Do You Need to Sell Printed Products as a Photographer? with Vanessa Joy
I firmly believe that wedding photographers who don’t offer albums & other products are not completing their job. The job of a wedding photographer isn’t just to take pictures of the wedding, it’s to document the couple’s story and then tell that story visually. Everyone has digital devices now and can view digital photos, but there’s still something magical about sitting around with the family and sharing photos of grandma and grandpa’s wedding from the photo album. It’s tangible. It’s real. It’s a bonding experience that we still haven’t been quite able to recreate with digital devices.
So now that I’ve hopefully convinced you that selling albums & products is a worthwhile endeavor, let me explain to you how to do it so that you can maximize the benefit and experience for both you and the client, while ensuring neither of you drive each other crazy in the process.
Don’t Be Salesy
It’s always a good idea to avoid being overly salesy, but that is especially true in the case of a wedding album. This is going to be a family heirloom for them. You should take the time to show them how an album can tell their story. Although it’s an additional expense, most of my clients end up purchasing the album because I’ve shown them that I care about the stories they will be able to tell more than I care about making the extra money. Your number one goal is to be their guide. Start with that, remember that, and you won’t become a pushy salesperson giving a poor client experience.
Pre-Design the Album
If you’ve sold an album before, you’ll know that clients can take forever to pick pictures. Sometimes it can be years after the wedding and you still haven’t gotten the album completed. Part of the reason for this is that clients aren’t experts. They don’t understand how to tell a story with pictures. So picking the right pictures doesn’t come easy for them. This is where it falls on you, as the professional, to understand where the lack of expertise will be a problem and make it easy for them. By pre-designing an album, you’ll know exactly which shots are needed and be able to put the album together much quicker without wishy-washy input from the client. By pre-designing the album, you’ll also be better equipped to show them exactly how their album will tell their story during the sales process.
