Teen brothers credit great product, great service for thriving event phtoto business

Like many 17-year-old high-school seniors, Jacob and Daniel Madwed of Fairfield, Conn., are busy getting ready for life after school. Homework and submitting college applications, for instance, consume big chunks of time.

Unlike most seniors, however, they are also busy running a successful event photography business, Capitol Photo and Sons LLC (www.capitolphoto andsons.com). The twins, who grew up with parents in the photo business, are in their third year of operating a company that provides photo favors for bar/ bat mitzvahs, corporate events, dances, parties, and more. The business is no mere hobby – the brothers have made significant investments in equipment and technology.

“Occasionally, our age is a disadvantage because some people assume this isn’t a serious business or it’s just something we do on the side,” says Daniel. “But most of the time, it works to our advantage because people feel comfortable with us. They don’t feel judged; we welcome them and make them laugh. Most important, we give a great product and great customer satisfaction. Ours is a fully legitimate business, and we’ve gotten rave reviews about our service.”

The twins are the sons of Regina Madwed and the late Steven Madwed, who established Capitol Photo, now Capitol PhotoInteractive, more than 30 years ago. Capitol Photo and Sons is its own business, run by the teens. The business began “as a way to save up to buy a car” and has blossomed into a profitable company with bookings into 2012. They own four Canon EOS 20D DSLRs, seven Sony SnapLab Digital Photo Printers, and a new laptop, and they will offer new backgrounds via green-screen technology this fall.

“The Sony was the first big purchase for us,” Daniel says. “We bought it after our first three jobs. The printer we were using just wasn’t fast enough, so that was something we saved up for.”

On the job

During the summer, the twins photograph about one event per week, with those being mostly corporate-type events. During the school year, bar/ bat mitzvahs comprise the majority of the jobs, and their weekends are nearly booked solid for the upcoming year.

“We average two or three events in a week during the school year,” Daniel says. “It’s going to be tough to balance work with School, but we’ll make it work.” Often, they will split up so they can cover two jobs simultaneously, with other employees handling order-taking and on-site printing.

While Capitol Photo and Sons uses the address of Regina’s photo business, the teens operate from home. “Th at helps us keep better tabs on our products, and we can go straight to our computers and work. It just makes sense,” says Daniel.

On a typical job, the twins discuss pricing with the host ahead of time, determining the time (usually four hours) and photo requirements.

Once the orders and photos are taken, the images are printed on-site with the Sony SnapLabs, which deliver prints in about 15 seconds. Th e images are delivered in the frame the guest has chosen or in folders or clear frames.

For the past seven months, Jacob has been beta-testing green-screen software for a company on the West Coast. Th e twins will begin off ering it this fall. “We designed about 15-20 backgrounds for our needs, and then we have a lot of other backgrounds guests can choose from,” Jacob says.

Green-screen packages will cost slightly more than regular packages, with 5-by-7 photos being off ered. Daniel points out the reasonable pricing of the company has been a big selling point.

“What sets us apart is we off er a great product for a great price,” he says. “Our mom has taught us, if you have a great product and great service, the business will come.”

Regina adds their ability to thrive in any situation is also a plus. “Th ey are well diversifi ed,” she says. “Th ey can do a bar mitzvah, a mother-and-daughter tea, or pictures with Santa Claus. Not every person can work well with other people, but they do.”

Looking Forward

As they have gained experience, Daniel adds another advantage they have is remaining calm under pressure. For Instance, they photographed and printed 800 pictures at a recent event. “Th at’s very hectic, and you just have to keep your cool and not let the numbers get to you,” says Daniel.

In fact, that confi dence has led to other jobs. “We recently did a party, and the party planner noted how calm and collected we were, and he wants us for a job in Boston,” says Daniel. “It’s exciting because hard work does pay off and it is its own reward.”

A growing business means more employees, and the twins are hiring employees from local high schools. “It’s a challenge because we have to make sure they are respectful and can handle the jobs. Th ey also have to be able to drive to places like Hartford and Boston,” says Daniel.

Th e pair work hard to keep up with evolving technology, and Jacob and Daniel do much of their research online. nIn addition to the upcoming green-screen technology, they recently launched online ordering.

“Many times we’ll hear, ‘Th at’s the best family portrait we’ve ever taken,’ and the guest will want another copy,” says Daniel. “So we contracted with another Company this summer to off er online ordering. With the permission of the host – because not everyone wants their pictures online – we load the party images onto our site, make an album, and then people can go online to order.”

While college beckons next year, both boys plan to continue operating the business. Much of that might fall to Jacob, who hopes to attend Northeastern University in Boston, Mass. He would like to bring the business under the university co-op program. Daniel is eyeing the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Post-college, Jacob would like to expand and open an entertainment company. “It would be a place to go for all your party needs, such as a DJ, photo favors, and videography, so you would only have to deal with one company,” Jacob says.

In the meantime, the two are enjoying the daily challenges of managing their business – as well as enjoying the profi ts.

“We are almost fi nancially independent,” says Daniel. “It’s a great feeling that we can go out, have our own money, and not have to ask [mom] for it. It’s great we can invest in our company.”