How to Effectively Use a Folio

Posted on February 1, 2010
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By (Guest Contributor) Allan Tyndell

Folios are an elegant delivery system used to advertise, market and highlight a photographer’s work. When folios are used properly, they generate revenue at no additional cost to the studio.

1. The folio gives the customer an ego boost and makes the images worth more.
2. A folio allows the student to share their photographic experience with friends.
3. Folios give the student instant gratification by the comments of their peers.
4. Senior photographs are a must have item. The need is created by the students. The more the students see their friends pictures, the greater the need to have their pictures taken.
5. Folios elevate the overall appearance of the product.
6. The folio is an easy to show item and can be easily transported.
7. The folio should always be imprinted with the studio name.
8. Folios allow the photographer to sell extra previews to the customer.
9. The extra previews that don’t go into the folio can be put into Royal Preview Packs.
10. Previews must be on your price list.
11. Photographers must sell their previews.
12. The cost of the previews with the folio must be less than just purchasing the previews.
Example: previews are $9.00 each, $72 for 8 or $69.00 for the previews and the folio.
13. The photographer should pick out the best eight photographs that they want to display to the general public.
14. After delivery, the customer is able to pick their favorite eight photographs from their original previews to put in the folio.
15. The customer receives a discount if they purchase the same folio that their previews were displayed in. Some studios lower the price of the folio by the amount of the purchase. The more money spent, the less the folio cost.
16. If the folio is purchased, the photographer can offer as a complimentary bonus, four low resolution images that can be posted on MySpace or Facebook. This gives the customer a feeling of satisfaction for their purchases.

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Will Your Granchildren Be Very Upset With You?

Posted on October 20, 2009
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Author: Fred Molesworth, Salem, Oregon

I’m willing to bet your grandchildren will be upset with you. Here’s why. Imagine, 50 years from now, as your grandchildren or great grandchildren are going through the boxes in the attic. They are enthralled with the treasures and keepsakes they find and how they tie into the story of your life.

Amongst all the old items, they find a number of round silver objects. Some have writing on them, some are blank, but they resemble some kind of a small platter about 4″ across, with a hole in the middle.

Puzzled, they take them to their parents. “What are these, Mom?” they ask. “Oh, I think those are all of grandma’s photographs. Yep, here’s one labeled ‘My Wedding’. Here’s some more labeled ‘Family Photos,’ and some more labeled ‘Vacations’.”

“How do we look at them?” they ask.

“Well, I’m not sure we can. First of all, no one has the device that reads these anymore. Besides that, I doubt after all these years that they’re any good anymore. Being stored in the attic, the heat and cold probably ruined them.”

The kids are very disappointed. Nowhere amongst all the treasures are any actual prints. All that history is lost. Their connection with the past and all the wonderful stories that might have gone along with all those photographs are gone as well.

Along with all the wonders of our digital age come some significant problems that most people have never thought of.

Did you know that over 90% of all images taken on today’s digital cameras are NEVER PRINTED? I’m guilty of that myself. I have gigabytes of personal photographs that have never been seen other than on a computer screen.

In the old days, film went to the lab and everything that was printable was printed. Even if it was a bad photograph, it still was a hard copy, a part of your family history and it had permanence. Even if they never went in an album, they at least went into a box, to be discovered as treasures years later.

The same problem exists in professional portrait studios today. Many people are simply asking for the images on CD. “I’ll print them later” or “I’ll design my own wedding album” are common phrases. Usually this is done with the thought that they’ll save some money by doing it themselves.

But you know what? Most never make it into any kind of an album. Life gets busy and 20 years later they’ll be looking for some way to read those disks.

I bring this up only to point out the importance of what we, as a professional studio do. Our job is not just to create the images, to create wonderful story telling photographs about the people in front of our camera; it’s to create a final product, whether it be a professionally retouched and printed single image, a family heirloom wall portrait, or an incredible storybook album using a collection of the images that were created.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a wedding, a newborn baby, a senior or a family. Having the final product created for you is important. To do less is to leave the job half done and to short change the customer.

So, if you’re asked for a disk with all the images “so I can print them later”, that’s fine, just make sure your customers understand that if not printed, the conversation their grandchildren will want to have about their family history may never be able to happen.

Fred Molesworth

In addition to running a full time portrait studio in Salem Oregon, Fred Molesworth is a small business teacher and advisor, and the author of the Portrait Studio Marketing blog (www.portraitstudiomarketing.com). He’s also a nationally known business and marketing speaker in the portrait industry, and past president of the Professional Photographers of Oregon.

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Photo Books . . . How Do I Decide?

Posted on September 24, 2009
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Author: Glen A. Clark

I was recently asked the following question, “I’m looking to create a coffee table book. I doubt I’ll be making more than 200-300 of these. From what you’ve seen, do you have recommendations?”

I guess the short answer for deciding how to select a photo book fulfillment partner these days is . . . It depends!

But my “probably too long of an answer” was this . . .

Today there seems to be an almost endless number of options for printing photo books (and many more if you’re looking to produce photo “albums”). I am personally familiar with only a handful of them but I do have some suggestions to consider.

I think some of the key points to help you make a decision about how to produce a book are:

1. What is the content balance of your book?
a. Your book will contain mainly photographic images with just a small amount of text?
i. Intro, Captions, Credits, Acknowledgements, etc.

b. Your publication will have both significant copy and photo images.
i. Storytelling, How-To Information, Anecdotes, etc.?

c. Your publication will have mainly written copy and some photo images.
i. Text books, Novels, Theses, Reports, etc.

2. What are the most important elements of the book?
a. True photographic reproduction (silver halide) or near photo quality digital press printed reproduction
b. Continuity of the written content
c. Two-page panorama printing
d. Hard or soft cover options
e. Size of the publication
f. Cost per book
g. Total Investment (capital expenditure)
h. Retail price of the book
i. Overall presentation and packaging

There are many elements to creating a quality photo book including printing, binding, finishing and packaging; and, there are significant differences between photo book publishers and photo quality book manufactures.

3. Are you going to select a producer first and then design the book to their capabilities or are you going to create a very specific design and look for someone to produce to your specifications?
a. Size selection
b. Available cover materials and styles
c. Selection of page papers
d. End sheet options
e. Binding and finishing options

4. Are you planning to do things like page layout design, editing, and copy writing yourself or will you outsource the work?
a. If you are going to undertake laying out the book are you going to do so with the tools provided by the book producer or utilizing other programs to create your page layouts independent of the provider (i.e. Photoshop, InDesign, etc.)?

5. How are you planning to market and sell your book?
a. Are you going to print an “edition” of a certain number of copies up front or will you “print on demand” per order?
b. How will you process, package and ship each order

Here are a couple of scenarios to think about.

If you’re looking to sell photo books to your imaging clientele a professional service such as f•stop books www.fstopbooks.com enables the uploading of images and provides design tools to create photo book layouts online. They also provide a “completely packaged” photo book by delivering a finished publication in a high-end presentation box. This type of value-added presentation can help support premium price points for professional photographers.

The “Completely Packaged” Photo Book Presentation - fstop books™

If you are considering selling books to a broader market a “publication” photo book website, such as Blurb www.blurb.com, offers additional services for page numbering and robust options for extensive text, as well as online e-commerce tools to post the publication on their site and accept orders for printed copies. This allows you to create and sell photo books (or almost any kind of book publication) without having to pay the up front costs of producing multiple book copies in advance. Like www.fstopbooks.com they print, bind, package, and ship the actual book “on demand” (when it is ordered) so you don’t need to do any of this work yourself.

The upside of this type of publication includes very low upfront costs and outsourcing of order fulfillment and payment processing (i.e. labor). The downside of this type of service may be things like reduced margins due to fees charged or not being able to check every one of the publications individually or offering hand-signed autographed copies of the books.

There are also companies that will help you “self-publish” your book by offering services such as financing an initial print run and even sponsor and/or non-profit support

Another consideration should be professional alternatives like Shared Ink’s (pro) Photographer Program which offers information and options including lay-flat pages and offline coating that can add snap to a pro-quality photo book (http://www.sharedink.com).

Like I said before, when it comes to deciding how to select a photo book fulfillment partner these days, I guess the short answer is . . . It depends!

For more information about photo books download a FREE copy of “On Demand Book Basics”

Glen A. Clark
Vice President - TAP Custom / Professional
Cleveland, OH 44114-2184

E-mail: gclark@ChilcoteCompany.com

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Birth of The Professional Photo Book – f•stop books™

Posted on August 28, 2009
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fstop books photo books
Photo books are a great way for photographers to present and sell their photography to brides, new mothers, and just about anyone with an event that is meant to be saved for future generations. Photo books are not new. In recent years, the ability to purchase a one of a kind book at an affordable price has made photo books extremely popular. Digital cameras and digital printing presses or high-quality inkjet equipment can produce pages for a single book to be bound in a hard cover for a one-of-a-kind photo book. There are numerous services popping up everyday making it difficult to decide on a provider but few are designed specifically for photographic professionals. f•stop books™ allow you to upload images and create a photo book that is delivered back to you or directly to your clients.
As a professional photographer, you are faced with the fact that your clients can build a photo book using the same service you might be using. In addition, becoming a photo book designer who now has to spend hours creating a photo book that cuts into profits? f•stop books™ offers a photo book that is sold only to professionals through professional distribution and is priced between the low-end consumer photo book and the high-end digital album.

f•stop books™ is a service that is designed to fill the gap for the professional photographer. f•stop books™ photo books offers complete professional presentations only to professionals. The designer software can quickly auto populate a book with your photography or let you create a totally customized book. You can spend as little as 20 minutes making your book or take as much time as you would like designing your own unique creation. It is possible to upload and work with full composite images if you choose. The high-quality clamshell presentation box, leather and linen covers, and press quality printing on a heavy, durable paper stock make it a smart choice among professionals.
fstop books photo book foil seal
f•stop books™ is a photo book made by professionals for professionals.

Find out more about fstop books has to offer at fstop books. Setting up an account is free. Once approved you become a client of one of the f•stop books™ distributors and you can upload images, build books and store them until you are ready to purchase.

f•stop books™ distributors offer great service as well as many other photographic products. Though the f•stop books™ brand is young it is backed by more than 100 years of photographic packaging know-how and professional support. Make fstop books photo book presentations your first choice for you and your clients.
Go to the fstop books website

Rick Bender
f•stop books™ Creative Team Member
Read more

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The Latest Innovation in CD Packaging

Posted on July 15, 2009
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With the increase in online communication thanks to social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, to name a few, clients are now seeking low resolution images of their photo sessions to use on their internet pages. (Don’t be afraid to give them these images. The quality is not good enough for them to do anything with except to use them on their internet pages). What a great opportunity this demand presents to upsell your clients. Move them into a higher priced package by offering them unique packaging for those low resolution images.

A paper CD Sleeve is the most economical option but doesn’t hold value. A CD case is better. Numerous companies offer attractive CD folios but why not WOW your customers with the latest innovation in digital packaging? The newest digital option on the market is something called DPS from TAP. The DPS dual purpose packaging line includes folios, easel frames and albums all equipped with a patent pending retractable CD tray hidden in the back seam, allowing your images to be the focal point of the packaging, not the CD.
DPS. Digital Proofing System by TAP

In today’s economy, it is more important than ever to emphasize the perceived value of your product offerings. Your photographs are your best advertising but don’t forget - the packaging makes the first impression when your images are delivered. Make your first impressions lasting ones!

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Branding Your Studio

Posted on September 8, 2008
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By (Guest Contributor) Greg Stangl

Most small business owners, including photographers, assume that the prospect knows what they (the business) are all about. The sad truth is most clients simply don’t know that much about your business or what you are trying to offer to the public. As a business owner it is your job to mold your brand into a consistent message that will encourage the client to interact with your business and hopefully, secure your services.

You have to work to develop a brand that the client will want to do business with. So, what exactly is a “brand”? Your brand is a collection of images and ideas that represents the essence of how you feel about your images. Your brand can consist of a set of associations and perceptions that have strong identifiable content and can be used to influence the client. You can use your brand to differentiate your business from your competitors and to bond with your customers to create loyalty and establish your position in the marketplace.

Your brand can be a collection of visual symbols such as your name, your logo, your tag line and even the car that you drive to photograph the wedding. It can be the colors that you choose to decorate your studio and it can even be the images that you choose to produce.

Brand is also embodied in your choice of portrait packaging materials. You are making a clear statement about how you feel about your finished images and how you value the client in the way you choose to package your finished images. How you present the finished images to the client can go a long way toward making a statement about the type of business you run.
Carefully chosen premium albums, folios and folders make a bold statement about your company. Photographers put a lot of emphasis on creating our portraiture; we need to put the same energy into choosing the proper packaging as a way of clearly establishing our brand.

Greg Stangl Photographer and Speaker
www.prospeak1.com

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Rules of Packaging

Posted on March 6, 2008
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By (Guest Contributor) Allan Tyndell

Packaging must enhance the product appearance.
Packaging must increase the perceived value to the customer.
Packaging must protect the product and make it easy to transport.
Packaging of luxury products (purchased as a gift) must always enhance the perceived value of the gift. Packaging should NEVER lessen a product’s value or force a gift giver to make enhancements before it is given.

Luxury Items According to Webster

Anything contributing to one’s enjoyment, usually something considered unnecessary to life and health.

Something to Think About…

The vast majority of photographs are purchased for someone else.

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Packaging… the Ultimate Brand Statement

Posted on February 20, 2008
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By (Guest Contributor) Greg Stangl

It continues to amaze me how little thought many photographers seem to put into professional portrait packaging. The choice of packaging is the ultimate brand statement. Not only is your packaging the most visible communicator of your brand, it is often the chief emotional link between the consumer and your product.

Walk though any high-end department store and notice how packaging is used to compliment both the brand and the product. Perfumes come in beautifully fitted boxes, while makeup comes in little fitted cases complete with built in handles and a mirror.

By taking the time to carefully choose your final packaging, you can communicate with your client on a higher emotional level. And in portraiture, emotion directly relates to profits. Your choice of texture and color play an important part in this tactile and visual game.

In the food industry retailers and manufacturers are working more closely than ever to create products designed for contemporary lifestyles, based on the latest technology. This has resulted in an explosion in the market for ready to eat meals, a market in which packaging is playing an increasingly important role. Packaging is becoming an essential part of the value chain analysis, regarding food safety, ergonomics and flexibility. The better the packaging makes the food look, the better the chance of the product being sold.

The photographers choice of portrait packaging is really a silent salesman for their company and their brand. As the importance of packaging design becomes ever more apparent, studios need to go back to the basics to stand out from the crowd. Package design is as much a reflection of the times as it is functional. It may seem to be little more than a protective container, but as the external manifestation of a brand, its role is much more pivotal. I believe there two aspects to choosing packaging. First there is the physical function, which simply protects the product. Then there is the psychological function which is linked to consumer appreciation, and that is the one you have to get right!

Greg Stangl Photographer and Speaker
www.prospeak1.com

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The power of the idea of FREE

Posted on September 4, 2007
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Who doesn't like free? I am willing to bet that, as a consumer, you like to get free things. But the chances are, from a business perspective, giving things away for free is not something you want to do. As much as you may love this business, ultimately you are in it to make money. But it would be in your best interest to cozy up to the idea of free because the proper use of “free” can help your photography business make more money.

The trick is to realize that the idea of free is different than the reality of free.

Have you ever noticed that every As Seen On TV product comes with something free? This is not an accident. What sounds more appealing to you? That you get 6 deluxe stay sharp knives for $19.95 or that you get 1 deluxe knife for $19.95 and another 5 for FREE? You are getting the same deal either way, but somehow it feels better when you think you are getting something for free.

You can apply this same idea to your own photography business as well. Instead of just offering a photo in a folder, offer the client the same photo and tell your client that you will add the folder to the deal for free. The price does not need to change, just the way you present the package to your clients. For example, maybe its not 6 prints for $X amount of money. It‘s 3 prints for $X and the other three are FREE.

The idea of free can be used in other ways as well. One excellent way to use free is to offer a free gift when you first meet a potential client. A small free gift such as a small frame or a keychain that they can put a picture in will bring goodwill to the table. When potential customers are making a final decision about which photographer they will use, they will remember that your competitor asked them for money but you gave them a free gift. Will it work every time? No, but it will work enough times that those free gifts will make you more money than they cost you.

“Free” can also be used in up selling. When customers order two 8×10s, suggest that they order three so that they can get the fourth print for “free”. Another option could be to order three 5×7s, and receive all of the images framed in photomounts for “free”. Use a free item to entice people to spend a little more money (in order to get something for “free”).

“Free” can also bring new customers to your studio. This is a method frequently used by the mega studios to draw in business. Giving out coupons that offer a free sitting, a free print, a free photomount or even just a free consultation will attract attention and new clientele.

To a consumer, the word free harkens to mind getting something for nothing. To a business, free is simply a mindset. It is a way of presenting the same product or service in a new and better light.�

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Using your studio’s website for free advertising

Posted on August 28, 2007
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Advertising through links Now that you have a website, you can start making it work for you. The nice thing about having a website is that it allows you to link to other people and more importantly, they can link to you.

Setting up link exchanges on the internet is almost as old as the internet itself. As a matter of fact, this is part of what made the internet so powerful in the first place. And you should take advantage of this power.

On your site, set up an area called “Other Services You May Be Interested In”. Then set out to find those services for your customers and visitors. If your studio does bridal photography, than focus on bridal services such as catering, DJs, halls, wedding gowns and tuxedos. If you do mostly family photography, look for local sites that have activities that families would enjoy.

Now that you have this list, contact each one of the owners of each site. Tell them that you are a non-competing business in the same field and that you would like to link to their site from your site and in exchange, you would like a link from them. Not everyone will agree but some of them will. Whether or not you link to the sites that do not agree to link to you is up to you, but certainly make sure you link to the ones that do.

By doing this, you are gaining access to the other site’s visitors. It stands to reason that if someone is looking for a wedding gown, they may also be looking for wedding photographer at some point in time. If a person is visiting a family oriented establishment, like a playground or a museum, chances are they might also be interested in having a family portrait created.

Getting links from other business is not the only source of links you should consider. Do you belong to any organizations or associations or does your community have a Chamber of Commerce? Many times these organizations have a place to list their members or community businesses’ websites. Sometimes, the websites for these groups are where a potential client will start their search for a reliable service.

You can also get free local listings from search engines. Both Google and Yahoo! have local services that allow you to add your studio business and your studio’s website.

There is always the possibility that your customers have websites as well. These days, many people keep personal blogs. If your client was happy with your service, ask if they will mention you and link to you from their blog in exchange for a small free gift. Many (but not all) will be happy to do so and in doing so will be telling their friends and family about you.

If at all possible, have your link listed with some text about the services that you provide or a special offer. Consider an offer for a free framed 8×10 with every session or a complimentary print in a photomount. Incentives like this will further entice people to click on your link to learn more about your studio.

Use your website to reach as many potential customers as you can. Reach out to companies and help them do the same. Make sure your studio is well represented on the world wide web.

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