One of the keys to my success in portrait and wedding photography happened the day I realized that successful photographers force themselves to learn & do the things the failures don’t want to learn & do. Once I embraced that, things started to change, because I started to change & started discovering the real reasons some photogs are so successful while others are not!
One of the really “BIGGIES” that made my biz so successful is this:
Project Your Images – Never Show Them On A Computer Monitor
I urge you to never show your images on a computer monitor! Instead, project the images into a 40×50 or 40×60 frame, over a sofa!
Most photographers don’t realize that the single, biggest decision of their career is how they present their images to their clients. It’s way more important than what camera to use, or what version of PhotoShop is best.
But sadly, most photographers give little thought to this huge decision. They put all their time & efforts into creating great images, and then screw it all up by not presenting those images in the best way to their clients.
For portrait photography, there is only ONE, all time best way to present your portraits to your clients for maximum impact and sales. What is it? Projecting the images into a 40×50 or 40×60 frame with stretched canvas in it, which is hung over a sofa!
Nothing – NOTHING can come even remotely close to producing the huge amount of impact and sales (and how much your client will enjoy her photographs in her home) that projecting your images can!
Why is projecting your portraits so powerful? Five major reasons:
Reason #1. It’s a proven sales law that the first image is the lasting image. In other words, if you show someone their photographs by projecting them into a 40×50 frame, that becomes their first image, and everything after that looks positively SMALL. Plus, you are educating your clients as to how beautiful their images will look in the more appropriate, wall sizes.
Reason #2. The Soaking Law – This is a very little understood law of human psychology which says that the longer someone holds a figure in their mind, the smaller that figure becomes as they get used to it.
So when you first show your clients a 40×50 projected into a frame over a sofa, and then volunteer the investment for that size, that number will at first seem really substantial. But as you continue to show the other images at that same size, the number you first quoted them will slowly shrink over time, and by the end, will seem much smaller.
The end result is they are much more likely to invest in a nice wall portrait for their home, and when they do – THEY WIN. You see, we are not trying to “trick” anyone – no way. What we’re doing is helping them make the right decision for them – so they will get the maximum amount of enjoyment out of their photographs.
Reason #3. Projecting allows you to “sell down.” Selling down is where you start with your best, and slowly work your way down until you get to something your client is happy and comfortable with. It helps your clients make the right buying decision for themselves and their situation.
Selling down is much more helpful to your clients than “selling up” – which is where you start with something small, and give them the investment for that size, and then move up to some other size, and give them the investment for that size. This is very confusing to them.
Reason #4. This gets your clients really excited – because their images look so fantastic when projected to a 40×50 or 40×60! This really shows off the beautiful images, and helps the clients see them really well, and become very emotionally involved with them.
Reason #5. It’s a proven fact that you sell what you show. By showing the client her images in these beautiful wall portrait sizes, rather than on a computer monitor, you are letting her clearly see and FEEL how much enjoyment she will receive from them being proudly displayed on her walls in her home.
I urge you to do this for yourself! It’s extremely easy to do with digital images, and the results will shock & thrill you!
All the best,
Charles J. Lewis
