Sales & Pricing
Jan 2023

5 Quick Tips for Selling More Prints

6 min read

Get more JOY into your clients hands—and onto their walls! Sell photo prints and albums with this short, simple, non-“salesy” guide.


You got into photography for the love of it, for the art of it… Maybe selling photo prints isn’t on your list of favorite things. However, photography print sales can become a major addition to your revenue stream. Here’s how to grow your business with an easy, repeatable sales experience…

A beautiful Black couple is photographed outside with their newborn baby.

Parallel Summit Creations

#1: Communicate the value of printed photos

If someone walked up to you on the street and said “buy this product!”, you’d probably say… nope. Absolutely no value has been communicated to you, just a request to spend money.

That’s the feeling some clients get when you tell them “buy some prints!” when they receive their gallery. In their heads, the digital downloads are just as good, and they’re not spending any extra money.

Show your clients why they should invest in photo prints.

Communicating value is about using language that evokes emotion in your potential customers. They’re not just buying photo prints, they’re making an investment. Your clients are investing in their memories. They’re improving their living spaces by setting up reminders of the relationships and families they’re a part of.

A beautiful Black stands outside in their stunning yard gazing at their newborn baby.

Parallel Summit Creations

#2: Talk about photo print sales early

As you book a session with your client, you should be bringing up print products right off the bat. You add value to your packages when you build them around products that will decorate your clients home and keep their memories safe.

Your photography business is more than just digital downloads—you’re offering keepsakes that can stand the test of time.

As a photography business owner, you need to create a system where your potential buyers have more than just a session and download. Selling photography prints enhances the client experience, and you’ll benefit most if you showcase those options from the start.

A little boy leans over his sister's shoulder as she holds the family's newborn baby in a small courtyard.

Parallel Summit Creations

#3: Display wall prints for visual inspiration

Do you have prints in your home? If not, give it a try—it’s going to be easier to sell something you believe in yourself. When you put up tangible prints in your own living space, you experience the value immediately.

For photographers operating out of an office or studio where you meet clients, showing prints in the space is invaluable. As clients enter the space, they’re seeing proof-of-concept without even realizing it. While they’re ooh-ing and ahh-ing over your gorgeous photos, they’re also falling in love with your tangible wall prints as well.

A newborn baby in a ruffled denim dress sleeps soundly on her back atop a colorful quilt.

Parallel Summit Creations

#4: Create photos and videos of prints on display

One of the amazing parts of selling products as a photographer: you’ve got the visual assets covered!

Take photos and videos of your prints, photo books, canvas prints, and more to show clients. Add a products page to your photography website specifically for showcasing your photo print products.

Showing people what their homes could look like makes all the difference. If they’re looking to book you as a photographer, show them prints before they even ask about them. Potential clients clicking around on your website will love seeing what you can do—and current clients can be directed to the sales page for education.

A photo montage highlighting a new baby's tiny features.

Parallel Summit Creations

#5: Print sales should be personal

If you want to sell prints consistently, plan an “IPS” (in-person sales) meeting or a Gallery Reveal for every client. (“In-person” can obviously take place virtually or over the phone!) This is when you will:

  • show your clients their images for the first time
  • help them choose their photography products.

If a personal meeting isn’t an option, you can still create an automated email campaign through your ShootProof account. Use an email series to share your client’s gallery, learn which images are their Favorites, remind them of items left in their cart, and offer promo codes. With their gallery connected to your favorite lab, your clients can easily place future print orders.

A smiling Black family sits on a quilt in a field with their hands collectively cradling the family's new baby.

Parallel Summit Creations

Selling photography prints online should be FUN!

Launching print sales for your photography business doesn’t have to feel overwhelming or icky. When you make print sales part of your professional photography ecosystem, you’ll never need an (obvious) sales pitch!


Written by MEGAN BREUKELMAN | Photos by PARALLEL SUMMIT CREATIONS


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Contributor

  • Megan Breukelman

    Megan has a knack for education, and a passion around fashion and marketing in the photography space. She co-founded and built an international digital and print fashion magazine called Atlas Magazine, in hopes to give up-and-coming creatives a platform.