Do more than just weddings; there are only so many Saturdays and Sundays in a year. Till people start getting married during the week, look for other types of photography to grow your business.”
What business advice can you pass along to others?
“If you want to own and run your own business, you need to be concerned about money, but I think being happy doing what you do is more important. Whatever your passion is keep it fun! I’ve found that once you focus on that, the money will follow.”
