CASE STUDIES: theimagefile...

Sarah Hutson

Sarah Hutson is an award winning wedding photographer, has seen her sales of prints increase by 50% since she began marketing her work online just over six months ago. As well as increasing her income, satisfaction levels among Sarah’s customers with the service she provides them has improved, resulting in extremely positive feedback.

She says: “As every wedding photographer knows, print sales are a huge part of the business, but I was amazed at how much untapped potential there was and how little value I was getting out of my print sales before.”

“I’m selling prints now not just to the bride and groom and immediate family, but to more distant relatives and friends too.”

Prior to becoming a member of theimagefile..., the image management and workflow system, Sarah Hutson used to post images on her own website. Though customers could peruse galleries, they could not select and pay for prints online as they can now.

Sarah Hutson says: “The system works because it makes the purchasing process so quick and easy for customers. They can browse and purchase prints at whatever time of day they like and pay online – all without having to make a phone call.”

“There are passive customers who will only buy prints if the process is simple and fast: it is those people who I wasn’t reaching before but am now selling prints to.”

She continues: “Customers know exactly what they are buying when they can see it on the screen in front of them – the risk of orders being placed incorrectly, though rare, has now been eliminated almost entirely.”

Sarah Hutson also regularly shoots weddings where guests attend from overseas. It is these guests who traditionally found the process of buying prints extremely daunting but now, on returning home, are often becoming important customers.

“A powerful website which automates the selling process allows you to reach potential customers in remote, geographically disperse locations – a market which for me was largely inaccessible.”

Sarah Hutson considered a range of options but believes that the service offered by theimagefile is the most cost-effective e-commerce solution on the market. That theimagefile...’s technology can be invisibly integrated into photographers’ existing websites was an additional draw, as it allowed her to preserve the brand identity she had built up over the years.

“E-commerce tools should be non-intrusive if they are provided by a third party so that customers feel it is all part of the photographers’ service, not someone else’s,” she says.

For more help and advice to get your work online visit
www.theimagefile.com or call 0870 224 2454

Photo Quote: It is light that reveals, light that obscures, light that communicates. It is light I "listen" to. The light late in the day has a distinct quality, as it fades toward the darkness of evening. After sunset there is a gentle leaving of the light, the air begins to still, and a quiet descends. I see magic in the quiet light of dusk. I feel quiet, yet intense energy in the natural elements of our habitat. A sense of magic prevails. A sense of mystery. It is a time for contemplation, for listening - a time for making photographs. - John Sexton