As photographers, especially wedding photographers, one of the best parts of a job is delivering the final images to clients. Sure, it comes with the anxious anticipation of waiting for that “we LOVE them” email from the client but, it’s a box to check off in your workflow. Deciding exactly how you deliver those images in the age of instant gratification presents its own set of questions, decisions, and trade-offs. What, then, are the best and worst options for delivering photographs? Well, it’s going to vary from photographer to photographer, and how you operate your business will, to some extent, dictate your chosen delivery method.
Thumb Drives
Gone are the days of burning a stack of CDs or DVDs and mailing them to clients. In the age of digital file sharing, the USB thumb drive is the most popular physical form of media. You can buy custom-imprinted drives, of all different capacities, that match your branding, too. Toss in some cool packaging—a wood or fancy paper box—and you can build yourself a stunningly deliverable package. Thumb drives are quicker to burn and easy to mail. The USB drive will work on most computers, TVs, and even some cars tablets, too. However, they won’t plug into a smart phone, so it’ll require clients to transfer images to their favorite devices. This is very do-able, but still slightly inconvenient. Thumb drives are a great option for photographers who shoot a decent volume of weddings and still wish to capture some print sales through their on-line proofing galleries.
Digital Download
This is fast becoming the most popular delivery option, but definitely with pitfalls. Sites like WeTransfer and Dropbox make it easy to deliver images to your clients electronically, and most have pretty appealing interfaces too, which are mobile friendly. Your clients download their files at their leisure, or within the timeframe allowed by the host site, and bear the brunt of the archiving responsibility (a whole other topic altogether!). While convenient, it does take the personal touch out of the process. Still, it may be the preferred option of the client and should therefore be considered. There is also the added bonus that, at least in some states, if you do not deliver an actual physical product to your client, you do not have to charge a sales tax (consult your tax adviser).
Web Hosting
A worthwhile investment you can make as a photographer is to build or buy a custom-made website. This is the more professional solution to seamlessly sharing images with your clients in the current age. There are many web hosting solutions available, but the most popular sites are Squarespace, SmugMug, and Wix. These sites not only allow you to advertise your business and host galleries, but they offer a variety of other services to help you monetize your work as well. At their core, what you get is an off-site copy of your files, which are also being backed up in large data centers, and in most cases are accessible from any computer or smartphone. Squarespace and Wix offer greater customization for a more curated experience, but SmugMug has by far the most refined system for monetizing your content. With many of these sites, you can create password-protected pages where you can store a client’s photos. Simply send them the link with a password for access and your work is done. This feature gives you the ability to release images in batches as you take on the immense task of culling and editing thousands of images captured on a job.
Prints
Digital is king and it will take some persuasion to convince some clients otherwise. Delivering prints—paper, canvas, or other—still matters, and can be lucrative for you, as a photographer. For most, offering a proofing site where clients, family members, and friends can buy professional prints is important. Don’t expect a landslide of orders just by sharing the link, but through some creative coupons and offers you can still see print sales each month. Luckily, people are finally starting to understand that while sitting on a hard drive, images are forgotten. If you have a studio space, offer examples of your work in various printed formats. Metal prints are a popular option thanks to their durability and minimalist appearance. Just as vinyl is having a comeback, so are physical prints and even photo albums.
Albums
For years, albums were fast becoming an outdated treasure from the past. That’s not to say that albums are not losing favor among clients. They most certainly are, but they are not completely lost. Not every image needs to be included, of course, but the selection that matters most. They look awesome and they can last for generations. If you are going to offer albums, however, make sure you have well-defined policies in place for how you design their draft, the proofing process, and obtaining approvals. Albums can drag on and on—for years, even—if you don’t control the process. They will lose all appeal when you are doing that 16th round of revision because you didn’t specify how many were free, and you are hounding your client for approval to print for the 11th month in a row. Don’t let that happen, and you and your clients will LOVE albums! By the way, albums are best sold in person but, to produce them effectively, all you really need is an easy-to-use design software and a good proofing website.
Gifts and Other Fun Ideas
In addition to the above listed delivery methods, there are many ways to provide clients with images in a manner that is a bit out of the ordinary. These may not serve to provide all of the wedding images in the most efficient way and perhaps they are best considered an additional gift for the couple, but sometimes that one perfect image, delivered in a memorable style, is the difference-maker when a prospective client sees your work.
A photo-gift item like a photo slate is a low-cost but substantial way to deliver a favorite image or two. Unlike the typical print, this serves as a conversation piece and will be noticed. A designer photo box, in glass or wood, is a nice way to present your best prints to the couple. Whether it be a box to fit 8 x 10" or 5 x 7" prints, if you make it pretty, it becomes a keepsake, a protection device and a much less ostentatious way to keep your wedding photos on the coffee table year ’round. Many wedding photographers now shoot their events in a “lifestyle” or editorial style, so why not go all out and create a custom magazine featuring the best photos of the big day? A glossy cover and page after page of beautiful photos of the couple and their friends and family is a nice treat.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many options available to deliver your wedding photographs to clients. Most photographers will employ several of these, focusing on one or two. Which you decide to offer will speak to the type of studio you want to run—shoot and burn or high-end boutique. None is right or wrong (except maybe DVDs) and all have pros and cons. Whatever initial mode of delivery your clients choose, follow it up with an initial coupon for other service like prints or albums. Advertising the importance of these mediums early is important so it doesn’t come off as a cheap sales pitch. A wedding album or physical prints shouldn’t be an afterthought.
After all, these aren’t just images of you client’s special day, they’re your body of work. Only offering digital downloads devalues the photography and reduces your ability to profit from your hard work. The best combination for me may not be the one for you or your closest photographer friends, and that’s cool. Just don’t offer DVDs…
