A place for you to learn, get inspired, and keep up to date with all things SmugMug and photography
Richard Burley is an educator, photographer, and the founder of Epic Action Imagery. He travels the world photographing sporting events from football and hockey to obstacle races like Tough Mudder and Spartan. We caught a moment of his time to talk about luck, sofas, and velociraptors, among other fun details.
SmugMug: Hi Richard. To start with, tell us about yourself!
Richard Burley: I’m a sports and action photographer based in the UK. Prior to taking up photography as my full-time job, I worked in education. Initially as a college teacher progressing up the career ladder to management roles. In 2014, just as my photo business was starting to grow, a conversation about volunteers for redundancy saw my hand shoot up. A few weeks later I packed up my desk and headed out of my office and on to what became a huge adventure. I do still teach a few hours and enjoy that side of my life too, but I fell in love with action photography early.
SM: How’d you get into photography?
RB: I’ve had an interest in photography since I was a child watching my dad in his home darkroom developing photos. It wasn’t until much later that I started to think more seriously about taking photos professionally, but my interest in capturing sport, action, and movement was growing.
I bought my first DSLR with the royalties from a text book I co-authored and started to learn lessons by trial and error. I prefer to learn by experimenting and finding out what works and what doesn’t rather than reading or watching others. The only qualification I’ve actually got is a badge from Cub Scouts. I’m very much self-taught.
SM: Tell us about starting and growing a photography company?
RB: The real start of it was in January of 2010. I’d stopped coaching football and decided I wanted to get into photography, and was shooting semi-pro matches for a friend. But I just wasn’t getting the shots I wanted, because I was convinced I didn’t have the right lens.
So I go to the camera shop, just to look at a new 70–200mm lens…and 30 seconds later I’m walking out with the box. [laughs] And I’m thinking “I’ve just spent the sofa deposit on a new camera lens, this is gonna take some explaining.”
So I told my wife I spent the money we’d saved for a sofa on a camera lens, and she responded “Well you’re gonna have to take that lens and make that money again.” Which I took very literally! I said okay, I’ll start a business.
SM: The right equipment can make all the difference! What happened next?
RB: A couple of months later, I’m shooting the occasional sporting event, making a little bit of money, but still employed full-time with the college, when on a trip to Cambridge with the family I spot a billboard. On this billboard is a picture of someone jumping over burning straw bales, and I thought “that looks like fun, why don’t I see if they’ve got a photographer?”
There’s a concept people in business will often refer to called “luck.” I think I’ve benefited from an enormous amount of luck. This was a billboard for Spartan Race. They’d just started — one event in the US, no events anywhere else, this was their first event in the UK — and they said “you know, we hadn’t thought about course photography, of course you can come!”
That first moment at a Spartan Race really told me what it was gonna be like: I’m set up along the course, waiting for people to come from the right, and suddenly they appear to my left like velociraptors. And that was it. That said to me “don’t ever expect everything. You know that thing where you like things to be predictable? You’re gonna have to part with that.”
SM: What a lesson to learn on the first day. How’d you grow that into the Epic Action Imagery we see today?
RB: Well, one thing led to another and soon Spartan was asking me to shoot their international events. Then other events start asking me to shoot, because they’re pulling from Spartan’s pool of course photographers, and suddenly I’m doing this full time and building teams. I’d call it an accidental business, really. An experiment that got entirely out of hand.
I think I was fairly lucky, again, because I was an educator and a manager in my full-time work before this. I was used to recruitment, I was used to building teams, passing on information, delegating, and allowing people to grow. Everything I did was very developmental.
The whole purpose of education is to help people grow to become better than yourself — and not be intimidated by that, which is a great fit for photography. It’s really something I look for while building a team of photographers: work that makes me stop and go “whoa. I’ve gotta know how you got that.” I’ve had the privilege of working with other photographers that inspire and enthuse me to work hard and to keep learning.
SM: What is it about action photography that calls to you?
RB: I enjoy the challenge of capturing movement at the right time. Facial expressions in sport really tell a story too. Emotions are often amplified in a sporting environment and seeking to tell the story is a challenge that I enjoy. Participants on a Tough Mudder course emerging from ice filled pools or getting zapped by electricity really brings out a range of expressions. And I’ve done a couple of the events myself so I have an inkling of what they’re experiencing.
I enjoy the people too. Sports events have an energy and a vibe that I find motivating. Capturing people overcoming fears or beating their personal bests is a responsibility I take seriously and I work hard to ensure that moment is captured for them to share with their friends and family. There’s been several moments where I’ve captured people who’ve overcome significant changes in their life to achieve a sporting goal. Often I find there’s a bit of dust in my eye when seeing such a victory.
A big motivation for me to make amateur sports people look like pros, giving them an image in which they look truly epic. From my personal perspective I always try to take a picture that makes a person look and feel like Usain Bolt. When they’ve had a bad day and they’re reaching for that beer in the fridge, they can see a picture on the fridge door of themselves leaping over flaming hay bales and think “I am awesome! I am epic!”
SM: Last business question: what’s the biggest challenge in shooting action photography?
RB: The vagaries of the weather, absolutely. I’ve worked in 42 degree heat (108° F) in Bahrain, and I’ve worked in -20 cold (-4° F) in Canada. Thigh-deep snow, I’ve been swatting flies off, days where it feels like someone’s hitting me with a firehose, but I love that. I love being outdoors. To reframe that: I don’t think there’s a challenge apart from loving what you do, really.
Even when you’re shooting the same thing — someone jumping over flames or crawling through mud — how do you tap into the journey they took to get there, to be fit enough to run five miles and leap over these flames? The biggest challenge, and the biggest joy, really, is tapping into the energy and euphoria of these participants each and every time.
SM: What gear do you use to capture those moments?
RB: Canon 1DXs (3 x mk1 and 1 x mk2) with a range of lenses from 16mm to 400mm. I started with Canon in 2006 and have yet to be tempted to try anything else. I am curious to try a few mirrorless options and listen to the experiences of other photographers when considering my kit choices, but the 1DX is a versatile workhorse and has coped very well with the range of conditions that I find myself working in and the image quality means that I can get the images I want.
The lenses I favor for events are the 16–35mm and the 70–200mm. My kit gets a fair amount of scuffing on rocks and hard ground so I use an EasyCover to try to keep my kit protected.
For football, I’ll have the 400mm and 70–200mm as a main set up and the 16mm on a remote camera positioned behind the goal using a PocketWizard set up. The 400mm is my favourite lens. It’s an old-school mark 1 IS 2.8, but so crisp and ideal for capturing the action that unfolds at the other end of the pitch. It’s a little heavy and if the teams change ends before kick off, it’s quite a challenge to run round the pitch perimeter with all the gear. I hear the mkIII may be a little more mobile and I may make the switch in the future.
SM: Speaking of gear, what got you started with SmugMug?
RB: I started with SmugMug in 2013. I met a representative at the PhotoShow and at the time was looking for a platform to host event images in a cost-effective, reliable, high quality, and simple to use manner. I was also in search of something that would let me search my photos by keywords and bib numbers so I could easily sort participant photos. We had to be able to deal with the kind of peak demand that these events generate. Fortunately, SmugMug met all these criteria and I signed up that evening. 4.7 million photos later we’re still going — if I posted one photo every minute, it would take me 7 ½ years to get through them all. We love it.
SM: What’s your most-used or favorite SmugMug feature?
RB: I actually just redesigned the site last week. Part of our post-COVID recovery has been taking the time to think about what we do and why we do it, and engaging with my local business community. I met with a local marketer who told me “your photos are amazing, but man your website’s old fashioned.”
So I tried a landing page, liked the look, and three hours later I’ve got the whole site looking brand new. It was that easy.
In terms of what I use a lot, it’s image library management. SmugMug works as part of our client relationships, so Spartan or whoever can go in and retrieve images easily, and we manage their photo library as part of the business relationship. They tell us what details they want for the photo — keywords, metadata, factoids, you name it — and we’ll get those set up for them.
Photo sharing is a big part of it, too, and obviously sales, which we like because they’re all seamless. It’s also visibility. I can see what photos people are buying, track stats, keep up with what’s popular. Sometimes you get excited about an image as a photographer because all of the elements came together, and you get to see people excited about those same things enough to buy and share them, too.
SM: Lastly, any tips for a new SmugMug user?
RB: Learn. Keep learning. See what others do, interrogate the style, and let that style influence you as you capture your images and organize your site. There’s so many wonderfully talented photographers showcasing their work on SmugMug, it’s a great way to find inspiration and to showcase your own work.
_______
Follow Richard Burley on Instagram and Facebook. Also, visit his website at https://www.epicactionimagery.com.
And, tell us what you think of this interview! Start a conversation on SmugMug’s Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
As a SmugMug Pro subscriber, you have access to some game-changing features that help you run your business. One valuable feature we’d like to highlight today can revolutionize your client photography sessions: client downloads. This feature is designed to simplify and enhance the photo download experience for both you and your clients. If you haven't explored it yet, we’ll walk you through it.
Client downloads are a feature that allow you to offer a specific number of photo downloads to your clients as part of your photography packages. This means you can provide your clients with a convenient and efficient way to select and receive their favorite photos, all within the limits of the package they've chosen.
1. Streamlined selection process: With client downloads, your clients can easily choose their preferred photos from the session, saving both you and them valuable time. No more sifting through hundreds of photos—they can focus on their favorites.
2. Customized experience: It enhances the client experience by giving them control over which photos they want to download. Clients appreciate this level of customization, making them happier with your service.
3. Clear communication: Offering a set number of downloads helps set clear expectations from the start. Clients know exactly what they're getting, reducing misunderstandings and potential disputes. Also, No longer will you have to send them galleries with downloads disabled, communicate back and forth about the images they want to choose, and then send them only those photos.
4. Value addition: Including a specific number of downloads in your packages adds perceived value to your services. Clients see it as an extra benefit, which can influence their decision to choose your photography services over competitors.
5. Efficiency: For you, it simplifies the delivery process. You don't have to manually send each selected photo; clients can download them directly from their account.
Picture this—You photograph family portrait sessions. Typically, you book a session for a flat fee. This session fee not only includes the portrait session, but also includes the ability for customers to download 20 of their favorite photos after you edit and deliver them. On SmugMug, here’s how client downloads help:
1. Set the limit: Decide how many photos you want to allow this particular client to download. In this case, 20.
2. Inform your clients: Generate a dedicated one-time link for your client from your SmugMug gallery and send it to them.
3. Client selection: Your clients follow the link to your gallery and choose their favorite photos up to the agreed-upon limit of 20.
4. Effortless delivery: Once they've made their selections, they can immediately download their chosen photos (and only their chosen photos), simplifying the delivery process for you.
Don't miss out on the opportunity to improve your client experience and add value to your photography services. Client downloads are a feature that can make your client delivery workflow easier than ever.
To get started with client downloads and see the impact it can have on your photography business, simply log in to your account and explore this feature today. Watch this quick video to see it in action.
Available only for SmugMug Pro subscribers. Not on the Pro plan? Learn more about how the Pro plan can help you elevate your photography business.
Offering coupons is a powerful strategy that can provide numerous benefits for you and your clients. SmugMug makes offering coupons a snap, so let’s learn more about how this feature can benefit your business.
Coupons can create a sense of urgency and excitement around purchasing. When customers know they have a limited time to use a discount, they are more likely to make a decision quickly. This can lead to increased sales as clients are motivated to take action before the coupon expires.
Coupons are not only attractive to existing clients, but they also entice new customers to make their first purchase. People often try out products or services they've been curious about if there's a discount involved. This can help you expand your customer base.
Coupons are a fantastic way to show appreciation to loyal customers. By offering exclusive discounts to repeat clients, you can strengthen your relationship with these customers and encourage them to return for more business in the future.
When clients receive discounts, they are more likely to feel a connection to you. This sense of goodwill can lead to increased customer loyalty as clients remember the positive experience and are more likely to return for future photography needs.
You can utilize coupons to align with specific seasons, holidays, or events. For instance, a discount offered for holiday family photos or back-to-school portraits can drive targeted sales during those periods.
SmugMug coupons offer various types of discounts like "percent off," "amount off," or "free shipping." This allows you to tailor your offers to what resonates best with your audience.
Promoting coupons through various channels—social media, email newsletters, or your website—can generate buzz and engagement. This not only leads to immediate sales but also increases the visibility of the your brand.
Through the use of coupons, you can gather valuable data on customer behavior. You can analyze which coupons were most effective, which customer segments responded best, and adjust your marketing strategies accordingly.
In a competitive photography market, offering coupons can set you apart from your competitors. Clients are more likely to choose a photographer who provides additional value through discounts.
After a successful purchase using a coupon, clients are more likely to return for future photography needs, even without a discount. This can establish a long-term relationship between you and your clients.
SmugMug coupons are a powerful tool that can help you boost sales, attract and retain customers, and strengthen your brand's presence. By using coupons effectively, you can create a win–win situation for both yourself and your clients. Haven’t tried coupons on SmugMug? Learn more about this feature today!
Available only for SmugMug Pro subscribers. Not on the Pro plan? Learn more about how the Pro plan can help you elevate your photography business.
The SmugMug Pro plan offers an "Assistant" feature which can be a game-changer for busy photographers. Let’s learn more about this feature and the value it provides.
By using the "Assistant" feature, you can delegate time-consuming tasks like uploading and organizing photos to your trusted associates. This means less time spent on administrative duties and more time focused on what you do best—capturing stunning images.
Utilizing an “Assistant” password enables you to work seamlessly with your assistants, ensuring a smooth workflow and organized photo management. This can lead to enhanced productivity and better outcomes for their photography projects.
Delegating tasks to your assistant does not mean relinquishing control or sharing sensitive account information. You define a separate password for your assistant to use. When logged in, assistants will only have access to important workflow features (like uploading, organizing, keywording, etc). They will not be able to take any destructive actions like deleting content or changing prices on your photos.
The "Assistant" feature can directly contribute to the growth of your photography business. By delegating tasks, you can take on more clients and projects, expand your portfolio, and increase your overall business capacity.
Utilizing an assistant gives you the potential for a better work–life balance. With the help of an assistant, you can free up more of your personal time, reducing burnout and stress.
Assistants often have specific strengths. For example, if an assistant has expertise in photo editing or culling, they can handle those aspects while you focus on shooting.
By streamlining your workflow with an assistant, you might discover hidden opportunities for innovation and growth within your business. Freed from routine tasks, you can explore new creative avenues or expand into areas you previously didn't have time for.
The "Assistant" feature is designed to be user-friendly and intuitive. Your assistants have access to the key parts of your same SmugMug account and can quickly learn how to navigate the system and contribute effectively to your workflow.
The "Assistant" feature on SmugMug isn't just a time-saver; it's a strategic tool that empowers you to leverage your strengths, grow your businesses, and achieve a healthier work-life balance. By utilizing this feature, you can shift your focus from administrative tasks to your true passion – capturing breathtaking moments through your lens. Learn more about this feature today!
Available only for SmugMug Pro subscribers. Not on the Pro plan? Learn more about how the Pro plan can help you elevate your photography business.
Packages are the perfect tool for professional photographers like you to offer curated bundles of photo prints and digital copies. Imagine being able to provide your clients with an all-in-one solution that simplifies their purchase experience while boosting your sales. It's a win-win.
Boost sales: Packages allow you to create enticing offers that encourage customers to buy more. Offering bundled deals can increase the average order value and, ultimately, your revenue.
Simplify the purchase process: Your clients no longer need to agonize over choosing individual prints and files. They can easily select a package that suits their needs, making the decision-making process hassle-free.
Value for your clients: Customers love discounts and bundled deals. Packages provide them with great value, making them more likely to make a purchase and recommend your services to others.
Consider this example - you could offer a package that includes two 8x10 prints, two 4x6 prints, and the original digital files—all at a discounted rate. Your clients can then choose which photos they want to include in this package, creating a personalized experience.
Ready to make the most of this feature? Here's how to get started:
1. Log in to your account.
2. Navigate to the packages section via the Selling Tools menu at the top of your account.
3. Create your customized packages based on popular combinations.
4. Promote these packages to your clients through your website, social media, or email campaigns.
Remember, packages can not only simplify your workflow but also enhance the buying experience for your clients, leading to more orders and happier customers.
Ready to get started? Learn more about creating packages.
Available only for SmugMug Pro subscribers. Not on the Pro plan? Learn more about how the Pro plan can help you elevate your photography business.
Are you ready to revolutionize the way you connect your customers with your photos? Enter SmugMug QR codes.
We know that one of the big challenges in photographing an event is finding an efficient way to let the attendees know how to view and purchase your photos. We also know that speed is everything when it comes to monetizing your photography. The quicker your event clients visit your gallery, the greater their interest in the photos, and the more money you make!
That's where QR codes come in.
Picture this scenario: You're booked for a youth sporting event next week. With SmugMug QR codes, you can create relevant galleries and generate QR codes for them well in advance. Simply print out the QR codes on fliers, business cards, or any other marketing collateral that you prefer and hand them out at the event.
Here's where the magic unfolds for both you and your clients:
Effortless engagement: No more scribbling down long URLs or hoping clients remember your website. Your QR code becomes an instant bridge between the event attendees and their cherished memories. They just need to scan, and voilà – they're taken directly to their dedicated photo gallery!
Elevated exposure: QR codes don't just streamline client access; they supercharge your marketing efforts. Display your QR code at the event entrance or on marketing materials, instantly impressing attendees with your tech-savviness. And guess what? They're more likely to share your QR code, organically amplifying your brand reach!
Customer delight: The joy of reliving event highlights shouldn't be overshadowed by the hassle of tracking down photos. With a simple scan, your clients navigate effortlessly through their personalized gallery, ensuring a seamless and delightful experience.
Time-saving: We understand that your time is precious. SmugMug QR codes liberate you from the tedious task of individually sharing galleries, freeing you up to focus on what truly matters – capturing stunning shots.
So, are you ready to elevate your brand, simplify your workflow, and make more money? Try out QR codes at your next event. Available only for SmugMug Pro subscribers. Not on the Pro plan? Learn more about how the Pro plan can help you elevate your photography business.
The SmugMug Events feature gives your clients a way to pick their favorite photos from galleries you've curated for them, streamlining the purchasing or photo delivery process in a simple and elegant way. Set up is easy and the benefits are many:
You even get to customize the URL. Your client sees a gorgeous, personalized presentation with each gallery displayed before them, highlighted by an optional slideshow.
Just add them as participants. Click the Share button and send them a personalized email invitation with their unique link to the event.
If your event is public, you can set up the option for viewers to register themselves, meaning you get to collect their email addresses and they get to pick favorites. Win–win.
Registered participants (your clients) browse the event galleries and choose their favorites, marking them with a little red heart. As favorites are clicked, virtual copies of each favorite photo are placed in a special Favorites gallery. Favorites galleries are unique to each registered guest or participant and visible only to them (and you). And your visitors will always know where to find their favorites gallery because we'll send them an email that includes a link to it.
In short: It's easy for your clients to pick, choose, and view their favorites.
They can review them, whittle down their selections, or add new favorites at any time. Participants can purchase any of your available products directly from within their favorites gallery, or anywhere within the event. If you’re working with a client on selections for a special project, like a wedding album, their choices are only a click away. No more trying to hunt down cryptic file names from an email.
Feature the event on your homepage. SmugMug allows you to set up your event and generate a URL beforehand so you have that info at the ready. Online, you can modify your event and add new photos as they become available. If that’s too complicated, you can even feature an event on your homepage, putting it front and center.
Feature the event gallery (or galleries) on printed materials at the event. Include the event URL at every opportunity, like the following. (Make sure your printed material matches the formality of the event.)
Talk to your host. If your event has a chairperson, director, or simply a social butterfly, exchange email addresses and information. Chances are they have access to a mailing list, registry, or directory in which to distribute info about the event, the photos, and you.
Remember, the people you photograph want to see their images. It’s up to you to get them to where the photos live. Events are one way to make that process a little bit easier on you and your clients.
No sales? Hard time snagging clients? Your deep-discount pricing could be hurting your reputation. It's not uncommon to offer your services at a cut-rate discount with the hope you'll snap up eager bargain hunters. But is this the right approach?
Successful pros agree that raising your pricing may not necessarily scare away potential clients; in fact, it can do you some good.
"Cheap" sets bad expectations for your clients. If you're a cheap photographer, clients wonder how you're cutting costs so much and if it's worth it for them to take the risk. They question your ability to manage expectations and communicate with them. Will you effectively guide them through an important experience, or will you simply fire a few snaps, hand over some digital files, and call it a day?
"Cheap" makes it look as though you don't think you're any good. Any business owner who doesn't think their brand's the best is probably in the wrong field.
Right about now you're probably worried about scaring away clients by being too expensive. How do your clients know what "expensive" really is? It's all about pricing and a concept called anchoring—meaning they have to compare the value of something new with something familiar. In layman’s terms, clients will be able to better grasp the value of your work by judging their interaction with you.
Here are some tips to help you prove your work is worth every penny:
Just because you should be paid fairly for your work doesn't mean you can't cut clients a break, or even do the "free" thing once in a while. Samples are a great way to give clients a taste of what you do without giving away the farm. Some ideas of how to work this into your business plan:
On SmugMug, it's easy to offer a few deep discounts by creating a custom coupon to hand out. There are five different types, ensuring you can keep changing it up and keeping things relevant.
The reason most photography businesses don't survive is because their owners didn't properly calculate their costs. And as the old adage goes, time is money. Don't forget that your time and expertise are more precious than replaceable objects like paper and gear; you can hire assistants, but they aren't you.
Here are our suggested guidelines for calculating your costs:
Don't be afraid to charge a fair price for your work. By understanding your costs and charging more, you're sending a stronger message to your clients and ensuring they value you, too.
If you're already in business and think your prices need an adjustment, remember that it's simple to adjust your pricing using SmugMug’s pricelists.
"My style is very interactive. I am talkative, funny, interested, silly, loud at times, and from the instant I meet a new client I treat them like an old friend. There is no awkwardness, no breaking the ice. I jump right in and start playing peek-a-boo with their kids and asking them about their childbirth stories. I love people. I love hearing about them, their family, their job, their life. I want them to be comfortable enough to relax and show me who they are in the course of our shoot.”
We don’t mean those jorts you wear. We’re talking about your photographic style. Customers have a certain style in mind when searching for a photographer, so it's important to make sure you’re expressing a style that's true to you.
When describing your style, think about the following:
The one word common to each of those questions is you. People hire you for you: your personality, your expertise, your demeanor, your creative vision. Identifying your style will help you establish your brand and your business model. It will help you understand who your customers will be, or who you want them to be, and will help you to establish your place in the market. Your style leads to creating your brand.
Admirers have called Andi Grant’s work "traditional," a label that used to amuse her until she began to grasp the implicit compliment. "It’s interesting because I don’t come from a classical photography background," she said. "Now I want to be considered timeless. My images are very clear—sharp, well-exposed images that are not over-manipulated. Very organic. People see that and like it." –Andi Grant
You’ll find inspiration in all kinds of places: in art, from other photographers, in magazines and books, in the way you decorate your home and office. What speaks to you the most; what inspires you to try something new?
Look at the work of others, try to understand how they achieved the result, think about situations where the technique would be appropriate, and if it’s something that you would like to emulate.
What kind of customer do you enjoy working with? Are you more comfortable with the formal family portrait, or a play day in the park? Do you prefer dramatically lit studio portraits, or edgy outdoor backlighting? Are you the master of the speedlight?
Make sure prospective customers understand what you offer. You can’t be everything for everyone, and that’s alright. Hone in on your style, attract the customers that dig your style, and create the best experience possible for them, and for you.
Make sure your style is clearly reflected in your portfolio, in your website, and in your messaging so prospective customers can get a good sense of you, your work, and whether or not you’re a good fit for their needs. Identifying your style will help you build your brand.
Do you know Lee Morris, pro photographer, video producer, and educator? He's a seasoned commercial, advertising, fashion, and wedding photographer, plus he's co-founder of the website Fstoppers.com. He took a moment to reflect on the wedding business, why it's so hard, how it's changing, and how pros like you can make the most of it by staying true to your heart.
When it comes to managing a business as intimate as wedding photography, it’s easy to let your emotions take over. I try my best to approach my photography business as I would any other business. I need to manage my time, keep my current clients happy, consistently book new clients, and make money. Many photographers fail to meet at least one of these goals. Maybe you’re really good at making your current clients happy, but you work too much and you don’t enjoy your job or have time to enjoy your life. Maybe you book a ton of work, but you don’t charge enough and you’re constantly struggling financially.
During the digital revolution, many photographers who didn’t change their pricing structure were incapable of making their current clients happy. Maybe their pictures were great, but as digital started to take over, couples felt like they were getting nickeled and dimed after the event. If you can’t make your current clients happy, you’re going to struggle to find new clients.
When I started my business years ago, I learned early on that I hated making prints and albums. I could shoot a wedding in a few hours and make a few thousand dollars, but it would take me a full day to retouch a few pictures, print them myself, or take the files to a lab, package them up, take them to the post office, and I would only make a few dollars’ profit. In many cases my clients would have to wait weeks to actually get their prints because I was out of the state shooting another job. I decided I was going to start giving away the digital files with each of my weddings. Maybe I would lose a few dollars on the back end, but I was also gaining a ton of free time; and my clients were happier because they could print their pictures how they wanted, when they wanted.
As a single guy in my twenties, money was important to me, but free time was far more valuable. Once I had booked my 20 or 30 weddings for the year, I knew I had plenty of income to support myself and had the security to start working on other things. With the extra time I had gained, I created the photography website Fstoppers.com. If I had focused on custom prints and albums like other photographers do, I have no doubt I would have made a bit more money, but Fstoppers has been far more rewarding. Creating videos for our website like Bon Jovi’s photographer behind the scenes, Peter Hurley’s: The Art Behind The Headshot, or How To Become A Wedding Photographer has been the most exciting experiences of my life.
My point is that you may love your photography career (I sure do), but if you can give yourself some extra time, who knows what you’ll be able to create.
When I found SmugMug, I realized it filled three major needs in my business:
By simplifying my business, I was meeting all four goals above; I had more free time, my clients were happier, I was marketing to new potential clients, and I was making money from print sales each month.
It’s easy to think we know what’s best for our clients. We may know that if they don’t book an album now, they will probably never get one made. But the sad truth is that many of our clients would rather put their pictures on Facebook than deal with an album. It’s important to remember that we are hired by these couples to do a service for them; if they don’t want prints, we should figure out what they do want and charge them accordingly for that.
If you’ve ever bought a car before, you know how obnoxious it can be when the salesman tries to sell you on something you don’t want. There are so many other ways to make money with wedding photography that may not involve expensive prints. I make far more money than I ever did selling prints by selling engagement and bridal sessions, setting up a photobooth at receptions, selling video slideshows of the event, and offering a video service. Many photographers also don’t know that SmugMug makes it incredibly easy to sell digital copies of files. If you don’t want to give away your files like I do, you’re able to set the size and price for each individual picture.
I want to make clear that I love high-quality prints and that many wedding photographers make a lot of money selling prints, even today. I love seeing my work printed huge, professionally framed, and hanging on a wall. My point is simply that times are changing and the current generation of brides probably do not want the same things that their mothers wanted. To stay ahead of the pack, you need to deliver exactly what your clients are looking for, not what you think they will appreciate one day.
If I could sum up this article into a single point it would be this: Listen to your clients, and give them what they want. A happy bride will tell her friends how wonderful you are, and you will never have to worry about a shortage of work. In some cases, especially this one, it can make your life a lot simpler, and you might even make more money.
All photos by RL Morris Weddings.
Glossy Finish was born in 2006 when Haim Ariav was suddenly inspired to build a mobile photo lab in a trailer and cart it to sporting events, enabling families to view, purchase, and retrieve photos on site. Ariav, a classically trained photographer, saw an unfilled niche: he recognized that as a “want” industry, photography was taking a hit in a rough economy, so he set out to re-brand memorializing athletic moments as a “need” by making it easier to enshrine kids’ sports glory. Redefining how images are delivered on site is the foundation of Glossy’s business model, unique in the sports photography vertical.
But on-site sales aren’t Glossy’s sole revenue stream. After an event, Ariav’s team uploads its treasures to SmugMug’s cloud and follows through with additional distribution via SmugMug’s labs. Online sales, a significant supplement to Glossy’s revenue stream, run smoothly on SmugMug, along with back-office functions. “We rely on the website for 100% of our revenue for events that don’t utilize the mobile lab,” Ariav said. “Using the SmugMug infrastructure, reliability and scalability are key for us. Having access to the various products offered by the labs is a huge opportunity for us to carry out our online strategy.”
Ariav’s team uses online proofing to boost non-mobile sales. “Different events may not warrant the use of our patent-pending mobile lab,” he pointed out. “The success of those depends on customer satisfaction with images and ease of purchase. SmugMug allows us to deliver a successful experience.”
Ariav endorsed SmugMug’s decision to allow digital downloads to have watermarks. “We felt it would facilitate our ability to brand ourselves on social media,” Ariav said. “We wanted to have a presence on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, where so much photo sharing takes place. We know how important printmarks and watermarks are to both our business and our creativity.”
Ariav milks every branding opportunity he can out of SmugMug’s tools, even while focused on image protection. “Printmarks turn images from just a photograph into a memory,” he said. “Our logo is also typically part of the printmark. Watermarks deter people from stealing, but we also use them as a way to show what [clients’] prints will look like with the printmark. We are always marketing and trying to keep up brand awareness.”
Outlining a strong customization strategy for site design and gallery organization, and a reliance on SmugMug’s advanced customization tools, Glossy also has the cart-branding feature firmly in the “on” position: “Branding is a huge part of what we do best, which can be seen in our website customization. We [use] cart branding so our customers know they’re getting a great Glossy Finish product. We also use the box sticker. We want customers to know who they are getting a package from and, most importantly, thank them for their order.”
Ariav used to blanket events with trigger-happy shutterbugs. Now, by sending sales teams to pre-sign customers, he may only capture four or five kids out of 20, but the average order has increased from $25 to $125. “It’s okay not to photograph every player on every field at every game,” he said. “We focus only on those that want and love our photos. It works better for the customer and us
With SmugMug’s help, this focus on time-saving extends to online sales: “We try to keep pricing as uniform as we can to lessen confusion on our end,” Ariav said. “With the introduction of pricelists, it is much easier to organize pricing throughout the site. Now I can set up pricelists for sales and simply move galleries around once the sale is over.”
After cutting overhead and moving from the flea-market, on-spec approach to a more profitable, streamlined system scaffolded on a $20 deposit credited toward purchase, Ariav saw opportunities to reach a larger audience without snapping a photo. Envisioning his business as “an exclusive entertainment club,” Ariav created custom lanyards customers could don at soccer tournaments, showcasing that their kid’s athletic prowess was immortalized by Glossy Finish. The result? A flood of visitors to his trailer.
Photographers have never discriminated when it comes to capturing contacts; Glossy worked hard to collect home addresses and emails. Now, Ariav plays smarter, relying on texting select targets for marketing blasts. His on-site blitzes are wildly successful. “If we have a slow period, we can ping them and—boom!—the trailer fills up. We have a direct connection to our customers. And when we’re done with an event, we have more contacts in our database for future direct and instant marketing.”
You’re a photographer who makes money from sales, so you’re in control of how your images can and should be used. SmugMug gives you tools to know exactly where your photos are going...and where they’re not.
You can also tweak every setting listed below (except for #8, pricelists) in your gallery settings and save them as a preset. Total time-saver.
1. Set your largest viewing size.
Every gallery on your site gives you the ability to disable your original-resolution images and limit how large your fans can view your photos. We suggest you allow at least the XL display size to create a big impact and allow your potential buyers to see all the glorious detail in your photos. Used in concert with other image-protection features below, your photos will still be safe and sound.
2. Gallery privacy.
Protect your galleries with a viewing password or keep them unlisted to be sure only the right clients with the right credentials are browsing your photos.
3. Share versus owner share.
The Share button is on by default so fans can spread the word about you. If you'd rather be the one sharing, turn this off in your gallery settings. You'll still be able to post and share; the button will instead say "Owner Share" and be visible only to you while logged in.
4. Right-click protection.
With this enabled, we’ll display a message whenever someone right-clicks on your images in your gallery. Keep in mind that snapping a screen grab is a basic function on any computer and isn’t prevented with right-click protection, so we recommend using this feature together with custom watermarking. The result? Your name stays associated with the image, no matter what.
5. Watermarking.
Put your name, URL, or logo on every photo you shoot. At SmugMug, watermarks are completely non-destructive, meaning they're applied to display copies only. Any print, gift, or digital download purchased from your site will be clean and clear.
Tip: Let your watermarked photos loose! When fans share photos watermarked with your logo, they're doing free advertising for you. So be generous and attract new customers all at once. Win–win.
6. Backprinting.
Add your brand to the back of every print purchased from your site with backprinting (available with Portfolio and Pro accounts). You can customize this with your name, URL, email address or even the image caption so clients know which print is which.
7. Printmarking.
Stamp your prints with your brand. Like watermarks for your purchased items, printmarks are most often used to put your logo or signature on the corner of each print and digital download. It's fixed to a percentage of the area of your print, so don't worry about it taking up valuable real estate.
8. Set pricing.
It may seem like a no-brainer, but it's important to set up pro pricing on your galleries so you make money on every sale. Start by visiting your pricelist manager.
9. Turn off printing.
Not ready to sell? Simply set printing to No in your gallery settings. This way your clients can browse, but not buy.
Have you ever wondered what else you could be doing to get more sales for your landscape photography? Our friend Varina Patel has offered us great info about how to mix business and photography when you’re out and about. Here's what she says about keeping the customer at the forefront of your mind the next time you're out shooting.
You never know what a buyer will want—and each buyer is different. But, over the past several years, we’ve learned a few things about maximizing the potential of our portfolios. Here are a few tips for making sales.
When we’re in the field, we usually find that a composition works best in either horizontal or vertical orientation. But in most cases, after capturing the most visually appealing image, we’ll work to find another shot that works with the camera turned 90 degrees. Why? Because sometimes the buyer needs an image that works in a particular orientation. Are they looking for a collection of calendar images? They’ll probably need horizontal images. Photos for a magazine? They’ll need a vertical shot to grace the cover
Since you never know who might want to purchase your images in the future, you can’t know which orientation will work best for their needs. Shoot in both orientations, and you’ll be ready no matter what they ask for.
Not too long ago, Jay sold a shot of Cedar Falls (titled, The Looking Glass) as part of a collection of fine-art images. He has many shots of waterfalls, and it wasn’t one of his favorites. The image lacks the vibrant colors or grand vistas you typically find in Jay’s more popular landscape photographs. When the client asked about waterfalls, his first instinct was to send them samples of the most popular waterfall images in his portfolio. One of the first shots he sent was Arizona Dreaming, this brilliantly colorful “icon shot” from Havasu Falls in Arizona.
But the client passed on all those brilliant-color and famous locations. Instead, she chose the quieter image…one he’d never sold before. He was curious about her choice, and he asked her about it. The answer was simple: she wanted images of local places, no matter how ordinary they looked in comparison with those famous, iconic locations.
When you approach a potential buyer, make sure you have plenty of local images. Colorful photographs capture the eye of the viewer, but familiar places capture their hearts.
When you present your images for sale, consider using gallery features that allow you to group your images into categories based upon similarities. For example, I have a gallery that’s dedicated only to black-and-white images and another that’s just for mountains. You can set up a gallery for images with a dominant blue-color theme or for photographs from a specific location. Your options are wide open.
SmugMug’s smart galleries feature lets you use keywords to create collections so potential buyers view images with shared characteristics. When a buyer wants more than one image, they often have a theme in mind. One buyer asked me for 30 detail shots she could sell as a wallpaper collection. Another wanted several waterfall photographs for decorating a newly opened hospital. In Cleveland, a buyer wanted images of local parks and iconic locations for the walls in an office building.
As you build your portfolio, keep an eye out for images that work well together, and be sure to present them as potential groupings.
Would you be surprised if I told you that giclée canvas prints are some of our biggest sellers? There’s just nothing like a really BIG print that makes a statement or ties a room together. In most cases, I don’t get to see a print after it’s hung, so it was a real treat to be able to see this one in its place of honor over the fireplace. This canvas print is hanging in a beautifully decorated home near Atlanta, Ga.. The colors in the room were actually chosen to match the print—the entire room is coordinated to match the colors in the photograph. I wish I could give you a tour of the whole house, which is a work of art itself.
Canvas prints are more expensive—especially really big ones—but most people hang them without a frame since they stand alone so well. They avoid the expense of matting and framing, making the price much easier to swallow.
Offer your prints for sale on canvas at the largest size available. A photo printed at that size packs a whole lot of punch!
If you’re a portrait or event photographer, you’ve undoubtedly had clients ask you any or all of the following questions:
The fact is we're living in a digital world. Fewer and fewer people are interested in physical prints and are increasingly using websites and social media to store and share their precious memories.
At SmugMug, we still believe in the power of a printed photograph, but we think it's equally important to adapt your business to the digital needs of today’s customers.
You've already got your portfolio and proofing solution sorted out with SmugMug, and you know what a lifesaver our print labs are in fulfilling your print and merchandise orders. Don't leave money on the table by keeping digital downloads a secret!
Portfolio and Pro account owners can price and sell single digital images and video files to clients and they're retrievable immediately after checkout. In other words, they're perfect for customers who are itching to share with friends and family right away. Digital downloads also buy you time, especially if they'll be waiting for you to proof your prints; and they provide a little extra cash in your pocket.
Don't think you can emotionally "let go" of your digital files? Not to worry: You can lock them down and offer only smaller display sizes or choose to offer files that only include your printmark. Additionally, you can set one price for personal use and charge more for commercial licensing. Or sell the whole gallery at a single package price.
1. Protect against theft.
When you decide to start selling downloads, it's of utmost importance to be sure you've got image protection set up the right way. Take a look at the resources we've written to help you set up watermarking, right-click protection, and more.
2. Strategize your pricing.
We've got a great article that helps you answer the eternal question, "How much should I charge?" but this is a very personal decision and there is no right answer. We can, however, offer some practical tips:
3. Set your prices.
Just like traditional prints and gifts, you price your photo, video, and gallery downloads in your pricelists manager to make them available to your clients. The only difference is that all digital downloads are delivered instantly via email from SmugMug, and they aren't tied to a specific print lab like physical products.
We hope we've inspired you to try an all-new way to make more money from your photography, as well as given you new ways to make your clients happier. If you're brand new to digital downloads or just want to read more about how you can make money at SmugMug, read our help pages for all the details.
As always, don't hesitate to reach out to our Support Heroes if you're confused, need help, or just have a question about what you need to do next. Happy sales to you!
Meghan MacAskill is an extremely talented photographer, and this isn’t the first time we’ve featured her work. MacAskill’s love of family portraiture started with photographing her own children. A mother of three, she’s since gone on to establish a successful family portraiture business. We talked with her about what it takes to start—and succeed—in the business.
When I was about 10 years old, my whole extended family got together for a family portrait session. My grandparents had convinced everyone to dress up in our Easter Sunday best and drive an hour to a lovely park with a lake to get a portrait of us all together.
On the way to this photo shoot, my mother realized I had worn my ratty, old sneakers instead of my shiny, black Mary Janes. She was furious. I knew I was in big trouble. The photographer simply put me somewhere in the photo where my feet would be tucked behind someone else, and the problem was solved in less than a minute. Still, I was so upset by my mother's outburst, and she was so angry at my poor choice of footwear, that all either of us ever remember when we look at those photos is what a terrible time we had.
The photos turned out beautifully, but we only remember how we felt that day when we look at them now.
This is the key to being a successful portrait photographer: Clients will remember how they felt and the experience they had on the day of their photo shoot with you. The photos will merely be a reminder of that, so no matter how technically accomplished the lighting was, how perfect the composition, how meticulously posed they are, if your client is not enjoying themselves, they will hate the photos later.
It shouldn’t be your client’s job to get their child to look at the camera, smile, or have fun. That’s why they hire you! You can’t hide behind your camera and expect families to laugh together, or all smile at you, or give you a real expression if you’re not the catalyst. You must make the experience enjoyable for them. Stop worrying about the perfect setting and worry more about the family dynamic and how you can bring that into your photos of them!
Your clients will love the photos you produce when you take the time to get to know them and what they love about their family. Then, capture that.
My style is very interactive. I am talkative, funny, interested, silly, loud at times, and from the instant I meet a new client, I treat them like an old friend. There is no awkwardness, no breaking the ice. I jump right in and start playing peek-a-boo with their kids and asking them about their childbirth stories. I love people. I love hearing about them, their family, their job, their life. I want them to be comfortable enough to relax and show me who they are in the course of our shoot.
I also really love kids, and with three of my own, I understand when kids don't behave—in fact, I expect it! So when that inevitably happens, I roll with it and reassure the parents that their child is so much better behaved than so many kids out there, and we make it work by setting up a great candid moment or figuring out a way to get their child involved in the shot.
Family portraiture is not about perfection. It's about the beautiful imperfections that make us who we are. It's about capturing those imperfections and those wonderfully real moments in a setting and experience where we feel happy and connected. When you combine a fun and joyful experience with fantastic photos to show for it, that’s a powerful combination that will keep your clients coming back for more.
I used to offer one option for every type of session except weddings: One price for newborn sessions, one price for family sessions, etc. However, I noticed I wasn’t being paid accordingly for the time and effort I would spend on one newborn session versus another. My clients seemed happy because I would charge them one price and then I was willing to bend over backwards to give them whatever they wanted out of their photo session.
The unfortunate part is that the person who was getting the short end of the stick was me. I was spending additional time on some sessions to get the shots that client requested or to photograph their baby with every family member, and I was only getting paid my basic fee. It just didn’t make sense!
Next, my clients were not buying prints. Why not? I offer my clients the option to buy the high-resolution digital images, and they almost always do. This bothered me not only because I wasn't making a profit on those prints, but it wasn't doing any justice to my work to have my photos printed at the drugstore. Photographers are artists, and to have our work printed at budget labs doesn’t convey the full beauty of our art. I didn't know how to combat this; I’d tell my clients they can purchase prints through their proofing gallery on SmugMug, and I’d show them different print options. They just weren’t pulling the trigger.
So I decided to include a print credit in the price of all my packages, and I raised my prices accordingly.
It’s invaluable for my clients to have photos I produced on their walls. It’s a built-in reminder that they love their photos, that they love my work, and that they want me to photograph them again soon.
I also changed my pricing model. I now offer four different packages to gently steer my clients to purchase the two middle ones. The first and fourth packages are there for particular clients who want more or less. When my client is looking at the four packages I offer, they’ll see that Package #1 is a very basic package. It comes with a short time stipulation, much like a mini session, and a small print credit.
Then Packages #2 and #3 include more time, more coverage (different groupings, more detail shots, etc.), and larger print credits. Package #3 also includes outfit changes, multiple locations, and an album.
Then my largest package, Package #4, is my VIP package. It includes all the bells and whistles—a whole “day-in-the-life” session where I spend the entire day with my clients' family/child photographing their personality, activities, dynamics, and expressions. It includes a much larger print credit, a bigger album, and a very large price tag.
The point of this package is not to get people to book it. If they do, that's awesome! The point is to show what you CAN do, and what you’re capable of offering. It makes people feel like you’re a true professional at your craft if you’re able to offer such an amazing experience; and, even though they can't afford it, they feel more confident in you knowing you could do it for them if they could. It also makes the second and third packages by comparison look very affordable.
You may notice that digital images aren’t listed on any of these packages. Technically, they aren’t. I don't advertise that I offer digital images, but when my clients ask about them, I say that with Packages #2–4, the digital images are my gift to them. I have priced my packages high enough that I can comfortably give away digital files. By telling my clients it's my gift to them instead of saying it's included in the package, now I’ve made the images a bonus instead of something that’s costing them more money.
I’ve found that this new pricing model has worked like a charm. The vast majority of my clients have opted to go with Packages #2 or #3. I still do, on occasion, have someone select Package #1, but when I do I don't mind because I’m meeting their needs and getting paid well for my time.
My business is 100% referral-based. I rarely blog. I stink at SEO. I hardly ever book a client from giving them my business card. I book clients when they see photos I have taken of their friends or family members and they instantly want photos like that of their family. My clients are also my biggest cheerleaders and always become really good friends. They send everyone they know my way because they adore my personality and the photos I’ve given them. I have a beautiful website with SmugMug that has been customized from top to bottom. My website is a huge marketing tool for me. People who see my website are always impressed, and it truly sets the tone and shows them my style and impressive work.
My client relationships almost always begin with an email. Somehow, they have made it to my website and have used the contact form there to send me an inquiry email. I answer every email personally and respond with pricing information, availability, etc. My pricing isn’t listed publicly on my website. I do this for several reasons:
I will spend anywhere from 15–30 minutes over the course of time between initial contact and our actual shoot purely on building the relationship with my client—emailing or talking on the phone about dates, locations, questions, wardrobe, tips, what to bring, etc.
At the shoot I will spend anywhere from 30 minutes to all day taking photos, depending on the package they’ve selected. On average a newborn session will take 4–6 hours, a child portrait session will take 1 hour, and a family portrait session will take 1.5–2 hours.
I process my photos in Lightroom, and I edit every image I give my clients so they’re print-ready. I usually will take between 500–1,000 images in the course of a session and provide my client with only 150 or so finished images. I do basic editing on most of the images, but I will do artistic edits on 20–40 of my favorite images from the day with some black-and-white conversions, antique actions, texture—whatever I feel the image needs. Editing will take 2–3 hours for a newborn session and 1–2 hours for a child-portrait session or family session.
My clients are allowed to ask for additional editing, and I will do it at no charge unless it gets crazy. I reserve the right to charge money when clients ask for too much in-depth processing. So far my clients have all been very respectful of this, and I haven’t had any instances of out-of-control editing requests.
I use SmugMug’s Events feature whenever my client has selected a package that includes an album so my clients can pick their favorites. After the photos are posted and I have provided them with their event-page information, I ask that they select their 50–75 favorite images; when they’ve done this, I begin work on the album using these favorite images.
I design my albums using Aperture. I have a very clean and classic style when it comes to my album design, and Aperture’s book-building software meets my needs. I have created many albums in Aperture, and I use these past books as templates but then go in and adjust or create new pages to fit the photos my client has selected. Bay Photo is a print lab for albums as well as prints, and I simply adore the Pacific albums. I like both their full photo-wrap cover and the covers with the photo and partial leather wrap.
The best way to guarantee a smooth photo shoot is to talk to your clients, both in and outside the studio. We asked some of our top pros what they do to put their customers at ease, to get beautiful portraits worthy of the annual holiday card, and to make clients happy enough to tell their friends and families.
Here’s what they said:
As a professional, it’s imperative to set expectations about what you will do, how you do it, when you’ll do it, and what will be delivered. Show your client samples of your work (print samples, too), walk them through the experience, and describe how you will work; tell them exactly when they should expect to see proofs and check to be sure if they have any time-sensitive deadlines—like holiday cards—for the photos. The more expectations you set, the less room there will be for frustration…on either end.
People love to talk about themselves, and asking questions about them, their families, and their relationship can open them up and get them to relax. Be an active listener and be prepared to ask questions about things they just told you. They’ll know you’re listening and that you’re genuinely interested, which builds great rapport (and trust!).
Your clients are not always models! Show them what to do rather than tell them what to do. It’s much easier to have them mimic a pose you’re doing than to parse your words and move at the same time. After a while, it’ll become totally natural.
Say this, even if they’re not getting the pose right. Always be positive and try to channel any frustration into a bit of levity. Switch it up, shake it off, try something new. Don’t forget, this might be routine for you but it’s a special, forever moment for them. You’re a professional and can make anything work.
Setting expectations is one thing, but having their products ready ahead of time is another. Whenever possible, underpromise and overdeliver. After all, everyone is thrilled when they get orders or proofs ahead of time, but no one tolerates anything late.
Special thanks to pros Nick, Tomasz, Steve, and Alastair for these great tips.
A brand is the essence or promise of what will be delivered or experienced when people interact with your business. A unified brand that’s consistent through all the customer-facing elements of your business will reinforce who you are and why customers would want to work with you. That extends to more than just a few aspects of your business:
Your brand should tell your potential customers who you are at a glance, and it should enable you to stand out in a crowd.
Studio KYK used SmugMug to help establish and grow her brand. She maximized SmugMug’s customizability, first working with a designer to develop her logo, then later designing her SmugMug website to best represent her brand, whimsical attitude, and individual style. Her SmugMug hub showcases her gorgeous photography and shows how much fun it would be to work with her.
Advertising is everywhere. Look through magazines; perhaps your favorite fashion label or auto manufacturer’s logo catches your eye. Pay attention to the commercials on television and even on radio. What taglines grab your attention? What’s your elevator pitch?
Does your logo say sports photographer? Is your color scheme appealing to brides? Is your tagline going to grab the attention of a publisher?
Make sure your brand is clearly reflected in your portfolio, in your website, and in your messaging so your prospective customer can get a good sense of you, your work, and whether or not you’re a good fit for their needs.
SmugMug's customization tools let you establish your brand through the use of color schemes, fonts, and your own logos with only a few mouse clicks. Start with a design, upload your photos, and add your own brand elements all without writing one line of code.
As you work in the Customizer, we’ll show you a preview of your changes as you make them. You can save those changes to publish later or, if you like what you've done, you can publish immediately so your changes are live. There's a start-over button, too. Tweaking the look of your site is quick and easy with this tool.
Want something more uniquely you? Enjoy messing with code? Willing to hire an expert? SmugMug’s deep customization ensures that with a little CSS and HTML, you’ll have a completely unique look and feel across your whole website. The sky’s the limit.
You don’t need your own domain to share and sell, but it does make a great impression. Most custom domains cost under $20 per year, which is less than you make in an hour of shooting. And if that isn’t enough, you can usually get a custom email address wrapped up in the deal. SmugMug allows you to easily use both on your site.
Your customer’s experience doesn’t end after clicking “Buy.” Stay in touch and keep them thinking of you by adding a 4×6 thank-you print in the delivery box. You can customize it with any image or message you wish (like a coupon code toward their next purchase), and we’ll pack it up and send it along with their order.
Your watermark does double duty when your images are shared on social media: image protection becomes free advertising if your watermark includes your branding. A watermark needs to be obtrusive enough to prevent image theft, and yet be subtle enough to provide your customers with a clear view of the details in the photo. A large and centered, yet translucent, logo as a watermark is a great way to accomplish this.
Similar to a watermark, a printmark is your logo or other design printed on the items purchased by your customers. Add your studio logo or artist signature to the prints you sell so there’s never any doubt who took those gorgeous prints.
Your SmugMug galleries automatically appear on mobile devices looking smooth, slick, and beautiful. All SmugMug sites are responsive to the size of any device they’re being viewed on, so they’re mobile friendly right out of the box.
These are just a few ways SmugMug can help your brand kick off in style. You can dive deeper with packages, coupons, seasonal designs, and more to uniquely express everything that makes your business stand out.
The simple formula for profitability is revenue - expense = profit. But if success were that easy, why do most new small businesses fail? And what more should you be thinking about when starting your new photography business?
First off, where will your revenue come from? For photographers this is typically from one or both of two sources:
And secondly, where will your profit come from? There are many pricing models available to photographers, but these are two of the most popular:
Whether you decide to use a cost-plus pricing model or a strategic pricing model based on the value of your service, you need to have a good understanding of your actual costs of doing business. This is more than an hourly rate or the cost of the products you’ll provide.
Consider the following:
Hot tip: The National Press Photographers Association has a handy cost calculator that might help you figure out your cost of doing business.
How you value your work is more than material cost and time spent, it’s about the time, experience, and artistry it takes to capture the images uniquely as you and only you can. If customers could take the photos themselves, they wouldn't be hiring you.
Every business owner will battle pricing pressure at some point. It can come from price wars with a competitor or a persistent customer who won't buy anything without a discount. That being said, starting low is bad for business.
Low prices set low expectations from your clients. If you’re a cheap photographer, clients might immediately question your reliability or the quality of your work.
Being “cheap” also means you can’t afford to invest in your business or use more effective marketing strategies like coupons and special sales. These tools are invaluable for creating urgency and closing sales. Also, placing a fair (higher) monetary value on your work will inspire confidence in yourself and your clients.
"Moms and young kids out of college are opening up shop down the street. The new freelancer charging $50 per session has taken some of my clientele," Susan Sidoriak of Silverbox Creative Studio said. “Yet I have raised my prices throughout the recession, and the economy hasn’t really hit my business." Sidoriak got a bit of pushback when she raised her prices on 4×6 and 5×7 holiday photos last fall, but not one customer jumped ship.
SmugMug's pricing tool allows you to create different pricelists for different products and event types: weddings versus senior photos, limited-edition prints versus stock photos, etc. You can then apply each pricelist to galleries or individual photos.
Every new SmugMug Pro should set up pricing. You’ll have some important decisions to make:
Offer clients discounts with a built-in coupon tool to sweeten the deal. Who doesn’t love a sale? Incentivize your customers to make their purchase quickly by setting expiration dates on your coupons.
“Print credits are vital to my business model,” said Meghan MacAskill of Wild Bloom Studio. “[I noticed] that many clients weren’t actually pulling the trigger and getting prints. I decided to model photo sessions differently and include a print credit in every package to guide clients into purchasing prints. It has been very successful, and SmugMug's coupon feature is vital for it to work without me filling those orders myself.”
Packages are also a popular tool for school and sport photographers. With packages, you can bundle a set of prints together for a single price, creating a value incentive for your customer...and a simpler buying experience.
Printmarks allow you to “sign” prints and photo downloads. They can be used as an artist's signature, to add value to a print product, or as advertising, which then allows you to offer the product at a reduced price compared to a non-printmarked version.
Pick the strategy—or mix and match several—that makes the most sense for your business!
We’re all thinking about it, so we’re here to talk about it. Here are eight SmugMug tools that will improve your sales and get more cash into your pocket.
SmugMug's pricelists give you the power to
SmugMug's proof delay gives you the power to make finishing touches before sending orders to the lab, allowing you to fix things such as customer cropping mistakes and to save on upload time.
Time-saving tip: Upload medium-resolution JPGs and, when your clients make an order, swap them with full-resolution, edited files. How? Compress your images in your favorite photo editor before you upload photos to SmugMug. They'll upload faster without affecting your customers' opportunity to buy large prints. Then use proof delay's replace function after clients place orders to swap the compressed image with the full-res file.
This way, you only edit the images that are purchased. SmugMug’s proof delay helps SmugMug Pro Andi Grant maintain her high standards: "I love proof delay because I do very little editing to my proofing galleries—none for boudoir," she said. "So when a client orders an image, I then have the opportunity to make sure it’s perfect. I especially like to be sure their cropping is correct."
SmugMug’s lab color correction gives you the power to leave global color edits to the experts, ensuring great print products for your customers and freeing up your day. This setting is found in your pricelist manager.
SmugMug's many image-protection features ensure your customers are buying, not “borrowing,” your photos. Here's what we recommend:
Printmarks put your signature or logo onto the products your customers buy. In the case of a fine-art photographer, a printmark is a way to sign the print the customer receives, creating more value for the customer.
For event photographers, printmarks work as advertising that allows the photographer a way to offer the product for a lower price, and encourage sales.
Photo and video downloads give you the power of instant gratification. SmugMug has more than 30 digital-download options you can price and sell.
Pro tip: Gallery backups are perfect for delivering files to customers that have paid for your services in advance.
Coupons and packages are powerful sales tools every pro should use. Who can resist the opportunity to get more for less?
Events give your buyers the ability to gather their favorites into a single gallery for review. You can also give several clients in a single shoot their own private favorites gallery.
This feature gives your clients a sense of privacy and control, while making your life easier. Favorites also help you work together with your client to discuss their selections for delivery.
Have a money-making feature you love to use that we didn’t cover above? We’d love to hear it!
You take beautiful photos. You’ve perfected your elevator pitch, and you’ve got business cards to match. You've built a beautiful website just waiting to be discovered by potential customers. What's next?
It’s time to promote your business.
It's one thing to have a website. It's another thing to drive traffic to it. Without a marketing plan, it's like putting a sign out at the end of your driveway and hoping for walk-ins. You wouldn’t build a brick-and-mortar studio without advertising your business, so don’t fall into the trap of thinking you'll make sales simply because you have a website.
Your marketing plan should have specific goals, which in turn will guide you toward the right tools for your business. For example, are you a wedding photographer? If so, then you want to draw in brides and book engagement and wedding shoots. Are you a landscape photographer? You want exposure for your fine-art images and your stunning, wall-sized prints.
There are more marketing tools out there than ever before, from traditional print ads to social media and everything in between. Many of them cost nothing more than your time; if you do it yourself, make sure you create relevant and meaningful content. And don't shy away from hiring an expert: Think about the impression you'll make with a polished presentation to match the polished product you'll deliver to your customer.
Tip: Make sure your site gets found among the hundreds of thousands of sites that potential clients will find in Internet searches.
For Awais Yaqub, photography is ultimately about sharing—sharing images, sharing views, sharing knowledge. SmugMug’s one-click sharing to social-media sites like Facebook and Twitter helps him fulfill that mission. “For me, there is absolutely no reason to create a photograph and keep it in cold storage. What good would it do if I was not able to spread the message, inspire someone, or help someone in their learning process?” he says.
You've finished a shoot for a client and uploaded the finished product into a gallery on your SmugMug site. How do you let the client know you’re ready for them to come buy your work? There are a multitude of sharing tools built right into your SmugMug galleries, including good, old-fashioned email right from the Share button. Or send people straight to the shopping cart from a blog post by embedding shopping-cart links.
Referrals and word of mouth are powerful ways to build your business. Give clients postcards or business cards with a code they can give a friend. When that friend books an appointment with you and references the code, give the referring customer a discount coupon, like a print credit.
Social media is a powerful marketing tool for photographers. SmugMug’s sharing options allow your fans to post images to Facebook and Twitter with ease.
Tip: Create a Facebook business page and start posting meaningful and relevant content. Link your blog posts, announce any large events you’re photographing, share any special promotions you’re offering, post portfolio-worthy photos. Your content needs to be beautiful and exciting so your visitors will love sharing it with their friends.
Don’t be afraid to solicit sales! Pitch your local news media, post samples of your work on the Facebook pages of agencies, make sure your SEO is rock solid. It's imperative that all your images link back to your SmugMug website so potential clients can see more.
Once you've established the basics of your business, you may want to consider advanced options, such as the following:
Think about what works best for you and your business, then get the word out! Your photography deserves to be seen.
The beginning of the year can be a slow time for photo-taking, but it’s a great time to work on everything else you do with photography: update your portfolio, create or clean up your photo website, set new business goals, or even write down a new bucket list of shots to take.
We all change with time, so whether it’s been two years or five since your website has seen a makeover, you’ll want to present the truest version of yourself to your fans.
Here are a few tips to get your online self ready, without frustration.
There’s no better way to feel “new” than to make changes to the site you already have. Thankfully, SmugMug makes this easy. Tip: If you’re short on time, pick just one or two of the following steps; but tackle all five for maximum results.
We’ve heard 24 images is the ideal number of photos for your portfolio. If you’ve been taking photos for a while, you probably have more favorites than this for sentimental reasons. Now’s a great time to trim that back. Creatives call this "killing your darlings."
Think like a fan who stumbles onto your site: What interests you?
Dozens of beautiful layouts come free with every SmugMug site.
Changing your theme, site design, or homepage gives you the biggest bang for your buck. (Especially since it all comes free with your existing SmugMug subscription.)
Do an SEO audit. Whether you need your friends to find your site, want to attract new clients, or simply want to be Internet famous, your website and photos need to be found by search engines like Google.
Is your goal this year to break the bank in sales?
We hope these tips help you create a website you’ll always love to share. Whether it’s January, June, or any time of the year, your confidence could always use a boost.
These days, everyone has a website. But how do you know what your friends, family, and fans really think when they see it? And if you're a pro making money from your craft, are you sure your site is doing everything it can to get you clients and seal the deal? After browsing tons of sites and hearing the advice from our team of Support Heroes, we've compiled a list of tips to help you get the best, most effective, and appealing website you possibly can.
Omitting or hiding ways for people to reach you is a grave mistake, one you may not even know you're making. If someone finds your site and wants to talk with you, how would they do it? Yes, putting your email address or phone number out in public can be risky. But there are other ways to let your potential clients and fans reach out to you without throwing the door open to everyone who walks by.
Also, it may be obvious to you that your town of Springfield is in New Jersey, but potential Googlers in Massachusetts, Illinois, Oregon, and Missouri may not be so sympathetic. Be specific about the areas you serve so you'll score top search results by clients looking to hire locals like you.
To do: Include a way to contact you either at the top, bottom, or in the navigation bar of your website. Add your contact email address in your SmugMug profile. Take it one step further and connect your SmugMug site’s contact form to your navigation menu by choosing the pre-built contact link in the menu bar builder.
If you talk about your location on your homepage or About page, be specific about the state or country where you're willing to work. You can also add those terms and keywords in your Account Settings > Discovery > Search section so Google and other search engines pick you up ASAP.
The great thing is everyone has a website these days. But the downside is...everyone has a website these days. How will you stand out? The answer is: Be yourself! You have a personality, and it's completely unique. Use your own language, unique selfies, or whatever it takes to show the world that you're more than another link on the web. Talk about what drives you and why you're passionate about your work. Give visitors a taste of what it’s like to meet you in your studio or at your next gallery show.
To do: It's difficult to talk about yourself, and it's even harder to figure out what strangers want to hear, but don't be afraid to browse through some of your favorite websites and see what sticks in your mind about their bios—the good and the bad.
Nothing looks worse than a super-slow website with broken images and dead links. Even if you aren't looking to make money through your website, you still want to look as polished as any pro. So do a regular audit of your site, click your links, and update them regularly to make sure they work every time. When you're logged out of your site and viewing it like a guest, what do you see?
To do: On SmugMug, we already give you warp-speed page loads and unlimited traffic and sharing. So you never have to worry about slow load times. Our Share button will generate handy links for all your photos, so you can be sure your images look beautiful every time.
Your gorgeous photos may speak for themselves, but if your site's a mess the message will get lost. When you’re expecting house guests you tidy up, so extend the same courtesy to your online space. No one needs to see the photographic equivalent of your laundry pile.
To do: Curate a few examples of your best work and make them easy to find via a slideshow, featured content on your homepage, or a straightforward link in your navigation bar. Keep this gallery updated with new photos as you take them. Choose images that really show what you love to do and show the full breadth of your abilities. It can be difficult, but you can use SmugMug’s Collect Photo feature to add a virtual copy to a best-of gallery, and easily remove the ones you don't think make the cut.
Love to archive? That's OK. Just keep the rest of your photos neatly organized, too, so leisurely browsers can find their way around.
Even if you aren’t a working professional, it's important to give your viewers a unified look and feel that translates to a cohesive experience. Simply using the same colors and font size from page to page can keep your fans feeling grounded and sure that you've got your stuff together. If you're a pro, having your company's name, logo, and a simple set of colors can be all you need to say, "Yeah, I’ve got this."
To do: SmugMug makes it easier than ever to give your site a unified brand. Our pre-built designs have all the details of color scheme, font, and layout baked right in. We've done the heavy lifting for you.
Personalize any of the designs by adding your own logo, changing up the colors by changing the theme, and optimizing the page layout to best reflect your brand. Pro account owners can add order branding, too.
The key to making great sales is to do the thinking for potential customers so they don't have to. The most basic way to do this is to be crystal clear about what your specialties are and which services you offer. Whether you shoot BMX, babies, or brides, making it obvious in your brand and portfolio is the best way to ensure the right customers are finding you.
You made it! After learning about products and pricelists, coupons and discounts, and connecting with customers, you’re ready to put it all together into a marketing strategy that will help you drive more sales for the holiday season and all year round.
Today’s post is all about managing the moving parts of your promotion ahead of time. Think of it as planning now, so your future self can relax and rake in the sales.
(If you really want to get ahead, we recommend reading through the Marketing for Photographers ebook as well. We can’t offer extra credit, but hopefully you get some extra cash!)
Here’s a quick checklist of the activities you can do (or might have already done) to prepare for your sales push:
1. Choose your products.
2. Pro option: Build a promotion to excite your customers.
3. Lay the groundwork for outreach.
You’ve done a lot of work to get here, and you’re almost ready for showtime. All this potential needs a plan, though. It’s time for a content calendar.
A content calendar gives you a bird’s-eye view of all the ways you can interact with your customers over time. It shows your communication channels (like your website, email list, and social media outlets) on one axis, and the date on the other, letting you plan and visualize where and when you want particular messages to connect with your future customers.
Content calendars are especially useful for creative businesses who need to spread the word about their work. Why? Because they’re efficient: You can create a single asset—like a blog post, a video, or a gallery—and build a whole raft of communications to promote it across your channels, where you’ll catch the attention of different audiences on each channel.
This means more eyes on your photos, more traffic to your site, and more chances to make the sale.
Picture this: you make a gallery of your best-selling photos for the holidays (we told you it’d come in handy).
Then you make a coupon for those photos.
You promote that gallery and discount with a simple shout-out to your email list.
Then you tweet about it on Twitter/X one day. Post a teaser image on Instagram the next. Poll your followers for their favorite photo on Facebook.
Maybe you throw one last reminder to your email list as the promotion is about to expire.
And all of a sudden, presto, you’ve got a marketing campaign.
Follow this approach for other galleries, new products, or upcoming holiday promotions, and you can start to see how a content calendar will help you keep everything organized on your end, and keep your customers coming back for more.
Building a content calendar is easy. You can start with something as simple as a spreadsheet— in fact, most fancy content calendar tools are based on just that.
To make things even easier, we built you a template you can use to get started for the upcoming selling season. Just click the image below to download the file, then open it in your favorite spreadsheet app.
Some businesses use content calendars to plan a full year in advance. Others may only use them for specific campaigns or particularly complex projects. For our purposes, a few months will do nicely.
With the “calendar” part taken care of, let’s look at content. For each channel, it’s important to consider what kind of content you want to put out there, and how to play to the strengths of each. For example:
Feel free to add any communication channels you like to the document (Pinterest? TikTok? Go wild), and let’s dig into scheduling.
Scheduling is the most personal part of your content calendar creation process, and it will be wholly unique to you and the type of campaigns you want to run. To get you started, though, here are a few important dates to keep in mind this season:
Upcoming holidays are called out in the content-calendar template, and we’ve gone ahead and populated the first week with a sampling of emails, posts, and assets to get you started. You’ll also want to keep an eye on shipping deadlines so you can let your customers know to order in time for the holidays!
Just like emails, you can draft and schedule your social media posts ahead of time using tools like Facebook’s native scheduler, or try an all-encompassing tool like HootSuite.
Whichever tools you use, a little up-front planning can make your selling season a breeze, so get out there and get posting.
Thank you for joining our Photo Seller’s Foundations series. We hope these tools are helpful for you this selling season, and, as always, our sales specialists are here to answer any lingering questions you have. We can’t wait to see your photos out in the world.
Optimizing your photography website for SEO is easy. Whether you’re trying to sell more prints, attract new portrait or events clients, or simply get more eyes on your work, you can do it by following a few simple steps.
Content is what search engines use to identify what is on your page. Although some search engines like Google use natural language processing to try and understand what each word means, the more specific in text you can be the better.
Your easiest SEO win starts here: go through your website and find headers, page titles, and blocks of body copy, and review them for simplicity and clarity.
Instead of saying “The stunning skies over mountains in Utah’s national parks” in a gallery header, maybe say “Art prints of the mountains and sky in Zion National Park”. Both of these will tell a visitor similar information, but the second version is easier for a search engine to understand, making your page that much more likely to be found.
As you’re reviewing your content, look for opportunities to build internal links. These are the linked words or phrases on most websites that help guide a user to the information they’re looking for. For example, your “Art prints of the mountains and sky in Zion National Park” might add an internal link to “Art prints” that leads to your catalog page, where users can browse the full variety of products you offer.
The keywords you use for these links help your visitors find the pages they’re looking for, and search engines use them to determine what each page is about. But be careful not to link off of the same words to two separate pages. This will cause confusion for search engines and potentially your customers.
Search engines will also look at the amount of links pointing to each page on your website. The more links you assign to a specific page, the more important a search engine will think it is. This gives that page more priority, so make sure your main galleries, signature shots, and business-generating pages are linked to from as many places on your site as possible.
Just like the copy on the page and the internal links, wording matters on your images and galleries. Naming your images includes the actual name of the image, the title tag, alt tag, and the description.
These elements are used both by browser helpers for people with disabilities and search engines to understand what the image is about. A lack of image titles, tags, and descriptions makes it harder for a search engine to understand what the image is, so the search engine will likely choose another photographer’s work to display over your photo.
Your words matter here as well, especially regarding genre and location. If you are selling a print of The Vessel in NYC, name your photo “fine art photo of The Vessel building in NYC”. If you are a sports team photographer, name a photo “Soccer team group photo New Orleans”. Including specificity in your naming and tagging will go a long way toward getting your work found.
The naming and structure of your galleries also contributes to your site’s SEO. Start with the overall theme for the main gallery and then add in niche galleries underneath.
For example, you could create a gallery called Assateague Island Photos that houses all of your favorite shots from this specific place. Inside this gallery you could build sub-galleries like “Assateague Beach Photos”, “Assateague Island Wildlife”, and “Camping Photos on Assateague Island”. Under wildlife you could even build sub-galleries for the island's famous inhabitants like wild horses.
By naming your galleries you ensure that your visitors and search engines both have a clear understanding of what is on a given page. As you add copy and internal links, you’re also providing easy navigation to help people find the exact shots they’re looking for.
Bonus tip - do not erase your EXIF data. Google and other search engines can use this information to determine where a photo was taken and to verify the photo is actually of the area you claim it is in the title, name, and description. When uploading to SmugMug, we keep your EXIF data intact by default.
Google My Business is a free service that helps Google understand what you do. You’ll want to create and verify your account and then make sure you fill out every field possible when registering for this service.
Make sure to define the area you serve (statewide? A few counties? Just in the city? Be specific!), list out the services you offer, and add hours of operation.
The more complete your answers are, and the more often you update your listings, the more chances you have for your business and your photography website to show up in local search results like “portrait photographer in Tulsa” or on a map as someone is looking for “holiday card photographers near me”.
For that second example, you can amplify your SEO by building a dedicated holiday cards page on your website, then updating your My Business listings with your new service, and even a discount if you’re a SmugMug Pro subscriber.
Once you have content that defines your pages, your images are named and tagged, and your account on Google My Business is completed, you need to build what SEO experts call authority. This is how trustworthy or reputable your site is considered, and can be done through citations and backlinks.
A backlink is a link from an external website to your SmugMug website. It’s important to make sure these links are naturally occurring and come from a trustworthy website like your local news, trade publications, other businesses, or niche blogs.
Often, professionals looking to increase their SEO will collaborate with each other, trading blogs and features to drive traffic to each of their sites while building authority. This can also be done through PR outreach to local publications and news outlets when you have something big to announce!
For example, if you’re hosting a workshop on wedding photography, you could ask a wedding blogger to give you a shout out on their blog, reach out to venues and vendors you partner with and ask them to list you as a resource, and let the local news know about your event.
Just be sure you’re not spamming links to your website on forums, blogs, or irrelevant websites—these will get you penalized by search engines. If you look for natural fits for your photography, you’re likely to find lots of opportunities to connect.
------
These four easy steps will help you get found by search engines and customers alike, so get to it and good luck!
Welcome to day 2 of the Photo Seller’s Foundations series. If you missed part 1, be sure to check out yesterday’s products, pricelists, and packages post, or continue reading for today's deep dive into coupons, discounts, and limited-time offers. We’ll also walk you through how to make an automated “thank you” discount for your customers all year round.
As always, you can power through the whole series on our Photo Seller’s Foundations page, or get into the nitty-gritty of photography marketing and business strategy with our Marketing for Photographers ebook.
First things first: Coupons and discounts are only available for SmugMug Pro subscribers. If you’re a Portfolio subscriber who’s been on the fence about upgrading, consider this one more reason to take the plunge and invest in your photography business.
Coupons are a powerful tool to grab attention, drive sales, and even prime return buyers for more purchases down the road. On SmugMug, coupons are generated via a code that your customers enter during checkout. The option to enter a coupon will only appear when coupon-eligible items are in your customers’ shopping carts.
You can manage coupons from the same place you find your pricelists: Just click “Manage” under the Coupon section of your Selling Tools page. Here you’ll see any previous coupon discounts you’ve run, and the option to create more.
More of a visual learner? Everything to get you started with coupons is also covered in our Pro Workflow webinar, Coupons: How and why?
When you click the “+ Create Coupon” button in your coupon manager, you’ll be prompted to choose an initial coupon type. SmugMug coupons come in four different flavors:
Once you’ve chosen a coupon type, you can fill in the details, including a title, description, desired currency, and discount amount. We recommend giving your coupon a descriptive title that will help you quickly identify it in your coupon list, like “Amount off portraits” or “Percent off metal prints.”
Last but not least, you can choose your custom coupon code. Have fun with this part! Choose something eye-catching, memorable, and descriptive to grab the attention of customers browsing their inbox or social feeds.
Choosing your discount type is a great start, but the real power of coupons comes alive when you start applying restrictions to fine-tune your offer. These can be mixed and matched to build the perfect coupon for your customers.
When you click the “restrictions” tab, this is what you’ll see:
Valid from and Valid through will let you set the start and end dates of your promotion, if you
choose. Many promotions benefit from a limited duration, but some (like the one we’ll walk through making below) are good to leave open-ended.
Here are your other restriction options:
Pro tip: By combining coupon types and restrictions, you can create engaging sales like limited-time offers, bulk discounts, and buy-one-get-one deals. We have five great options broken down step by step here: Want to sell your photography? Use coupons. Any one of these would make a great promotion for that best-selling gallery you made yesterday, too.
We’ll cover search-engine optimization (SEO), email, social media, and more in tomorrow’s post, but specific to coupons, here’s an easy way to get your discounts into the hands of people who’ll use them.
Ongoing discounts: Who says coupons are just for selling season? Promote return sales all year round with an automated 10% off “Thank you” coupon for all print orders. It’s an extra $1 per order, but you can deliver your coupon via a custom print, sticker, or, in some cases, both (visit our Help Center article for full details).
Here’s how to get it set up:
And that’s it! You’ve just made an ongoing coupon to encourage your customers to buy again—or encourage their friends to buy by sharing the discount. It’s a great way to keep in touch with your customers, help them feel seen and valued, and drive repeat sales in the future.
Next up, it’s all about outreach and how to connect with your customers: SEO, email, social media, website updates, and more. Don’t miss it.
----------
Still confused about coupons? Reach out to one of our sales specialists for help.
Hello, and welcome to the Photo Seller’s Foundations series.
It’s simple, straightforward, and built to help you make more photo sales. Four articles, four tasks, and a handful of helpful tools will lay the groundwork for your best sales yet.
For the overachievers who’d like to get it all done at once, head over to our Photo Seller’s Foundations page for all the goodies.
For the academics who prefer a book to a blog series, check out our comprehensive Marketing for Photographers ebook, published in collaboration with leading photography educator Phlearn.
Lastly, for everyone who’s along with us for this ride, read on for part 1: Products, pricelists, and packages.
Pricelists are the key to selling photos on SmugMug. They let you manage all your print and download pricing in one place. Think of your pricelist like a template you can apply to any gallery or specific images you like: choose what products you’d like to sell, set your profit, and watch the sales roll in.
Portfolio and Pro subscribers can find the pricelists manager on the Selling Tools page in the navigation bar when logged into SmugMug. Click the “Manage” button under the Pricelists section and you’re in.
Note that SmugMug Portfolio accounts can only have one pricelist active at a time, while Pro accounts get the option to manage multiple active pricelists at once.
Prefer to learn by watching? Check out Episode 75 of SmugMug Live! for a start-to-finish walkthrough of pricelists, plus some helpful tips and tricks to get you started.
To prep for a sale, you’ll first want to check in on your pricelists and make sure your products and profits are set how you like them.
On the Manage Pricelists page, the white star indicates your default active pricelist. This pricelist is applied to all galleries where the shopping cart is turned ON, with the exception of Pro accounts running multiple pricelists. Click it, and you’ll be able to see more details, including your print lab, currency, preferences, and all the product categories you currently have for sale. Light-grey items can be purchased, dark-grey items can’t.
Around the holidays, our fantastic print partners introduce seasonal products like greeting cards and ornaments. If it’s been a while since you’ve updated your pricelists, there might also be new products we’ve added, like epic prints, that you’ll want to enable.
To add these items, click “edit list” in the bottom-right of the screen. On this page, you can enable greeting cards from the right-hand toolbar. By default, your base profit for greeting cards will be set at 30%, but you can change this manually.
Pro tip: Final pricing on items like greeting cards will change based on your customers’ choice of paper, design, and more. To check the final price of gift cards or other items for your customers, navigate to your SmugMug site in a logged-out or incognito tab in your browser, then add your desired items to your cart, where their final prices will be listed. If you check while you’re logged in, you’ll see *your* cost, not the cost-plus-markup your customers will see.
To add or remove other items from your pricelist, click “choose products” in the upper right of your Edit Pricelist screen. Here you’ll find a full list of possible products to choose from. Click each category to see specific sizes, and check/uncheck the boxes to select the products you’d like to sell this season.
If you’re not sure which products to choose, or want to know more about your various print options, take a walk in your customer’s shoes and browse through your (or another photographer’s) SmugMug site to get a better idea of what these various print products look like.
Want to see what your photos will look like as some of this season’s best sellers? Download these free PSDs of greeting cards, ornaments, and metal prints and drop your photos in to show your clients and customers.
Preparing for a sales push is a great time to revisit your profit margins and make sure everything is in order. There are three ways to set your profits on SmugMug.
Suggested pricing: The first (and easiest) way to set your profits is by selecting the “suggested pricing” option when you create a new pricelist. This will populate your pricelist with a data-driven variety of print products, plus markups for each one that will net you a fair sum no matter what you sell.
Default base profit: You can also customize a default base profit in the right-hand toolbar of the Edit Pricelist page. This will apply the same percentage profit to every item you sell — but be aware that a several-hundred-percent markup on paper prints that seems reasonable can produce a shocking price tag on larger, more expensive items. Be sure to review the price and profit for your products before applying and saving your pricelist.
Individually: Setting your profits individually gives you complete control over each and every product you offer. To set your profits individually, select your product category and item in the Edit Pricelist page, then enter your desired profit amount (e.g., $1 per small print) or your desired final price (e.g., $3 per small print). Whichever you choose, the other will be automatically calculated based on your preferences.
For SmugMug Pro subscribers, packages are an easy way to encourage bulk purchases, often at a discount.
From your Selling Tools page, click “Manage” under the Packages section to get started. If you have existing packages, click the one you’d like to edit. Otherwise, click “New Package” and you’ll be whisked to the package-creation page.
Here you can add items to your package, adjust options like color correction and single- or multiple-image packages (think school photos vs. wedding photos), and, of course, set your desired profit. We suggest choosing your print lab to match the print lab on your default active pricelist.
Pro tip: The most successful packages encourage customers to buy more photos for a sweet discount, so be sure to price your packages slightly lower than the cost of the packaged items sold individually.
At this time, packages are limited to physical products only, but you can use coupons to create digital-download “packages” with a few simple tricks. More on that tomorrow, when we dive into Photo Seller’s Foundations Part 2: Promotions, coupons, and discounts.
Do you have a few photos that outsell the rest? Or maybe you’re particularly proud of your latest photoshoot and would like to see it in the spotlight? Now is a great time to make a new gallery in your photo site. This will come in handy later on, so check out our step-by-step guide here: Create a gallery.
(Not sure about your sales numbers? We’ll cover downloading these details in part 3, but you can get a head start at our Help Center.)
----------
Still perplexed about pricelists and products? Reach out to one of our sales specialists for help.