How many full albums do you have to show potential clients?

I just did my first wedding and booked my second in 4 weeks. I made two albums

(Flora Elite) one for the couple and one for me to show clients. I am debating

whether to make another of this next wedding to show clients or is that over

kill? How many do you have for this purpose?

 

Mark

As a new wedding photographer - you will improve as time goes on (hopefully ;-) So - in view of that I would wait before doing another sample album and do one that is upscale. Most album companies offer discounts or 1/2 price for Demo albums for photographers.

 

What I would do, is print a good sampling from each wedding covering getting ready shots, ceremony, group/couple shots, reception etc and put together an informal Proof style album of 4x6 prints. If you have a few that are stunning - enlarge them to 11x14 or larger as well as a few 8x10's and frame them or mat them for your office or a portfolio style book that is transportable.

 

A year or two from now you'll hopefull have a "wow" wedding at a great location and super shots. Use that wedding to do your second sample album. Just my two cents.

1 - 9.5x13 GraphiStudio sample (not my pics, thier pics on different papers)

 

1 - 10x10 AsukaBooks sample (again, their pics, differnt papers)

 

1 - 12x12 album of my pics

 

1 - 8.5x11 album of my pics

 

Only the graphi is flush mount, the others are coffee table style books

 

I doubt I wll add more, maybe replace the samplers with pics of my own at some point, but it's nice to see the different paper choices.

I agree with Mary. I made a lot of samples when I first started, and it didn't take me long to not like them anymore. Don't do too much at first. Now I have one album with my favorites from different weddings. I can change them out as I want. I keep contemplating doing one full wedding, but I have not yet. I do have a proof album from one full wedding to show clients.

Mark - always show your best work.

 

I like to keep 2 albums on hand. One is a Bella album, where you can easily swap out

8x10's if individual prints get damaged or you want to drop in work from a newer

wedding. The Bella is a nice album, and is the basic offering with my services. The

second sample is a Premira album that is an upgrade option and my album of choice. It

also has the ability to swap out pages, although it is a more expensive change

as the images are fixed to a removable base page. It is a beautiful contemporary album,

and a majority of my clients prefer the Premira.

 

When I get too many sample albums at the studio, I usually offer

the oldest album (or the one that is the least relevant to my current work) to previous

clients at a reduced rate. Since the albums are kept in their original shipping and storage

boxes, they are still in excellent condition and are basically new offerings. Generally,

parents will purchase my sample albums so everybody wins.

Hi Mark

I have built my business over the last 15 years with the premise of NEVER SHOWING ANYTHING THAT IS NOT MY WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Yes you can get samples of other people's stuff from manufacturers but it will not reflect your local conditions and may not show the type of client you are looking to get.

 

Be honest, you are starting out. Show clients the type of albums they can select and who them a full set of images from the wedding so that they can see the range of images you have made.

 

I have more samples than any one can hope to look at but I can select to show the client a book that is like what they are planning, ex full mass and large reception, outside ceremony and tent event etc.

 

That will come as you do more. Invest in samples when the event really speaks about you and what you want to do. If you don't like unstructured events don't show a sample of that.

 

Good luck

Brooke

I will tell you what works for me. I show all the albums and extras that I offer in my packages. I start off showing them a proof album of a complete wedding. Showing a wedding start to finish helps a lot. I then have a 12x12 20 page matted album of that wedding only. This helps them know what a finished wedding album looks like, and this shows them what to expect. I then show them a 40 page matted album of my favorite pictures form different weddings. I just recently added a flush mount album to my portfolio. I also show them a parent album and other little this they could get. Over time you will grow your portfolio, but most important think is to show only your work. You defiantly need a proof album of a wedding from start to finish. Then get a large matted album and just add samples of weddings you have done. I?m not sure if there is an over kill on showing your work. I find the longer you keep them looking the better the chance you have in getting the wedding. When I first started out I was only getting 6 out of 10 clients and now I am landing 8 out of 10. Hope I was of some help.

 

Jamie