Of that 15 percent who took the free print, 90 percent returned to us in the following two years for another session, and spent above the average. It’s about honesty and transparency – 85 percent of our sittings spent good averages, and the rest took the free print. I can count on the fingers of two hands… the problems with customers it caused, and we were doing 250 – 800 sessions a year. I spent 40 years in the industry, and for a lot of that used these sorts of promotions with great success. The idea can be tweaked so that you get more sittings at a lower sale value, or less at a higher. ‘Lyle Ramsey from the USA back in the days – the late 80’s – and others introduced the concept of a sitting and a free 10x13cm print as a “loss leader”. Here’s how an Inside Imaging reader explained their more legitimate approach in our previous coverage: Using vouchers to generate leads, for instance, is reasonable given the client is informed about additional costs or pricing when booking the shoot.
A review of GAP Studios Brisbane.Ī variation of this business model has been around for decades, and some family portrait studios use similar tactics in a more ethical manner. While some clients are satisfied with the whole process, others fold under the pressure of the slick sales spiel, spending far more than they can afford. They probably planned to just leave with their free photos, or pay a small sum for additional images. Many wouldn’t otherwise consider a portrait session prior to ‘winning’ the voucher, and aren’t anticipating paying thousands, or even several hundred dollars, for a few prints. There is never any price transparency prior to the shoot taking place, with websites often stating prices ‘start at x amount of dollars’. They are then ushered into a separate viewing room, where a sharp salesperson works their magic while unveiling extremely over-priced photo packages, rendering the voucher a tiny discount on the inflated bottom line price. The client then arranges a shoot, which often lasts over an hour and can be an enjoyable and fun experience. An example of a ‘contest’ to generate leads. Sometimes they are given to clients via car dealerships, real estate agents or mortgage brokers, handed out at, say, wedding expos, or awarded in a social media ‘contest’. These are ‘valued’ at hundreds of dollars. The most recent was just last week: ‘They suck you in emotionally as you see a whole slideshow of priceless photos then pull out their limited time ‘packages’ which are $1000 off and ‘only’ $4k for a handful of pictures…’Ĭlient leads are generated through voucher giveaways worth a free printed photo, a free portrait sitting, or redeemable for a dollar sum.
We still get regular feedback from disgruntled customers who have obviously scoured the internet to find out whether there are others who have been stung by their photographic portrait experience.
#Photo studio near me professional
The last time Inside Imaging looked at this murky side of professional photography was in 2018, when we reported on a number of portrait studios running a version of this hard-sell business model.
It’s a member of a category of portrait studios that use a variety of ‘bait-and-switch’-style sales tactics to draw in sometimes vulnerable clients.Ĭhannel Nine’s A Current Affair ( ACA) ran a damning investigation on GAP Studios Brisbane, after complaints from multiple clients who fell victim to the business’ bad behaviour.Ī regular Inside Imaging reader alerted us to the segment, stating ‘as a long-standing family portrait studio in Sydney, manipulative hard sellers like GAP tarnish my reputation too’. GAP Studios Brisbane has been exposed for luring clients with voucher giveaways, and then applying aggressive sales tactics to bill them for thousands of dollars for basic photo packages.
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