I am relatively new in the wedding photography trade and am trying to find a way of showing proofs to clients which suits both myself and them. I would be interested in knowing the different methods you all use to do this.

Ones I can think of are:

Sending proof books to clients - I went on a Damien Lovegrove Business of Weddings seminar in Bristol UK (excellent by the way) & he warned against proof books as he says that by the time the client has seen a photo maybe five times, the surprise element will be lost + they will not feel the same excitement as they did on first viewing = less print orders.

Post-honeymoon viewing session - This is one I was toying with, but wasn't sure if it was practical. I would want to have the session in my dedicated office space at home, using my Apple 30" cinema display, but wonder if having clients in my home makes me seem a little less professional? Having them walk up my stairs, potentially use my bathroom (always clean I hasten to add!)...Would it take something away from the service?? I wouldn't really want to go to them as that would make me feel like a guest with them & feel like I wasn't in control (another Lovegrove tip).

Online viewing - I currently upload all final images to a site called Imagicam.co.uk where friends + family of clients can view and purchase images. I wonder if just giving the B+G the log-in details and allowing them to proof and choose the images this way is the best option.

Sending the clients a pdf slideshow on DVD - I am also wary of this as DVDs can easily get lost which I would have to replace & also by giving them a slideshow, it removes something from my "extra products" list.

What do you all think? I would love to know the different proofing methods you use and the pros and cons of each. Please bear in mind that I am from the UK so not sure if I have much access to many of the sites/programmes you use. Also, cost is a factor and I would like to keep this as low as possible.

Thanks guys and sorry for the essay!



PS I can definitely recommend purchasing a copy of Damien Lovegrove's Manual to Wedding Photography as it's fantastic and a bargain at £11.99. All 5* reviews.

Check it out here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Guide-Pro...2311&sr=8-1

I don't quite get what "surprise element" is going to be lost by giving your clients proof books? Don't you get the same supposed loss of surprise if you're showing them proofs online or sending them a slideshow on dvd? Won't they view those just as many times as their proof book? And if they come to your house to view them are you going to sit there for hours (because that can be how long it could take) and help them choose their photos and then not give them a hard copy to go away with, ie, you're forcing them to choose their images then and there in one viewing? Are you just offering your clients prints only or do you provide an album too?

I personally provide a slideshow online of a small selection of images that will "wow" them and whet their appetite for their proofs. This also buys me some time to get the proof books put together. I find the proof books free me up from having to hold their hand and help them choose their images - they have time to run through them, get friends' & relatives' opinions and then they give me a bunch of numbers so I can design their album. I have one client who is in the album design stage & I still have her calling me asking if she'd definitely included this or that image so there's definitely no loss of eagerness from her because she has a proof book. I get print orders too but for the most part with the parents I offer Graphi's parent books which are exact replicas of the wedding album - that gets me off the hook with the headache of print orders but you're still making extra sales but without the extra work.

At the end of the day, you need to find what works for YOU & YOUR clients. The Lovegrove's obviously have their own way of doing things but that doesn't necessarily mean it'll be right for you

Hi Sofie

Thanks for your comments. It's nice to have a different POV from somebody who uses proof books and I totally see your point.

When Damien's clients come in, he dims the lights, gets the champagne and shows them a projected slideshow of all their images. They can pause on any of the pictures and discuss them & can repeat the process if needed. He then takes their order there and then & usually they will over-order, ie if they wanted an album with 75 images, they will usually end up choosing about 100 as they're on cloud 9 (he makes sure they're aware of this at the enquiry stage). His POV is that if you provide the client with an actual book, then it is likely to get picked up and flicked through several times until the excitement of seeing the image subsides, whereas in a viewing session, they are able to see the image for 30 seconds at the most, so the ordering process is a positive one as opposed to a "I suppose we should get round to ordering those photos". I can totally see his point, but as you say, the viewing session could take hours so it depends on time. And he's a far more "upmarket" photographer and businessperson than I am.

I like your idea of putting together a small slideshow to whet their appetite for the finished photos. Will definitely consider that. And I will investigate proof books a little further...

Sofie

I notice you're also from UK. Is there a special programme you use for the slideshow or is it part of Lightroom, which I use?

Thanks for your brilliantly long response by the way. Just what I needed!

That's so "glass is half-empty."

I think the proofing depends on your business model and plan. If you plan to make a good portion of your income on print sales, then the in-studio proofing with champagne and a projected slide show is the way to go. But if you make your income up front and use print sales as a bonus, then a proof book or online proofing is a great time-saver.

I've also heard that proof books can limit print sales because sometimes people don't feel the need to buy as many prints because they feel they have what they need in that book. But online proofing is good because people understand that those images will someday go away.

I used to provide simple, low-cost photobooks to my lifestyle session clients. Nobody ever ordered any prints because they loved those cheap little books. I ultimately decided I didn't want my photography to be about cheap books, so I don't do that at all anymore. Now I have people ordering really nice hard-cover coffeetable books and everybody's happy!

Been there & done that with the projected larger than life slideshow and yes it DOES work but you have to be great at the sales pitch to make it work with the up-sell. I used to work for Venture so I know all too well how excited clients get at the "cinema" type sales ploy & the fact that a lot of my clients would buy more than they ever expected to but these were for portraits, not wedding photos. I'm just trying to put myself in my clients' shoes and I really don't think I could pick my photos for my wedding album in the space of one viewing. We used to show a maximum of 40 images & we had clients booked in for an hour & we often ran over so I'm wondering how many photos Damien shows & how long his viewings are? The other question is, does he retouch/PS all the images he shows? Do they not get any hard copy proofs at all?

As for up-selling, I haven't yet had one client that hasn't added at least 20 extra pages to their Graphi albums, so I let's say the proof books work for me & the slideshows work for the Lovegroves!



LOL @ the clients loving the cheap photobooks! Did you have contact sheets in the books or larger images? Coz I swear if you have 6x4's in there they'll cut them out and frame them!! I have contact sheets in my books and the photobooks are part of a much larger package so I don't have to worry about a lack of print orders (which I actually HATE anyways!).

Sorry, I missed somehow missed this! I use DJ's ShowIt Web program. Very simple and quick to use.

most of my clients so far have enjoyed online proofing. i have one client though who does want a proof book for their wedding.

at first i was worried that spending time online, viewing their images would be too time consuming - but so far, everyone has loved it, i havent had any negative comments.

currently i am not in the position to offer inhome viewing or ahve a studio/office.

This is a good way to get clients to buy more...however, it is VERY old school (for many reasons it's not appreciated by brides either). It's still the way it's done in the high end portrait biz, but not really in the high end wedding biz.

Here is what I recommend:

Produce a slideshow with a limited run (14 days MAX) that connects directly to your online posting.

For instance:

Create slideshow using SHOWIT WEB (or whatever slideshow format you want, I personally use SHOWIT...Click Here for a sample--it is an expired wedding, so it won't link to Pictage I don't think).

Have it link to your online posting at Pictage, where you are offering a limited 2 for 1 or whatever discount, and watch the sales come in!

You have it both ways and it requires none of your time once the slideshow and posting is done. Also, the slideshows are a great marketing tool for potential brides!

Julie

That quote is one of my favourite lines from Six Feet Under...I assure you I'm a glass half-full kinda girl!

Thanks for your comments. I definitely take on board your comment about how online proofing is good as people recognise the images will go away. I think it's a little more convenient for the customer too maybe. Do you use Show-It software? I'm definitely going to have to research this Show-It deal a little more as it seems to have quite a big fanbase.

I think he spends a couple of hours in the viewing room with his clients and shows them about 200 images, depending on their package. All images are put through LR and PS before the clients see them by his post-prod editor, Marko, who is brilliant. I don't think they do get hard copies, no. It works for them, but of course, everyone has a different working method and a different market. He caters for the top end of the wedding market and clients usually go to him as they know his work and are prepared to work with him on his methods. I'm not quite at his level yet unfortunately! And I don't have a separate studio as he does, so not sure if I could make clients sit through a 2 hour viewing session in my home office!

Geneve

Thanks for this! Brilliant! I will definitely check this out.

Currently I use online proofing and the clients really seem to like it, as they can share the password with friends and family who couldn't make it to the wedding. This way they can leave the ordering of photos for those folks up to them. It's easy and fun for the clients.However, I LOVE the idea of the post-honeymoon viewing event. It's so classy and cool. I'm planning to offer that in addition to the online proofing as soon as I have a house so I can devote a room just to this purpose.+1 - this is GREAT. I'd venture a guess that most of the wedding photographers here (and most of the portrait photographers, too) use this approach. We loves us some ShowIt! My clients really love their slideshows. And they are super for getting them really excited to see the rest of their photos!

Libbie, thanks for your response. There have been a lot of thumbs up for the slideshow idea so I will definitely add this to my workflow me thinks. I love OSP so much!!

what am i? chopped liva?

Sorry Tami! Missed your post...whoops! It's good to hear someone else likes online viewing. Thank you!

Yeah, to be totally repetitive of the other posters, slide shows are great for spreading the word, blogging is too. I'm not at all good at up-selling, so for me online proofing is the best, and sales through my online store are better than I'd ever hoped, and WAY better than when I was doing cheap photobooks, that's for sure. I recently made it clear in my contract though that changes to slide shows are $25 per change. People started asking me to substitute things and I really don't have time for that, so if they REALLY want the change, they'll pay me for my time. Nobody so far has wanted a change THAT much. Phew.

I'm happy to make changes to the slideshow if they are buying it on a DVD, otherwise no. If they ask, I say just that "I'll be happy to make that change on your DVD order!"

I really appreciate this thread, I've been doing online proofing since I started, but I just started offering proofbooks as an 'extra' and now I'm rethinking it....

you do know i am only messing with ya.... i never take posting serious!

nice to see another UK person on here!!!