Lifetouch
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| Private/ | |
| Industry | Professional Photography |
| Founded | 1936 |
| Founder | Bruce Reinecker and Eldon Rothgeb |
| Headquarters | Eden Prairie, Minnesota |
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Key people
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Paul Harmel: Chairman of the Board Michael Meek: President & CEO |
| Website | Lifetouch.com |
Paul Harmel: Chairman of the Board
Lifetouch Inc. is an American photography company headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. It was founded as National School Studios (NSS) in 1936 by Eldon Rothgeb and R. Bruce Reinecker, and incorporated in March 1948. The company provides photography for families, schools and places of worship, with operations in all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico. Through Lifetouch Media Productions, video support is provided to internal and external customers. Business units under the corporate umbrella include:
· Lifetouch National School Studios Inc. provides student photography from preschool to high school graduation, sports, prom and dance, and yearbooks.
· Lifetouch Preschool Portraits Inc. provider of infant and toddler photography.
· Lifetouch Portrait Studios Inc. is represented in the retail market by some 800 photographic studios, including JCPenney Portraits, Target Portrait Studios, Cilento Photography, and Lifetouch Business Portraits.
· Lifetouch Church Directories and Portraits Inc. is an on-site family photography business for faith communities and other organizations, providing portraiture and printed directories.
· Lifetouch Services Inc. produces high-quality yearbooks and memory books.
Company photography labs are located throughout the United States and Canada.
Two traveling salesmen, Eldon Rothgeb (1916-1972) and R. Bruce Reinecker (1910-1987), had worked together for a couple of years for a school photography studio in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1936, in the midst of the Great Depression, they raised $500 and initiated their plan to open their own school photography company and set up business as National School Studios (NSS), “School Photography of Distinction,” in Minneapolis. They chose the Upper Midwest to launch their business, a predominantly rural area with fewer professional photographers; thus, potential for greater opportunity.
In 1939, the National School Studios had more than a dozen salesmen selling to schools—Reinecker in charge of production and Rothgeb supervising sales—and introduced its first new products, the 3x5 enlargement and 3x5 display folder, neither of which had ever been offered by a school photography company.
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