When you think of a high school student, the first thing you think of most definitely isn’t a successful small business. However, junior Max Lamberg shatters these expectations, as he runs a successful small photography business, Max N’ Cheese Photography.
“He takes pictures during rehearsals for shows, he takes individual headshots for people, and he does really anything, you just have to ask him about it. And they’re high quality and at very reasonable prices,” said freshman Derek H.
The headshots that Max takes for his customers in his community are very beneficial for them. Not only does Max take as many pictures as you want in the time frame for a session, he will also use the environment to his advantage.
“During one of his individual headshot sessions he’ll take as many as you want, given the time frame and we usually go outside and are able to use the environment that we’re in to our advantage, like we’ll go in front of a nice white building, and he takes as many as you want and you can pick a few for him to edit,” said Derek H.
Headshots taken by Max are most notably used for kids in theater, inside or outside of Commack.
“I just had my first session with him a few months ago, I’m planning on having another one soon because it was a great experience… I’ve used his headshots for every show I’ve done in the past year,” said Derek H.
His customers are also very happy with the photos taken of them.
“The regular quality of the photos are incredible on their own, and the editing takes it on another level,” said Derek H.
As well as using his own equipment to take headshots for his peers, Max also helps with the high school’s theatrical programs.
“Both Into The Woods last year and Mamma Mia this year he was our Social Media liaison, so to speak,…” said musical director Wendy Frankonis.
All of the work that Max volunteered for and put into these shows was his idea as well.
“He initially approached me and said ‘Hey… I have this skill that I figured out the TikTok algorithm and I get people to watch my videos… and I’d love to do that for Into The Woods.’ I said ‘Awesome, we would love for you to do that.’ And he instantly blew up our Instagram, like our first post had millions of views,” said Frankonis.
Whenever he does his work for the show, it is articulate and efficient. He also is respectful to the rehearsal process and doesn’t interfere.
“That’s one of the most unique things about the way he works. He would just show up and do things behind the scenes… He’s always super professional and respectful of the rehearsal process and never interrupts, but he’ll come in and grab some footage and go home… His process is just that he’s an observer and he manages to cobble together these really interesting and intriguing clips,” said Frankonis.
All of Max’s hard work for Mamma Mia this year wasn’t just taking headshots for actors and pictures of the show; all the views and publicity that his videos got led to mass publicity for the show. Additionally, with the integration of online ticketing, so many more people wanted to see it!
“His work benefited us immensely, especially this year when we are able to do online ticketing, instantly people were like ‘Hey how can we get tickets for this show?’… People came literally because of seeing us on TikTok,” said Frankonis
Ultimately, all of his work makes the cast of the shows think of him as one of them. He’s a part of the family that they have.
“The cast and I think of him as part of the cast, even though he’s not part of the cast. He comes to all our events, and he is just as integral as someone who is programming lights and sound. He’s as integral as someone who’s on the stage. He’s a very important part of our productions,” said Frankonis
That only scratched the surface of what Max does with his business. He does so much more than volunteer work for the theater for the Commack community with his knowledge and equipment.
“So headshots from one year ago, it’s been twenty three people and thirteen events… I’ve done an engagement party, a few birthday parties, I took pictures at a master class, and I’m doing a communion…,” said Lamberg.
Now you might be thinking that the reason that Max wanted to help with the theater and start a business is convoluted, but his reasoning is very simple.
“It was during the pandemic and I bought myself a camera just because it was fun and I wanted to try it out,” said Lamberg.
The reason he started helping with shows was because he simply wanted to be involved in any way he could.
“Basically I went up to Frankonis because I wanted to be involved in all the ways I could,” said Lamberg.
Max started his business after Into The Woods last year because his work grabbed the attention of a friend of his, and she asked him to take her headshot and said that he should do it for more people. After that, his business really started to take off. His brother, Jack Lamberg, who was the Commack High School Valedictorian for the class of 2023 made his website for him.
“My friend came up to me and said ‘Wait Max do you take headshots? I need new headshots for a show.’ And later on she said ‘Wait, you should do this more often.’ And then people started to get more interested,” said Lamberg.
Now if you’re thinking that it must be extraordinarily difficult to balance a small business with school work for a Junior, you would be correct. After Lamberg has a photo shoot, or takes pictures for events, the editing process could take up to five hours of his time.
“It’s a lot and I don’t have a lot of free time to rest, but I also am pretty honest when I tell people about headshots like when I can get them to them by. I say ‘Most likely I can get them to you in a week, and it might take longer.’ I give myself enough time to do it but it is stressful and it’s a lot of work. Editing five headshots usually takes four hours in total,” said Lamberg.
Even with his success, Lamberg isn’t going to take photography as a full time job after high school. He wants to continue on with this, with his knowledge and experience but more as a side job.
“It’s definitely something that I would want to keep as a side business, I don’t think this is something that I want to do as a career when I’m older. I love doing it and it’s great as a side business to make some extra money, and because I have everything and I’ve been doing it for so long, and I’ve been able to build up a portfolio,” said Lamberg.
Having a small business at sixteen years old takes time, effort, and dedication. Which are traits that Max Lamberg demonstrates as he uses his photography to give service to his community.
“He really is a model student,” said Derek H.◼️
