Pro Photo Business Forum

The Importance of the Engagement Session

Written by: Scott Villalobos

The engagement session is a great way to increase revenue to the bottom line of your wedding photography business. It seems more and more photographers are adding complementary sessions into their existing packages. While not a new idea, it is a good one to not only beef up the bottom line, but for several other reasons as well.

Think about it, how much would you charge for a two to three hour photo session? Four, five, even six hundred dollars? And yet many photographers are just throwing them into their existing packages. Why?

The e-session offers a great way to earn income that you might otherwise miss out on. Depending on your market you can add a couple hundred to several hundred dollars to your bottom line. E-sessions are usually done on weekdays or days when you don’t have a wedding or other event. They don’t take too much time and the resulting sales can be stellar. I know of a few photographers who regularly sell over a thousand dollars in additional product that without the complementary e-session would be non-existent. I’ve had couples call me the week of the wedding wanting 20×30 inch gallery wraps in time for the wedding. These are big-ticket items they might not purchase from the wedding itself, especially once the hype and excitement cools down.

I’ve found the e-session to also be a great marketing tool. When you have several hundred e-session images to work with you can create some incredible marketing tools that will bump up your after wedding sales and bring in new clientele. There are a few things I do regularly to take advantage of this avenue for marketing my photography.

1.) The Thank You card. I generally make 100 thank you cards, at not charge, for my clients to place on the tables of the reception. On the front of the card is a picture from the engagement session with a personal message or Thank You from the bride and groom. On the back of the card is another picture with my studio info and invitation to view all the wedding pictures. This not only boosts my sales, but more importantly increases traffic and awareness of my business. Everybody usually gets one and I notice huge increases in traffic to my site after the wedding. The more traffic I get, the better my chances of increasing sales that would otherwise not happen.

2.) The guest book. Every wedding has them and over the last three years or so they have really gained popularity. Instead of just a plain old book with lined paper that the bride and groom would purchase from a stationary store, I make a guest book that includes many of the favorite images form the e-session. It’s always a hit and I’m usually approached by several guests per wedding inquiring about my services based on what they saw in the guest book.

3.) Large prints. Most brides and grooms want at least one large print to display at the reception from the engagement session. These prints can be a great source of additional income and really get your work noticed. It also sets the tone for after wedding day sales. If they bought a large print before the wedding, they will most likely want some from the wedding day as well.

4.) Aside from the monetary reasons for doing the e-session, there is what I think to be an even better reason. When you do an e-session you really get the chance to bond with and get to know your clients in a way that you wouldn’t if you only showed up on the big day. You get the chance to work with the couple and they get the chance to be in front of the lens and used to having their picture taken. This really is huge, especially if you’re trying to shoot in a more photojournalistic way. I don’t know about you, but I hate it when I’m trying to capture a moment – naturally – and when the bride sees the camera pointed in her direction she starts posing. The e-session helps the couple to understand what your about and what your trying to capture. It helps them to feel comfortable having you around and just being themselves the day of which makes your job that much easier.

No matter how you look at it, the e-session is a win-win for both the photographer and the bride and groom. It’s a great marketing tool that will ultimately increase your bottom line and give your bride and groom the chance to have something they otherwise wouldn’t. 

Houston Wedding and Portrait Photographer - Scott Villalobos www.rsvpstudios.com