Merchandising Your Photography
When you’re an event photographer or wedding photographer who is burning a disc for your clients, then you’re doing them as well as yourself an injustice.
Demonstrate the value
Photos must have been printed out, then framed, and displayed in a good size. Your clients will appreciate a framed 30×20 inch image more than staring at a tiny image on their computer. Think about it: how many pictures do you have on portable memory devices, as well as the hard disk? Do you regularly go through them? Think about the pictures that you have framed in your home. They’re beautiful, aren’t they? If you place them in a beautiful frame in a suitable size, you’ll probably be looking at them often and take a lot of enjoyment from it.
A stunning photo framed in a beautiful frame is a keepsake for the family. It’s stunning and comfortable. A CD from Tesco in a wallet that is made of plastic does not do justice to your work.
Over the years, I have showcased my photography at local events. In one year, I spent PS450 to have my finest photographs printed in large dimensions and professionally mounted and framed. I’d previously owned a lot of smaller frames. Having fewer larger frames meant I blew people away like never before. I received greater leads, more “Oooh’s and Aaah’s,’ and more attention and respect than I’ve ever had.
Display your work in the greatest possible manner, and people will subconsciously place your image in their minds as an ‘expensive’ photographer. In terms of marketing, it’s “merchandising.” It’s the reason people tie a ribbon to an ornament at Christmas to make the present appear more unique. It’s as if that more thought was put into the present.
You likely devote hours and hours every week working to make your photos better and earn respect due to your efforts. But be conscious that the best photographs will require selling and selling. Digital images from a laptop will not seem to be worth the hundreds of pounds. Print it at 50×40, place it in an envelop mount and frame it with natural oak. Then people will believe that you’re Michelangelo!
Are your customers destroying your images?
If you offer your customers an image on a CD, you will don’t have any influence over your photographs. If they download the disc and print the images at the local grocery store in which the colors disappear, and the images aren’t properly rendered? What if they view the images on their laptop, which isn’t color calibrated, and believe you’ve given everyone in your family green skin! Your customers may think that they’ve been a failure and, in a way, they will. Your customer hasn’t been educated adequately and didn’t provide the full service. It’s much easier to hand them a CD and then let them move to go; however, in the end, you’ll be inflicting a negative impression on your customer and tarnishing your brand at the same while.
The merchandising doesn’t stop there.
You shouldn’t simply change the way you present and market your images; you should also put the same amount of care and consideration into everything. Does your stationery create the right impression about your company? What about your clothes? The clothing we wear is the merchandise that we sell our bodies. It’s what gives your first impression. The majority of us don’t want to take a book based on its appearance; however, it’s really hard not to! The same is true when it comes to your own business. If you appear to be successful, you’ll be viewed as successful.
