The holidays are right around the corner, and this is the perfect time for you to plan and book holiday photo sessions for your clients. Many couples love taking holiday photos, so holiday sessions are a great way to add extra income during the slow season. Plus, they can also help you meet new clients who could be the perfect additions to your clientele. You may be thinking how adding these sessions may add too many tasks to your plate, but you can then delegate or outsource tasks to lighten your load. In this blog, we share some tips on how to properly plan and promote holiday photo sessions so you can book more clients. Plus, ways to encourage add-ons from every session!
How To Plan Holiday Photo Sessions
Take some time to write out everything you need to successfully plan your these sessions. Below are a few steps that you could include in your checklist:
1. The Number Of Sessions You Offer
Choose how many sessions you will shoot (within reason) for these sessions. Keep in mind, holiday sessions are quick, but can add too much work to your plate if you overbook yourself or even decide to do everything, including post-production editing, yourself. Set a number of sessions you want to book during this holiday season before you decide on the other details.
2. The Days You Will Take Bookings
Since these sessions are usually short, you can probably shoot multiple ones within a few days. Once you decide if you want to shoot all of the sessions on one day, or a few for two days, choose specific dates to offer. Make sure to be mindful of the actual holidays, when people (and you!) will be out of town or busy with loved ones.
3. How Long Each Session Will Take
These holiday photo sessions will be significantly shorter than the full sessions you might be used to already. Each should be very quick (15-20 mins), which allows you to shoot multiple ones in one day. Set an amount that works for you, and allows you to produce great holiday photos for your clients.
4. The Number Of People Per Session
Holiday sessions may bring your past and current clients and their family members, or new clients with theirs. When you work with large groups, it can become time-consuming, and managing these sessions could also get a little tricky if you are on your own. So carefully think about how many people you know you can shoot within the time frame you have for each session.
5. Where The Sessions Will Take Place
Choose a location close to your target market, and one where you are already familiar with the area. This helps you quickly shoot on the day of the holiday photo sessions since you know where the best backgrounds and lighting spots are.
Suggested Read: The Importance Of Location Scouting In Wedding Photography
6. Specific Details For Clients
When you discuss these sessions with clients, mention the specific details for them. These include how many outfit changes they can have and what colors each person should wear to complement the location and theme.
7. The Price Of Each Session
If done right, holiday sessions can contribute to your overall income. You want to charge a price that covers the time you spent and the products you deliver and maintain a price that fits with your brand. To help get an estimate of where your prices should be, write down how much you charge during a full session and divide that by how many holiday photo sessions you are shooting. Make sure this number is something that you know clients will pay for and will allow you to make extra income through the sessions.
8. The Number Of Images Clients Receive
Every time you work with clients, you want to share information about the image count. This sets expectations from the beginning, which eliminates any chances of miscommunication after the shoot. Decide on how many images you will deliver, and share the turnaround time for them as well. You can set a turnaround time that you are comfortable with, but generally, the underpromise and overdeliver motto works well with most.
Suggested Read: Top Legal Traps Wedding Photographers Face
How To Promote Holiday Sessions
Now that you have your sessions planned out in a way that adds to your income, it’s time to promote them to your past, current, and potential clients! Below are a few steps that could help you with that.
1. Send Out Emails
You can create your own or use these email templates to speed up the communication process for your holiday photo sessions. These emails help you announce, confirm, share previews, deliver the gallery, and offer products to clients.
Suggested Read: Holiday Session Email Templates For Wedding Photographers
2. Create A Blog Post
With the same details as in your announcement email, share the exact information about holiday sessions on your blog. Create a post dedicated to the sessions, and don’t forget to share it on your social media platforms to encourage followers to visit your blog.
3. Share On Social Media
Just like any announcement you make on social media, get your followers excited about these sessions. Create messages which best relate to each of your audiences on social media, and let them know you are booking these sessions for a limited time. Make sure to include the deadline to sign up, and that you only have a few limited spaces. Additionally, place the link to your blog post where the information is to sign up to make it easy for them.
Related Read: 5 Tips For Social Media Marketing For Wedding Photographers
Encourage Add-Ons
Holiday images create perfect photos for your clients to share with their loved ones. Even though you aren’t sharing as many images as you would usually in a full session, you could still encourage add-ons. This can be something you set expectations for before the clients book you, whether you share about it on your blog post, social media, or when you discuss the session over the phone with clients.
Depending on your time constraints (because sessions during the holiday times should be an addition to your income, not something that costs too much in time and money), provide a list of options for products. These can include high-resolution digital files, prints, albums, or holiday cards. When your images return from the post-production edit, place them in a gallery where your clients can easily access them. You can then continue to plant the seed for product sales.
Boost Your Sales With Holiday Sessions
The holidays might be the slow season for wedding photographers, but it doesn’t mean your income has to slow down too. When you plan these sessions right - even if it’s just holiday mini sessions - you can boost your sales. Depending on the various factors that we have listed above, you can successfully plan such sessions for your clients and possibly even get more potential clients and referrals. And if you think that planning holiday sessions is just going to increase your workload, we would strongly recommend that you either delegate some tasks to your team or outsource tasks that take up too much of your time. Either way - the holidays are just around the corner, so it’s time to start planning!
At ShootDotEdit, we are passionate about helping you grow as a wedding photographer. We also help to lessen your post-production workload with our photo editing services so that you can make more time to take photos. To learn more about how we can help, check out our pricing plans.
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