Today we have a guest / vendor post by Leslie Vega Design (with a very special discount for Paperie readers), and I share my latest column in Professional Photographer Magazine.

Leslie Vega Design is a brand design studio offering inspiring brand designs for photographers, wedding professionals, and other creative businesses. From your logo to your web image, we keep you and your business personality in mind every step of the way. Whether you’re classic, chic, modern or go ga ga over all things vintage, we help you put together the perfect brand that reflects your business.

We offer logo design, stationery, web graphics, packaging and any other creative piece to complete your look.

We would love to have you visit our Facebook page, check out our website and jump on over to our Twitter page to keep up with the daily fun at the Leslie Vega studio.

Through September 15th, Paperie readers will receive a $100 discount on the design project of your choice! Whether you need your logo designed, or any other part of your brand!

All you need to do is join us on Twitter and follow us, and visit our Facebook Page! Like our page and comment to let us know Paperie brought you to us and your $100 discount is yours!




The digital edition of the September 2011 Professional Photographer Magazine is now online for digital subscribers.

For this month’s article I reviewed albums and books by Loktah, DigiLabs, AsukaBook, KISS Books, Dream Album, Collages.net, Miller’s Professional Imaging, WHCC, Cypress Albums, GraphiStudio, Bay Photo Lab, H&H Color Lab, Finao, and Pinhole Pro.

Click the magazine pages above for a larger .pdf version. You can find the article on page 54, page 56, page 58, page 60, and page 62 of the print-version when it hits mailboxes. And you can also download the digital edition now if you’re a PPA member or digital subscriber.

I am so excited about this guest post—it has really inspired me to change things up a bit and add a few new items to my packaging arsenal. Sit back, take five, grab and drink, and prepare to be wow’ed by Heather of Heather Garland Photography!

“Wow, I feel like it’s Christmas and I just got handed the most beautiful present under the tree.” When a client told me this one day, I knew why I put so much work into my package. It wasn’t just because I loved packaging, it was because my clients loved it too and it made them feel special. Of course, I do love packaging too. It is so exciting to me and I am always working to improve my packaging. Most people think it is silly to put so much investment and work into handing clients who have already booked you their prints. I think that is quite wrong, our clients that have had sessions are photographers MOST important marketing tool. Every one of them has friends, family, and co-workers who get married, have babies, and want family portraits. Making my clients happy is my biggest goal, not just for referrals but because I genuinely consider them friends after our sessions. Because of this, when I hand them their prints, I want them to feel like I handed them something worth the hundreds of dollars they paid for it.

First off my amazing marketing products and logo are from Amy Grace at candyapplestudios.com. She is absolutely incredible. I already had my logo done before and just switched to her to give me a somewhat new look. She made me feel so professional and amazing. Every design she handed me I was in awe because they were so incredible.

Above is my packaging. I have 3 different sizes of bags (one for sizes up to 5×7, one for prints up to 8×10, and one for sizes up to 16×20), a few different sizes of boxes (wallets, 4×6, & 8×10), and multiple shipping boxes (4×6, 8×10, and DVD sized).

My bags, boxes, tissue paper, and shipping boxes are all from papermart.com.

My tags are from cpq.com, are tied with raffia from bagsandbows.com.

My 8×10 boxes (apparel boxes), which I place inside the bags, have ribbon from Hobby Lobby and are secured with a 2 inch sticker I made myself. (I am probably going to start an etsy store eventually, just because there aren’t a lot of places to get quality round stickers. I’ve tried tons of places like Zazzle and can’t stand the shift.) I also have a 2×3.5 inch sticker from whcc.com on the bottom of my boxes and in the middle of my bags.

Inside my boxes I put the prints, an envelope with a copy of the contract, a business card, a referral post card with referral cards, and usually a little post-it note with a note to the client.

Here is a close-up of the envelopes with the contract. They are from vistaprint.com.

I include referral cards that share my referral program, along with a baggie from clearbags.com with 5-10 referral cards. The large postcard is from whcc.com and the business cards are from gotprint.net.

These are the post-it notes from 123print.com.

My prints are secured with the appropriate bag from clearbags.com and have white backing board.

I also have little wallet boxes and 4×6 boxes (jewelry boxes) that are inside the bag (if applicable).

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They have small 1 inch stickers on them, which I use on a lot of my products. I also make these myself.

If clients order a gift card, I package them the same as prints but in a 4×6 box. Here is a close-up of my gift cards.

My shipping boxes are new for me, I figured if I was professional in my other packaging I should have the same look for my shipping too.

I get my shipping labels from 123print.net and use a 2 inch sticker to seal it.

I include a tag (unpunched), the pictures, and tissue paper. This a 4×6 sized box with 4×6 prints and wallets.

For my wedding clients, I have my contracts printed and put in a folder from Office Depot. My folders are the only thing I am changing soon. I am looking into brown folders from paperpresentation.com. I put a 1 inch sticker in the corner and a business card in the slot inside.

When they book I send them a copy of the contract, a thank you card, and a candle. The thank you is from whcc.com and the candle is from Bath & Body Works.

I also include a link to a personalized site. This site has dates their payments are due, a copy of the contract & model releases, a get-to-know-you email form, and special tips for the wedding. If you want to see an example you can check it out here: http://heathergarland.com/bridesite/

Here is a close up of the thank you cards, referral cards, and business cards again.

The only thing not shown is my DVD cases, they are from jewelboxing.com and designed by my amazing designer. They are personalized with pictures from the shoot, along with a print release, and a panel explaining cropping of the photos and recommending Mpix.com.

My marketing materials change all the time, but I feel like now finally my packaging is established and I will only be adding on new and more exciting pages in the future. I am so excited to be able to share my packaging and hope it can inspire someone. This blog has definitely inspired me in my packaging and I love Robyn’s packaging and every person featured on the blog. So I hope I can pay back in a way, what has inspired and helped me so much. Thanks!

Love, Heather

Did I tell you that you would be wow’ed or what? Please stop by Heather’s blog and / or leave a comment to tell her “thanks!” What a way to kick off the new week!

If you’re interested in having your own business packaging, marketing ideas, or photography-related products featured please contact me (my e-mail is in the sidebar and is robyn @ this domain – or you can leave a comment).

A couple of days ago I got an e-mail from Jen at Mesmerizing Moments Photography (recently featured here) letting me know about Sassy Designs:

“She did such an amazing job…..she will make [digital papers] completely custom for you, with your logo colors, and give you exclusive rights so she won’t sell them to anybody else! I gave her my color #’s from Photoshop so they match perfectly! Now I have a great unique set of papers [shown in image above] to make all my marketing material with, and decorate my site and blog! She completely rocks so much that I cannot keep her a secret. She deserves to be known about for sure in the photography community!”

You don’t get a better testimonial than that, so I contacted Terry at Sassy Designs right away. And she graciously offered to do a guest post here. Read on…

Hi, everyone! I must say I am honored that Robyn invited me for a guest spot! My name is Terry Taylor and I’m the designer behind Sassy Designs, Ltd in Cleveland, Ohio.

I started off as a website designer back in 1997. I was intrigued by the web and I wanted to learn how to create my own website. So I did. I read books and tutorials and I taught myself HTML – and everything else I needed to know.

I started Sassy Designs in 2002 after a few years of experience and enough confidence that I could actually make it. I focused on website design but as the years went by I began branching out and doing different types of projects – logo design, print design, and ad design. I even had the opportunity to design the layout and masthead for a local newspaper/tabloid publication devoted to canines.

After the birth of my son in 2006 I realized that I didn’t quite have the time to devote to large scale website design projects so I focused more on the smaller ones. When my oldest and dearest friend started her own photography business she hired me on the side to design custom business forms for her so she could get her brand in place. Then she asked for my design help in creating custom birth announcements for her clients. That is ultimately what got me started designing card templates.

In June of this year I officially re-launched my website and opened up a shop on Etsy. I was nervous to make the leap but I must say it is one of the best decisions I ever made! I now offer a variety of card templates designed around WHCC’s print specifications along with digital papers and other design elements for those photographers that want to create their own. I also take custom orders. So if you’re looking for something specific to coordinate with your existing image just let me know!

As a special thank you to Robyn for hosting me I’m offering a FREE template download (shown above) to all of the readers of the Paperie Boutique blog. Enjoy!

Thank you so much Terry—be sure and stop by Sassy Designs and her Etsy shop to let her know how much you appreciate her time (and 5×7 folded card freebie)! And don’t miss her Facebook and Twitter accounts!

P.S. Bonus points to anyone who gets the post-title…

If you’re interested in having your own business packaging, marketing ideas, or photography-related products featured please contact me (my e-mail is in the sidebar and is robyn @ this domain – or you can leave a comment).