We would like to introduce you to Jerrick O’Connor, a successful wedding photographer and the owner of Three16 Photography based in Orange County, California. Jerrick’s goal as a photographer is to “capture stories of love, hope, new life, beauty, and new beginnings.” He believes that “every photograph has a story to tell” and he works to capture moments that will remind his clients of the amazing stories they are creating with their loved ones.
Jerrick’s Success Story
Since integrating Fundy Designer into his business, Jerrick has been able to streamline his album creating process and produce bigger and better albums for his clients. With the change to Fundy, he’s found that 90% of his clients choose to go with the upgraded options. “It’s so nice to be able to make an income after the wedding and to be able to sell prints to the families of the couple as well,” Jerrick says. “We’ve had such great results with Fundy Designer that I’ve hired a new employee to focus solely on growing our print sales with our clients. I’m really encouraged by the quick results I’ve seen and wish I had jumped on this sooner.”
What Was Your Process Before?
“Before using Fundy Designer I would ask clients to select their favorite 40 photographs and get back to us when they were done. Some clients would get back to us in a matter of days while most would be a few months,” says Jerrick. “Typically we would only make an album proof of what clients actually ordered and rarely did we ever encourage them to add more pages.” Working like this was extremely frustrating and Jerrick knew there had to be a better way.
How Pre-Designing Changed the Game
It was only in the first few months of using Fundy Software that Jerrick realized it would affect not only his revenue but also his client relationships. “Using Fundy Software has completely changed our studio’s approach to albums and this has had such a positive impact on our client relationships.
“Once I began using Fundy software I realized that one of the greatest services I can offer my clients is to pre-design their album. Once we began pre-designing albums for our clients we quickly noticed three very important things. First, clients fell in love with what we showed them and typically had very few changes they wanted to make, if any. Second, clients were often wanting the additional pages and upgrades we offered them. Third, we were delivering and closing our contracts three months or less after the wedding!”
Another change that Jerrick adopted into their business was switching to in-person album reveals. “It’s been incredible to see our clients’ reactions,” he says. “The simplicity of designing an album and proofing it in person using Fundy Designer has been huge for our business.”
Why Less is More
Jerrick shared with us a key to his success in his business. “The truth is, less is more. Once I began to make it easier for my clients to choose, our sales increased dramatically. We stopped asking clients to choose photographs and we started choosing for them. Then, we created an album proof, discussed the benefits of a larger album and have been sending proofs to our clients via the Fundy Software. Now we only offer three album sizes: 8×8, 10×10, 12×12. We don’t charge different prices for the covers, we just build them into the cost. We’ve stopped charging for pages and now it’s a per photo price. Also, we usually encourage couples to get larger albums if they were set up for a small album. I feel like were are offering a better album that our clients will enjoy more in the long run. Yes, there’s more of an investment but they are getting a lot more for their investment and our client response to this has been very positive.”
Connecting with Clients
“Fundy Designer has helped us simplify the proofing process which has encouraged us to simplify the pricing. The result has been less back and forth emails with clients, a better client experience, and a better revenue source,” Jerrick says. “It is also the best and most innovative when it comes to in person sales. Fundy Designer makes is easier to connect with our clients in a profound way which in turn makes our work as photographers that much more rewarding.”
The Power of Print
“It is important to believe in the power of print and let that belief carry over to your clients,” Jerrick says. “I truly believe in the power of print and I see albums as an investment that can last a lifetime. For this very reason we have moved away from the cheap album producers and have found there is something rich about investing in a quality-built album. You’ll see it, your clients will see it and their loved ones will see it. I know all of this is worth it when I see my clients slowly flip through their album. These aren’t just products to them, they are treasures.”
“So much has changed”, Jerrick says. “We have happier clients, a new revenue stream and fewer things to stress about. The quality of both the experience and the product has increased since we started using Fundy Designer. Our business is running smoother, our clients get an amazing product and we are able to create more albums for the clients we care so much about.”
Learn more about Jerrick and his business, Three16 Photography, here.
