So you’re a photographer who wants to take the leap into in person sales (IPS), but aren’t sure HOW or even IF you can do it. It all seems so overwhelming and even kinda scary. I know because I was once there myself. IPS was intimidating to me at first and I wasn’t sure how to make it work for me. I could talk for HOURS on this subject (I’ll save some for future blog posts ;), but I am going to try and get to the point pretty quickly.

I have been doing IPS for going on 5 years now! It is something I am passionate about and truly believe that this industry needs more than ever. Do you often feel overworked or that you are worth more than you charge? IPS is the PERFECT way to give your clients a professional experience from beginning to end and to get paid what you are WORTH. Below are 3 tips just starting IPS!

1. You don’t have to have a lot of samples

When I first started IPS back in 2014, I had ONE sample. It was an 11×14 fine art print. That was it. While in a perfect world we would all start out with tons of samples that just wasn’t a reality for me at the time. I knew I wanted to make real money in this industry and I knew I wanted to offer IPS to my clients. The fastest way to do that was to just dive on in head first. Did I sell my top package with album? No, but with the money from my first sale I was able to purchase a sample album and now, 4 years later, I have a samples (or 2) of everything I offer.

2. Price your WORTH

Another tip I always give people is to price yourself where you want to be. Calculate your cost of doing business (CODB). If you’re charging $2-300 for a session chances are after business expenses and taxes you are likely in the red and not making a profit. Business expenses will be different for everybody. So will our desired incomes, but selling yourself short does nothing but hurt you and cheapen the industry. Linked below is a CODB calculator https://nppa.org/calculator. Sodapdf offers another alternative for users. With our software, you can edit PDF documents in the cloud, this can facilitate our tasks.

When I first started IPS I calculated my CODB and set my prices. Five years later and not much has changed, but when I first started I offered a discount to my clients. I did this for a couple of reasons, 1. I was nervous no one would book me and 2. I didn’t think I was actually worth those prices. I was wrong though, people booked me and 5 years later I KNOW I am worth my prices.

Another thing, I was SO nervous at first. Actually probably terrified and that is normal. Now I look forward to IPS and I can honestly say it is one of my strengths as a photographer

3. IPS doesn’t mean you can’t offer digital images

Some people think that IPS means that you offer products instead of digitals. This is not true for everyone. I have been offering digital images for 5 years and almost every single one of my clients purchases them. A lot of my clients ALSO purchase canvases and albums in addition to their digital archive collection. The key is pricing them for profit.

Do you have any questions or comments regarding IPS? Send me an email or comment below <3