Archive for December, 2009

Holiday Season is Studio Sample Season

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

While some of us may still be completing orders for holiday delivery, it is not too early (if not a little late) to start looking at what products you will be offering your clients next season and creating samples of those items. If you’re still planning your product offerings for next season, here are a few points to consider.

Keep it simple. Don’t overwhelm your clients with too many options. Usually three to five different choices are more than enough. In the case of Zookbinders, we have four basic options: Our new Soft Cover Press Books, the PhotoBook and PhotoBook Plus, the Zook Book, and the Matted Album. Having at least one of each option you offer will let your clients see and feel the different choices they’ll have to display their wedding photos from you.

pg16_squarecollection Don’t forget companion albums and frames for up selling. Once again, the old adage, “if you don’t show, you can’t sell it” holds true. If you don’t show how beautiful framed page spreads or cloned parent albums can be, you won’t be able to sell these profitable little add-ons. We at Zookbinders make it very easy for you to order frames and cloned parent books when you order with our print-to-bind service. For 2010, we are offering an additional 10% off our already reduced PhotoBook and Soft Cover Press Book packages when you order them with a PhotoBook Plus, Zook Book or Matted Album.

As always, Zookbinders offers a 25% discount off samples of any of our press printed books or album printing and 50% off samples of any of our albums. There’s no excuse to not build yourself a new set of samples to start showing your clients all of the wonderful ways they can purchase, show and share your creative photography.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Marketing Madness | No Comments »

Shedding 1000 Pounds, Marketing and Pricing for Profit

Friday, December 11th, 2009

We’ve gotten quite a response to Mark Zucker’s article “Your Business Needs to Lose 1000 Pounds.” He first presented it at Pictage’s PartnerCon in November and we also sent it to all of our customers in our ZookNotes newsletter. MarksRemarksFall2009

Some people thought Mark was simply saying “drop your prices by $1000 because shoot and burn photographers are cheaper than you.” That’s not it at all. As most of you know, the digital age has changed the wedding photography business in many ways. Whether it’s Susan the soccer mom, Uncle Joe or Ashton Kutcher at the wedding with their DSLR, the public perception is that wedding photography is easy and cheap. And if your business is struggling because of this new competition, then you might want to look at offering a lower entry price point. This doesn’t just mean lower your prices, it means offer a smaller, bare bones, no frills package to get these price conscious brides in your door.

But then what do you do? Once you make contact with these brides you need to show them how your service, skills, products and value is so much better than that of those newbees. Wow them with your Unique Selling Points! You educate your prospects and market your talents, photographs, service and value. You answer the question, “Why I should hire you over the other photographer?”

But how much should you charge? Just as you shouldn’t arbitrarily lower your prices by $1000, you shouldn’t just set your prices without knowing your product and package costs. One of the best quick references to understanding pricing is Ann Monteith’s three part series of articles on the PPA magazine web site. Understanding this valuable information will help you set your prices correctly, know where your money is going and know where you can trim your packages without losing your profits.

So there you have it. With a little research and knowledge of how your business works, you will understand what you need to charge to be profitable and how you can trim your offerings be lean, efficient and survive in the digital age.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Marketing Madness, What's New at Zookbinders? | 1 Comment »

Feature Photo of The Week: 3 Generations

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

Our feature photo of the week is of 3 generations, and we absolutely love the little boy sawing the tree with his father and grandfather!

This image is from Sugarbush Studio, Oxford Mills, ON, Canada. Click here to visit their website: http://www.betty-cooper.com/


Click image to enlarge.

All images provided to Zookbinders by Sugarbush Studio

Tags: , ,
Posted in Featured Photo, Photographer Connection | No Comments »

Just Say No: 10 Wedding Photography Clichés

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

From the I Do For Brides Website

We understand that everyone has different aesthetics when it comes to wedding-day beauty and wedding photographs. We also understand that couples want “artistic” renderings of their wedding day. However, we have compiled a list of 10 wedding photograph clichés that we gracefully, mercifully ask couples to stop requesting, and photographers to stop taking.

1. Body-free wedding gowns hanging from doorways and curtains.
Do you really need a photograph of your dress with light shining through it?

2. Feet-free shoes.
We get it. The shoes were expensive. We don’t need a picture.

3. The under-the-veil kiss.
Kinda defeats the purpose of the veil doesn’t it? And oh, by the way: We can still see you.

4. Children in the wedding party.
We’ll just quietly step back from this one.

5. Black-and-white photos with one colored element, like the bouquet.
Stop it, photographers! 1988 called and would like this cliche back.

6. Blurred edges.
We know you know how to focus the camera.

7. Jumping bridal parties.
Why? Why are they jumping? For joy? Or because someone told them too? When was the last time you saw someone jumping (and we mean jumping, not the foot stamping you see on “The Price is Right”) for joy?

8. Tie: Doleful/Sad-looking brides and Duckfaces.
This is your wedding day. You are supposed to be happy. Happy people smile. Bridezillas don’t. And duckfaces. Seriously. You’re not an Olsen twin. Stop saying “prunes” whenever you get your picture taken. You look ridiculous.

9. The bride standing alone in a room, looking into a mirror.
What could she be thinking? “There I am as a single lady. I wonder if I’ll be able to recognize myself after I say my vows. Sigh.”

10. Groomsmen with a flask.
Nice sentiments, bros. “Dude, you’re getting married, bro! Let’s do shots before the ceremony!”

One more: We are very thankful that the Double Exposure has slipped into obscurity.

From Scott at Zookbinders: Obviously, when it comes to aesthetics there is no absolute right or wrong and nobody can tell another what to do or not. As a photographer for over 25 years, I found this article to be a bit humorous but true and very agreeable to me. However, because my clients come first, and because this is usually their first wedding, all of this stuff is new to them. If a bride wants a B&W portrait with her bouquet in color, I’ll do it for a few extra bucks for my time in Photoshop. And yes, I’ve done the monster bride and groom heads hovering over their ceremony but today, that is where I draw the line, no matter how much they pay me.

Tags: ,
Posted in Industry News | 3 Comments »

Making a Difference

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

Recently, I’ve overheard a few photographers saying “Why would I want to use Zookbinders if all of my competitors are using them too?”

While it is always good to differentiate yourself from your competition, is it the album that you use that makes you different or the images you put in your albums? Of course, here at Zookbinders we pride ourselves on making high quality, hand made, books and albums. We stack ourselves against any of our competition and strive to give our customers the best possible product in which to feature their images.

But it is your images that make your album truly unique. No matter how many photographers use one orientation or another, one leather color or another or one cover style or another, it will be your images and image layouts that make your album different from your competition. How can you make your designs different from your competitions’?

1 – Be Selective. Nothing makes an album look more like a scrapbook than cramming as many images as possible into the album. Before you begin designing, carefully select which images best tell the story of your client’s big day.

2 – Use Negative Space. Some people don’t like that term, I happen to think it is a great positive. Used properly, negative space balances and actually ads impact to the corresponding image(s) it surrounds.

3 – Fewer Images for Greater Impact. When designing each page layout, once again the old axiom is true; less is more. It may take a few more pages to tell the story, but your album will have much more impact if each page spread has a more sparse design. Admittedly you may need to charge more per image to cover the added cost of more pages, but your designs will be much more dynamic.

4 – Hire a Professional. We all love photographing weddings. But not all of us love sitting behind the computer designing or have the design background to create wonderful page layouts. Consider hiring a local designer or an online design service. We at Zookbinders have a partnership with Zoho Design, www.zohodesign.com. It may cost you a bit more but you’ll have more time to photograph and be with family; you’ll be able to handle more clients in an efficient manner; and, you’ll have wonderful album designs that your clients will rave about.

5 – Packaging. As beautiful as it is, don’t just hand over your client’s finished album alone. Wrap it in a special box or bag, include ribbon or a bow, include referral cards and include a complimentary portrait session to get your wedding clients back in the door for a future session and order.

Do you have design tips of your own you’d like to share? Let us know. Send us a message with your tips on making your albums unique.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Tech and Design Tips | No Comments »

Page 2 of 3123