Proofless Weddings

[SteveEllis]

Hi Everyone,

I am sure this has been covered before, but I would like to get an up to date opinion on this.

I have been giving consideration to going proofless on my wedding photography. By that, I mean no more paper proofs. I currently offer a proof album that is spiral bound from my lab and has either 4, 6, 8, or 12 images per page with the file number (digital images) listed below each image.

This is an expense that I could do without and I still worry that the images are being scanned and reproduced without my consent. I know there are several other options available such as CD, DVD, and we have just added a web album / ordering system to our web site, so that is also a good option.

Anyway, what I would like to know is, how are others proofing their wedding images to the clients and what benifits / problems do you find. I would especially like to hear from someone who made the same switch and what difficulties they encountered.

Thanks,

[angelicaglass]

Hi!

From what I've read on these boards in the past few months, it is perfectly acceptable (in the bride's mind) to not receive proofs from their wedding. However, in NYC, that would not fly! I would never book a job if I did not offer proofs. The first thing I hear when a bride contacts me is, "Do I get all the proofs?" Because I make my money off the job, and not selling 4x6's I don't mind at all. They get all their negs anyway, so I could care less what they do with them. From my experience with working production in a wedding studio, the people that make copies of the proofs are the exact same kind of people that will never order anything from you if you don't give them the proofs - meaning, either way you won't make any money off of them.

[AndrewOsterberg]

There are many services available for online viewing. Some are free to load and they take a percent of the sale and add the cost of the product. Some will host for free and only charge for the cost of product. This system works well for the studio that wants to show off the work and doesn’t really care about huge sales. Some will charge the photography studio for the use of the space online and all profit goes to the studio. Since the studio is paying for the storage space it is advantageous for a huge push to generate sales. We are all here to make a buck and not just show off our work.

Strange at it may seem we have seen that viewing the proofs online works well for the bride and groom and the families but I am amazed at the impacts of the orders. In a perfect world we could place the image online, the client would see it and purchase it. But n the real world we have seen that they want to see the image and will not always purchase it. Kodak has been fighting this for years since digital has come on so strong. The image is just fine on the computer and doesn’t need to be hard copied or printed. We have found that if you do a little artistry or design to an image it will tend to sell better. Think about the client trying to put together a wedding album from 1000 images, very hard to do. But if you lay it out for them it will be hard to visualize something different and easier to sell. We have also found this to be true with grouping images together. Just some insight that we have studied over the past few years.

Andrew
Helping studios succeed in today tough market.
VirtualPhotographyStudio.com
VisionOfSuccess.com

[SteveEllis]

Thanks for the answers. I am not really concerned about the loss of revenue from extra print sales as I am about my internal costs and production time. I do not think the proofs have hurt my sales very much. I do, however, spend a great deal of time on the production end, getting the files ready for proofs. I'm sure that I would still have to do most of that anyway, no matter how I present them to the client, but I could cut out a few steps.

Also, I already have an online proofing/selling (PopPhoto Studio) set up on my site that I maintain. It is not through any other agency, so I do not lose any profit there with the exception of whatever transaction fees are taken by my credit card processing company.

I guess what I am really trying to find out is: Are there any advantages/ disadvantages to not using paper proofs. Does it affect your ability to book weddings? Does it increase/decrease sales? How do the Brides feel about it?

Any thoughts?

[Charles_Matter]

The only reason that I continue to offer proofs is because my competition offers them. The Boston market is probably as sophisticated as any wedding market..but I find that brides still want paper proofs. So I build them into my pricing.

[Charles_Matter]

BTW..I stopped ofering proof albums a long time ago. They are cumbersome and (generally) pretty ugly. I package my proof sets in attractive black or gold boxes as loose (numbered on the back) proofs. Brides seem to prefer this as it makes it easier for them to play with them. As everything goes up on a viewing site as well; they don't generally have to send the set around. Makes everything a lot easier (more affordable for me..too). I get these boxes from TAP

[Mike_Guilbault]

I have not printed a wedding proof in 10 years. I was proofless before digital. I shoot the wedding, select the images, design the album and deliver it. Only because of digital do I now have the opportunity to show my clients the layout before it goes into production. They can change anything they like and delete images they don't like... but 98%, if not 99% of my clients take the layout as is - without ever seeing a proof - exactly as I've layed it out.

For portraits - I show the images I've selected either online (if they're from out of town) or on my own computer. This year I plan on purchasing a digital projector to project the 'proofs' for client selection.

It's great! No expense for proofs - no worries about copying - no trying to get the client in after months of having proofs 'out' - and I stay busy. 2004 was my best year ever. I'll never print a proof again.

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