We learned the value of Shock and Awe from Robin at OSPW, so I decided to give it a try. I loved this little girl, we had our photo shoot on Saturday morning.

While I normally just load the pics to my website for them to view. I thought I would design a coffee table book (gonna use blurb ' cause its cheap) and really show off her images and make it like a story.

Please let me know what you think, I hope the mom will love it and show all her friends.

I really need a wedding, so I can design an album.


TFL

Melissa O

All comments and critiques welcomed and appreciated.

I like the page designs, but it makes for a really short album. Since this is not a wedding, and so you have a limited number of images, I'd get rid of all of the multi-image pages except that series in the pink shirt. Use the images individually and take up more pages. It also takes away from the shock and awe value to have all those small images on a page.

Robin is the best, isn't she? I love the pictures you did and the layouts you did, they look awesome. Did you do this on a program or in PSCS?

melissa i love it! more importantly, your clients should love it!

it's a sweet little book - clean design, GREAT images, and layout.

the books don't need to be big, or have a lot of pages. when the client is expecting to see proofs to pick from and in addition, they see a finished book of the best shots, i'd be surprised if they didn't want it right away. the smaller size is great, especially if they aren't expecting a book. i'm sure you thought of this... for the future, be sure to manage the clients' expectations of what they will see so that a bigger ticket item doesn't shock them in a bad way. let them know they will see a pre-designed book, give them an honest estimate and let them know there is no obligation to it. (if that's the way you want to go.)

SUPER job!

p.s. sure looks a lot like lumapix! what did you use?

I think it looks great!!! I'm going to try Robin's idea too......

What mom wouldn't love this and want to purchase it? Personally I would make it to where every other page has only one image highlighted and not have multiple photos on every one of them to give the eye some rest and cuz I like simple. Having said that, you did a super job. Ugh., makes me really wish I had been able to stay for that presentation!!!! Good on ya for implementing what you learned.

Robin, have a question for you, is there anything wrong with offering the client an album from, for instance like one you can order through iPhoto? Thinking in terms of portraits not wedding albums. Reason I ask is that it is soooo easy to use and for portraits I don't think people would want to spend lots of $$ on an album. Also what is the typical mark up for an album?
Thanks!

Thanks for the replys I love feedback. The book is about 20 pages, softcover so I can offer it to her for a lot less, and she will show it all over the place, at least that is my hope. I didn't show all the pages, just a few, there are some with just full page images and some empty spots.

I did this in Lumapix and I saved the pages as templates so I can use it again for another client.

I am hoping this will be a big hit.

Melissa O

GREAT idea! Love the images and the parents will too. I agree with the too busy on some pages but you explained that there are more pages that have less so that probably evens it out. Couldn't imagine a parent and grandparents NOT wanting a book

Sorry for my ignorance here but I have questions. I see that Lumapix is an album design program but do you get the books from Lumapix also?

I am sure this will be a big hit, can't wait to hear back what the mom thinks!

i don't use anything that has 'consumer' access. but, i don't think there is anything wrong with it.

to price them, you need to consider your costs and TIME. how much do you want to earn per hour? then see how long it takes you, then add the cost of the book, and the profit to the goods. (this type of work is easily $25-$50 per hour.) you need to do a few to get an adea (just do them for yourself to see how long and how much work, etc.) you will see that at a certain point the time it takes far out weighs the cost of the book.

i suggest using very high quality products. a book like this will get a lot of wear and tear. you might want to sell them in pairs (the price of the books is pretty low) then they can take one to travel around, and one to keep at home.




i can't wait to hear what they think!

AWESOME!!! I'm sure the mom will love them! Great job Melissa!

I really need to get on the ball here with this! I'm in a gap right now with portrait sessions (nothing officially on the books till april, though I know I will get some bookings here soon) and now would be a good time to FINALLY decide on which album companies we are going to offer, and design some sample albums so we will at least know HOW to do it once we get some paying clients coming through.

I have a photo session I'm working on right now, but I'm not sure if I'm ready yet to go the album route since like I said we haven't fully decided on the companies yet.

It will be! I thought it was awesome!

Here's a thought for those portrait folks (like me) who are slowly wading through the slow months post-holiday madness. I did this in January and it saved my arse. I marketed it as an introductory special to introduce session albums (JLee albums - www.jleedesigns.com) & storybooks (Asuka) to the product line.

If you have the time (and especially if you need the samples) go through some of your favorite portrait sessions from the fall and design books for them. Contact your clients, tell them how much you loved their session, so much that you decided to feature their session(s) in your new book lineup. Let them know you've already designed the book and will be ordering a copy for your studio, and ask if they would like one for themselves. Let them know that there is a very limited time to order (I gave two weeks)

Since this was all true as can be, I didn't charge an arm and a leg for the books (Asuka 5x5s) and kept the designs sweet and simple. I did 20-page books and made sure to add a final page with my studio information. I designed books for 8 sessions and 6 of the 8 ordered one or more. I haven't yet felt the good buzz from them, as they haven't been delivered yet, but I'm very sure that they'll get shown around like crazy and will generate lots of interest.

I didn't give a softcover option, but maybe that would be a good way to offer multiples for much less. Softcover versions of the main book would be excellent gifts, I would think.

What better form of marketing than marketing that makes you money in both directions! I'll see if I can post up some photos of the books when they arrive (they'll be used to flesh out the product section of my website, currently down while I update everything).

I want to put this in an IL Album. Contact me so we can get this set up as a sample for you.
Shaun Austin

Shaun,

I am glad you saw the thread... I sent you an email through your website.


Melissa O