As part of our development process for the beta release of Spaces, we invited a small group of creative professionals to test the product in real-life situations. Last week, we showed you what a typographer, publisher and video producer thought of Spaces. Now it’s time to get a photographer’s perspective.
Gary Lott is a professional photographer based in Texas, specializing in portraiture and commercial work. His challenge was that feedback from clients came in many different formats, so he had to spend a lot of time piecing together the various comments before he could work on changes.
His clients’ technical experience varied, so any solution he implemented had to be intuitive enough for the least savvy user. Also, as a small business he feels that professional presentation is critical for proving his credibility, talent and value. After a few weeks of using Spaces, Gary found it met each of these needs.
“Its ease of use was intuitive,” he explains. “Spaces is a great way to get proofs to clients, receive their comments and make selections. As a professional photographer, presentation matters. Spaces allows me to easily create slideshows of finished products and it’s good for my clients, as they don’t have to download individual files, which can be cumbersome. I also use visual versioning to compare proofs to finals, providing my clients with a greater understanding of the retouching value I provide.”
Before using Spaces, Gary would have in-person proofing sessions with clients, often scheduled weeks after the initial photo shoot. Usually limited to 45 minutes, the average number of purchases after these sessions was 10. With Spaces, Gary no longer has in-person meetings with 90% of his clients and he’s not just saving time, he’s making more money.
“Now I create and share a Space,” he explains, “which allows me to show more proofs and enables clients to take their time and view the images at home. Consequently, they tend to buy more images, which drives my album/book sales. My most budget-friendly book product is $305, which is about the average sales increase I’m currently experiencing per client.”
“Spaces is a great step into the future,” adds Gary. “The design gets away from a mechanical, cold and impersonal look and relates to the people that share and collaborate on files.”
If you’re a photographer and want to see how Hightail and Spaces can make your business more effective, visit www.hightail.com to get started.
Learn more about Gary at his website.
If you like this, try:
Finding feedback is now easier on Hightail Spaces
Meet the Hightail Spaces testers
Introducing Hightail Spaces
