Professional portrait and branding photographer, Karrie Porter offers a wide variety of print products for her clients, but has selected two in particular for her studio print displays. These displays have become essential for making a first impression and selling her work. Scroll on to learn from Karrie why she chose Xpozer and CollageWall for marketing her work during in-person client sessions, and don't forget to save 20% off both displays through 9/6/22!
Tell us about your business! What type of work do you do, and how long have you been a part of the photography industry?
"I’m a photographer based in Key West, Florida and have been shooting professionally for 21 years. Being in a travel destination, but also having the only brick and mortar studio on the island, I split my time between two genres. During the day I shoot headshots, personal branding, and social media content for local businesses, and in the evenings closer to sunset, do destination weddings and family sessions."
What made you decide on Xpozer and CollageWall?
"My two favorite Bay Photo products are the Xpozer prints and the CollageWall! For me, the Xpozers were the perfect fit because I use my studio space to meet with more than one type of client, and I felt it would be easy to swap them out, without the extra prints taking up a lot of space when not being used. I also love the contemporary look, and clients comment on how impressive they look all the time. I also love that they are available in so many non-traditional sizes. I specifically did a set of (5) 20x40” vertical images."
"I think that both the unexpected aspect ratio (something clients don’t see on an everyday basis), and the amount of visual real estate they take up, comes with it a positive first impression – always beneficial when you’re sitting down for the first time to meet with someone about your services!"
"I love the CollageWall for displaying my branding and social media content work. Because while these shoots are intended to be used for online marketing, I wanted something tangible in the studio, something that would translate subconsciously to the client for how the final product would look when the shoot was over. I thought “what’s more recognizable to a social media marketer than an Instagram grid?” And so, the square Metal CollageWall was born!"
How do you use your in-studio displays to help sell your work?
"All of my displays live in the studio. I use a square cube shelf to feature the smaller display products, such as print boxes, smaller prints on tabletop easels, and any printed marketing materials, price lists, business cards, or welcome kits that might be relevant to a particular shoot. I also have a reveal wall outfitted with 4 rows of 2 inch wood ledges, on which I keep a set of 9 matted prints and swap those out with client images when I do an in-person sales session.
With that said, because I’m based in a destination, our window of opportunity to meet in person with a client is often very limited due to their trip only being for a few days, so for those clients, I make sure to get the products into their hands when they come in to meet with me for the actual session, then we offer online ordering sessions via Zoom, which allows us to give the same 1:1 attention they’d get in person."
You've consistently innovated to set your business apart. Any advice for our community of fellow pro photographers?
"I think something that has helped me get to where I’m at is that I’m in a constant state of testing, tweaking, and trying. So in that light, I think my number one piece of advice to other photographers is to always be innovating…whether that’s your style and technique, whether it’s in your marketing, whether it’s in how you communicate with your clients, how you get your story out in the world, or whether it’s in your back-end systems.
I grew my headshot business because I was the only photographer in my town willing to consistently show up to traditional, slightly old-school in-person organizations like the Chamber of Commerce. While everyone was at home on their laptops, I was sweating bullets walking my introverted self into a room full of strangers and shaking hands and meeting as many business owners in town as I could possibly meet, and for over four years never saw any of my competition at a single event.
I grew my personal branding work by trying out a new podcast, where I interviewed locals about their story and the things they cared about in my community, and while there are many others who have followed suit now, for a long time I was the only podcast in my niche and it made me different and memorable.
When TikTok came out and everyone was making jokes about kids doing viral dances, I had the fortunate position of perspective, earned as a social media manager back when Instagram was the thing everyone was ignoring back then. So before any other photographers in my town were on TikTok, I jumped in and figured it out…this meant that searches for “Key West photographer” gave only one result – me – for a very long time, and the leg up has allowed me to consistently be a top result for those searches.
So yes, constantly be asking yourself if how you’re showing up, how you’re marketing, what you’re selling, what you’re saying, how you’re shooting, how you’re delivering, can be improved upon. Find the holes in your system and patch them. Find the bottlenecks in your workflow and either eliminate or outsource them. Find the most common reason clients don’t book and adjust your sales communication to address it sooner.
And don’t be afraid to differentiate with creativity and sometimes going against the grain. Choose products no one else sells or display them in a way that is slightly unexpected. Write blog posts that educate your client on things none of your competitors are talking about. And try new platforms even when you don’t have an example to follow.
Not everything is going to work, and that’s fine…it’s not supposed to….but if you’re in a constant state of innovation, you’ll never be stuck for long."
Special Thanks to Karrie Porter!
Karrie is a professional photographer based in Key West, FL. She works with a small team and shoots both on location and in her studio. For more information and to view Karrie's work, visit her website.
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