7 Photos Every Summer Camp MUST Shoot This Summer

Your Summer Camp Marketing Depends on Photos That Tell the RIGHT Story

Here's a list of great summer camp marketing photos you need to make sure happen this summer. 

First: There are Photo's that don't sell camp

1. It's important to remember that new-to-our-camp families don't have an emotional  connection to the "place" of camp. 

Showing your beautiful lodge at sunset inspires a strong response from alumni and current campers and staff.  They've had some very impactful moments in that place and just seeing it in a certain light will make them smile, or cry, or even swear they can almost smell that place you're showing. 

New families ask themselves "Do they want to sell me real estate?!?"

2. Photos that look like could come from anywhere (even a stock photo site). 

90% of the camp websites I look at have some version of this photo: 3 kids in lifejackets, each of a different ethnic background, hugging and smiling at the camera. 

I get it. I do. (but so do all the other Camp Pros who are showing the same thing)

Show pictures that are uniquely yours. 

Collect 2 or 3 varieties of each of these following photos and you will have all the tools you need to sell camp for next season

1. Professional Headshots of ALL of your year-round staff (not just the director).  These should be taken in the shade, with the subject standing , not sitting.   Don't forget to "turtle" - see this Peter Hurley video below.

Want to look more photogenic or photograph people looking more photogenic? Peter Hurley explains how he accentuates the jawline of his clients with a few simple tips that you'll want to add to your repertoire for quick use whenever you have a human being in front of your camera or are being photographed yourself.

1.5 If your year-round staff is at camp with their family - get pro photos of them together at camp.    It's easier for parents to trust an organization that is run by people who know what their life is like (i.e. parents).   Let's show them that. 

2. "Pictures of happy customers using your product". Donald Miller from Storybrand.com says that, at it's heart, this is all you need to show.   I think he's quite right.   Joanna Warren Smith as talked, on this blog about these two photos - the best she's ever seen: "Sammy's pride of accomplishment and Jenna's total engagement. " 

3. Kids and camp counsellors interacting. Smiles are important here but not essential.  Just focus on the moments when staff are paying attention to one child.  We know from interviewing camp parents that one of their big concerns about summer camp is that their child will "disappear" in to the crowd.   These pictures will help show that each kid has a special place at your camp. 

4. The Beginning of the Day Whether you are at a day camp or an overnight camp, the start of the day has lots of great little moments - kids being greeted getting off the bus, going do to the lake for Polar Dip, singing as they come up for breakfast.   Plus: your light will be SOOOOO much better than in the middle of the day.

5. The End of the Day I call these the "shoulders" of the day. They are times when things become emotionally stronger (singing together around a fire, crying because you don't want to get in the car and go home) at summer camp.   I really feel that this is where camp goes from mundane to extraordinary.    The end of the day can include quiet times in the cabin or a day camp's flag ceremony. 

6. Campers and Staff Shots for Marketing I'm sure you've seen these pictures (if not you'll start to notice them now!): a person, probably a client, maybe a representative of the organization is photographed on the edge of a picture looking "into" the frame.    These shots are WONDERFUL for marketing because they take advantage of an interesting piece of human psychology - we always follow the eyes.  If someone is looking to the right, we want to look there, too. 

One of my favourite examples is this picture of (Camp Arowhon alumn) Seth Godin - he and his team use it all the time and it never fails to get me to look where he's looking. 

Some things to remember: 

• make sure the background is simple - it doesn't have to be studio-white like Seth's but it should be be plain, with no strong lines (from tree trunks, docks, edges of buildings, etc.) 
• do what you need to to make them happy - one of the most intriguing things about Godin's photo is that little grin.   It makes us stop and wonder "what's going on there?"

Here's a couple of photos that I took for some CampHacker marketing projects so you can see what I'm thinking of.   All of these pictures include the kids pointing but I think you should concentrate on just looking to the left, right and up. 

The fourth image Does Not work because of the distracting lines in the back ground.

7. Mom's Love Maslow Make sure that you have many great examples (hopefully with camper-staff interactions) around the basics: food - fresh, homemade and full of colour; accommodation -  clean and full of light; safety - sunscreen, hats, proper shoes and life jackets. 

If you're looking for a detailed list of photos you can use to delegate to your camp photographer please check out the Summer Camp Photo Checklist - it's an Excel sheet you can download and use to give her or him so direction this summer 

Camp Representatives Part 2: What is a Home Show and Learn From My Mistakes

Building Up Your Camp Ambassador Program

Most camps in Western North Carolina have some sort of “Road Show” in the off-season traveling to the Camp Representatives’ homes. Camps range in doing somewhere between 20-50 individual shows. The structure takes 1-2 hours and is often as follows:     

1. Camp Rep invites over neighbors, school families, friends from extracurriculars on a weekend afternoon or early weeknight.
2. Camp Rep provides pizza or snacks and opens their home or secures a community space for the event.
3. Camp Staff Member (typically a camp director) arrives at the home or community space about 30 minutes before the show and sets out camp marketing materials and cues up video.
4. Prospective families arrive, socialize, and eat. Prospective campers play with whatever cool play things there are (consider bringing favorite games or toys from camp). Collect prospective families’ contact information.
5. About 30 minutes into the scheduled time, families gather to watch a camp video and then participate in a Q&A session.
6. After the “formal” program above, the Camp Staff Member thanks everyone for coming and is then available for one-on-one conversations.

[Note from Travis: Check out Camp Representatives Part 1.   Many thanks to Ruby for taking the time to write up these thoughtful articles.   You REALLY need to check out her camp leadership training focussed podcast, Camp Code.]

Many camps will also give some sort of gift to the parent and/or the child for when they have hosted an event. Ideas for gifts include produce grown at camp, camp store swag or camp store discounts, exclusive camp materials only available in the off-season, camp calendars, blankets, or backpacks. At GRP, I also spend a lot of time writing personal, handwritten thank you notes to the hosts and to the attendees to attempt to create a more personal connection with the families.

In truth, at GRP we have had mixed results with the Home Show format and have gone to a hybrid Road Show where GRP hosts several outdoor events for current and prospective families and camp alumni. Those events are supplemented by our home shows in towns where Camp Representatives are particularly fruitful or enthusiastic. We are doing less calling of all our Reps trying to schedule shows and instead focus on scheduling home shows with the ones who tell us each year, “We want to host a show for you.”

Learn from our mistakes

We have tried requiring all Camp Representatives to a) host a show and b) recruit three new campers. I love clear expectations and these seemed pretty clear. I hoped they would more clearly define the role of Camp Representative. It would also clearly define our travel schedule. I see this working with other people and other camps; however, for us, it ended up being more work and much unnecessary travel. We had to accept that some of our families truly don’t have the network of other people who can afford and are interested in camp.

That doesn’t mean those parents can’t talk about, feel a connection to, or help us promote camp. It just means we couldn’t entirely build our travel schedule around our Reps. Again, other camps in the area have done this very successfully as I am sure many of you have. While some of the Camp Representative process is comprised of pretty formulaic customer service and word of mouth strategies, you have to keep a keen eye on what is working. Mine the data and track your dollars carefully.

In the end, we expanded our marketing efforts to empower all of our families to have reasons to talk about camp. This idea really came from two books that Travis recommended on the CampHacker podcast. Check out The Referral Engine by John Janstch and Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics by Jackie Huba.

What makes your home shows unique?

[Travis' Note:  Check out Part I of this Topic from Ruby Camp Representatives Part 1: Turning Viral Moms into New Camper Applications

Camp Representatives Part 1: Turning Viral Moms into New Camper Applications

Developing a Camp Ambassador Program for Your Summer Camp

[Note from Travis: I talked a lot on our Summer Camp Marketing Wall Calendar about developing a Camp Ambassador program.  A couple of camps asked for some more clarification and ideas.   Instead of making up some stuff off the top of my head I figured I'd reach out to the woman who's taught me everything about Camp Ambassadors - what Green River Preserve calls Camp Representatives - one of our Camp Code Podcast co-hosts: Ruby Compton!  Part II coming next week]

This morning I logged into CampMinder and was delighted to see the pink notification in the upper right hand corner. Tadaah! Another camper application and it is one of those golden ones that all directors are excited to see. It was a new camper application. Naturally, I peeked at the hometown of the child and it was from a market that we hope to grow into further and have had campers from in the past but do not currently have a strong camper population. How did this camper, who seems to be handing me an in to a relatively untapped market, find out about us?

“Lead Source: Camper Parent”

My next thought: “VICTORY. The system is working!” Over the past couple of years, our focus on word of mouth marketing has ramped up and accounts for half of our 180-200 new camper applications we see on average each year. One component of that is our Camp Representative program.

On Closing Days during the summer, parents have the opportunity to sign up to become a Camp Representative. In the fall, camp sends them a Camp Representative Handbook and some promotional materials.

In the Handbook, it sums up the role when it states, “You are the camp advocate in your community.”

In August and September, my co-director calls the folks that have signed up to be Camp Representatives and asks them two questions. First, “do you have people in your network who are interested in learning more about summer camp?” If their answer is no, then she asks if they have any questions about spreading the word about camp and lets them know we are happy to support the Rep as he or she shares about camp.

Offers of phone calls and videoconferences are presented if the Rep does end up with a family who has some questions. However, we always point out, the word of a current camper family is far more powerful than anything our camp directors will ever say. After all, it is my job to sell camp. In contrast, it is a parent’s reputation and friendship on the line if they recommend an experience for another person’s child that does not go well.

If a parent does have prospective families, then my co-director moves to the second question, “We plan to be in your area on these dates. Do you want to schedule an event?” Note that the question is not the open-ended “When do you want to host a party?” After coordinating with dozens of Reps over the past four years, I have learned that schedules are tough and families are busy. Unless you come to the table with some concrete dates, it can be very difficult to settle on a time for your event. Check out this follow up post for a common agenda for what a Home Show looks like.

Why should the parent bother with the trouble of hosting their child’s summer camp for what essentially boils down to a sales pitch? Many parents feel such gratitude for the experience their children have had that they want to help and are not seeking specific financial gain. However, most camps do offer some sort of referral incentive to their Reps. The most common amount I have heard in our area is offering $100 tuition credit per new camper that is referred. My camp offers that credit as a refund at the end of the summer or as a tuition credit towards the next summer to ensure that the referred child actually comes to camp (no Ponzi schemes here!). Another camp in my area offers a 10% discount per new camper referral. Basically, refer ten campers and your child’s tuition is free.

Ways to utilize this group of people who want to help camp

1. Every other fall, my co-director and I call our entire list of current Camp Reps and ask if they want to continue to be Camp Reps. Then we ask some specific questions about the community where they are including events, publications, or other organizations where our camp would be well-served to have a presence. This generally provides some key marketing and demographic information and is worth the time as well as generating a personal connection with the Reps themselves.

2. Send an exclusive periodic email newsletter to your Camp Representatives or have them join a unique Camp Representative Facebook group. At GRP, I send a monthly email newsletter during the off-season. During January-March, the newsletter is sent weekly with updates from travels, suggestions on how to talk about camp, information about which staff are returning, and other pertinent info that helps these families feel like they are getting the inside look into camp.

3. Did you see this post from Sarah Kurtz McKinnon on the Summer Camp Professionals page? It is brilliant.

4. Ask your Camp Representatives to send out invitations for any camp events to their networks, whether the Rep is hosting or not. Any camp event is a great way to inspire discussion about camp. Your Reps can help you generate a buzz about camp even if the prospective families don’t attend the event.

5. My Reps are the network of people I turn to when a prospective parent calls camp to ask for parent references.

6. Get them on video talking about why they chose your camp for their children and why your camp is different. This is amazing content that can be recorded at home and shared with you or more professionally done when they come to pick up or drop off their campers.

7. Encourage them to contact relatives in other cities. Their ability to share camp is not limited by geographic boundaries.

Other best practices for getting the most out of your Camp Representatives

1. Provide them with information on how to talk about camp. It’s their personal experience that will be most impactful but it doesn’t hurt for them to know what your camper to staff ratio is.

2. Join wordofmouth.org’s email list for fantastic tips on getting your customers to talk about what you do. {Travis' add: and their sister email Damn, I Wish I Thought of That)

3. Be patient. Understand that a family starting to look at camps this year may not actually be ready to sign up for camp for another year or two. It may take a couple of years for a Rep to feel comfortable or ready to share about camp. They need to know that you will be there to support them when they are ready.

4. Know your Camp Representatives and their children. One of their benefits of being a Camp Representative is really getting to know some of the camp directors. Be prepared on closing day to tell a story about their child and reach out throughout the year to check up on their lives. In my experience, your commitment to a personal relationship and interest in their family will benefit camp (and, perhaps, you as a professional) in the long run.

5. Encourage your Reps to communicate with their networks via text. Also encourage them to consider the time of day your Reps are communicating with the prospective families. When does a mom start thinking about what she is going to serve for dinner the next night? That's when she needs to get your Rep's text message reminding her friend about coming over for pizza tomorrow night (when the camp director will happen to be there to share about camp too!).

What are some of your best practices for working with your Camp Representatives?

[Travis' Note:  Check out Part II: What is a Home Show and Learn From My Mistakes]

Campsickness/End of the Trip

Our veteran campers talk often about “campsickness”—the nagging, tear-welling feeling of distance from our little camp. And though it’s not a perfect corollary to homesickness, there is a certain truth behind campsickness: you feel a part of something at camp and that real sense of belonging rarely exists anywhere else in the world.

Today marks the end of my trip. I have found my way back to sunny California to begin writing my thesis about all I’ve learned this summer. It is a task that looms large in my head. How can one explain the root of campsickness? How can one even begin to describe and give meaning to an experience so emotional charged and so total? At Geneva Glen, our directors often dispense a piece of advice on the last day of camp: “when your parents ask ‘how was camp?’ you just have to say ‘it was everything.’” How do you write about everything?

And so, going into it, I know that whatever the final product born from this summer is, it will be partial. It must be partial. And that’s okay because I know it will also be totally saturated with the memories of a summer devoted to summer camp. For, all things told, the experience of the last fourteen weeks has been everything.

I saw twenty camps in about as many days. I heard about camp traditions so complicated they required diagrams to be explained. I saw buildings put up without a single nail. I saw a ropes course that ended with a one hundred-foot-high porch swing. I saw new dining halls that looked to be built to actually house the entirety of a camp, and I saw old dining halls that packed campers like happy sardines.

I saw waterfront sunsets in Vermont rivaled only by those on the islands off of Washington’s coast. I saw a camp dog give birth to puppies. I got to take a personal kayak around a camp in Maine. I got to travel by a ferry and a motorboat to reach a remote, islanded camp. I drove 6,800 miles. I slept in my car. I saw parts of this country I think rare few people ever get to see. And then I counseled for ten weeks, and fell back in love with my job.

But most of all, I got the chance to talk to and work with numerous directors, administrators, and counselors all whole-heartedly devoted to the task of childcare. I saw people who talk about curating a child’s sense of independence with real reverence—the type of people who understand friendship as wholly sacred. I met people who actually listen and care about the stories, fears, and dreams of children. 

So, yes, I too am campsick. How could I not be?

The front gate to my long-time camp, Geneva Glen, pictured in the winter.

The Fluidity of Camp Tradition

                For eight summers now I have heard stories about Uther Pendragon. Eight times I’ve sat in our Council Ring as one of our two directors sits on a stump and tells about his out-of-wedlock meeting with the Duchess Igraine (set up by Merlin) that would eventually cause the birth of Arthur. And eight times, I’ve seen that story (appropriately) reenacted in our end-of-session play. And Uther is always played by a large boy with a booming voice. And he always wears a deep red cape and lion tunic.  

                The story of King Arthur’s rise and of the round table give a large portion of my camp, Geneva Glen, its structure. Beyond morning stories and all-camp plays, they give an analogy for us to talk about many of the values we hope to instill within our campers: courage, humility, love, etc. For the portion of our summer devoted to it, I eat, sleep, and breathe Knighthood, which made my recent trip to Canoe Island French Camp so odd.

                The camp, which is located off Orkas Island (itself a ferry ride and couple of hours from Seattle), occupies the entire of a small Island and provides around fifty campers an experience centered on French language, culture, and cuisine. I happened to come during the tail end of their Knighthood-like session. Specifically, I got to be present for Theme Day—a sort of atypical, day-long station rotation. Among other things, the campers made cardboard shields and launched tennis balls into Styrofoam blocks (castle walls) using a homemade trebuchet. In fact, it was during that latter activity that one of the directors, Joseph, who was wearing a simple tunic and a headband, warned the children: “I’m Uther Pendragon. Stay back from the trebuchet when it’s firing, young knights!”

                I don’t mean to create any hierarchy between our two camp’s enactments. I only mean to point out how wildly different tradition can function at camps. At Geneva Glen, Uther Pendragon is sort of revered—a mythical figure that when enacted is done so regally and with (often too much) bravado. At Canoe Island, he was a figure to be employed almost off-handedly.

                I have run into this phenomena so often at all of these camps. Whereas at one camp, dinner is a quiet and sacred meal, I’ve seen others with dinner is filled with all of camp’s banter. While at some camps, the flagpole is hardly ever given a single thought, other camps have flag raising and lowering ceremonies daily. What’s odd though, is that nearly every camp has access to the same kinds of spaces and themes: a central campfire, a dining hall, an American history theme, etc. It’s just that those involved with the camp have hyper-specific and hyper-distinct ways of giving meaning to those spaces and themes. It’s kind of reaffirming, in a way, to know that for every way we choose to understand a space or a theme or even a character is fluid, is always up for debate and thereby demands summer-by-summer reaffirmation.

The homemade trebuchet at Canoe Island French Camp.

On Camp Names

Maybe one of my favorite camp anecdotes is from a (now not so) young man named George Yetter. In one of his earliest summers, at age nine, George sat with his dormmates as they introduced themselves. As Burger explains, everyone around him had a really cool nickname—from outside of camp or previous summers—and so when it was his turn to introduce himself, he gave himself a nickname: Burger.

Burger is now fourteen, but everyone still calls him Burger. In fact, I get confused when somebody refers to him as George. He is Burger. As long as he is at camp, he will be Burger. And he is not alone. Christian will always be Christmas. Joey will always be Tank.

These camp names are peculiar. They’re endearing, but not to the romantic degree that a significant other’s pet name might be. They’re a way to demonstrate relationships, like a father’s nickname for a child, but they are far more public, more common. It’s odd to think that for certain people, there exists a physical place where they are known as something wholly different.

I ran into this phenomena at Camp Sealth today. The assistant director, Kate, walked me around as the staff deep cleaned the camp following the camper’s departure yesterday. Only, no one we met called Kate ‘Kate.’ It was always ‘Wawa.’ And as the tour went on, I met more and more oddly named people, which I chalked up to a tradition of the Pacific Northwest. Only when I met Cinnamon did I think to ask Kate (Wawa) if there were any system of nicknaming. She said yes—that each person gets to choose a “Camp Name” at the beginning of each summer with only minor restrictions.

Maybe I’m feeling sort of light headed and whimsical after camp ended for me last weekend, but in a world where names seem to mean so much (e.g., they are the markers for our identification, the verification for our purchases, weddings, and seemingly any other social or economic transaction) isn’t it sort of beautiful to know that there are places where people can unbind themselves to their given identity?

Wawa told me today that she thought the point of summer camp was to give children a place where they can confidently be themselves. And what better way to mark that difference than a new name. Because for all the self-splitting that comes with having multiple names (and when it comes to camp people, multiple homes), the more time he spends at camp, the more the best parts of Burger seep into George.  

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