Beyond Digital Files: How to Sell Albums and Wall Art to Newborn Clients

The best way to sell more albums and wall art to newborn clients is to include print products in your packages, show physical samples, prepare designs before the viewing session, keep your pricing clear and make it easy for parents to say yes.

The first year of a baby’s life is full of precious firsts. From the day they are born, babies are constantly changing and growing, and your photography gives clients the chance to capture those first few weeks and keep a lasting reminder of just how small they once were.

The challenge is that most clients don’t walk into a session knowing they want an album or wall art for the nursery, and that is where you could be missing out on profit. Selling can feel daunting, but it is also a great way to leave clients with a good final impression of their experience with you. You are offering them stunning products that keep their images close, ready to be pulled from the shelf again and again.

Albums and wall art make a great pair. The album lets you tell the whole story, while the wall art highlights a favourite image and makes it part of the home. Here are five ways to sell both without feeling pushy.

1. Make Products Part of the Package

Clients can't want what they don't know is on offer. Show finished albums and framed pieces on your website and in your pricing guide, and build your packages around print products, with digital files as the bonus rather than the headline. When printed products are part of the experience from the very beginning, they are a much easier sell at the end, because clients already expect to walk away with them. 

2. Let Them See, Hold and Picture Your Products

Print quality is hard to judge on a phone screen, and wall art is hard to imagine without a visual mock-up. Samples let clients see and feel what they could have, which makes choosing the right size, material and finish much easier.

• Keep physical samples in your studio, such as an album with a couple of material swatches and wall pieces in different finishes.
• Use room mock-ups that place clients’ own images in a nursery, above a sofa or in a hallway. You can find room sets and mock-ups in the Loxley Colour Toolkit.
• Recommend larger sizes for key walls, as clients often choose small when left to decide alone.

Maternity and newborn photographers Abigail and Kristie from Abigail Lewis Photography explore the value of samples when selling products in their guide to in-person sales: "Without something tangible to interact with, products remain ideas and ideas rarely carry the emotional weight needed to drive decisions."

3. Design Before the Viewing Session

The viewing session allows your clients to see their images for the first time and choose the products they would like to hold these memories. Start the album design and wall product mock-ups for your clients before the viewing session, so all they need to do is say yes.

• Present their images as a slideshow set to music a few days after the shoot, while the emotion is still fresh.
• Prepare an example album layout and two or three wall product mock-ups using their real images before the viewing session, so they can see how their photographs will look as finished products. 
  

4. Use Clear Pricing

A clear structure helps tired parents choose with confidence.

• Offer two or three packages, with one including a small album and a wall piece. The Essential Album and a Canvas Gallery Block are a great place to start.
  For example, an introductory package with The Essential Album (8x8", 5 spreads, UV cover) and a 12x12", 40mm Canvas Gallery Block costs you £92.70. Priced at £278.10 with a 3x markup, it leaves you with £185 profit before shipping.
• Offer upgraded packages with the Canvas Tray Frame and the Bellissimo Perfetto Album as a natural luxury step up from the Canvas Gallery Block and The Essential Album.
  
• Discount the bundle when clients add both an album and wall art.
• Offer upgrade pricing on larger sizes at the viewing session.

5. Make Saying Yes Simple

Many parents regret leaving their newborn photos on a hard drive. Remind clients how quickly this stage passes, and how special it will be to look through the newborn album together as their baby grows up.

• • Offer payment plans and a limited-time incentive, such as a discounted album when they order within a week.
  • Keep your options focused, with a handful of sizes, finishes and covers.

If you want to offer products in your newborn packages but aren’t sure where to begin, or you need help setting up your samples, the Loxley Colour Sales Team is here to help. Book a Discovery Call with our expert team to discuss your options.

FAQs:

How much should newborn photographers charge for albums?

Apply a 3x markup to the cost of the album. If 3x feels too expensive or unrealistic, start with 2.5x. Remember to include shipping in your final album cost.

What size album is best for a newborn session?

An 8x8" album works well in a basic package, with a 10x10" or the Bellissimo Perfetto as an upgrade.

When should clients place their orders?

Clients should place their final orders at the viewing session. They will be thinking about their products well before then if albums and wall art have been part of the experience from the very beginning.

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