A question to those of you in the upper 25% of your markets - probably charging in the $4000+ range...

Do you find it's a requirement to have an established studio or meeting place out in town to meet your clients? Is the starbucks meeting frowned upon in this market?

In planning to march into the upper market eventually, this question continues to be a roadblock. At my current level, it doesn't seem to be a problem that all my meetings are Starbucks or their home.

Before trying to nail some location events (obviously no pre-meeting spot required as it's all over the phone) I'd like to get a few upper end events under my belt locally to build experience, clientelle, and confidence in this market.

Raising rates seems to be the first step to getting into these upper markets locally, but I'm afraid not having a meeting establishment may prevent getting these bookings. Getting a spot out in town is no problem once the upper $$ comes in, but I'm hesitant to sign an expensive lease anytime soon.

A roadblock as I say.

Any thoughts? Thanks!!

Hey Kevin,

Good question. Not an easy one to answer really. I think it depends on the customer almost as much as the market.

I've booked two weddings in the past month that would meet you criterion and I have my clients meet me at my home. I have a meet and greet area setup in the front living room where I use a 22" Apple Cinema Display to showcase slideshows and DVDs I include in my packages. It's also a great environment for showing customers several albums.

I will say that I think I'm able to give a much more professional presentation and get to know the client a little better when I meet them in my home. I usually spend about 2 hours with each client. Very relazed.

This is something I'm working on making even better. If you watch Mike Colon's DVD "Reaching the High-End Bride" you see that he has an apartment studio setup that is really nice.

I don't think we as wedding photographers have to have a traditional studio. There will always be some brides that will place a lot of importance on that but I don't think it matters to most.

hmm. Who knows.

Sup Gino! Your new photo looks like you been on vacation

I'd say both ways have their own advantages.

For the mobile presentation, it is convenient for the clients if they don't have to travel far if you meet them halfway or go to their area.

The advantage to having clients come over to a studio or home/studio is that the presentation could be much more extensive - framed images on the walls, a DVD presentation of your portfolio while they sit and relax, serve drinks/snacks, controlled ambience (decor, music), and you're not limited to what you can carry into a Starbucks.

Very perceptive! That was me on our way out the door to do some boogie boarding in Sayulita Mexico.

hang loose

I think you should have at least a home studio. You can make them as sweet looking as you can possibly dream up! . that way you don't have to 'rent' and write off more on your taxes!
I am not a $4,000 photographer but I know most in my area who are high-end. Most also have a studio in thier house or they rent a studio somewhere.
I don't know of any high end photographers who meet at coffee houses.
Good luck!
~Alisha

I do. Some of the top here in ATL meet in coffee houses and also have home studios. I think it depends on what you can make of your home studio and the market you're in.

Sorry! I should re-phrase that I don't know any high-end photographers that meet JUST at coffee houses, most do have home studios. But agian, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist just not a lot I know of here in STL they al lhave some sorta studio one way or another.
~Alisha

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

In my situation, the way my home is set up, the entire downstairs is very open and we tend to maintain a certain amount of clutter. We are also hoping for a baby in the near future, and that really puts a wrench in everything. Meeting at home probably won't work in my case - at least not for now.

The idea of an "appartment studio". Now *that* is an interesting idea. Renting a separate appartment (or even buying a condo someplace) just to use as a business location. That's a cool idea. Too bad the zoning office in our area is very strict on business operations in residentail areas. I could just see telling an appartment manager "I'm not going to live here, I'm just going to meet 'clients' here." Wonder what kind of reaction that would get!

I know some that rarely meet with their clients at all.

Gino makes a good point. Most of the really high end guys are getting such glowing referrals from high end people that they just get booked on the spot, not question.

How you build up to this, however, requires some ingenuity. Personally, I think you could do it just about any place, as long as your personality and presentation are up to par. However, I do think that having a dedicated meeting space gives you much greater control and flexibility in what you can show to the client, which is a big advantage IMO.

one of the best things anyone ever said to me, and maybe it was just me, but andy marcus had me over to his studio a while back and i mentioned to him how nice his place was (place is right in manhattan and amazing)... he replied to me "you dont get uptown clients with a soho studio." i mean this is nothing groundbreaking obviously, but so true. my point is regardless of where you meet clients make sure it's an extension of you, your business, your style, your brand. whether its a home studio, apartment/viewing studio (which is what i use), coffee shop, etc make sure its as high end as the clients you are meeting with. its taking me forever to paint the studio (which is right in the middle of downtown here in NY) and i had to meet with a couple clients at coffee houses in the meantime... so i met with them at this awesome coffee house/bar that hosts local artist shows and has really unique architecture, track lighting, etc. i think the bottomline is meeting with clients at a place that reflects you and your brand.

My studio is in my basement and it's also the kids' play room (I have 3 children - 5, 2 and 1). It's always trashed! (1 child = double coverage, 2 children = man-to-man coverage, 3 children = zone defense...I digress) I'm not in the high-end yet...probably not even in the middle yet...but I have to admit that when a bride comes over and sees a 1 or a 2 year old who sidles right up to them (I think my 2 year old daughter can spot a glowing bride)...well, my "pitch" gets a LOT easier! So even if you share your basement studio with your crumb-crunchers, it can work to your advantage!

I have not physically met with a bride in about 3 months or so and currently do not even own a Sample album.

We do have a studio office/proofing room, its about 15 miles from our home now, it is collecting dust as we do book most of our brides without ever meeting them. Referrals are truly the strongest thing you can imagine and right now we are pretty much living off of them, mixed in with a few internet browsers as well.

Met with 2 more clients in my basement studio (kids play area) tonight...and I'll likely get both bookings. Both clients marveled at my kids' pics...I'm tellin' ya...my kids are one of my greatest marketing tools. (Or it could be that I only charge $299.95 to shoot wedding...I don't know...)

















(yeah, I'm kidding...)

In our area, it's not essential. But for us personally, it is. We live in a small apartment with a new baby, a cat, and a lot of mess. We used to meet with clients in our living room. The meeting was always precipitated by a major housecleaning session, moving the cat & catfood to our bedroom, and negotiations about which of us would woo the clients while the other entertained our baby.

This spring we joined with another local photographer and videographer to share a really beautiful gallery space in a posh neighborhood. It's a gorgeous space, and we feel SOOOO much more professional meeting people there. We NEVER have to apologize, whereas before we constantly worried about someone being allergic to cats, or the baby freaking out, or our clients getting sketched out by our neighborhood.

Unfortunately our gallery partnership is in transition (the rent was raised among other things), and we don't know if we'll be able to stay. We may be heading back to Starbucks. But with the right partners this sort of thing can be a fabulous arrangement, and I encourage you to consider something similar!

Enna

I think I book about 80 percent of my clients without ever meeting them. Wonderful phone conversations and a ton of email exchanges allow us to get to really know each other well. It's amazing how much of your personality comes across just via voice and text.

Look at our awesome group here at OSP. We feel like we're all brothers/sisters - well, you know what I mean - and most of us have never met. We chat, get to know each other, support and encourage and when that wonderful opportunity to physically meet does occur, it's a smooth comfortable (and oftentimes ecstatic!) transition into a deeper friendship! I wonder if I'm making any sense - I think I've had too much coffee today...

ANYWAY, point is - besides your amazing work it's your personality and professionalism that will sell - not necessarily having a fantastic studio.

One other thing I want to point out: most of my clients are very busy with their careers. They are also financially independent (from their parents). They do all of their research on the web and just know when they've found THE photographer for them. Also, clients paying 5/10k+ for their wedding photography trust their photographers more.

Having said all that, I still think the most effective way to book a client is for them to come to your studio - home or not - where you can surround them with your passion via frames on the walls, books on the tables, plasma or cinema screen fading in and out to POWERFUL music, etc. Plus, they've invested that time to come see YOU not the other way around. But just know - not having a studio won't prevent you from reaching 5/10k+ clients.