So it’s time to ad some new Instagram photos and/or updating website online portfolio, but is it too late to ask to photograph a 2 year old job?
So you spent 6 months with a client 2 years ago and completed a gorgeous Kitchen renovation and haven’t heard much from them since! The pandemic hit and everything got put on hold, now you want to get rolling again and start the updating your website and/or Instagram with new images of your work, but it’s too late to ask them to shoot it ….. or is it!
This seems to be a common question among a lot of interior designers I speak with who are looking to update their website portfolio and social media accounts.
If you feel it’s too late to reach out to a client from a year or 2 ago or even further back, to ask to come back to shoot the work you did for them, it is NOT too late.
In my experience, most homeowners think it’s kind of cool when a photo crew shows up to shoot their home, it kind of gives the work you did a fresh re-look, a sense of pride and validation and a form of “street cred” 🙂 . All good news for you.
The fact that you personally love the work you did for them so much that your coming back to photograph, updating website, it says a lot to them, also if you’ve had minimal communication since or shortly thereafter, this will reignite your relationship and open a new opportunity to do new or more work for them.
Not to mention once your on that track, discussing their cottage or a friend of theirs looking for someone, etc , you are back chatting about the design work, it’s all fresh and new again.
Once you’ve gotten the ok to go back and shoot, think about a thank you for them after the photos are taken but make it special so it lasts beyond a week or two.
Again from designers I’ve spoken to, the usual thank you is a good bottle of wine and flowers, but let’s do that and leave a more memorable reminder.
A few ideas on how to thank your customer after the shoot:
1 – The traditional bottle of wine and flowers, but also enlarge and frame a gorgeous shot of the work you have done and we just photographed.
2 – IF the project was big enough, create a unique, personal, one of a kind hardcover book of their home. Use all the images we just took (at least 5 new images minimum, used full page or double spread) and mix them in with some before images.
3 – To go even one further, create the book above, but include some personal family photos of the couple, kids, dogs, important family events, milestones, surrounding the home and make something even more special.
Think about updating website for future projects you create, build in a budget and half or full day to photograph the work you do, don’t leave it for another day if possible.
What’s great about creating a one of a kind custom book?
- The care that you put into it, imagine how special they will feel, the time and effort you (or your assistant) put into customizing a one off book will go a very long way.
- Once it’s on their coffee table (and it will never be far from it), then everyone who comes over will definitely look at it and see your work (in an editorial style, like they are used to seeing these kinds of images in a magazine), your contact information should also be on it, it’s a never ending cycle that good for everyone.
A few other tidbits to think about.
- Once you create one book, you can keep the template, so for the next one you just swap out the photos and change some text around to create a whole new book.
- Make sure to include your logo or company name on the front cover, with your strongest shot and the family name.
- Back cover should have your full contact info so anyone looking will know whom you are and how to get a hold of you.
- An Updated website and social media will also give you an opportunity to reach out to older customers with new work.
- There are many online sites to create books and they all include software to just drop and drag your photos and text to lay it out and just upload the book. Many also will do it for you at an extra cost, but at the end of the day any book, even a 20 page book will cost you less than $100.
So think about this when it’s time your updating website or social media.
