Upselling Tips to Help You Scale Your Income as a Professional Photographer

As a photographer or videographer, it’s highly likely that you’re running a one-person show. From responding to enquiries to helping them plan their photoshoot, and editing their gallery to posting the latest shoot on your website and socials, you’re the one responsible for your client’s entire experience from start to finish.

Until you’re ready to outsource certain tasks and/or to grow your team, you can only book and shoot a limited number of jobs per year. That’s why preserving your time and creative energy is incredibly important unless you enjoy (not) those dreaded burnout spells because you’ve stretched yourself too thin…yet again.

And that’s where these sanity-saving upselling tips come in – helping you to increase your profit margin with every booking, and boosting your overall revenue – while enhancing your client’s experience! Keep reading for our top upselling tips.

The 2 main benefits of upselling in your photography business

1. Better serve your clients

By suggesting products and/or services that complement your client’s original request, you’re giving them the freedom of choice. Regardless of their “budget”, people love to shop when given options that align with their best interests.

But remember to be honest with your clients about what they do and don’t need so you can serve them at your highest level.

2. Book less, create more

You’ve already invested money, time, and effort into marketing your business, so maximise your return on investment by selling more services/products to each client and increasing their average spend.

Simply use the Pricing Calculator tool to determine how many jobs you need to book per year, then find opportunities to sell more products and services to your clients.

This will save you from overworking and feeling pressured to constantly hustle more bookings!

Make sure to also read 6 Business Skills Every Photographer Needs to grow their business in a saturated market.

6 upselling tips to scale your income as a photographer

Now that we’ve embraced the importance of upselling and what it can do for our photography businesses, let’s dive into how you can start upselling today!

Upselling Tip 1: Bundle your photography products and services into irresistible packages

Make it as simple as possible for your clients to choose the best solution for their problems. Rather than asking them to pick and choose what they think they need, you should always offer a handful of “done for you” photography packages for them to select from.

Image Credit: Studio Leelou

For example, instead of simply offering a base package with hourly coverage and digital photos, you could bundle 6-hour coverage with a digital gallery and an online slideshow. The higher-priced packages would then also include additional hours, an heirloom album and a selection of custom prints.

This also helps with creating more desire for your products and services. By clearly laying out each package’s inclusions, they’ll be able to see the differences and determine what level of service best meets their needs (while creating a healthy dose of FOMO).

 

Here’s an example of how offering higher-priced photography packages can boost your profit margins

	Working More	Charging More
Average package price	$3,000	$6,000
Average cost of securing a new booking	$1,000	$1,000
Average delivery cost	$1,500	$1,500
Profit per wedding	$500	$3,500
Profit from 30 weddings	$15,000	$105,000
Profit from 60 weddings	$30,000	$210,000

Upselling Tip 2: Showcase your premium products and services

Don’t leave it to your clients’ imaginations or wait for them to ask you about your premium products and services.

“People don’t know what they want until you show it to them” – Steve Jobs

For example, if you want to sell more albums, show them off all across your website, socials and pricing guide!

Image Credit: Studio Leelou

In order to do so, you can add an album showcase and sales page to your website, add a beautiful album highlight to your Instagram profile, and talk about the importance of albums in your pricing guide. This helps to keep your albums at the front of your clients’ minds while educating them about why albums are worth the investment and how they can add albums to their purchases.

Upselling Tip 3: Give your clients the option to add additional services or products to their package

Just because your clients have chosen a specific package doesn’t mean that they should be restricted to those inclusions alone.

For example, if they’ve booked your mid-tier package but you know they’ve invited a huge guest list, you can upsell a second photographer to ensure complete coverage of their wedding day. This not only provides your client with the peace of mind that every detail will be captured but also helps you to focus on the important elements without trying to do everything and be everywhere at once.

Examples of products and services you can upsell as a photographer or videographer

 

Photographer	Videographer
Extra coverage  Wedding albums Parent albums Prints Framed photos Engagement shoots Pre-wedding shoots Family shoot Thank you cards Photobooth Second photographer Videographer Social media pack Express service Post-wedding adventure session Anniversary gifts Slideshows Online gallery subscription Live broadcasting Polaroids & disposable cameras 8mm film	Photographer Raw footage 1-year gallery hosting Second shooter Video book/album All-day audio All-day continuous filming Guest interview video/ video guest book Express service Live video broadcast 8mm film

Upselling Tip 4: Collect reviews and testimonials for every service and product you offer

The more you back your services and products with glowing testimonials and social proof, the more irresistible they will become. People want to see and hear what other clients’ experiences have been like with you and proof that you can help them to create their dream wedding.

Whether it’s for your gorgeous heirloom albums or a testimonial about how you and your second shooter didn’t spare a single detail, these will help you to create more desire for your upsells.

Upselling Tip 5: Get your timing right

Once a client has booked with you, their transaction doesn’t necessarily end there. You can still upsell them on complementary products and services – but at the right time.

Albums are often seen as a luxury especially if they’re already trying to budget for all the other wedding costs.

Send a sneak peek a few days after their wedding with a note along the lines of “Your photos are absolutely incredible and I can’t wait for you to see them all! If you like, I can get started on your wedding album right away so it’s ready for when you get back from your honeymoon. Here’s the invoice.” 

You’ll likely sell an album at that point because they’re still riding high from their special day, eager to receive their photos, and no longer worrying about budget constraints. 

It’s essential that you get the timing right and think about how you can educate them on the benefits of the extra product/service before you ask for the sale. That way you can ensure that it’s more than just a casual afterthought and you’ve nurtured them in the lead-up.

Upselling Tip 6: Offer limited-time promotions leading into special events and holidays throughout the year

Special events and holiday seasons make great upselling opportunities.

Image Credit: Studio Leelou

For example, if it’s leading up to their wedding anniversary or Valentine’s Day, you can share a special promotion with your existing clients to encourage them to purchase additional prints and albums or to book a mini shoot with you.

Similarly, you can also promote a special offer for parent albums in the lead-up to Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.

Start upselling your photography products and services with confidence today!

Enjoyed these upselling tips? The Upsell Academy is a mini online course providing you with all the how-to knowledge and tools to start offering upsells in your photography business.

Without making your already endless to-do list even longer, you can map out your client’s entire journey to see where you can upsell your products and services.

Master how to upsell your products & services to increase your profit margins in 5 simple steps:

✔ WHY upsells are important and how to nurture your sales mindset

✔ WHAT products and services you can upsell

✔ HOW to promote and sell your upsells

✔ WHEN to upsell throughout a client’s journey

✔ PRICING your products and services to maximise desirability

👉 Get lifetime access to the Upsell Academy for only $297.