Photographers like to take close up images. And for very good reason: People love to buy close up images.
But will a customer really buy a 20×30 of an image if it shows just a face?
Probably not. So instead of snapping a few close ups from different viewpoints, why not take environmental images as well?
One of the reasons we’ve always enjoyed on-location portrait sessions (as opposed to in-studio) is the ability to capture a part of the environment in the image as well. And if the subject is very small in the image, it’s almost required that a larger print is made for displaying.
1. Start by taking the more traditional poses. Take your standard images close up, capturing great smiles and angles.
2. Back it up. Now take a look around you, and find a way to make your client a part of the surroundings, not just the main focus of the image.
image by Crystal Touch Photography
3. Talk to your client ahead of time to find out what she loves. Maybe she has season tickets to the theater – why not incorporate your local theater into the background. Or maybe she loves hiking in the great outdoors. Add trees, flowers, mountains – whatever you have in your local area into the background.
4. Sell via projection. You can’t sell a large wall portrait by looking at a tiny proof online. You have to showcase the look and feel of the portrait up on the wall. Show them how it would look in the size they are contemplating.
5. People buy what they see. If you have a studio, showcase your environmental images as large wall portraits. Set close up 8×10’s on the tables, reserving your wall space for your artistic images.
If you sell online, meeting people in their homes or over the phone, make sure you have a ton of samples on your website. Showcase your work, and take pictures of the large wall portraits hanging in your clients’ homes.
6. Be creative. Don’t be discouraged when your first client doesn’t purchase any of your new ideas – they weren’t sold on the idea to begin with. Once you have samples in place, your clients will be sold on the concept even before you take the images.
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