I'm still working with an unsatisfied customer and trying to get to the bottom of some of her complaints. One of them was that my prints seemed "flimsy", and like they were printed on someone's computer (I use WHCC, so I was really confused by this). She sent me an example from another photographer they had used in the past, and the print was mounted on fiberboard, I believe. As it turns out, she didn't know that her prints from that other photographer were mounted, that is just the way they came and so she expected the ones she got from me to be that way too, thus the "flimsy" comment. I have never done this with my prints, and I'm wondering if I'm in the minority with this. Is it the industry standard to mount prints (even 4x6 and 5x7's) when ordered, or do you just send them as is, and offer the mounting as an extra service?

I have several customers who scrapbook with the 4x6's I sell, so I know they wouldn't want them mounted. I can see how a customer might want a larger print mounted, but then again, I'm not sure what kind of frame they plan on using and if the mounting would fit in the frame or not. This is why I haven't done the mounting in the past, and currently don't even have pricing for it. But if this is what customers expect and most other photogs do, then I obviously need to re-examine my procedure.

(she did mention, though, that even the wallets she got from me seemed thinner than the wallets she got from the other photographer, and these were obviously unmounted. I can't for the life of me figure out if she's just being really picky, of if my product is really that sub-standard. Like I said, I use WHCC and this is the first unsatisfied customer I've ever had)

I mount larger prints, basically anything more than 8x10, unless someone specifically requests unmounted. I have seen some other photographers that mount 8x10s and up, and maybe 1 or 2 that mount everything including small prints. Occasionally someone will ask for a 5x7 or 5x5 that's mounted, but usually those sizes are ones they are giving to family so just the regular print is fine.

Never heard of someone thinking that one wallet print was flimsy though.

My default for everything is "mounted," but when prints 8x12 and smaller are ordered, the client can CHANGE it to "unmounted" when they order. Clients do not have the option to purchase a print larger than 8x12 that is unmounted. I sell mounted and unmounted for the same price. (So I kinda jump for joy when they choose "unmounted.")

My big problem lately is that when I order smaller prints mounted from whcc, they almost NEVER arrive having actually been mounted. I have had to call to have every single order since November remade to have the 5x7s and 4x6s mounted. They have all been ordered correctly, entered correctly, checked off by whcc's "quality control" people as having been mounted, but they arrive unmounted. I call. They remake and send for free, but there's always that week-long delay. I hate having to build that in to my time-frame. The next time it happens, I'm going to get a supervisor on the phone and complain. It's really getting ridiculous. (But the prints, when they eventually arrive correctly mounted, look FANTASTIC!)

we mount everything 8x10 and larger.
we also charge the same price for 5x7 and smaller (wallets are different)
there is a significant 'jump' to the 8x10 price, but it's still toward the lower end for professional prints in our area.



dear client,

i currently use one of the leading professional print labs in the country. the prints that you received were not mounted, as this is one way to hold down costs for my clients. i will be happy to reprint the photos at my cost, however, if you would like them to be mounted, the fees for the various sizes are as follows:
(fill in your price for mounting) $10/print is not too much.

happy new year!
your favorite photographer

with my prices i have the normal price, then ready to frame which comes on a matboard and then standout. they are three different prices so they know. i do this on 8x10s and up. then they have the choice. i havent had any complaints. i have done a matboard on 5x7s and they are beautiful. i would like to include them but i do thrifty proofing so much for the price that i dont want the jump in price for me. i make money off the prints and not the session so its a big difference for me.

good luck! just let them know before hand and it should be good. also dont judge all your business off one customer.

you could do a little customer survey out to your clients and list different things and if they reply they get a complimentary 5x7. i did they and almost every single person did it. now if they answer honest is a different thing =) its worth a try though. i bet most of your customers are very happy. dont let one bad apple get you down.

great that you posts this b/c I was about to ask as well.I recently decided to mount everything by default, but do explain to my clients and show examples at their session of what the mounted print looks like. I also have a place on my form to request any 5x7 or under "unmounted ". (just in case it will be placed in an album/baby book etc)My prints are from whcc as well, but i was having issue with them "curling" up. I honestly have never had any prints do this- so not sure if it has to do with the lustre spray -- or the wonky weather here in TX. If the photo is just left out the corners start to lift up and that to me would result in the appearance of less then stellar quality. To ensure my personal prints don't do that, I have them covered in an envelope--- but not too sure of the care my clients will take so I thought it would be best to just go ahead and mount everything.To be honest- I really love the look. Feels like I am giving them a little more of an art piece- and it looks a lot cooler if it is "just laying around". My clients really like the results and I think it somehow makes their purchase a little more justifiable.


ETA- I totally agree on reprinting that photo for your client and mounting it... worth the few $ to make sure she is happy.

My biz model is the other way around. I make the money up front in session fees; print sales are icing. So when I sell somebody a 5x7 and it arrives all beautiful and MOUNTED, it does get raves and it does seem more like it's worth the $15 they spent (for one print and shipping).

Everything you all are saying makes sense. I can totally see that a client would think a mounted print is more "justifiable" at the price, and I'm going to take Jules' suggestion and add an unmounted option for all sizes, but otherwise mount anything larger.

I am reworking and re-printing the photos for this client, so I'll have them mounted for her and it will (hopefully) be a nice surprise and more of what she was expecting in the first place.

Thank you for all the input!!

I mount anything bigger than 8x10 automatically.

I sell all my 5X's & 8X's mounted on a beveled board with either gold or silver edging, priced the same @ $45 each. My lab is Millers and they provide this service. If the customer wishes unmounted prints they are the same price. Folks like the presentation of these and it set me apart from the cheap photographers in my area.
The more you add to your presentation the more you get to charge for your product.

Best to ya, Ernst

Oh, It's a New Year, the price is going up!!!!! ;-)

I mount anything larger than an 8x12.

I love the idea of mounting smaller prints as well, but my concern is that even mounting to mattboard could potentially make a print not fit in a consumer frame (like a floater frame bought at target). Anyone had issues with this?

i want to do this but here all the photographers do it where they make money off the prints. i want to go out on a limb but i really dont think i can compete if i do. Everyone here looks at the session fee and even that they think i am high on. we live really in the boonies and i dont know of one photographer that has high end sessions. it stinks!

I haven't-- if anything, i love that i can remove all the "stuff" they shove in the frame (sample photo, foam or card board - etc)
I am sure not all frames are compatible- but if the size is started (ex 4x6) it definitely fits LxW. Not a problem I have faced yet.


I, like other photogs posted- make my profit of the session, and prints are a bonus. There was no increase in price when I switched over to mounting everything to my clients...
so, it digs a little into my profit- the difference is too small for me to consider price changes for something like that.

Other than the few times clients CHANGED the setting to "unmounted" when they ordered, I've mounted all prints from 4x6 and up as default for every client for a year. Not one person has complained that the print didn't fit in a frame.

That doesn't necessarily mean all the prints fit into the frame they had bought, it just means nobody complained.

I've been in a lot of houses where the prints were never put into a frame at all, just leaned on an easel or on a shelf. Clients are telling me that they LOVE not having to put prints in frames and that people are more comfortable PICKING the pictures UP and looking at them closely. (Because moving someone's frame is like moving the furniture.)

Hey Julie, I don't have a sitting fee, I have a Reservation Fee which I apply towards the customers order.

1hr in the studio is $300, On Location it's $400. I sell everything A la Carte. Working well for me and I live in small town America.

Best to ya, Ernst

I mount all prints 11x14 and larger on 2mm styrene. This protects them from damage or warping and is thin enough to not present a problem to a framer.

For smaller Portrait Prints (4x6 through 8x10) I mount them in an archival quality mat and put them in a clear bag. My prices are high enough to more than cover this additional cost and it really makes for a nice presentation and better referrals.

My smaller wedding prints are not mounted nor matted, as the price ($8-$16) is quite a bit less than my portrait prices and I can't afford to spend the time matting and presenting and probably won't get referrals from cousin Alice in Timbuktu. WHCC Print Fulfillment reduces ordering and delivery to a couple of clicks over coffee.

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