True story.

I was so excited to be contacted by Courtney Reece to feature her packaging in a guest post here at Paperie Boutique. (And not just because her site launches with a Barney Stinson quote.) Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

I have just put the finishing touches on my packaging with the help of past photographers that have been featured on your site!

I’m a wedding photographer primarily so when I thought about my packaging I wanted it clean and elegant and reminiscent of weddings. But at the same time I wanted there to be a small pop of color because that’s just a little piece of me. Blue is my favorite color and of course it’s a small piece of my logo so added that pop of color in the ribbons I tied around my presentation boxes.

A very important part of my packaging is my thank you cards. It’s probably one of my favorite parts of all my packaging! It never matters how many weddings I shoot, I never feel any less grateful to be a part of such an important and special day. This is just one small way I can show my appreciation by writing a note of gratitude to each client.

My discs came from Discmakers (a huge thanks to Gail Werner for her referral to them). I love them! They were incredibly easy to order and the quality is great! And they look amazing in the white tin disc holders that I got from Effectuality, Inc.

Finally a brief word on my pricing and information guide, you may be surprised to find they were printed at FedEx Office. They were printed on their gloss text paper and I was pleased enough with the turnout not to turn anywhere else for them as of yet. It’s one of the only places I’ve found right now at a comfortable price that doesn’t require a minimum print order which I prefer, since my pricing and information is subject to change. But as you can see, they don’t look too shabby!

The full list of my vendors are :

• 5×7 and 8×10 White Presentation Boxes: Rice Studio Supply
• Small Round Logo Stickers: Zazzle
• Round Cornered Business cards: GotPrint
• Custom Discs: Discmakers
• White Disc Holders: Effectuality, Inc.
• White Presentation Folders: Staples Office Supply Store
• Black Presentation Envelopes: Paper Presentation
• Blue Ribbon: Michael’s Craft Supply Store
• Custom Address Labels/Folder Labels: WHCC (designed by me)
• Copyright info cards/Reproduction recommendation cards: WHCC
  (designed by me)
• Thank you cards and Envelopes: WHCC (designed by me)
• Wedding Pricing and Information Guide: FedEx Office (designed
   by me)

Thanks again to Courtney Reece – stop by her blog and let her know how great you think everything looks!

P.S. If you are interested in advertising with Paperie Boutique, please contact todd @ this domain. If you are a photographer and are interested in having your packaging featured – or are a vendor and are interested in having your business packaging, marketing ideas, or photography-related products featured – please contact robyn @ this domain to be added to the posting schedule!

’til Tuesday

Recently I posted a storyboard collage on Flickr that I made for one of my clients.

With Mother’s Day rapidly approaching, I thought you might like to do the same for your clients – so I’ve modified my design above into a 10×5 “mini-storyboard” you can add photos to, edit as much or as little as you’d like, and give to your clients.

I suggest having the image lustre-coated, fine-linen textured, and mounted to styrene or double-weight matboard. You could even add in a cute tabletop easel as an extra special touch.

You will need to add three vertical / portrait images that are 750×1050 pixels, 300 dpi. You will see three folders for each of the images (left, middle, and right) – and inside each of the folders you will see the image frame on top, and another layer on bottom that you will hide after adding your image on top of it.

The white background color can be changed with one click as shown in the Photoshop background color fill layer in the Layers Palette. The text for the word “mom” and the pronunciation cannot be changed. However, the text for the definition CAN be changed. The font used is Garamond.

→ download link ← (please note this file was designed in CS2 and you must have Photoshop or Elements and know how to edit a .psd layered file — I do not provide technical support for this download)

I recently ran across this marketing set on Flickr (in the “Promote This!” pool) and immediately asked Cindy Irene Photography to feature her work here on Paperie. Her presentation is just so unique. I had never seen anything like it!

“I have been in business for close to a year now, just recently branding my business thanks to all the wonderful ideas here at Paperie Boutique! But, when I first started I didn’t care for the non-personalized choices so I created my own.

I made these client packets for 8x10s out of card stock. The front pocket is another decorative card stock to hold the low resolution CD that my clients receive with their prints. I used a bone scorer around the edges for added effect. I cut another designer cardstock to create a ribbon on the front (real ribbon could also be used) and leave a spot for my sticker or business card to be placed.

I also have these on hand now as gift packaging that the clients can purchase when they give prints to family and friends. Different sizes are available for wallets all the way up to 8x10s and can be created for Christmas, weddings, birthdays, etc.”

Don’t miss Cindy’s marketing set on Flickr – there are a couple of additional photos for ideas and inspiration. Thank you so much for sharing, Cindy!

Recently Paperie Boutique was a featured sponsor at “Photographer’s Kick Start | Guides and Products for Professional Photographers“. If you’re a fan of “Hey Girl, Nice Shot” you’ll definitely want to check out Jessica’s latest venture! (And not just because Paperie will be a part of the ‘virtual swag bag’…) It’s a great training program to help photographers teach other moms how to use their DSLRs. The pre-release is available on April 30th.

Last but certainly not least, don’t forget you have until 11:59 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 28th, to win a $100.00 gift certificate to LCH Design here on Paperie Boutique. Check out yesterday’s post for more details!

ATTENTION VENDORS: We tuck business cards, coupon inserts, and promo pieces inside of our prize packages. If you are interested in having yours included, please contact me (my e-mail is in the sidebar and is robyn @ this domain – or you can leave a comment). Also contact me if you are interested in having your business packaging, marketing ideas, or photography-related products featured on Paperie Boutique.

ATTENTION PHOTOGRAPHERS: Show us your packaging! If the features here have helped you pull together your own look, please share with the class and pay it forward. Contact Robyn (e-mail link in the sidebar / robyn @ this domain) to be added to the posting schedule.

If you are interested in advertising with Paperie Boutique, please contact todd @ this domain.

The 10×5″ storyboard template is ©Robyn Pollman, 2010. All rights reserved. It may not be copied, resold, made available for download or given away elsewhere, or redistributed without my written permission.

mesmerized.

Jen Gentry of Mesmerizing Moments Photography recently shared how she set up a booth for a community event.

Now we’re lucky enough to have her back for another guest post, which proves without a doubt that like Mary Poppins she is practically perfect in every way.

I am a member of PT4P, and Michelle made us these great wall gallery layouts, so I made mine into a handout that I give to every client!

I print most of my marketing material through Miller’s – a little trick for all of you, is when you are ordering in quantities of 25, always add 1 more (ex.26) and it will push your pricing into the next category, and make it cheaper!

My gift cards, they are 4×5 cards – double sided, and I put them in the envelope shown, and then into a really pretty envelope from Paper-Source and top them off with ribbon (not shown)

My baby’s first year handout – it’s a 5×5 tri-fold

My pricing guide including all my boutique items, printed on a 5×5 tri-fold

My date reminder card – printed on folded business cards – I just circle the date and fill in a time, my clients tell me it’s perfect for their fridge!

I really love Miller’s, their turn around time & quality is top of the line, I couldn’t ask for more! To keep everything a little nicer I print it all on their pearl paper, which is to die for!

My brown envelopes from Paper-Source, and all my clients’ forms & handouts go inside

I put all my client forms and handouts into a large brown shimmer envelope from Paper-Source with a logo sticker on the front.

My photo packaging boxes

I get my photo boxes from DNL – I love them, great quality, a variety of sizes, and they match my colors perfectly. ☺ I use the 11×14 brown box, and the 8×10 green box, and just decorate them all a little differently with ribbon (from Michaels & Paper-Source), logo stickers (from WHCC), and bands (from Envelopper Inc.) For my prints, inside the boxes, and everything larger than 11×14, I use clear bags from clearbags.com and just make them pretty with a variety of ribbon. ☺

My photo packaging bag, with a common gift for my clients – the accordion wallet album from Millers

I put all my orders in a large chocolate tote that I also get from DNL, and I finish them off with prettyness, including my bag tags from Jessica.

My office -

The view from in front of the garage door – into my office and the front door to my house

We bought a townhouse about a year and a half ago, and it works perfectly for my office! The entry level only has a half bath, our entryway, the garage, a closet, and my office, then all our living space is on the second and third floor, so my clients come right inside my door, but never into my home, and I love it!

View from the office entryway – most of those gallery wraps from the back wall are now at a local OB/GYN office ☺

I have clients come in for an optional consult (a lot of clients do this over the phone or via email though) and a mandatory in person ordering session. This really helps clients see what they are getting, get a better feel for it, see their photos on a large calibrated monitor, get my help and opinion, and helps sales too! Once they see it, they want it!

View from the window

View from my chair – my custom framing area

View from the back corner

Well – thanks so much for inviting me over Robyn – Hope that helps some of you readers!

Thank you so much for the inspiration, Jen! Once again, don’t forget to stop by her website and blog and tell her how amazing it is she put all of this together for everyone to see and learn from!

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).