last week, i received this message – “how did you come to the decision to only sell digitals?” from a photographer friend. she had stated that when she first started in photography, she sold the digital prints (cd/dvd). after a year and soaking up all the information she could from other photographers, she decided to switch and sell prints. and like any one of us in the business of photography know, that is where you make your money – selling the prints to your clients. and that is what the ‘real’ professionals do. and that is what you do when you are really, really good. but here was her problem… ” I spent my first year selling only digitals, second pushing print and here I am starting my third. Problem – not a single booking for the year yet. Seriously. Nothing.”
yep, i have read a lot about it. i know many photographers that only sell prints. and i definitely know…it. is. NOT. cheap for the client. yes, i understand the concept, ‘why have all these amazing images only to hand over a disk and they may never be printed, hung on the wall, shared with family + friends, etc??’ i totally get it. the whole process is a ton of work; the photo shoot planning and time, the session itself, ideas and locations for the session, going through each image and deciding what is usable and what isn’t, editing, editing + more editing, sneak peeks, downloading, blog posts, etc. it is a lot of work and extremely time consuming. and yes, kind of a bummer if your images never make it off the disk or are even seen…BUT – that is the clients choice, in my opinion!
when my oldest was born and i took her to a studio at the mall, i HATED the fact that i had to pay SOOOO much for each sheet of images. it blew my mind that what i didn’t buy would literally be tossed in the garbage eventually. the company had already printed it, (of course so that i would actually hold it in my hand and hate to not have it – brilliant idea!) and i would have to decide based on my budget what i could afford. honestly, i never spent a ton of money on the prints and ALWAYS had a coupon in hand, because i knew that in 3, 6, 9 months, i would be there again. i knew my kids would change and that those images wouldn’t hang on my walls for years, but would be changed in the next few months with updated images. so, i didn’t go crazy but i wanted to capture that time in their life.
i honestly feel that as a photographer, you are always portfolio building. for me, each session is a chance to improve from the last. i get so excited every time i get some thing new or unique and that i can add to my portfolio. i love photography and i love sharing it with others! i am not the person who is going to sit down with you, go through the prints, make you uncomfortable, pressure you into things, upsell you stuff you don’t need, but benefits my wallet. i can’t do it. i am not a salesperson at all, nor do i want to ever put my clients in that situation. i am the complete opposite. i am a people pleaser, so even if i made the switch, i would feel so bad about the sales part i would completely lower my price which would lower my value. plus, my client and i would both have to take time away from our families to meet to pick images, plan and order. it would be stressful for both of us. so i just don’t do it.
(she also asked if i educated my clients on proper printing) i would say i more guide them vs educate. this goes back to me not wanting to step on toes and be bossy or snotty, but i do direct them to the sites i use. i get no kick back, but i say ‘if you are looking for professional quality, but very reasonable prices here are my suggestions. they are super reasonable and you get the images in just a few days’. i do know a lot of my clients use the companies i recommend, which is great! and as important as it is to get your images printed and printed from quality places, i not that long ago had no idea on the difference and to be honest, it didn’t really matter. my eye wasn’t trained like it is now, so i had no idea what the difference was. and i lived! ha!
to sum up – i just cant wrap my finger around ‘forcing’ someone to buy a print. or a certain size. or from a certain place. heck, i am guilty of not getting my images printed and hung and shared, so why would i put someone in a position to do what i don’t even do!? it just doesn’t make sense. for now, i want my past, current and future clients to just have the images! i think that is more important than someone not being able to afford the cost of prints and miss out on the memories. i never started in photography to earn a penny. i started because i was in love with what i could capture and that i can CONSTANTLY keep learning and improving. i love a challenge and in photography, the challenges never stop! i want to be able to share my passion with others in a way that ensures they are documenting life vs spending a fortune! and since i currently have april + may booked and 6 upcoming weddings, that confirms my decision!
after the conversation i had with my friend, tricia, she switched her business back to selling digital images. the same day she announced the change, she had 2 wedding inquiries! congrats tricia!
happy thursday! (images are just for fun – no real relation to the topic!)
got a question, do not hesitate to ask!
