Having up-to-date photos at your disposal helps to instantly communicate to your clients that you’re staying on top of safety protocols.
… or any time for that matter
Hey, everyone! Are you still holding in there? I know this is an extremely difficult time, but one of the positive things I’ve seen over the course of the past five months or so is the flexibility of many business owners to pivot their services and/or practices to continue to best serve their clients in a year where nothing is normal. I, too, have been tinkering with how I can help business owners with their marketing and social media photography during this time.
Since limiting exposure can only help at this time I’ve started to offer Express Sessions for my business clients that focus on providing the best variety of photography in the most efficient ways possible.
Clean, prominently displayed signage can alert your customers to extra steps you’ve taken for their safety.
Anthologie Express Sessions differ from my traditional commercial photography sessions in a couple of key ways that many business owners have found to be beneficial even with health concerns aside, namely the emphasis on completing the photo sessions in a timely manner. These sessions average about 90 minutes to 2 hours at the max and still provide a ton of useful content at a great value. So what’s the catch?
It sounds too good to be true, right? Well, not really. I always say the most valuable piece of equipment in professional photographers’ arsenals is their experience. You still get my 20 years of photography experience and creativity. What’s different is there is minimal equipment — namely lighting — used during your session. This creates a win-win situation for all. With the Express Sessions I tend to wear all photography equipment needed so there is less “stuff” to contend with touching surfaces and taking up space in your place of business.
Images are still very much deliberate for your social media, website and marketing needs there is just a little less time to finesse perfect lighting for each and every photo. If you are only selling a product the Express Session may not be the best option. However, for many businesses, such as salons, restaurants and realtors they may be a perfect fit! Following is my Top 5 Benefits for an Express Session for your business.
A variety of images can be created during your Express Session for business, including pictures for location pages, employee bios and service offerings.
1. Minimal impact to business day. With even more emphasis on an intentional approach and efficiency for your photo session means there is less time to disrupt the normal flow of work. Sessions can even be set up outside of normal business hours if needed.
2. Build trust. The guidelines business owners adhere to can often quickly change. Now more than ever it’s important to communicate with your clients and show that your are listening and following the most current safety guidelines. If you’re a restaurant owner, you probably don’t want to have your key, welcome image on your website showing a bar packed with patrons elbow to elbow and no one wearing masks.
3. Lasting images without a big commitment. There’s no need to worry about creating imagery for every possible marketing need throughout the year. Express Sessions are priced so that they can be a seasonal consideration for many businesses. Winter specials don’t have to contend with images that made specific to the Fourth of July!
4. Variety of images. Some aspects of your businesses aren’t fast-moving, such as the physical location and up-close images of services. By utilizing multiple Express Sessions throughout the year each new session builds on the past to create for you an ever-greater selection of professional images for your business needs. In addition, many clients opt to create photos that are “generic” as well as those specific to COVID-19 during their time for an even longer shelf life on your photography files.
5. Value. Anthologie Express Sessions are priced at about the same rate as our two-hour photography sessions (including licensing) yet they often yield as many finished images as traditional half-day sessions.
Fresh photography highlighting the current customer experience helps to build trust.
Some aspects of your business will not quickly change, such as details of products and services. Creating images of these elements helps to ensure your building an image library that will be long lasting.
These sessions may be set up completely contact-free. You can learn more about my Coronavirus response here. Give me a call or send me an email to chat more about how we can create a session to your specific needs, or whether a traditional commercial photography session may be a better fit for your business. dan (at) theanthologie.com | 612-419-7009. I look forward to sharing your story. Stay safe, everyone!
