Delivering A Luxury Experience - Insights From James & Schulze
This post is part of our Pro Tips series bringing you the best inspiration and information from some of our favorite professional photographers and Pic-Time Ambassadors. Enjoy.
Charging $70k+ to photograph a wedding sounds like a pipe dream.
But for world-renowned photography duo, James Christianson and Otto Schulze, it’s a reality anywhere between 10 -12 times a year.
In the ultra-luxury wedding photography market, charging premium prices demands delivery of a premium product. It’s a non-negotiable.
For James & Schulze that means an all-in personalized approach to wedding photography and delivery of an online photo gallery via Pic-Time.
And that’s it.
No bells and whistles, no product-loaded packages or other tangible deliverables. Just a bespoke service laden with experience and care.
And exceptional photo delivery.
““Pic-Time just feels upscale. Like a fine art gallery.””
How It Began
James & Schulze ran individual wedding businesses for a dozen odd years before combining forces in the mid 2010s after shooting a handful of weddings together. They quickly realized working as a duo elevated their experience, output and income potential several times over.
“The quality of the work, the experience, the collaboration, the flow - was just on another level” says Schulze.
From the moment they agreed to partner, James & Schulze only accepted bookings as a duo and continued to hone in on their editorial / documentary / fine art style. They built their current business from the ground up, taking to market initially with a $34k offering - more than double what each was typically charging on their own.
““We wanted to be the best in the world and the price had to reflect that. So did the work, quite frankly.””
Since combining their skill, effort and business acumen, James & Schulze have been published numerous times in Vogue and named Top 50 Wedding Photographers in the World by Harpers Bazaar.
$70k Worth Of Deliverables
So exactly how do you deliver $70k worth of value?
It’s not always through the tangible - in fact it rarely is - and clients in the ultra high-end photography market seldom make purchasing decisions based on price.
What matters to this upper echelon of clientele is a frictionless process, masterful storytelling, and a refined vision. The elegant, modern viewing experience in Pic-Time seamlessly complements an ultra-luxury brand and proves a continuation of a high-end, frictionless process.
A laundry list of physical keepsakes isn’t a prerequisite - especially in the current instant gratification digital age.
“It’s truly honing in on what the client wants - ahead of time,” says James. “Then making sure we integrate with that and elevate it.”
““The photography has to be great. Find out what interests the client, what’s important, what they see in their mind’s eye…and deliver it. THAT’S the focus of a luxury photography experience.””
From start to end, clients expect the very best. It’s why James & Schulze moved from their previous well-known gallery provider to Pic-Time years ago.
A Pic-Time gallery with a thousand plus downloadable images and personal usage rights is the sole deliverable James & Schulze offer to accompany their creative fee.
Leave Your Ego At The Door
In the ultra-luxury wedding photography market, clients aren’t buying things. They’re paying for expertise, trust, vision and a fuss-free, effortless experience - all guiding elements in Pic-Time as well.
“We’re not the stars at this level” Otto explains, “We’re just not. I think at the middle market or some larger parts of the market maybe, clients hire the photographer and the photographer is a star to them.
At this level, Elton John is playing after dinner for two songs. We are NOT the stars, by any means!”
““It’s all about the clients. It’s not about us as artists or our work or our vision or our story. It’s ALL about them and that’s how we operate.””
The ability to check their ego at the door helps James & Schulze zero in on serving their client and guests while maintaining mental and creative space to focus on the quality of their photography.
Let your service and your photo delivery do all the talking.
Protecting Your Brand
Brand alignment is paramount to the success of any business and James & Schulze know it.
In terms of aesthetics and design, minimalism and refinement is key in the ultra-luxury market. And that’s exactly what their clients receive upon gallery delivery.
When it comes to how it looks, James & Schulze agree nothing compares to Pic-Time.
Following that, it’s the ability to make sales and access the marketing automations that drew them in.
Value Beyond The Tangible
Newer photographers sometimes mistakenly equate serving the luxury wedding market with the delivery of lavish multi-volume albums, custom fine art prints and framing, and other equivalent high-end physical keepsakes.
James & Schulze are proving luxury is instead far more closely related to the client experience offered all the way from pre-wedding preparations to the day of, right through to finished photo presentation and delivery.
And that elevated experience paired with the premium design and functionality of Pic-Time galleries is worth every one of the $70,000 James & Schulze charge for their ultra-luxury wedding photography experience.
Learn From The Best
For wedding photographers and creatives looking to elevate their current practice into a successful business in the luxury market, James & Schulze offer mentorship and education at Sage Journey and host The Business of Luxury Weddings podcast.
““The honest truth is if we can do it, anybody can do it. So we want to make the methods available and say, ‘If you’re willing to do the work, it’s yours for the taking.””
Acknowledgment
In addition to interviewing James Christianson directly, source information and inspiration for this post can be attributed to the PhotoBizX podcast episode #593: James & Schulze - How to break into the ultra-luxury wedding photography market.
Thank you to host, Andrew Helmich, for permission to use.
You can find out more about the PhotobizX podcast and how to build a profitable photography business HERE.
More Pro Tips
If you enjoyed this edition of our Pro Tips series, you may also like to read:
Six Figures From Free Portrait Sessions - With Jeremy Cowart
Sales While You Sleep - Marketing Automation Mastery With Rick Liston
More Money, Less Work - A How-To with Caroline Tran
Master Your Client Journey With Pic-Time & HoneyBook - With Colie James
