Average number of poses sold in your portrait shoots?

[JustJazzie]

I've always said I would NEVER go into business, yet here I sit- strongly considering it. As I attempt to set some personal goals and build my portfolio up, I am trying to set out with a realistic perspective. I've been able to research how many photos are usually shown to the client, but I am wondering- what is the average number of poses ultimately purchased by the client- For a single subject? For a family/group?

I'd truly appreciate some feedback on this.

 

[KmH]

How do you plan to present the proofs to your customers?

 

[JustJazzie]

How do you plan to present the proofs to your customers?

Ultimately, I want to do in person sales with printed proofs. Obviously I will need to build up some income to be able to print before I know they will buy. But to begin, it will be in person sales on my iPad I imagine.

 

[ronlane]

What, we are actually supposed to sell our images?? Wait, I didn't get that memo.... lol. (I KNEW I was doing something wrong.)

 

[KmH]

More important than having printed proofs to show your customers is having samples of what photos look like, size wise, as prints.
Your sample prints can be of other people/families.

Having prints in a nice frame with a mat, as a standout, as a canvas, etc is an effective selling tool and a way to demonstrate that an 8 x 10 doesn't work well by itself above a mantle or on the wall behind a couch.

Do you have any sales experience or training?

 

[JustJazzie]

More important than having printed proofs to show your customers is having samples of what photos look like, size wise, as prints.
Your sample prints can be of other people/families.

Having prints in a nice frame with a mat, as a standout, as a canvas, etc is an effective selling tool and a way to demonstrate that an 8 x 10 doesn't work well by itself above a mantle or on the wall behind a couch.

Do you have any sales experience or training?

A bit...I worked in cell phone sales for a while (I was in the top 10% for my region, and it's also where I met my husband) some phone "sales" for a car dealership calling leads and convincing them to come in. I also did pretty well there. I'm high school, I participated in competitive speech a placed in state, and as a kid I was heavily involved with public speaking and "selling" religion. (I won't say which one. ;-) )

I might be a bit rusty- but it's in me somewhere!

 

[pixmedic]

is anyone actually going to answer the question, or just grill her on the same business aspects we grill first year newbie photographers starting their FB business every week here?

our portrait packages start at "up to" 10 pictures, then goes to an "a la carte" for additional pictures.
digital files are a set price, and prints vary by size and material.

for single portraits, ~10 is usually more than enough pose wise. you can only do so much with the same person without it getting seemingly redundant.
for families, I find that 10-15 is a pretty good number if they want more than just a shot of the family together.
of course, the larger the family, the more variations you can do with the pictures.

honestly, I try to do as few poses as possible. just enough to give them a little variety. just because you take 100 "different" shots of a person, doesn't mean they are going to buy 100 prints. it does usually mean that you will have to sit with them for hours on end as they try to choose between the same 5 poses shot 20 slightly different ways.
so...my advice is to keep the poses down to a minimum as people are not likely to hang 20 near identical pictures of their family on the wall.

 

[JustJazzie]

is anyone actually going to answer the question, or just grill her on the same business aspects we grill first year newbie photographers starting their FB business every week here?

our portrait packages start at "up to" 10 pictures, then goes to an "a la carte" for additional pictures.
digital files are a set price, and prints vary by size and material.

for single portraits, ~10 is usually more than enough pose wise. you can only do so much with the same person without it getting seemingly redundant.
for families, I find that 10-15 is a pretty good number if they want more than just a shot of the family together.
of course, the larger the family, the more variations you can do with the pictures.

honestly, I try to do as few poses as possible. just enough to give them a little variety. just because you take 100 "different" shots of a person, doesn't mean they are going to buy 100 prints. it does usually mean that you will have to sit with them for hours on end as they try to choose between the same 5 poses shot 20 slightly different ways.
so...my advice is to keep the poses down to a minimum as people are not likely to hang 20 near identical pictures of their family on the wall.

Thanks so much for responding! This is very helpful.
If you don't mind here is another question;
I asked my friend who I just did maternity and baby photos for how many she would have actually purchased had it been a paid session. She was very honest and said 4 of her (she told me which ones and said she just didn't feel she needed that many of herself) and 4 poses of the baby, and 1 of her and baby (agin she explained which ones and why, so I feel she wasn't exaggerating)

Would that have even be considered a decent sale? Obviously, I have no idea what actual items she would have purchased. But for one subject and a mother/infant does that number of poses seem Iike a terribly low number?

 

[tirediron]

If you're going to proof on your iPad, I cannot possibly recommend investing in Preveal strongly enough!

As for poses/sale, I find it varies widely, and depends a lot on the client. Younger clients (<35) tend to buy more; 3-5, mid-age (Note, NOT middle-age) ~35-55, somewhat less, and senior citizens (the bulk of my client-base) usually only one, and rarely more than two.

 

[pixmedic]

is anyone actually going to answer the question, or just grill her on the same business aspects we grill first year newbie photographers starting their FB business every week here?

our portrait packages start at "up to" 10 pictures, then goes to an "a la carte" for additional pictures.
digital files are a set price, and prints vary by size and material.

for single portraits, ~10 is usually more than enough pose wise. you can only do so much with the same person without it getting seemingly redundant.
for families, I find that 10-15 is a pretty good number if they want more than just a shot of the family together.
of course, the larger the family, the more variations you can do with the pictures.

honestly, I try to do as few poses as possible. just enough to give them a little variety. just because you take 100 "different" shots of a person, doesn't mean they are going to buy 100 prints. it does usually mean that you will have to sit with them for hours on end as they try to choose between the same 5 poses shot 20 slightly different ways.
so...my advice is to keep the poses down to a minimum as people are not likely to hang 20 near identical pictures of their family on the wall.

Thanks so much for responding! This is very helpful.
If you don't mind here is another question;
I asked my friend who I just did maternity and baby photos for how many she would have actually purchased had it been a paid session. She was very honest and said 4 of her (she told me which ones and said she just didn't feel she needed that many of herself) and 4 poses of the baby, and 1 of her and baby (agin she explained which ones and why, so I feel she wasn't exaggerating)

Would that have even be considered a decent sale? Obviously, I have no idea what actual items she would have purchased. But for one subject and a mother/infant does that number of poses seem Iike a terribly low number?

how many pictures do you think someone actually needs of themselves?
maybe a few to keep, maybe a few get sent to relatives...
I think ~10 prints of a single/double portrait is good.
when we do portraits with 1-2 people we generally only give out 5-10 finished pictures anyway, so 10 prints is good.

 

[JustJazzie]

If you're going to proof on your iPad, I cannot possibly recommend investing in Preveal strongly enough!

As for poses/sale, I find it varies widely, and depends a lot on the client. Younger clients (<35) tend to buy more; 3-5, mid-age (Note, NOT middle-age) ~35-55, somewhat less, and senior citizens (the bulk of my client-base) usually only one, and rarely more than two.

Thank you! Very helpful! I will look into that app. Honestly though my ipad screen sucks and I don't want to use that method for very long!
I'm kind of stuck on Sue Bryce's Theroy (I know I know, not HER again :giggle she doesn't believe we are a "digital generation" as much as an "instant gratification" generation. In her cult, photographers who are showing an in person "reveal wall" with matted printed images are having sales boosted by around 50% + because it's harder to walk away from something tangible. The boost in average sale has made any net losses for in purchased product worth the risk, and if nothing else, you are left with prints for your portfolio. Anyways, it's where I believe that's the direction I would ultimately like to try, when I can afford the risk,

how many pictures do you think someone actually needs of themselves?
maybe a few to keep, maybe a few get sent to relatives...
I think ~10 prints of a single/double portrait is good.
when we do portraits with 1-2 people we generally only give out 5-10 finished pictures anyway, so 10 prints is good.

How many? I don't know! But I keep seeing people selling "folio boxes" with 15-25 prints of a single session. Maybe that only applies to the boudior/glamour industry?
Anyways, thanks again for the numbers! I really appreciate the feedback!

 

[pixmedic]

If you're going to proof on your iPad, I cannot possibly recommend investing in Preveal strongly enough!

As for poses/sale, I find it varies widely, and depends a lot on the client. Younger clients (<35) tend to buy more; 3-5, mid-age (Note, NOT middle-age) ~35-55, somewhat less, and senior citizens (the bulk of my client-base) usually only one, and rarely more than two.

Thank you! Very helpful! I will look into that app. Honestly though my ipad screen sucks and I don't want to use that method for very long!
I'm kind of stuck on Sue Bryce's Theroy (I know I know, not HER again :giggle she doesn't believe we are a "digital generation" as much as an "instant gratification" generation. In her cult, photographers who are showing an in person "reveal wall" with matted printed images are having sales boosted by around 50% + because it's harder to walk away from something tangible. The boost in average sale has made any net losses for in purchased product worth the risk, and if nothing else, you are left with prints for your portfolio. Anyways, it's where I believe that's the direction I would ultimately like to try, when I can afford the risk,

how many pictures do you think someone actually needs of themselves?
maybe a few to keep, maybe a few get sent to relatives...
I think ~10 prints of a single/double portrait is good.
when we do portraits with 1-2 people we generally only give out 5-10 finished pictures anyway, so 10 prints is good.

How many? I don't know! But I keep seeing people selling "folio boxes" with 15-25 prints of a single session. Maybe that only applies to the boudior/glamour industry?
Anyways, thanks again for the numbers! I really appreciate the feedback!

if the clients are using their glamour shots as a modeling portfolio, they will need a lot more prints than someone just buying for themselves or a few family members.

 

[JustJazzie]

If you're going to proof on your iPad, I cannot possibly recommend investing in Preveal strongly enough!

As for poses/sale, I find it varies widely, and depends a lot on the client. Younger clients (<35) tend to buy more; 3-5, mid-age (Note, NOT middle-age) ~35-55, somewhat less, and senior citizens (the bulk of my client-base) usually only one, and rarely more than two.

Thank you! Very helpful! I will look into that app. Honestly though my ipad screen sucks and I don't want to use that method for very long!
I'm kind of stuck on Sue Bryce's Theroy (I know I know, not HER again :giggle she doesn't believe we are a "digital generation" as much as an "instant gratification" generation. In her cult, photographers who are showing an in person "reveal wall" with matted printed images are having sales boosted by around 50% + because it's harder to walk away from something tangible. The boost in average sale has made any net losses for in purchased product worth the risk, and if nothing else, you are left with prints for your portfolio. Anyways, it's where I believe that's the direction I would ultimately like to try, when I can afford the risk,

how many pictures do you think someone actually needs of themselves?
maybe a few to keep, maybe a few get sent to relatives...
I think ~10 prints of a single/double portrait is good.
when we do portraits with 1-2 people we generally only give out 5-10 finished pictures anyway, so 10 prints is good.

How many? I don't know! But I keep seeing people selling "folio boxes" with 15-25 prints of a single session. Maybe that only applies to the boudior/glamour industry?
Anyways, thanks again for the numbers! I really appreciate the feedback!

if the clients are using their glamour shots as a modeling portfolio, they will need a lot more prints than someone just buying for themselves or a few family members.

I know they aren't models, but it's a very "niche" shoot which is why I was hoping 15-25 wasn't really applicable to general sales it sure made my 5-10 seem sad. ;-)

 

[imagemaker46]

How long have you been shooting? Skill and experience will also affect the number of images that may be sold. Images that are quality strong , unique and basically perfect, will generate stronger sales.