What if you don't have a wedding album/flush mount/coffee table...

[bleeds]

I don't have any of these books to show, but I have a few clients who want them, and want to see samples.

For those of you without samples, what do you do? Do you send pages from the company you intend to order from, with their logos all over the pages? Wouldn't that cause a problem if the couple knew exactly how much their materials cost?

Hmmm...

[Jonny]

The chicken and the egg i suppose.... cant't get clients without samples and cant't build samples without clients.

When i started i offered to shoot weddings at low prices, just enough to cover two albums. That way the couple got one and so did i.
I currently offer three styles so it didn't take long to build them up.
As for the magazine style books, the companies will often send you samples with their own images in or you can pay a reduced fee and have you pictures included in them.

You can always buy empty albums and pages quite cheaply to give them a brief idea.

[Borderfox]

I did a wedding course first and got a lot of shots for an album, then I did a friends wedding for no cost so I could use theirs in another album.

[tlc]

it doesnt have to be wedding pics, you can showcase your portfolio as well - its actually easier than lugging around a big portfolio book full of prints and sleeves. of course , it does help to have wedding shots, but if your just starting out, the clients will know and may understand (hopefully) - of course you can contact your preferred vendor and askthem for a studio sample, but they may make you pay for your sample in exchange before they will hand it over - then you send your book later to be printed. in the meanwhile, you use theirs.

[jamiewexler]

It's cheap enough and easy enough to put together a sample album. In fact, most album companies offer big discounts for studio samples. You just have to prove that you have a professional photography business. If you don't have a business yet, try Adorama (http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=itemlist&cat1=Filing/Storage&cat2=Photo%20Albums%20-%20Professional&cat3=Bound%20Wedding%20%26%20Portrait%20Albums). They sell a line of self mount albums to anyone who wants one, though you'll pay a little more since you're not buying wholesale. If having a sample album means the difference between getting jobs and not getting jobs than you should invest the couple hundred to get yourself set up!

[bleeds]

Yeah, that's what I thought. The only problem is that they want to meet this week. I will have to tell them that I don't have samples and hope they understand. Thanks.

[canonloader]

Adorama will ship overnite, assuming your in the US. ;)

[Storybook Pages]

You could at least SHOW them the flush-mount/coffee table look on your laptop.
We design digital albums for photographers and have several samples on our website at www.storybookpages.com/Sample_Gallery.htm or any number of other websites,

Then, if they are interested, you can discuss the options with them. Call us if you need some design help or advice.