Version 1.27 turned up the other day …. in the usual way, unannounced, with the usual set of promises, and a small degree of suggestive insistence.

I downloaded the update as requested and at first paid little attention to what might have changed … Then I noticed the absence of the album specs from the Tools window … Thinking I had misplaced them I soon realised that they had been relocated.

What a great idea that is!

Now the flowchart approach works simply and logically, tries to minimise the potential for idiocy and is much less mysterious.

Suddenly I feel that PJ has moved on from being the teenager that it was to a robust and effective design tool.

My thanks to Danny, Ian, Stephen and the PJ design team for taking PJ to the next level.

Thanks heaps

Johannes

These are all valid reasons not to pre-design:

• It takes time … time you may not have.
• It might be the wrong album … oops.
• They may not like it …
• They may not want one …

At Moda Fotografica we measure our success by the emotional responses of our clients.

A pre-planned album lets us take control of the telling of the story and direct the clients perception of what they have (their wedding photography) before those perceptions are clouded by the fear of spending money, and any self deprecation.

Hugs, Johannes

There’s another reason why not to pre-design: your software isn’t nimble enough to do the edits (there’ll always be some). No prizes for guessing what I use.

I used to go into restaurants and say, ‘Surprise me, impress me’. I would tell them, ‘No pork, no offal and no salmon,’ … and ask for a wine that matched, and fitted my budget.

I did this because I always used to order the chicken or the steak. Boring.

Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn’t. Every now and again I would have a fantastic dining experience.

Sometimes, unfortunately, I would end up with the chef’s special … the dish they wanted to move.

The restaurants that did best were the ones that had an emphasis on service, a tolerance for weird requests and the nouse to ask a few questions about what I liked.

Was I asking too much? All I was doing was presenting the restaurant with an opportunity to show their skill with food and wine, to do what a restaurant should be doing.

How does this relate to pre design? It starts with understanding your clients (the strangers in the viewfinder). It’s about asking the right questions and figuring out their preferences.

So you can delight them with an unexpected experience.

Cheers, Johannes

Is it a better proposal when it’s a surprise?

You’re out for a romantic dinner with your true love and suddenly she finds an engagement ring in her champagne … So many things could go horribly wrong.

It’s a three way bet. She could say ‘yes’, ‘no’, or ‘let me think about it’.

Pre-designing an album is no different.

There are risks, but if you get it right it’s incredibly rewarding.

No risk, no reward.

Hugs

Johannes

I’m writing a series of posts on album design on Queensberry Connects (here’s the first). Here are some quick tips, mainly PJ-related, that are important no matter what albums you’re selling.

1 Do your homework first – interrogate your clients well.

2 Organise your images – put everything in a good place where you can find it easily (eg image collections).

3 Pre-plan options – Use the Duplicate album tool (label each one distinctly) or create ‘alternative’ layouts in the main album.

4 Exceed their expectations – blow them out of the water! (Be inventive with size, layout, and content, and be generous with the pages and images.)

5 Have examples – to overcome their  fear of the unknown (remember they can’t see the real album). Your sample albums and the QBY swatch book are good starting points.

6 When you see the couple after the wedding present a powerful, pre-designed album enhanced with the right music, made using the slideshow function in PJ Remix.

I lied about 5 tips - #6 was a bonus for reading this post.

Take care, Johannes

PS   Here’s Tip 7 – Most important? Don’t be so impressed by your own design that you forget to observe and respond to your clients’ reactions to what they are seeing.