The Working Photographer:

Laura Wooten on the Importance of Presentation, Timing & Connection

by Laura Oles

Laura Wooten is an award-winning professional photographer whose career path started as teen when she joined her high school yearbook staff and her father placed a completely manual Nikon FM2n in her hands. Under his care and guidance, Laura’s talent flourished and she soon found herself completing a photography degree in college and working as a photojournalist for major Texas newspapers and as a freelancer for the Associated Press.

Today, Laura has leveraged her considerable skills and has established a successful portrait studio specializing in wedding, portraiture and on-location photography. We asked her what she wished she had known when she was in the early stages of launching her portrait studio.

Laura was generous with her advice, happy to help others dreaming of one day becoming members of the profession. “I wish I had realized early on how important presentation is when working with clients. I started off with a ‘sell online’ strategy, in part, because it was easy and it made sense with the advent of digital technology. What I didn’t understand is that putting portraits online meant that the customer now owned the image in her mind. She was free to share my work--disabling the right-click function doesn’t protect your images--and could show friends and family the final product. I had invested a substantial amount of time and energy and the customer hadn’t invested a dime.”

Digital photography’s convenience can be a double-edged sword, especially for professionals working hard to be properly compensated for their craft. For Laura, the solution evolved from a sincere desire to properly showcase her work while providing a heightened quality experience for each client.

Laura explains, “I now offer a special viewing experience for my clients through projection sales, and my in-person sales have tripled since adopting this approach. My clients now see a movie-like presentation of their images, which are supported by music and special effects.”

How do her clients respond to this method of presentation? “I’d say ninety-five percent of my clients tear up or cry during the presentation. I’m able to connect with them emotionally this way, and they are far more satisfied with the overall experience than they were simply by viewing the proofs online. It also allows me to help counsel them on the best choices for their albums, gifts and for enlargements for hanging in their homes.”

Laura’s desire to provide a stellar customer experience and to separate her offerings from the plethora of ‘shoot and burn’ photographers have catapulted her studio to a new level of success as well as a steady stream of client referrals.

Laura still provides digital images but her strategy is stronger now, in part, because of presentation and timing. “Once the client has finished ordering, I’ll write a blog entry about their session and include a few images as well as place the same information and images from their portrait session on my Facebook page. This allows the client to share the images while also helping to drive traffic to my website. It’s a solution that benefits everyone involved, and the feedback I receive from clients is incredible.”

To learn more about Laura Wooten and her work, visitwww.thesmilehouse.com.