When presenting your work to a new prospect
Hey guys,
I just need a bit of help with something.
I have been contemplating on getting an iPad to use when I am presenting my work to my prospects and I am trying to justify the cost. Just trying to get an idea what you guys currently use.
To those who currently use iPad for their presentation, what are the benefits of using an iPad and what were you using before iPad?
I just need a bit of help with something.
I have been contemplating on getting an iPad to use when I am presenting my work to my prospects and I am trying to justify the cost. Just trying to get an idea what you guys currently use.
To those who currently use iPad for their presentation, what are the benefits of using an iPad and what were you using before iPad?
What do you use when presenting your work to your couples 20 votes
iPad
40%
8 votes
Macbook
10%
2 votes
Laptop
5%
1 vote
Just Prints
35%
7 votes
Other Tablets
10%
2 votes
0
Comments
Okay, I'll kick it off. I don't think it could be a bad thing. One of my friends uses his smart phone. Sure the images aren't color corrected, but the look pretty good...good enough to interest clients, and show skill and style. I'd think that an iPad would even be better. Better than a laptop...easier to transport and since iPads are pretty cool all by themselves...I think it will only add to the presentation. If I had one, I'd sure put it to use. There must be an app out there just for this purpose.
Just my thoughts.
Educate yourself like you'll live forever and live like you'll die tomorrow.
Ed
I think the iPad is definitely a great idea, it also wouldnt hurt to invest $100 in an apple tv to wirelessly stream photos to a TV.
I also have a short video (about 3 minutes) of different pictures and some background music.
580 EX II - 430 EX II
Facebook: Friend / Fan || Twitter: @shimamizu || Google Plus
Stuff looks different when printed .... they can browse my website, blog and facebook, but when I meet them in person I want them to actually *touch* the photos / the quality of my products. I don't see the point of showing my stuff on an ipad, nor iphone (wow, that's a SMALL portfolio!). I want them to see the photos printed fairly big .... no excuses, I fly from Denver to Boston to meet my clients, the albums ARE heavy and don't get me wrong, I hate traveling with them, but I'd never leave for an interview without it/them.
Speaking as a consumer (I'm not a pro myself), I agree that nothing compares to seeing the photos printed. If I was interviewing photographers, I'd expect to see their pictures in print. An iPad portfolio might be nice for backup if I wanted to see more pictures or a specific type of picture that wasn't included in the album(s), but I wouldn't be impressed if it was the primary portfolio. And I would not want to look at someone's portfolio on a smart phone at all. I mean, if I met a photographer out and about and wanted to see some of their pics right then, it would be better than nothing, but I wouldn't hire anyone based on a smart phone portfolio alone. A lot of pictures look good at that size that are horrible when blown up.
I expect to sell albums, so I show albums. If I wanted to sell only digital files, I would only show digital files.
_____________________________________________
My Site
I should clarify for any wedding meeting I do bring albums. If it's a meeting for senior portraits or something else non-wedding related then I don't and just have iPad/iPhone if needed stocked w/ photos.
Facebook: Friend / Fan || Twitter: @shimamizu || Google Plus
Klinh Evelyn Grace Photography
Fashion & Commercial
(2)Mamiya RZ67 IID, Mamiya 645 AFD II, Leaf Aptus 65, Profoto D1's, Capture One.
http://www.klinhevelyngracephotography.com
w. www.laraluz.com
s. about.me/laraluz
Maybe I should show them the magic box too...
www.tednghiem.com
I started out with a print portfolio in the late 1970's and it has just stayed that way...also when I pullout a portfolio with is old, (worn leather cover) then the eyes seem to really perk up ...plus I am wanting the client to buy prints for hanging on the wall, so I show prints... ... ...
I am a huge fan of the cotton prints from WHCC (they call them velvet or something), so I always bring those and may or may not bring an album. The cotton prints are soft and very tactile, and the fact that cotton is a renewable resource is very important to me. I try to push those as the 'special' print (rather than a canvas or something), so that's why I bring them instead of regular prints. On top of that, most people haven't seen them before so it's something different that other photographers probably won't have. If I had an ipad, I'd probably bring that as well... but that's just not financially possible at the moment.
Spread the love! Go comment on something!
+1
Nothing takes the place of showing them an example of what the finished product will look and feel like.
There is such a vast difference in weight from premium to budget paper, texture of different art papers, plus the differences between Luster, Gloss, Semi, and Matte that the customer needs to see and feel. I not only have a portfolio to show them in assorted 8x10 papers, I also carry a large portfolio that has some 13x19s matted to 18x24.
I can see a case for using an iPad (or whichever you choose) in a face to face, but only when trying to spark interest. When it gets down to serious talks about a job, and why you are better than your peers, show them the money shots!
Since I am not a full-time photog and don't have a 'real' studio, I always go to my clients' place or we meet up at a coffee shop/restaurant where we can sit down and chat. It's also nice to see their reactions to my photos when they view them the first time
I do always bring a couple of albums as it is a product that I offer. But since I only have a few photos on my website, I always tell my prospects that I will show them more photos when we meet.
I have 20 weddings (folders) on my laptop and have about 50 photos per wedding. I let my clients choose which wedding they want to view. I notice though that they will only open a couple of weddings and view a few photos from each before we go into the contract signing.
The problem with my laptop is that it's pretty bulky/heavy. I did go ahead and bought an iPad2. we'll see how it goes when I meet a couple tomorrow for their oct '12 wedding
The prints I bring for an obvious reason of actually being able to hold the images and see the quality they are getting. I have an album of 8"x10" prints from some of my favorite weddings over the years (and some of them are the free prints different printers send me when I sign up, to be honest, so it's pretty inexpensive).
The album is a copy of an album a bride ordered with all of her choices. It's a quick way for them to be able to see an entire wedding from start to finish without looking through an entire (huge) gallery.
And, finally, I bring my iPad since I can easily include favorites from my most recent weddings. I have publishing set up in LR3 that automatically publishes the photos to certain folders that sync with my iPad every time I plug it in. I use an app to show them off, but I sometimes find that the app doesn't behave how I expected and I skip back to just the default slideshow on the iPad if needed. I have the photos sorted by what they are (details, getting ready, etc.) so that the couple sees a variety of photos from different weddings capturing my style for just that aspect of the wedding. I find it makes it less scattered.
Like you, I always meet with clients at another location. Living in rural Maine, I often meet couples half way (since most live over an hour away) if I'm meeting them in person. I likely won't ever have a 'real' studio for just this reason (and having clients to my house makes my hubby anxious).
w. www.laraluz.com
s. about.me/laraluz
I firmly believe in embracing technology to wow clients and get them excited about your work, HOWEVER I'm also a traditionalist and I would never down-play the importance of a physical album. We stare at digital display screens all day long as it is; when I want to RELAX sometimes it's nice to just look at physical prints. Kinda like reading a REAL book instead of a kindle or something.
=Matt=
My SmugMug Portfolio • My Astro-Landscape Photo Blog • Dgrin Weddings Forum
Sure, I prefer albums when doing an ACTUAL consultation. However by not embracing the awesomeness of the latest technology, you're missing out on a lot of buzz-spreading in daily life. As I just explained in another reply, I use DropBox to sync up all my latest work at 2000 pixels. That way when I'm editing a job and maybe picking blog images, I am two clicks away from an export that puts images on my phone, tablet, laptop, etc. Then when I'm out and about and someone says the word "engaged" or "wedding photographer", I'm just 15 seconds away from blowing them away (hopefully!) with my latest work. Or of course there's a best-of folder, a details folder, etc. etc.
Just some food for thought!
=Matt=
My SmugMug Portfolio • My Astro-Landscape Photo Blog • Dgrin Weddings Forum
Matter of fact I threw them all out in a cleanup earlier this week.
I do slide shows either on the computer or when I go to visit the clients I have been taking a portable DVD player or put the disk in their player.
I prefer slide shows simply because they allow far greater emotional viewer involvement and capture a lot more of the senses.
One of the first slide shows i did was for a friends birthday party at a restaurant. It was basicly happy snaps. No great photographic skill employed or had the opportunity to be used. I put it to some music I thought my friend would like and when I showed it to her, she was in tears inside 60 seconds. Right then and there I realized the extreme power of setting images to music and the ability to put fades and other effects in to enhance and capture the maximum emotion.
I use slide shows wherever I can these days in a variety of different ways and applications and they never fail to bring a tear to the eye, quite often even with blokes who would ( and have) admitted they would have never thought watching pictures on a screen would move them that much.
I'll guarantee you this, do a wedding presentation and get a tear in the eye of anyone thinking of hiring you and you have got the deal in the bag, no question. Put together a slide show to be screened AT the wedding and you will walk out of there with extra bookings.
A printed wedding album might get oohs and ahh's but I have NEVER seen an album move anyone enough to bring a tear to anyone's eye yet who was not connected with the subjects.
With a slide show, you can do it every singe time and in my repeated experience, tears mean bookings. It's exactly the same as a guy meeting a girl he's interested in dating. make her laugh, really laugh and she will go out with you, guaranteed.
It's not the fact they laugh or cry, it's the fact you have got them to that state of emotional involvement where they are relaxed or motivated enough.
Everyone knows what a printed image looks and feels like. Honestly, how does one shooters Pics feel different to the touch than anyone elses? I think the comments about albums are more a product of the PHOTOGRAPHERS feeling and prefrances than the potential clients and an assumption that what we think as shooters is what the clients think as well.
I learned the fallacy and mistake of that line of thinking a long time ago.
That said, if people believe they HAVE to show albums to do a good presentation because that's what people want to see, then YOU probably need to have albums in order to be confident in what you are doing and not as I believe, giving off those invisible and unspoken little brainwaves that the clients will pick up on and will kill your sale before it starts.
People forget the rule of sales is people buy the person, the product and the price, in that order.
If your crutch is your albums and you don't have them, then you are going to be lacking confidence and most people will give off the brainwaves or body language or whatever it is to the client and as a person you will likely not click with them as you might have had you had your album crutch there to support you.
Personally I have spent a lot of time learning sales and I can sell well, be the support tool be an album, a slide show or the countless times I have booked weddings now with showing them no more than the pictures on the wall or sometimes, not even that!
With a slide show, I feel very confident that I can get the booking and do it without having to work hard to get the sale. The product will take care of itself, I know what they want to sell myself and as I have already qualified them on price and budget before i even get in front of them, getting the sale is about as odds on as it's ever going to be.
I also don't show prints for album planning these days, haven't done that in years either so the first time they get to touch or hold an album is after they have bought and paid for their own.
For this reason as well, physical albums mean little to me and more importantly, they have proven to be of little consequence to my clients seeing sample albums as well.
So I ended up getting the iPad and been syncing my photos using Zen's app (sorry smugmug!) to sync my photos on my iPad.. and it's been good so far... clients love it!
I never thought that I would be able to sync up my ipad with my machine using dropbox! I'm gonna have to try this!!
With the way Lightroom works these days, I suppose it's just the same whether you want to quickly dump a few favorites to a SmugMug gallery, or a DropBox folder...
The key, really, is in the systematic approach itself. Either create an "Inbox" folder in DropBox, or create an "Inbox" gallery on Smugmug. Whatever it is, it's gotta be the same each time so that you can do it within 2-3 clicks during your normal workflow. Then, once a month, you just clean out / sort the folder, delete the mediocre stuff and categorize the best stuff. I believe you can arrange SmugMug galleries like this from within Lightroom? Or, for DropBox, I just use Bridge to sort images. Or you can just create a LR Catalog that contains all your "best of" folders, and just keep syncing the folder to make sure stuff is in the right spot.
=Matt=
My SmugMug Portfolio • My Astro-Landscape Photo Blog • Dgrin Weddings Forum