The True Value Of A Client

So you are a wedding and portrait photographer. How much value does one new person bring to your business?

Wedding – $2,500Finding Value of a Photography Client
Newborn portrait – $500
3 month portrait – $500
6 month portrait – $500
9 month portrait – $500
12 month portrait – $500
Family portrait – $1,000
2 year portrait – $500
3 year portrait – $500
4 year portrait – $500
5 year portrait – $500
Family portrait – $1,000
2nd child Newborn portrait – $500
3 month portrait – $500
6 month portrait – $500
9 month portrait – $500
12 month portrait – $500
Family portrait – $1,000
Family portrait – $1,000
Family portrait – $1,000
Family portrait – $1,000
Family portrait – $1,000
Senior portrait – $1,500
Senior portrait – $1,500
Family portrait – $1,000
Wedding – $2,500
Wedding – $2,500

When you add that all up, it comes to $24,500. So if you are just opening up a photography studio today, and plan to be in business 25 years from now, this strategy is more than doable. In fact, it’s the best way to plan out your marketing strategy.

And if you know a client has the potential of bringing in $24,500 over the next 25 years, how much would you pay to market to them and bring them in? How much would you give to keep them happy?

5 Ways To Get Them To Say Yes

After you’ve spent an hour with a potential client showing them your work and talking straight from the heart, watching them walk out the door knowing they will never book can be very difficult.

Being good at photography isn’t enough. You also have to be great at selling.

1. Be confident.
The more comfortable you are with your products and services, the easier it is to sell. Set your packages up for your own goals and needs. Understand exactly why things are placed together, why timing is important, and why you’ve selected the materials you have. Then stick to your guns. Don’t allow changes and switches unless you know exactly how they impact your profit margin. Always have them go to your ala carte pricing – which should be more expensive than your packages – if they want to make changes.

how to sell your photography services

2. Don’t react.
The most common way to react to a customers questions and comments at the end of your sales presentation is to give in to their doubts, and start making counteroffers. Yet this is the worst thing you can do. Let them talk it through, especially if there are two or more in your studio. Repeat your sales points, and stick up for your pricing. Don’t make adjustments – adjustments before they book with you mean you’ll be willing to change things throughout the process.
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Selling Your Photography – A Book Review

Is there still a need for assignment photography? Do advertising directors still hire out photographers on a regular basis? Can you really make money selling your photography in the media and editorial venues?

When I picked up this book, those were the first questions that ran through my mind.

I checked the publishing date of Richard Weisgrau’s Selling Your Photography book – published in 2009. Okay, another good sign the information might be relevant to where we stand today. So I sat down and started reading.selling your photography

“The market for publishable photographs is growing faster than ever before. With that growth, the demand for photographs of all types of subjects has increased.”

“Whether you are an amateur or professional photographer, the opportunities to publish your photographs are growing every day.”

Those are Weisgrau’s opening remarks. And it only gets better from there.

Selling Your Photography covers everything from beginning to end. It starts by giving you a market overview – how the current market looks for today’s photographer, and what you can expect if you start out as an advertising, media or corporate photographer. He moves through setting up your business model. And talks at great length about finding your market segments and how to reach out to your target client. He has a great chapter on licensing and pricing, and even provides samples of letters, estimates and licensing agreements for you to follow and use. And ends it by providing online resources that should keep you busy for weeks.

And in between, you’ll gain a ton of useful ideas that make this book a definite for your library if you’re serious about selling your photography.

Selling Your Photography: How to Make Money in New and Traditional Markets
By Richard Weisgrau
215 pages
Published 2009

Sell To Clients On Location? New Tool To Help Sell Your Photographs

I’ve long been a fan of using projection to motivate prospective clients to book with you, and to sell your post 060409 work to clients after the shoot. The only way to bring in large sales is with projection.

When we first started out in the 90’s, projection was unheard of for small businesses. Instead we put everything together using multiple slide projectors. It was noisy and hard work, getting everything to align properly. But the outcome was so worth it.

Then slowly computers improved, and projection became affordable for the small business. And you could do so much more with your “show”!

I’ve been watching projection change over the years, and every year I’m amazed by the size, weight, and portability of the newest projectors. I picked up the June 2009 edition of PC Today magazine, which is all on making the most of your mobile photos and videos, to learn more about the latest and greatest devices.

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Increase Your Sales With Multiple Poses

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.

rox park

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.

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Sell Your Photography With What’s Really Important

It’s that time of year. You drive down the street and see

Garage Sale

On every street corner. Today I drove by one post 052909sign with lots of text, written lightly in pen or pencil. I’m sure it was for a garage sale, but I couldn’t read one word as I drove by at 20 miles per hour.

And it got me thinking. If people want to shop at a garage sale, what’s the most important way to let them know you’re having one?

A simple sign that says Garage Sale with an arrow pointing the way. When you’re quickly driving by, you don’t have the time to read long copy, or decipher hidden meanings. You’re just looking for the location, and following the arrows is the easiest way.

Seems pretty simple and straightforward. So why do we make marketing our photography businesses so difficult?

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How to Target 5 Magazine Clients For Your Photography This Week

You love traveling. You love photographing. And you’d love to combine the two to make your income. magazine

A lot of people are doing this every day. They are getting paid $100, $200, even $500 per image that is included in a publication. And if you could sell 10 or more photographs per month – you’re well on your way to a six figure income.

Is it hard to find companies willing to pay these prices for one photograph? Not at all. It’s just a matter of finding the right magazines willing to pay the right price. There are thousands of magazines in publication today, and they all need photography. Add in websites, online publications, and internal commercial communications, and you have a ton of opportunity available to you.

Step #1 Identify your interests

We would all love to be an award winning photographer with National Geographic magazine. But the possibility of starting [Read more…]

Does Your Photography Studio Need More Sales?

money

It’s finally here. After today, the election will have come and gone, and it will be time to move on, and focus on how to finish up 2008 with a roar. Can it still be done? Can you still meet your sales goals? You bet.

Now is traditionally one of the best times for a photographer to make money. And this year is no exception. Instead of splurging on high ticket items, more people are going to look for things of value. And what could have more value than a family portrait?

There are three ways to bring in more sales.

1. Bring in more clients.
2. Bring in the same clients again and again.
3. Sell more to each client that walks through your door.

If you’re new to this business [Read more…]