We’ve also included all of last year’s deals so you can get a good idea of what most companies will do again this year. If you see any other deals worth including, please comment below!

See the full guide here.

Black Friday 2023 Deals

Here are a few of the noteable deals we currently have featured in the tracker.  Check back throughout the week, as we update the deals!

SLR Lounge Premium – Lifetime Plan Available

The #1 Training for Portrait and Wedding Photographers is on sale this holiday season.  Get $300 off the Lifetime Plan or $100 off the Annual Plan.

Visual Flow Lightroom Presets Bundle – 33% Off

Get 33% off the number 1 preset system for wedding and portrait photographers.  Buy the entire set get access to powerful and intuitive time-saving preset packs plus the retouching toolkit.

LawTog 40% Off

Get ready to kick off biggest sales season of the year! This Black Friday, enjoy a massive 40% off storewide at TheLawTog®. Don’t miss this chance to invest in lawyer-drafted, photographer-approved legal templates for photographers. Tailored specifically for photographers and creative minds, these tools are essential for navigating the intricate legal landscape of the industry. Safeguard your creative endeavors with TheLawTog’s trusted expertise.

Sale starts November 17th and ends November 24th at 11:59 PM EST. Use code: BF2023

Shootproof

40% off ShootProof plans! New customers only, valid for the first year.

Early access for your audience begins November 8, 2023. Sale ends November 30, 2023 @ 11:59 pm EST

Sigma Lenses and Cameras – $50 to $200 Off

• 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM -$190 off
• 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN | Art lens – $50 off
• 6-28mm F2.8 DG DN lens – $50 off
• 105mm F2.8 DG DN MACRO Art – $100 off
• 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN | Art – $100 off
• 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art – $100 off
• 28-70mm F2.8 DG DN | Contemporary – $100 off
• 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS – $50 off
• 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS – $200 off
• 16mm F1.4 DC DN  – $50 off
• 30mm F1.4 DC DN  – $50 off
• 56mm F1.4 DC DN  – $50 off
• 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN – $50 off
• 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM – $120 off

DVLOP Lightroom Presets

Up to 40% Off Presets – No Code Required.

 

Bay Photo Lab

• 10% Off Anything!
• Promo Code: 10THANKS
• Valid Black Friday through Cyber Monday

 

Fundy Designer – 40% Off Everything
Dates: November 16th-27th 2023

 

Topaz Labs Photo

$299 (60% off) Regular price $755. Purchase includes 1 year of upgrades.
November 15 – November 27 2023

 

Fstoppers

Up to 60% off tutorials! (Save 30% when you buy 1, 40% when you buy 2, 50% when you buy 3, 60% when you buy 4 or more)

Luminar Neo 

12 months Pro subscription + Creative Assets Collection for $79 $479 
– 24 months Pro subscription + Creative Assets Collection for $119 $659
– Lifetime with Extensions  & Creative Journey Pass + Creative Assets Collection $149 $998

Magmod

Magmod will have one flash sale each day on: Monday Nov 20,  Tuesday Nov 21, and  Wednesday Nov 22 2023.  Specific details are not yet released.

 

Honeybook – 50% Off!

Save up to 50% on Honeybook!

Westcott Cyber Week Deals

Up to $200 off during cyber week. Shop strobes, Continuous Lighting, Light Stands, Grip Equipment, Backdrops and More.

More Info

Be sure to check out the full Black Friday Guide for Photographers here.

Without further ado, let’s review the winners!

2023 Narrative International Photography Awards Winners

Category 1: Wedding – Tender Moment: Celestine Aerden (Website | Instagram)

Category 2: Wedding – Hilarious Moment: Ester Bazalova (Instagram)

Category 3: Portrait – Emotive Moment: Debi Brett (Website | Instagram)

Category 4: Portrait – Interesting Perspective: Collins Climpson (Website | Instagram)

Category 5: Family – Kids Will Be Kids: Alex Souza (Website | Instagram)

Category 6: Family – Unique Perspective: E.J. Dilley (Website | Instagram)

Check out Narrative’s blog to see all of the honorable mentions.

For those who missed the announcement to enter this year’s awards, here’s a look at the judge’s and some of the benefits of entering an awards contest like this, as well as some tips from past winners.

Meet the 2023 Judges

The esteemed panel of judges bring decades of experience to the table. Here’s a peek at what they looked for in the winning photos.

Melody Joy

Melody Joy (Melody Joy Co.) is a Destination Wedding, Elopement and Editorial photographer based in Edinburgh. When asked what she looks for in a winning image, Melody says, “I would look for… a unique perspective from a photographer’s eye. So if I see the image and can imagine being there, and it’s not how I would have shot it…it’s a unique perspective, something that stands out.” She encourages artists to enter to push their creativity and realize that others appreciate their work.

Jonathan Zoeteman

Jonathan Zoeteman (Socality) is based in Calgary, Alberta, whose work focuses on capturing the story in the image while exploring the relationships between individuals and the world around them. He says the awards offer an opportunity for photographers to challenge themselves creatively by shooting something specifically for the awards. He says, “There’s a power in photography that lets you frame things and leave things out… I love an image that leaves me questioning something or evoking curiosity.”

Kyle Wilson

Kyle Wilson (Hinterland Stills) is a wedding photographer in Chicago and Narrative’s Head of Industry Insight & Education. Kyle believes capturing the emotions of the day is paramount. For him, a winning photo will make him “feel like I’m actually there in the moment… shooting the wedding from the inside out.” Kyle says that entering the awards allows artists to curate their work and identify what’s great and what they want to do better – an incredible opportunity for anyone at any stage of their career.

Why Enter the Narrative International Photography Awards?

There are plenty of reasons to enter your photos into the Narrative International Photography Awards. Here are just a few:

• Elevate your presence in the photography community.
• Use it to help market your business.
• Get used to looking through your work with a critical eye, and also celebrate the amazing work you have been doing.
• Plus, there are prizes.

Hot Insider Tips from the Masters

Here are a few of the 2022 winners sharing their perspectives on the awards and what contributed to their success.

Sarah DeShields: Website | Instagram

Sarah DeShields’ winning shot came from one of her “creative play days,” where she wanted to explore working with mirrors. It was a tricky shoot, but the end result took her breath away. She offers three points of advice for anyone entering this year’s awards:

• “Take down any walls inhibiting you from trying new things.”
• “Look for the work that speaks to you and makes you come alive.”
• “Don’t think too much about what you think other people will want to see.”

Erin MacFarland: Website | Instagram

Erin MacFarland’s winning shot captured a sweet moment between twin brothers, a bond she recognised and related to. She entered the photography awards because she likes to see how others react to her images and that she can create an emotional response. Her advice to this year’s entrants is to “pick an image that really spoke to you, something that really touched your heart… it’s most likely going to speak to other people too.”

Caitlin Trainer: Website | Instagram

Caitlin Trainer was inspired to enter the awards because she connected with the categories and felt she had images to share with the world. Her winning photo captures a fun moment with her two boys. She focuses on children and lets them lead the shoot to see what happens. She says to everyone entering the awards, “Don’t second guess yourself. Put it out there… jump in with both feet and give it a shot.”

Nathan Walker: Website | Instagram

Nathan Walker started out in family photography when his first child was born. He says shooting weddings is an opportunity to shoot family photography on a momentous day, so he always keeps his eye on the children to capture that once-in-a-lifetime moment. He recommends entering to help promote yourself: “I know for a fact that I’ve booked weddings on the strength of the work that I’ve shared that’s been awarded.” He recommends only presenting work that you stand by and pushing yourself.

About the 2023 Narrative International Photography Awards

Now in its second year, the 2023 Narrative International Photography Awards celebrate photographers and their creativity. Since 2018, Narrative has put photographers at the heart of what they do, with a mission to revolutionize how photographers interact with their art with cutting-edge software. Narrative would like to thank the awards partners: Archipelago, Unraveled Academy, Queensberry, Studio Ninja, Pic-Time, and SLR Lounge.

To help streamline your mini session workflow, Pixieset has developed features that make it, what we believe, is the best booking and scheduling software or app.  In fact, in our studio, we recently switched over to Pixieset; and to save you the time and research, we’ll explain why in this article.

Full Integration with Pixieset Galleries

If you use Pixieset as your online gallery to deliver photos and as your website builder to host your portfolio, then you get to keep everything inside one dashboard. This differs from a more segmented approach where you might use separate software for different tasks – for instance, booking sessions through booking apps like Calendly or Acuity and then delivering galleries via Pixieset or Zenfolio. The integration of these functionalities within Pixieset can potentially save time, streamline workflow processes, save on costs.

However, it’s important to consider individual business needs and preferences, as some users might find specialized software more suited to specific tasks. Ultimately, Pixieset’s all-in-one approach provides an alternative that could lead to efficiency improvements, especially for those looking to simplify their administrative processes.

Intuitive and Beautifully Designed Booking Pages

Online booking pages offer a streamlined solution for clients that not only facilitate scheduling but also serve a dual role as sales pages. In scenarios like mini sessions, where there is typically less interaction with clients before booking, the functionality, aesthetic appeal, and user-friendliness of the booking page become crucial. It’s important for the page to be well-designed and intuitive.

Pixieset, known for good design and aesthetics, provides tools that enable users to design personalized booking pages. These tools can help in creating pages that are not only visually appealing but also effective in facilitating the booking process.

Collect payment and Important Details

As we discuss in our article, Photography Mini Sessions | 10 Tips for Success, you can speed up your process and reduce admin work by asking clients to pay for their mini session, sign a contract and fill out a questionnaire as they book their spot. Having them pay immediately reduces the risk of no-shows and simplifies your to-do list.

If you’re building your booking site with Pixieset, you can set up your preferred payment method (credit card, PayPal) and attach a contract and questionnaire for clients to fill out as part of confirming their booking.

Prepare Templates to Save Time

Another way to enhance your mini session workflow is to create templates that you can easily reuse later to save time. From your client communication to editing and delivering photos to clients, there are numerous opportunities to prepare things in advance:

Email templates — Create drafts for the messages you will send clients once they book a mini session, when you email the gallery and instructions on how to order prints, etc.

Contract template — Draft out a mini session contract so it’s ready once you need clients to sign one.

Questionnaire template — if you usually ask clients to fill out a quick form prior to their session to learn more about their preferences and expectations, create one in advance, so it’s ready when you need it.

Gallery template — if you use Pixieset to deliver your photos, consider creating a “template” for your favorite gallery setup. This includes your preferred options for fonts, colors, gallery cover, grid style, privacy, downloads, proofing, and so on. You can easily apply all these settings to future mini session galleries, and save time.

Print store template — if you sell prints, create a new price sheet for your mini sessions and highlight the product options that are most relevant for your clients (i.e. albums, framed prints, canvases, holiday cards). Once you need to deliver a gallery, just attach that price sheet to the gallery.

Earn Additional Revenue While Delivering the Photos

There are multiple sales opportunities during the photo delivery process that you can take advantage of. For example, if your mini session package includes 15 edited photos, when delivering the gallery, include ALL the photos that you’ve taken of that client. Set a download limit to 15 photos and allow the client to pick their favorites. Most likely, they’ll end up ordering additional photos from the gallery.

You can also connect your print store to the gallery, so each mini session client can easily order prints of their favorite photos. And, my personal favorite — add a banner at the top of each gallery with a special, limited coupon. You can offer a discount on all prints or digital photos or have free shipping for purchases larger than a given sum. If you use Pixieset, all of these features are available inside your dashboard.

Conclusion

Whether you’re only getting started with planning your first mini sessions or you’re a seasoned photographer with tons of experience, these tips can help you build a better workflow that serves your business and makes life easier. While many of these tips are based on the options available inside Pixieset, you can explore similar solutions with the tools and software that you use for your own photography business.

How to Save with Fstoppers Black Friday Sale

• 30% savings when you buy 1 tutorial
• 40% savings when you buy 2 tutorials
• 50% savings when you buy 3 tutorials
• 60% savings when you buy 4 or more tutorials

Note on SLR Lounge Black Friday Coverage

SLR Lounge and Visual Flow are also having a sale on their education and presets.  See the details here.  You can also find the best Black Friday Photography Deals in our Black Friday Deal Tracker.

Courses We Love by Fstoppers

Photographing The World: Japan

Here’s a quick look at just a few of the courses available in the Fstoppers catalog.

In this workshop, you will not only experience a grand tour of some of the best photography spots in Japan, but also be given a comprehensive view into the mind of one of the best travel photographers around. Elia brings his experience of both photography and world travel (to over 70 different countries) to this workshop, making it a fantastic value.

• Streaming online, downloadable videos, downloadable raw files
• Run Time: >60 hrs
• 22 videos (including 1 free chapter & 6 BTS videos)
• Landscape photography, cityscape photography, travel photography, seascape photography, general urban & nature photography

Fundamentals of Lighting with David Bicho

Course Overview: Don’t miss out on this presentation of incredible yet practical lighting techniques from Profoto educator David Bicho. You’ll learn how to assess the available light in a scene and use a variety of lighting methods to get the shot. David covers everything from simple on-camera lighting techniques to full-concept shoots  using up to four lighting setups. Core concepts include mixing flash with ambient light, lighting a face, and lighting a background.

This video  tutorial includes the following:

• 2.5 hours of content
• 23 Lessons on Lighting
• 3 online courses real life shoots

Perfecting the Headshot with Peter Hurley

Course Overview: There’s no bigger name in headshot photography (or headshot photography education) than Peter Hurley. In this workshop, Hurley teaches essential skills you’ll need to find success as a headshot photographer, like how to combine confidence with approachability, strengthening physical features of the face, crafting dramatic and flattering lighting, and more. You’ll also find Hurley’s preferred gear options for working as a headshot photographer, and you’ll see his streamlined client workflow.

This video tutorial includes the following:

• 10+ Hours of Content
• 21 Video Files
• 3 Full “Real World” Client Shoots
• Instant Download
• And much more

Introduction to Video: A Photographer’s Guide to Filmmaking with Lee Morris and Patrick Hall

Course Description: With social media and advertising visuals fighting for more and more of our attention, the importance of video is at an all time high. Luckily, if you are a photographer, you already have 90% of the tools you need to start making professional videos and multimedia productions. This new Fstoppers tutorial on videography is aimed at helping both professional and amateur photographers take the gear they already own and start producing high quality videos. There is no better time to learn how to film video than right now!

This video tutorial includes the following:

• 7 Hours of Content
• Bonus Tutorial: Introduction to Premiere Included Free
• Instant Download

Every Fstoppers class comes as a digital download. In other words, you can dive into your new classes right away. Check out the Fstoppers store to see all of their workshops and take advantage of these amazing Black Friday discounts!

You can find more great savings in our Photography Deal Tracker for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and more!

We capture photos to preserve memories, so it stands to reason that the albums we create to present those images will be able to stand the test of time and look good doing it. When you partner with the right album maker, you can get quality albums at affordable prices to make selling these albums not only possible but also easy to do. In this article, we’ll explore the process of creating and selling fine art albums from Zno by choosing the right materials to marketing your products effectively.

How to Make a Fine Art Album

You’ll have a little legwork to take care of when you first get into the business of making and selling fine art albums, but the learning curve is shallow enough and you’ll likely find that you can move through the process rather quickly.

Step #1. Find the Right Album Maker

As we mentioned above, it’s important that you begin your journey by partnering with a pro lab whose albums align with your style and budget. Consider factors such as the range of materials they offer, their customization options, the tools they provide to streamline the entire process, and their reputation for quality.

For example, Zno, a professional print lab with end-to-end service whose products we’ve reviewed previously, offers a cloud-based online photo gallery called Zno Gallery that allows for easy sharing, delivering, proofing, and downloading for clients. The gallery also links directly to a digital storefront that you can use to more easily sell prints, albums, and wall art. In addition to creating quality albums, services like these help labs like Zno stand out from their competitors, and it’s worth taking these perks into account.

Once you’ve chosen a lab, create an account with them to get started.

Step #2. Follow Design Instructions

Album makers may have different design requirements. Zno has it’s own built-in album design software known as Zno Designer that simplifies the process, while others may expect you to provide pre-designed JPEG files. If you’re creating designs from scratch and your lab doesn’t offer software, consider using other makers of specialized album design software like Fundy Designer, which can at least streamline the layout process.

Step #3. Refine Your Order and Delivery Process

Creating fine art albums is all about creating a premium experience for your clients. Ensure that your ordering and delivery process reflects this luxury approach. This may involve offering personalized design consultations, showcasing sample albums, and providing options for customization, such as cover materials, finishes, and other photo album upgrades that your clients will love.

Once the album is created, you’ll have to determine whether to meet with the client personally to deliver the album or ship it. Sometimes, the clients’ availability will determine that for you. Ideally, you’ll be able to unbox the album in person. Some photographers host “album reveal” parties, complete with champagne, to hand albums and prints over to their clients. If you have to ship the products, however, look for services like drop shipping to simplify the delivery process.

Keep in mind that a number of consumer-level online services allow clients to create their own albums (often rather crudely), so it’s essential to make your product, service, and general experience stand out.

How to Market Your Fine Art Albums

Marketing plays a crucial role in promoting your fine art albums and attracting clients who appreciate the value of high-quality photography products. Here are some marketing strategies to consider:

Marketing Strategy #1. Portfolio Showcases

Display your fine art albums prominently in your portfolio, website, and social media profiles. Highlight the craftsmanship and unique features that make your albums stand out. A dedicated sales page on your website will also help convey value and demonstrate to your clients that albums are more than an afterthought.

Marketing Strategy #2 for Fine Art Album: Client Testimonials

Testimonials go a long way in most walks of life. Encourage satisfied clients to leave reviews and testimonials that emphasize the exceptional quality of your fine art albums. Some photographers give incentives (savings on products and services) to encourage reviews, but this is really up to you and whatever you’re comfortable offering for the review.

Marketing Strategy #3. Sample Albums

Create sample albums that showcase your best work and craftsmanship. These can be used during client consultations and as display pieces at events or trade shows. Some labs offer free or discounted sample albums, so look for that before purchasing an album just for sample purposes.

Marketing Strategy #4. Social Media Showcase

Social media isn’t all about likes. Sure, a picture of an album may not get as many likes and comments as a stunning photo of a client, but you may want to still consider showing these to build interest and help with your sales process.

Pricing and Positioning for Your Fine Art Albums

Setting the right pricing and positioning for your fine art albums is crucial for your business’s success. We already mentioned that it helps to partner with a pro lab that offers reasonable prices to start, but that’s only one part of the equation. In addition, consider the following factors to help ensure that your price is right for your business and your clients.

Factor #1. Cost Analysis

Calculate the cost of materials, labor, and overhead to determine your pricing strategy. Ensure that your prices cover expenses and provide a reasonable profit margin, which will vary based on your location, needs/goals, etc.

Some labs offer loyalty programs that will save both time and money in the long run. For example, to reference Zno again, Zno offers a Pro Plan that includes significant savings on printed products as well as a Fulfillment Apps Bundle that offers significant savings on all of their software. While the cost of the software is not free, it is offset by the time and money you’ll save overall.

Factor #2. Positioning

Position your fine art albums as premium, high-end products. Emphasize their quality, durability, and timeless appeal. Also, highlight the value they bring to clients in preserving their cherished memories. A fine art album is a perfect high ticket album to add to your product offering. So, for example, you could offer a photo book as your cheapest print product, a standard layflat album as a middle option, and a fine art album as your high end product.

Factor #3. Packaging

Invest in elegant and branded packaging that enhances the overall perceived value of your fine art albums. You should also consider hand-delivering the fine art album or having the client pick them up in person, as discussed in the section on refining your delivery process above. You may also consider including the following:

• A personalized, hand written note to add to the experience and appreciation
• Album care instructions

[Related Reading: How to Make and Sell Fine Art Prints]

Conclusion

Creating and selling fine art albums is a rewarding venture for photographers looking to offer their clients a top-tier product and elevate their photography business. By choosing the right materials, mastering the design process, and effectively marketing your albums, you can position yourself as a premium provider in the photography industry. With a focus on quality and a commitment to delivering an exceptional experience, you can build a loyal client base and boost your revenue while preserving the beauty of your work for generations to come.

ShootProof Black Friday Details | Quick Reference

Black Friday Promo: 40% off any ShootProof plan
Start Date: Nov 14, 2023
End Date: Nov 30, 2023 @ 11:59 pm EST
Where: Find the savings here!

Why Choose ShootProof?

The ShootProof team, whose products and services we’ve reviewed over the years, have built their specialized tools to address the unique needs of photographers. One advantage they’ve had to aid their journey is that they, too, are also photographers. As such, they have unique insight into what photographers really need. For example, they know how critical a great client experience is, and just how intimidating selling prints can be when you’ve never done it before. They’ve been there. Using their experience to your advantage, they’ve continued to refine their system so it’s easy to use with a minimal learning curve, and it’s filled with helpful resources that help you get your photography business off the ground and growing.

ShootProof Tools

With a ShootProof plan, you’ll have access to the following tools:

• High-quality photo storage
• Easy portfolio and gallery builders
• Professional tools to streamline your studio management (like invoicing and contracts)
• Selling tools that take the guesswork out of making extra cash
• Plus, tons of free resources to help you boost your biz

Basically, as you can see from the list above, a ShootProof plan will give you everything you need for the end-to-end client experience in one easy-to-use tool. What’s more, every plan has access to every feature. You won’t need to upgrade your service to access “special” features. Instead, just check the plans to ensure the allotted quota of images offers enough photo storage for your business needs.

While more companies are starting to work towards offering all-in-one apps to eliminate the need to manage different apps and services, ShootProof has an edge because they’ve been at it a while and have been able to deliver incredible results to the 500k photographers who’ve trusted them to elevate photo delivery, wow their clients, and take their businesses to the next level.

No Commission on Sales

It’s also worth noting that ShootProof doesn’t earn a commission on your sales. That’s for you to keep (other than what the government collects).

Limited-Time Savings for the ShootProof Black Friday Sale

If you’ve been considering joining ShootProof and getting access to all of the benefits outlined above, this Black Friday sale offers a great opportunity to give them a go! All plans are 40% off through the end of November, so don’t wait too long to make the jump.

Offer valid for new users through November 30, 2023 @ 11:59 pm EST.

After years of hands-on experience and numerous lessons learned while running my own newborn photography studio, I’ve distilled my knowledge into these top 5 newborn photography marketing tips.

Consistency is key

When you are marketing for newborn photography clients, it is very important to market all the time. If you don’t have a marketing strategy in place that you can keep up with consistently, you run the risk of not having enough clients in the future. One key to marketing is that you are not marketing for today or tomorrow, but rather for about 6 months down the road. If you market now you will be busy then. And if you do not market then, you won’t be busy 6 months later. Develop a marketing strategy that you can implement all the time so that you will be consistently booked.

Consider using scheduling software to help you stay consistent with posts on social media. Some great options to consider are:

• Later
  • • Later allows you to schedule posts across 5 social media platforms such as Pinterest, Instagram, X, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
    • You can subscribe or use the free account
  • Subscription options allow you a lot more posting freedoms and flexibility
  • Subscription also increases functionality
• Tailwind
  • Tailwind allows you to post to Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook
  • There is a free option but functionality and posts are limited
  • One cool thing about tailwind is it gives you prompts and ideas for a marketing strategy
  • You can schedule ahead organic pins from your website to pinterest
• Meta Business
  • This platform allows you to schedule your Facebook and Instagram posts and stories
  • It is free to business users but you will be encouraged to boost posts for money
  • Analytics are embedded within the platform – this helps you to see the effectiveness of your campaigns

Once you have a strong social media presence and a strong web presence with your site and possible blogging platform you should consider a monthly newsletter. This is a way to reconnect with your loyal client base and keep your business top of their mind. The key to successful marketing is top of mind awareness. Staying visible and relevant will bring in clients.

Build your credibility through visibility, competition, and professional accreditation

Your clients are counting on you to take amazing pictures of their precious newborn baby. They are going to verify that you are a legitimate business, that you have a history as a newborn photographer and that you know what you’re doing. One way to inspire confidence is to have a consistent presence online. Have a professional looking website. Set up social profiles with the name of your business as the handle. Pay for a professional email account with your website domain name in it. In short, if they look you up, can they find you and can they verify that you are legitimate.

If you are a newborn photographer consider entering photography contests with reputable entities. Award winning photography inspires confidence in the product you will produce for your clients. You may also consider getting a certification in newborn photography and/or safety. There is no licensing required to be a newborn photographer but you are handling precious babies. Parents may feel better knowing you have put the time and investment in to get independently certified. Check out APNPI for their certification in newborn and maternity photography.

Finally, consider joining PPA and your local professional photography groups. As a member you have access to professional development and networking opportunities with other photographers. Most states and cities have local chapters where you can learn and grow. I can’t count the number of referrals I’ve gotten from other photographers. And when I can’t meet the needs of my clients I have a wonderful resource to refer them to.

Develop strong SEO

Once that professional website is set up, it’s important to make sure that you have good SEO. That’s search engine optimization. When people google “newborn photographer near me” you want to pop up! There are many ways to build good SEO into your website. You can pay a professional to help you with it. If you are tech savvy you can figure it out yourself. Or you can do a combination of the two. SEO take time and patience, but once you have good SEO it pays dividends

There are a ton of articles relating to SEO on this website but a couple of our favorites are:

• SEO Link Building for Photographers – A Complete Guide
• Optimize Images for Search with a Better Image SEO Workflow

SEO is a long process to master and you do need to keep up with it. But it is one of the most effective ways I have found to reach new clients.

Networking and Masterminds

When I began newborn photography I thought to myself – who works with pregnant women? And the answer of course is people in the birth industry. I made it my mission to meet and befriend as many people in the birth industry as I could. This was great for a few reasons. 1. I made a lot of friends, 2. I met a lot of amazing professionals that I could refer my clients to, and 3. I met people who could refer clients to me. It was a win, win, win.

Years later and I am still friends with most of these people, I have a great resource for my clients when they are looking for birth workers like doulas, midwives, chiropractors, lactation consultants, acupuncturists, and sleep consultants. Networking is a great marketing tool.

Another option for networking is a smaller group called a mastermind. This is when you meet regularly with a small group of people. I’ve found the magic number for me is four. Over the course of one hour per month we meet and go over our strengths and weaknesses for the month. It’s a time to be intentional about goal setting and help keep each other accountable. The mastermind group might not necessarily pan out to referrals from the group members but the support and inspiration you get from voicing your goals out loud and making a plan for the future is immeasurable.

The main thing is to not just hide behind your keyboard. You need to get out into your community and meet people. If nothing else it helps you to become more comfortable with talking about what you do and communicating your value. Networking is key!

Repeat clients and client referrals

Referrals are a great marketing tool for newborn photographers. You can ask your clients if they wouldn’t mind leaving a review for you. Google reviews are invaluable. They help to verify that you are a reputable business and they help you with SEO. You can also ask if they would tag you in posts of the portraits you have taken. This always gains me more followers and inevitably leads to increased inquiries.

You can blog about the session you have with each client and ask them to share it with their family and friends. And further you can provide exceptional service to your clients and they will tell their family and friends.

One of the things I do every year is send out holiday cards from my family to my clients. I friend my clients on facebook and follow them on Instagram and any other social media they may be on. I try to keep my social media neutral so that I maintain a professional presence even if it is my personal account. I try to periodically check in with my clients. I do my best to develop friendships with them. I do this because I genuinely care about and like people but also because it is much easier to work with a repeat client than to find new clients. Every year after my holiday cards go out, I see an uptick in inquiries. I have worked with so many families who have brought their second, third and fourth babies to see me. I love this part of my business as I watch families grow.

Conclusion

In summary, it is important to be consistent when marketing for newborn photography. You need to be searchable and appear legitimate to potential clients. Knowing other professionals who work with maternity clients and newborns is a great way to get your name into the community. And above all, be a great business owner who provides an amazing service to your clients and they will come back and tell everyone else about you. If you truly love your clients and what you do it will translate into a successful business. Because people can tell when you genuinely care about them and what you do!

Let’s get to it!

Which Images Work Best for Large Photo Prints?

Some images work better than others when it comes to large photo prints, and it depends on more than image resolution (although we’ll cover that in more detail below).

Epic Moments

A large photo print will likely serve as the centerpiece in a room, or certainly on the wall on which it hangs. Like the art itself, the moment or scene captured should carry an inherent wow factor. When you go big with an inspiring photo, that’s when the magic happens.

Small Subjects

Once, during a workshop on selling prints, the photographer running the workshop noted, “If you want to sell large prints, shoot small subjects.” In other words, make your subjects small relative to the size of the frame. Epic portraits typically include a lot of scenery, and the subjects’ size in relation to the overall grand scale of the frame usually falls on the smaller side. When the photo is printed in a larger format, the subjects then appear decently sized with plenty of detail, and they don’t overwhelm the frame.

Popular Options for Large Prints

While you can find countless options for creating epic wall art with large prints, we’ll look at three popular choices from a well-established print lab, Bay Photo, that lend themselves well to a larger format with superior materials for ultra-crisp imagery. We’ll also look at alternative solutions such as clusters and collages. It’s worth noting that all of the options below are customizable to fit any space up to 96”. Also, metal prints and acrylic prints are available in clusters and splits, which is an easy way to fill walls with pre-configured designer arrangements.

A Quick Note About Bay Photo

Since they opened for business in 1976, Bay Photo has earned a stellar reputation for producing top-quality wall display products, and their vast selection of customizable display options in all sizes, including up to 96” wide in large format prints, separate them from other professional labs. You can read more about them in this article from our company feature series.

Metal Prints

Let’s kick things off with one of our in-studio (and in-home) favorites: metal prints. Metal prints offer a unique printing surface that delivers uniquely rich colors and intense resolution. It’s also worth noting that metal prints can stand up to direct sunlight with minimal fading much longer than their paper counterparts. For those concerned that metal might prove too glossy, you’ll be happy to know that metal prints come in a wide range of finishes, including everything from glossy down to a matte finish. We’ll cover the various finishes and their attributes in more detail below. Whichever option you choose, these prints in large format are guaranteed to stop viewers in their tracks, and for all the right reasons.

Style

Your clients decor will vary, from casual to elegant, and it’s important that the wall art your clients purchase fit their style. Metal prints, like other options on this list, can be hung and displayed in a number of ways, including everything from single metal prints to double float (stacked) or clustered collections, each of which gives its own unique vibe.

Surface

Here’s a closer look at the finishes you can choose from for metal prints. The range offers solutions that can accommodate a variety of lighting conditions to deliver the best viewing experience. To preview Bay Photo’s options, don’t miss this video demo.

• High Gloss: Glossier prints tend to show more details and the colors are generally vibrant
• Mid-Gloss: Lower gloss level means less glare, yet the details and colors are similar
• Satin: Glare is less of a factor and the details and colors are sharp but subtle in comparison to the glossier options
• Sheer Glossy: Metal shows through the image with the sheer option
• Sheer Matte: Matte finish presents less glare than a glossier surface material
• Textured: Non-Refective surface with a fine, stippled texture for a softer, more organic look

Cost: $$ (8×10: $20-$60+)

Acrylic Prints

Another one of our favorite vehicles for large photo prints, and one of our most popular in-studio, are the acrylic prints. If you’re unfamiliar with acrylic prints, they are prints that have been mounted to polished plexiglass, resulting in added radiance and visual depth thanks in part to the plexiglass, which ranges anywhere from 1/4” thickness to 1” blocks (the latter for tabletop displays, not wall art).

Style

Acrylic prints exude a modern vibe and appeal to all sorts of clients. When you see these prints in person, especially the larger sizes (they can be made as big as 43”x96”), you’ll quickly understand why these rank among the most popular options on the market.

Surface

Acrylic prints feature an acrylic treatment that comes in glossy or non-glare finishing options, and they can be used with special lustre or metallic surfaces. One acrylic print option, Bay Photo’s Fujiflex Acrylic prints, uses Fujiflex photographic paper that is face-mounted behind polished acrylic, resulting in incredibly dynamic prints.

Material and Mounting

With acrylic prints, you can choose from different display options, which typically include an aluminum dibond or white paper backing. For large photo prints, you’ll likely opt for the aluminum dibond option and a thinner plexiglass option mounted to the front due to the weight of the larger print. Mounting options for acrylic prints include French cleats or stainless steel posts (see above for the latter).

Cost: $$ (8×10: $50+)

Epic Prints

It may be cliché to say, but for epic prints, the name says it all. Epic prints represent the ultimate go-to for large photo prints. These fine art collector-level, large photo prints are made using Fujiflex silver halide photographic paper with up to 610 dpi resolution (four times the resolution of a standard photo print), resulting in “high-precision clarity” that is really second to none.

Style

Epic prints, because of the materials used (covered below) and the resulting dynamic resolution, offer a sleek profile and look that would give viewers pause in a fine art gallery.

Material and Mounting

Bay Photo’s Epic Prints are made using Fuljiflex silver halide photographic paper, which is mounted using aluminum composite (ACM) made from 2 sheets of .012″ metal with a solid black plastic core, and finished with a thick High Gloss or Satin finish in a maximized effort to realize the photo’s ultimate viewing potential. Your clients can choose from different wood and metal moldings that are custom-made into frames for these prints.

Cost: $$$ (8×10: $55.59+)

Clusters and Splits

Those looking to tell a story in multiple images or frames can also choose clusters or splits to showcase their photos and fill their wall space. Clusters, as the name suggests, consist of a series of images framed and/or hung together in close proximity to one another. Splits, on the other hand, feature a single image in multiple pieces.

The specific patterns for both splits and clusters can vary, depending on the preferences of the client. If you order through Bay Photo, you can use any one of their pre-designed combinations.

Preparing Files for Large Photo Prints

As you might imagine, the larger the print, the more visible “small” details become and the higher your image resolution needs to be. Generally, before sending your photos to be printed in a large format, you’ll want to sharpen the details. In some cases, you might also need to upsample the image, which is a technique used for increasing image resolution that we’ll share below.

Some printers, like Bay Photo, will automatically sharpen and upsample your large format prints for you, but should you choose to do it yourself, now you’ll know how.

Pro Tip: Do your retouching before you upsample your photo. The reason for this is it will take a lot longer to work with a larger photo file, so knock out the retouching up front. If you prefer, you can also outsource the retouching with services like Bay Photo’s Resolution Optimization service, which also includes AI upscaling.

Upsampling (or Upscaling)

It’s fairly common (although not always necessary) to upsample an image before printing a photograph in a large format. You can do this using a tool in post-production software like Photoshop in order to bump the resolution. The actual process is quite simple, and can be broken down as follows. This is one of several methods available, and you can find others online with a quick search:

1. Load your image into Photoshop (or whichever photo editing software you use that includes an upsampling tool)
2. Locate the upsampling tool–your path will vary based on the version of Photoshop you have. Even pre-2018 versions include algorithms for upsampling photos. Here’s one basic path to follow:
   1. Image > Image Size > Adjust Dimensions for WxH (see basic recommendations below) > Resample > Preserve Details (Enlargement)
   2. Adjust the “Reduce Noise” slider to taste
   3. Select “OK”

Upsampling Recommendations (Height and Width in Inches x 300dpi)

• 24” x 36” | Upsampled Resolution = 7,200×10,800 pixels
• 40” x 60” | Upsampled Resolution = 12,000×18,000 pixels
• 45” x 93” | Upsampled Resolution = 13,500×27,900 pixels

It’s worth noting that upsampling can only do so much to preserve details when enlarging an image. It’s really the first part of sharpening up the image for better results before we run a high-pass filter. Also, if the original photograph is affected by motion blur or isn’t particularly sharp to begin with, then upsampling will not resolve the issue.

High-Pass Sharpening for Large Photo Prints

Now, after we upsample the image using the basic technique above, we can sharpen it further using the high-pass tool. Here’s a basic path to follow to take advantage of this feature:

1. Create a duplicate layer of the upsampled file
2. Go to Filter > Others > High Pass > Select Pixel Radius (Experiment for the best results)
3. Switch the blend mode on the high pass layer to “hard light”
4. Add a layer mask and brush off the high pass effect on areas over the skin so that they are not as drastically sharpened
5. Save the image as a jpeg for print (and/or save the PSD file to edit later if necessary)

Ordering Photo Prints for Wall Displays

When you work with a professional print lab, ordering is easy, and the online ordering software also serves as a helpful tool for organizing your files and sharing them with clients.

Here’s a quick overview of some of the pro features in online ordering from Bay Photo. You can watch this quickstart guide to using Bay ROES for more in-depth information on how to order products:

Hide Prices/Branding

All it takes is one click to hide your prices and turn off the branding, in essence transforming Bay Photo’s online ordering system into a powerful tool for in-person sales.

Wall Previews & Custom Arrangements

This is one of the most helpful tools you can use to really help your clients visualize how great their living space will look with their new large photo prints. You can use Bay Photo’s Wall Previews to build product mockups. Whenever possible, try to use a photo of your client’s actual wall space to further help them visualize the finished product. Once you have everything laid out, you can save your Wall Preview and share a link with your clients for approval. If they like what they see, they can quickly add all of the prints to a cart with one click. Watch a video demo to see this feature in action on YouTube.

Image Collections

With Image Collections, you won’t have to waste time uploading images over and over again. These collections streamline the ordering and reordering process.

Quick Multi-Orders

After you’ve uploaded your images and selected your product, you can quickly order multiple prints in just a few clicks. You’ll have the option to select all or some of your images and order them in large quantities all at once. If you need to remove some of the images, you can also select several at a time and delete them from your filmstrip.

Save Projects

In Bay Photo’s online ordering system, you can save multiple in-progress projects and access them anytime you need to, for progressive changes or easy reorders.

Large Photo Prints | Conclusion

We hope you found this collection of tips for going big with large photo prints helpful. Again, offering large format prints to your clients allows them an opportunity to enjoy their favorite photos on a grand scale, and it’s a great way to showcase your work and earn extra income. Thanks to user-friendly tools and professional partners like Bay Photo Labs, we can easily prep and create amazing wall art without expending too much time or energy.