Why is Photo Packaging Important?

We’ve been asked countless times by studio owners, "Why do I need Photo Packaging? Isn’t an envelope or folder good enough?” Our answer usually helps a photographer realize that well thought out photo packaging can actually increase sales. That’s because photo packaging adds value to your prints, protects your products, and projects your brand to your client.

Why do fingerprints seem to eventually find their way onto photos? You don’t do it, so how do they get there? You can take a print from an envelope a thousand times a day and never leave a single fingerprint. Your clients don’t handle prints on a daily basis like you do. They see you handle the print and they feel they can handle it as well as you can.

Let’s imagine presenting your client with her 11x14 print, but instead of presenting it in an envelope, this time it’s in a colorful photo presentation box. You remove the lid, lightly fold back the matching protective tissue, spin the box around, and extend the box containing the print out to your client. Your client leans over to look with her hands behind her back and never touches the print. It’s "Perceived Value”. You treated the print like it was far too valuable to touch with human hands, and your client picked up on it. When you present prints in photo presentation boxes, it adds value to your prints.

Here’s an interesting story. The big day has arrived. She carries her youngster into your studio to pick up the 11x14 print she ordered from you. "How does that child always look so cute,” you think to yourself. This mom has her act together. You notice the youngster holding the teddy bear she called Velvet. The same teddy bear you used as a prop during her shoot.

You greet them both with your warm smile, and slide the print out of its envelope and present it for her examination. You know you’re good, but this moment is always a bit nerve racking. You hold your breath, and finally a tear forms in her eye. While looking at your print, she tells her child that she is perfectly beautiful. Taking that as an approval, you slide the perfectly beautiful print back into its envelope. You tell her thank you for her business, and after some pleasant small talk, she leaves and you turn back to your work.

A minute later, you look out the front window of your studio and notice your client still sitting in her car. She’s sobbing. You walk out to her and ask her what’s wrong. She hands you the envelope containing her perfectly beautiful print and you notice it’s been crushed! She said Velvet wanted to hug her buddy’s picture, and before she could stop her, it was too late.

You could replace the print for her, or offer a new print at a discount. It wasn’t your fault, but you still feel terrible. This is only one scenario that illustrates what could happen to a high priced print presented in an envelope. A rigid photo presentation box may have prevented this problem and many other issues caused by minimal photo packaging.

Let’s determine how you earned that client’s business. You paid for a website so she could find you and see examples of how much better you are than the endless list of photographers she found in her search. You paid a designer for a new logo. A logo that shows her how closely you pay attention to every detail. You even redecorated your lobby so that she feels you are worth every dollar she spends on you. It all paid off. You have created what’s known as a brand for your business. You want your studio to stand out from the crowd with a brand that represents your unique identity. You also need to promote that brand consistently, and creating marketing pieces with a common style can help there.

This recognition can be found in any market—there are numerous brands that have created iconic packaging or a specific look that is representative of their product or service (and the good feelings associated with it). The great thing about creating a strong brand is that it not only allows your clients to recognize your marketing pieces, but it can also create an emotional connection. Every time your client see’s the beautiful box you presented her prints in, she will remember what a wonderful experience she had at your studio. She may schedule another shoot, or refer you to a friend. That doesn’t happen with an envelope.

Well thought out photo packaging is the last touch of style and branding you use to create a connection with your client. Do you want the last thing your client remembers you by to be your envelope or your beautiful photo presentation box?

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