Photo Day
Essential
$800
Refresh your website and marketing imagery.
- 6–8 hours on campus
- 100–150 edited photos
- Delivery in 1–2 weeks via private gallery
For Schools · K–12 & Higher Ed
Make your school impossible to scroll past.
I'm Michael Merchan — a cinematographer who turns your real students, teachers, and families into films and photography that fill seats, build pride, and outshine every campus down the road. No stock footage. No templates. Every frame shot for your school.
10+Interviews / Shoot
2 daysOn Campus
$0To Start*
REC · 4K · 23.976
Your school,
shot like a film.
shot like a film.
● Canon R5C Cinema● FAA Part 107 Drone● 16:9 · 4:5 · 9:16 delivery
The gap
Your school does remarkable things. Your marketing makes it look ordinary.
Families choose a school in seconds — on a phone, in a feed, next to the campus across town. A blurry gym photo and a clip-art flyer can't compete with footage that looks cinematic.
The fix isn't a bigger budget. It's the right footage and photos — built to stop the scroll and make people remember you. That's the only thing I do.
Selected work
A look at the kind of frames you'll get.
Start here · Low risk
The easiest first project — and it pays for itself.
You don't know me yet, so let's not start with a big production. We start with one low-commitment shoot that earns trust, brings your school real value, and costs you little or nothing.
Best first move01 / Portraits
Graduate & student portraits
I come in for one day and photograph your students. Parents buy the digital files and prints directly, through a private gallery where they enter their own details and shipping. The school pays nothing, handles no money, and never touches a parent's information.
- One on-campus day
- Private per-family gallery
- Files + prints shipped to the door
- Yearbook & website-ready selects
- You never handle payments
- Opt-in & consent respected
$95–$150 parents pay per package · $0 to the school
02 / Staff & security
Staff & faculty headshots
Clean, consistent portraits of every teacher and staff member — for your website, and for lanyard photo-IDs that keep real students and real staff visible on campus. One day, your whole team.
03 / Revenue driver
Summer camp coverage
Photo and video coverage of your camps that doubles as next year's enrollment ad — and a gallery families happily pay to access. A genuine new revenue line for the school.
Want a closer look at the photography itself? Theschool photography page walks through campus media days, galleries, and answers to common questions.
Trust & consent
Built to keep parents comfortable and you protected.
A stranger with a camera makes any director nervous — and parents even more so. Here's exactly how I remove that risk before it ever becomes a complaint.
● OPT-IN ONLY
No child is photographed or used in marketing without the consent your school already collects. Period.
● PARENT-CONTROLLED
Families buy through a private gallery and enter their own payment and shipping. I never see or store their data.
● YOU APPROVE
Nothing goes public until your team signs off on the selects. You hold final say on every frame.
● PROFESSIONAL
Discreet on campus, FAA Part 107 certified, insured, and background-check ready. A safe pair of hands.
When you're ready for more
From one portrait day to your school's signature film.
Once that first project proves what we can do together, here's where it goes. We scope each of these to your goals and budget.
FlagshipCustom scope
Testimonial hero film
Two days on campus: ~10 interviews with students, teachers, and parents, plus a full day of b-roll. I cut it into one flagship hero video and a library of social clips. Your community tells your story for you.
CenterpieceCustom scope
Brand / commercial film
Full pre-production: we write a script around your values, history, and culture, then shoot highly produced, intentional scenes that bring that narrative to life. Your definitive "this is who we are" piece.
Always-on contentCustom scope
Candid photo library
A day of authentic, in-the-moment photography you can use everywhere — ads, billboards, social, and the website. One shoot, a whole semester of content ready to post.
AthleticsCustom scope
Athletics & season highlights
Coach and athlete testimonials, game-day coverage, and montages cut for social after each game — plus featured pieces on your standout athletes. Pride your whole community shares.
The options don't stop here — drone, events, recruiting reels, open-house pieces, and more. We'll scope it together.
One shoot · Every platform
Delivered ready for every feed.
Every project ships in the aspect ratios each platform rewards — so your team posts to YouTube, Meta, Instagram, and TikTok without re-editing a single frame.
16:9YouTube
4:5Meta Feed
9:16Reels & TikTok
How it works
Simple to say yes to.
01
Intro call
15 minutes. No pitch deck — just your goals and questions.
02
Start small
Portraits or one shoot to prove the value, low risk.
03
Shoot day
I handle logistics, consent, and gear. You run your school.
04
Delivery
Edited, multi-format, captioned, ready to post everywhere.
05
Scale up
Once you see what it does, we build the bigger productions.
Who you're working with
A real person, not a vendor.
I'm Michael Merchan — a Puerto Rican storyteller and former track athlete based in Orange County. I came up through discipline, early mornings, and the grind, and I bring that same standard to every shoot. I work on a Canon R5C and I'm FAA Part 107 certified for drone.
When I walk onto your campus, I treat your school like my own story to tell — carefully, respectfully, and with work you'll be proud to put your name on.
The longer version of my story — from Puerto Rico to film school to founding Merchan Films — is on the about page.
"Crafting moments into lasting visuals."
School Packages
Built for budget cycles
Per-project packages for this year's need — or an annual storytelling retainer that keeps admissions content flowing all year.
Photos + Film
Signature
$2,500
Photos and a film to tell the school's story.
- Full photo day (everything in Essential)
- Brand / highlight video
Full Campaign
Premier
$5,500
Admissions-season firepower.
- Commercial + photos
- Student & parent interviews
- Social clips
- Website media
Annual Storytelling retainer: ~$1,500–$2,500/mo across the school year for ongoing content — games, events, admissions, social. This is a school-year program — different from the monthly brand retainer below, which is built for businesses.
Let's start with one easy project.
The first step is a 15-minute call — no commitment, no hard sell. We'll find the one project that builds trust and shows your community what's possible. Prefer email? Reach me at michael@merchanfilms.com.
Book a 15-min Call →