Paul Rich of Portland, Oregon, recently submitted a businessly perfect sample album design. I know I just made a new word, businessly, but it’s the perfect word.
Sample albums need to be thought of in a strategic sense. There are a number of factors that need to be taken into consideration, from a business point of view, when designing sample albums. Here are a few:
- The price of the sample.
- Balancing showing of a complete wedding with the shots needed to sell your services.
- Not overwhelming the client.
Price of the Sample
It’s no secret, nice wedding albums are really expensive. If you’ve chosen your album company wisely and want to really set yourself apart, with super nice, cool covers, that sample gets expensive pretty quickly. I subscribe to the same philosophy as Christine Perry-Burke, owner of Finao Albums, BIG, PRETTY and THIN. This means, purchase the largest sample album, with the fewest pages possible and the fanciest cover. For example, Finao’s largest physical album is the 12×18″ album. It’s huge! Add on the brushed metal cover, or the Bebbalicious cover, and do the minimum of 20 pages. This allows you to show big and pretty but still show an entire wedding. There is no need to show every last detail of a wedding with a 40-page sample album. And by cutting down on the number of pages, this helps make up the price difference of the bigger album.
Balance
By balance, I am talking about the balance for selling your services to the client. The bride needs to be made happy with fantastic detail shots and bridal portraits. There also need to be a few formals in there to let the bride know that mom and dad will be happy. Then throw in some fun shots so the groom will be happy. And make sure the entire day is covered.
Not Overwhelming the Client
Finally, make sure it isn’t a 60-page album. The bride and the groom will get bored. They want to see awesomeness and move on to the next thing.
We’d like to thank Paul Rich for this business-perfect sample album. Here’s the entire album.
There it is–an awesome system for awesome samples.
// ZENDESK CODE
March 14, 2012 - 6:03 pm
Thanks so much, I am in the process of ordering a new sample album right now. I need some advice on making sample albums for venues where I often work. I want to give them one so that they can show off their venue and my work at the same time, smart right? Would you recommend doing the same thing or a less expensive cover?
Thanks, in advance, for your time.
April
March 14, 2012 - 6:07 pm
April – that’s a tough one. If you know 100% that the venue is going to pimp you out, then it’s a good investment. If the venue just has your book along with others, then possibly a cheaper option is better.
March 14, 2012 - 7:46 pm
Seriously I would think that in either case, and maybe even more so if your album will be grouped with others, that you want your album to have that wow factor. If its in a group it will stand out and let clients know their expectations will be exceeded! Otherwise there’s nothing to set it apart at first glance, even though your images inside are amazing
March 14, 2012 - 8:18 pm
Any opinions on including family portraits in sample album. In the past I have taken the client album and modified it slightly to include more bride/groom images and less of the bridal party stuff and reception.
March 15, 2012 - 1:49 am
My thoughts, just opinions, that one page of formals or family photos are important in a sample album. Clients want to see that you can do nice ones.
March 14, 2012 - 11:37 pm
I sell per page and was under the impression to order lots of pages in my display album?
March 15, 2012 - 1:48 am
Sarah, well this is all opinion and how you do your sales, but I would think that the sample albums are to book the client and it is the design that will actually sell more pages. Just food for thought, no evidence to back this one up.
January 17, 2013 - 5:15 pm
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