WordPress Gallery Proofing Solution with Flaunt & NextGen

I’m willing to bet I’m not the only photographer whose primary role in life is as a stay-at-home mother to preschool-aged children. For the time being, that means that extra appointments with clients for in-person ordering sessions are not possible (even though we all know that is the ideal way to sell to your client!). This makes it even more important to present your images to the client in a visually pleasing and simple manner. There are a few different ways to make a great impression and ensure sales are within your desired average.

HTML-Based Slideshows

After a session is proofed and ready for viewing, I email the client asking when they would like to view their gallery as they are given a 4 day window to do so (7 days for newborn sessions). Once the client confirms, I email all the pertinent information they need to view and order their images. First is a link and password to their slideshow set to music for maximum emotional impact. Galleries have a mix of both color and black & white images (unless the client indicates a preference in their previously filled out info form). The Flaunt slideshow from Into The Darkroom and licensed music from Stock20.com (affiliate link good for one free song) offer great options for making the most out of your slideshow experience.

The Flaunt slideshow is fully customizable to match your current branding. Before uploading images, I also like to watermark them with my logo for extra protection.

Easy Permission-Based Logins

In the same email (you could send a subsequent e-mail if you’re concerned they’ll skip the slideshow and go straight to the gallery), I provide a link and password to their WordPress gallery. My clients view their images (also watermarked), album proofs and custom work proofs in a gallery run on the NextGEN plugin.

The gallery images are viewed as thumbnails with the page navigation along the bottom.

When a thumbnail is clicked to view larger, the image name/number will appear along the bottom left hand corner.

NextGen is perfect for quick loading image previews so users can painlessly select their photos of choice.

Order Management via Phone/Email

Once the client has viewed the images and made notes of their favorites, they can place their order via phone or email. If design work is required, proofs will be uploaded to their gallery for approval.

I did a fair amount of research, asked questions on forums, purchased educational materials, etc. before developing my online sales workflow. This is the way I’ve conducted online sales from the day I opened business, and I have had no problem reaching my sales goals. It works well for now for this busy Mom!

Recap

• Flaunt slideshow for initial presentation of the images
• Music from Stock20.com
• NextGEN plugin for galleries

I hope that helps your online workflow for selling images. I’d love to hear your comments about tools you use for client proofing, plugins, and if you take online orders.