When its not available on your website...

[DangerouslyMoody]

I have now had 2 different people (friends) that have wanted photo shoots and what I have been doing as I am starting out with my close friends is shoot for free and then have them buy off my website....thing is...the first friend wanted a photo book...which my site does not offer and the second friend is wanting to maybe do Christmas cards...which my site does not offer...what do you do in these situations? I just told my second friend that I would make her a cd for $75 so she could make her Christmas cards and what not and I still make a little money off it right now....

[toverman]

Now is a good time to expand your horizons. If someone asks for something you don't offer on your site, look into what it would take to offer it (Google is your friend). For things such as photo books and Christmas cards, there are oodles of printers and photo labs that offer everything from ready-made templates to letting you upload your own designs.

What you do with and for your friends is your business. But if you want your "business" to grow, I would think you would need people close to you to also take it seriously. I have given things to family but don't give my services away to friends. Allowing a friend to do whatever they want with your images might backfire ... they could be poorly printed, and then your name is used in that context and it won't help you a bit. But opinions vary on this.

[HotHolly]

Originally Posted by DangerouslyMoody

I would make her a cd for $75 so she could make her Christmas cards and what not and I still make a little money off it right now....

Tragic step. You'll never know what a session can gross with those other things unless you sell them. Our baby sessions are typically grossing over $1K easy. If I tried to sell the CD for that price, they'd be like yeah sure. BUT - when you show them prints and products and maybe this here and a wall portrait over your fireplace, and oh, what - Grandma wants one too...You'll never know what you can do unless you try.

[DangerouslyMoody]

Originally Posted by toverman

Now is a good time to expand your horizons. If someone asks for something you don't offer on your site, look into what it would take to offer it (Google is your friend). For things such as photo books and Christmas cards, there are oodles of printers and photo labs that offer everything from ready-made templates to letting you upload your own designs.

What you do with and for your friends is your business. But if you want your "business" to grow, I would think you would need people close to you to also take it seriously. I have given things to family but don't give my services away to friends. Allowing a friend to do whatever they want with your images might backfire ... they could be poorly printed, and then your name is used in that context and it won't help you a bit. But opinions vary on this.

How do I do that in addition to my website...I currently use Smugmug..or would I just need a seperate site for things like that??

[Jenny Z]

Order them from somewhere else and charge them yourself. Just remember sales tax :)

MPix has some decent photobooks, not sure about their cards, but I'm sure they're good too.

[DangerouslyMoody]

Yeah I like mpix too but do you just order examples for yourself and they pick out the designs or how does all that work?

[toverman]

Originally Posted by DangerouslyMoody

How do I do that in addition to my website...I currently use Smugmug..or would I just need a seperate site for things like that??

The difference, if you stick with Smugmug (which I use and really like), would be that fulfillment would be up to you. For example, someone wants a photo book, you'll have to use a service that does it, use their tools to create it, etc., rather than customers going to Smugmug and ordering directly. And least that's the way I do it.

[STP Images]

If you allow your clients to go to your website to view galleries for print purchases, or you allow them to go to an online hosting site to view your images for purchase, you're destined to lose sales - period. I cannot imagine asking my clients to view my images online without me present and then simply let them tell me what they want.

Fact is, if you proof in your studio (or home), YOU control the sales process. Many photographers have stated on this forum and on other photographer-centric websites that print revenue almost DOUBLES for studio proofing versus online proofing.

If you're looking to grow your business, pawning off the sales process to an online gallery or putting images on a CD for $75 will either frustrate you to tears in the long run or will have you doubling the number of sessions you do to make the same revenue as you would with a face to face sales process. My recommendation would be to create a comprehensive price list for the items you wish to offer for sale and then meet with each client after your shoots to proof their images in person to maximize print and product sales.

[Aric C. Hoek]

You display what you want to sell. You sell what you display.

Add as many products as you want to sell on your site asap, and then direct your friends back to your site so they can order.

[DangerouslyMoody]

There isn't a way to display on the site I use what is not already offered there...I can just write it up but won't have a way to show examples (until I can order myself and have in hand)

[Aric C. Hoek]

Ahhh. I see.

[Outlaw]

You could show your friends the examples on your chosen printer's web site; or download and show them the images, if you don't want them to see where you're buying from (or see prices, more specifically). Just so they have an idea. I've found a good verbal description is worth as much as a picture of a product, but indeed, a hands-on sample is best.

I completely concur with Todd; my experience with selling via online galleries / services versus an in-person sales session is that there is no comparison. An in-person sales session, even if it's just gathering around your monitor to look at the photos together, will yield much larger orders.

For a concrete example, we did a little Easter photo special this year, had about five parents come in with their kids, and sold around $500 in prints that day. Last month we were pressed for time and so we did online sales instead of in-person for a couple of days worth of our children's shoots, and while they say they love the photos, not one family has bought a single print. I have years of experiences such as this which leave no doubt in my mind.

And while a projected viewing on the big screen with snacks and drinks is ideal, I promise you, the "post-shoot viewing" can be very casual and you will still see much better sales figures.

But I digress. To your original question, I would say find your own vendor for the photo books and Christmas cards, and charge accordingly for your time in handling the entire process yourself. If you make it available, somebody will probably buy it, even at a premium. There are few limits to what people will pay for something they want; especially if you make it easy for them to buy.