Two Tips to Refine Your Picture Delivery and Sell More Prints

For most of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, the wedding season has begun, and the first images are being sent out to brides and grooms. Delivering pictures to clients is more important than most photographers would like to think, especially for weddings. It is an opportunity to surprise customers, get referrals, and sell more prints or albums. The smallest details will help you separate your business from the crowd.

Consistent Branding

For brides and grooms, our services are an investment. They spend quite a bit of money to get beautiful and timeless memories. Their experience should be second to none from start to finish. Our branding is part of that experience, and as such, it should be consistent across the board. If you attend the initial meeting well-dressed and create breathtaking imagery, don’t send a cheap DVD in a dirty envelope to your clients. A poor delivery is like a poor dessert after a fine first course and main dish. It leaves a sour taste, it doesn’t make one want to come back for more, and moreover, it certainly will not lead to referrals.

For my packaging, I trust Photo Flash Drive. They offer customized USB flash drives and boxes. I opt for a slide box that looks very much like jewelry packaging, and inside, I use a crystal flash drive with my logo engraved.

Two clients out of three write me an email to tell me how amazed they are by the box and USB drive. Because the packaging looks great, they are also more likely to place it somewhere where their friends will notice it and where they’ll see it easily every day. Having brides and grooms remembering their wedding day and our work is a good thing, isn’t it? At least if you want them to talk about your work and your brand, it is.

It costs me about $40-50 per couple, but Photo Flash Drive has cheaper options. They also have products that allow for prints and USB flash drives to be placed in a box.

Prints

Speaking of, I believe digital images, as good as they are for backup, will never match the feeling of holding a print. Nowadays, some clients don’t understand the purpose of a print and think that having the JPEGs to post on Facebook is what they need and want. However, it is our job as photographers to prove them wrong and educate them.

One thing I learned the hard way early on is that a customer will never buy something they cannot see. If you wish to sell albums, have samples to show at the first meeting and after the wedding, and also show your clients’ albums on your blog. The same goes with prints. If you want to sell big prints, don’t show tiny pictures on crappy paper. You have to show the value of prints and books to help them understand why they would need them.

When sending the USB flash drive, add in a print. There's no need to give away your labor for free. Don’t print hundreds of pictures — just one, with a handwritten note on the back thanking them for their trust and kindness or anything else you’d like to share with them. It will do two things. One, it will show that you care about them, and two, it will give them a sense of what their pictures could look like on paper. So, be sure to write properly and use the best paper you can afford. I personally love Canson Arches Aquarelle (textured mat), BFK Rives (mat and slightly textured), and PhotoGloss Premium RC (glossy, no texture). A thick paper always feels better in the hand. It gives more importance and value to the print. So, don’t go cheap with a light paper anyone could buy if you want to differentiate yourself from others. Also, wrap the print to make it feel like a true gift and not something you threw in the box by accident.

Finally, when sending my clients their pictures, one thing I like to have ready is the first draft of their album. I’ll kindly email them a few days after they have received their images and include a link to their album proofing gallery. Using Pixellu SmartAlbums, I can create a solid book in a very short amount of time. It probably won’t win any WPPI Grand Prize, but not every album has to be award worthy, especially not the first draft.

What if a couple doesn’t want an album? Well, send them a proofing design anyway. The worst case scenario is that you lost about one hour creating an album your bride and groom won’t order. However, it might make for a great sample album to show future potential customers. Also, they will be more likely to order the album if they can see what it could look like.

Oh, I almost forgot: be sure to add a note asking for referrals in your delivery box. Whether it is with the USB flash drive or with the album, it is crucial to invite them to share their experience with you with those around them. It is kind of like YouTube: if you don’t tell people to subscribe to a channel, half of the viewers won’t think to do so. So, be sure to request kindly.

How do you handle your wedding picture delivery? Do you send a simple Dropbox or gallery link, or do you have a beautiful flash drive and box? Do you give prints, or is it something you don’t feel comfortable doing? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments below.