In-Person Sales Photography: Martin Morel's Projection Session Method

His studio sits in a village of 400 people (and 800 cows), at the end of a dead-end road in the Chartreuse mountains, between Grenoble and Chambéry. Nobody passes by chance. Yet Martin Morel welcomes nearly 200 families a year, and every one of his clients comes back a second time: for the projection session, the appointment where they discover their images on a big screen and choose their wall art, albums and prints. It's in-person sales photography at its purest.

Talking with Eloa Landais, photographer and head of training at Fotostudio, he walks through his whole method: the first call, the price guide, the projection with ProSelect, how he handles price objections, where he stands on digital files, and the schedule that lets him keep the studio closed on weekends.

Who is Martin Morel?

Martin Morel has been a professional portrait photographer since 2011, based in La Sure en Chartreuse, in the Isère region of the French Alps, about twenty minutes from Grenoble and ten from Voiron. He started his business at 23, in the village where he grew up.

• Studio family portraits: the core of his business, with 180 to 200 sessions a year (families, maternity, newborns, couples).
• Multigenerational families: his favorite specialty. His studio set can fit groups of 15 to 20 people.
• Weddings: ten to fifteen a year, with a very nature-inspired style.
• Corporate portraits, on the side.
• Wildlife and landscape photography: his “first loves”, which he still pursues as personal projects, as far afield as Tanzania.

Today, his website studiomartinmorel.com showcases a private single-level studio, family, maternity, newborn, couple and multigenerational sessions, and a philosophy summed up in one sentence: photography is created for what it brings to people's lives. He also highlights his awards: three times Portraitiste de France (a French national portrait photography award) in 2015, 2017 and 2021, Master Qualified European Photographer in 2024, and a judge for the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (France's highest craftsmanship title) in photography.

1. How do you become a portrait photographer when you're self-taught?

Martin never studied photography. He started as an amateur with wildlife photography, exhibited here and there, then, at around 21 or 22, decided to do nothing but photography. His original training was elsewhere: a two-year business and sales degree, done as a work-study program in a high-end bike shop (he used to race mountain bikes). Every day, he had to win over demanding customers. A sales school he still draws on today.

Getting trained right away

What he understood very quickly was that he needed training. From the start, he joined the FFPMI (a French professional photographers' federation), which gave him a network of peers, then took one workshop after another: lighting with Claude Fougeirol, then PhotoCoach in 2013. He wasn't looking for sales techniques, but for benchmarks: what prices to charge, whether to include digital files, how not to become a “price undercutter” when starting out alone. Above all, the training reassured him: what he had set up on instinct was the right path. Eloa draws a parallel with the episode with Julien Guedj, for whom PhotoCoach was also an eye-opener.

A home studio at his parents' place

For ten years, Martin worked in his father's former 35 m² workshop, attached to the family home. In 2020, “the year of all the challenges”, he renovated and moved up to more than 80 m², with a large cyclorama and plenty of room to step back. He rents the studio from his parents. No storefront: just a sign on the gate, a parking area, and clients who come by appointment only.

“You can set up in the tiniest villages and build a career.”

Martin Morel

2. Why choose a projection session over an online gallery?

As early as 2012, during a workshop with Claude Fougeirol, Martin heard about projection sessions. He quickly realized “that was the key”: a photo session isn't just a shoot, it's a complete experience, before, during and after. For him, it's non-negotiable: there is no private online gallery.

The client journey, in four appointments

• A phone call to understand the project and give all the prices.
• The photo session at the studio.
• The projection session: clients discover their photos and order the products they want.
• The delivery, also by appointment.

The projection takes place on the studio sofa, with a coffee, a candy, a projector, a big screen and ProSelect. Martin enjoys this moment as much as the shoot. He even presents it as a service: “I'm going to help you choose the images so you can enjoy them later on.” For many photographers, this is the step that feels scary. Eloa points out that Martin has a reputation as a great salesman, and there's nothing negative about that word. His clients, though, don't see him as a salesman, but as the photographer presenting his work.

“I love the reveal session as much as the photo session.”

Martin Morel

Why it works better than a gallery

An online gallery means discovering your photos on a 10-inch tablet, or on a poorly calibrated screen that oversaturates the colors. At the studio, the images are shown exactly as the photographer intended, and above all, the client is guided. Clients often only think of prints or files, because that's all they know: wall art is something you need to touch, to see that it's sturdy and has no glare. The tools have evolved since then: a viewing module to sell your photos live now lets you present the images, compare them, show the products in context and build the order on the spot.

The initial investment is small. For ten years, Martin projected onto the white backdrop of his studio. Eloa sums it up: a 300 euro projector, Lightroom and a white wall to get started, and the equipment pays for itself in two to four sessions. For lifestyle photographers without a studio, the projection can even take place in the client's home.

3. Should you share all your prices from the first contact?

For Martin, the sale doesn't start at the projection, but with the first phone call. Whatever the channel (Messenger, Instagram, Facebook), he asks for a number and calls everyone. He doesn't handle anything by email. On the phone, he wants the client to understand immediately that they're dealing with a professional: a polished, turnkey pitch, with no hesitation.

Three times the prices before the projection

During that call, he explains everything: the session fee, what it includes, the projection session, and the fact that products are ordered at that point. Then he sends a PDF price guide with the full catalog, illustrated with a few photos taken in context at the studio. The result: a client who arrives at the projection has seen the prices at least three times. They've had time to talk it over, to picture it, and nobody can blame him for an unpleasant surprise.

He tried “starting at” pricing, which is vaguer. But one day, you come across a fussy client who “didn't realize it was that price”. Since then, he gives everything.

“The more honest you are with clients, the more information you give them.”

Martin Morel

Accepting that you'll lose some leads

This transparency comes at a price: every week, some leads tell him he's not within their budget. He's completely fine with that. These people found him online, but they simply weren't his clients. The phone has another advantage: you can tell right away whether the project is a good fit. When someone says “we only want digital files”, he passes on the contact details of other photographers.

4. Which products should you offer your clients?

Martin doesn't talk about “products” or “formats”: he talks about creations. Wall art, an album, a matted print: they're created together with the client. Everything is signed.

Wall art, his favorite product

He has worked with the same lab for his wall art since day one, and with DreamBooks Pro for his albums. For weddings, he likes to offer wooden albums, which match his nature-inspired style and his clientele. At the studio, everything is on display: wall art on the walls, albums and prints that clients are free to browse. That's often where clients get hooked, turning the pages of a wooden album they had never seen before.

“A piece of wall art is an advertising space in your clients' home.”

Martin Morel

Friends and family who visit see the photo on the wall, ask where it was taken, and word of mouth does the rest.

Fewer choices, easier decisions

His catalog is deliberately short. The client already has to choose a product, then a photo: that's the real challenge. Add several finishes, acrylic, ten sizes, and you lose them. Martin offers only one finish per product. The result: he almost never hears “we'll think about it”.

What the session includes

In 2021, the session cost 90 euros (baby, family, maternity, couple) and 140 euros for multigenerational families, as soon as it goes beyond parents and children. It includes two paper enlargements printed at the studio (a 20x30 or a 20x20 cm), partly because a gift card should include “a little something”. His average sale in 2020: 815 euros. To set your own session and product prices based on your costs and your time, the photography price calculator is a good place to start.

5. Should you sell digital files?

At first, Martin didn't sell digital files. Faced with demand, he added them to the catalog. But they're neither free nor included: when you buy a piece of wall art, you don't get the file with it. He owns this as a business owner: digital files give him a comfortable margin. Still, his policy remains wall art and albums.

His grandmother's photo

At the entrance of the new studio, on a sideboard, he has displayed a portrait of his grandmother, taken with a large format camera and recolored by a lab, almost a hundred years old. Next to it, a short text asks the question: what will become of your digital files in a hundred years? That's the heart of his pitch: what will you keep, take out again, pass on? For a newborn or a pregnancy, he likes to offer an album that tells that journey. Clients who only buy digital files are rare.

Eloa's point of view

Eloa adds some nuance. A client once compared buying files to buying raw puff pastry from the bakery: you pay for the expertise, but you keep the pleasure of finishing the pie with your kids. She also pointed out that most people who want digital files don't print them: they want to share them in the family WhatsApp group or look at them whenever they like. Some photographers only hand over low-resolution web files with their products. Martin doesn't do this, but he admits the reasoning makes sense.

6. How do you respond when a client says it's too expensive?

Martin gets few requests for discounts, and he has his answers ready, delivered with humor and a smile. For him, it all comes down to self-confidence: standing your ground.

• “It's expensive.” Compared to what, to whom? Compared to a 2,000 euro smartphone?
• “Another session cost us a lot less.” Every photographer knows their worth and sets their prices accordingly.
• “Let's negotiate.” The prices are the same for everyone: with so much word of mouth, he doesn't want people saying “at Martin's, I paid this much, and you paid that much”.
• The heart of the matter: his prices weren't set at random. They allow him to make a living from his work and support his family. Giving a discount means lowering his standard of living.

“If I give you a discount, I'm lowering my standard of living.”

Martin Morel

Eloa adds a decisive argument: when your prices are properly calculated, you know what 10 or 20 euros less on a piece of wall art does to your margin, and you stop giving in. And if you want to make a gesture, it's better to offer a small print or a gift card, which costs you little, than to take 25 or 50 euros off the bill.

Small sales aren't “bad sales”

A 100 euro order happens, often from a gift card. Martin refuses to call it a bad sale: these clients may not have the means to spend more, or photography may not be a priority for them. They deserve beautiful photos too, and what matters is that the experience is a success, because they'll talk about it.

The right time of the month and payment plans

Another detail that matters: he schedules his projections between the end and the start of the month, when salaries come in. And he offers to pay in two, three, four or five installments: almost all his clients take him up on it. “I don't want them living on pasta because of their photos.” Today, these payment plans can be managed straight from the quote with online payment in installments.

During lockdown, he tried a few sales over Zoom. They went well, but he “wasn't comfortable”. Eloa recalls a couple who had muted their microphone to talk between themselves: impossible to stay in control of the sale.

7. How do you organize your studio schedule?

With nearly 200 sessions a year, Martin works about three days a week at the studio, with long days. The studio is closed on weekends: apart from Saturday weddings, he doesn't see any families on Saturdays or Sundays.

Explaining to clients why it's weekdays

Many photographers think this is impossible. When a client replies that they work during the week, Martin reminds them that having your photo taken is a rare event, a moment of well-being dedicated to your family. Better to take a day off than to arrive rushing in after work.

• Toddlers (up to age three, with a nanny or at daycare) come in the morning.
• Older children come on Wednesdays (a day off school in France) or in the afternoon.
• Late afternoon is reserved for adults, since little ones are tired by then.
• School holidays: he takes one week off and devotes the other to families.

He went from five sessions a day to three or four: families take a huge amount of energy, and he doesn't want the last session of the day to be weaker because he's running low. An online booking calendar that only offers your weekday slots helps you keep this pace without negotiating every appointment.

Keeping room for pleasure

Since becoming a dad, he has slowed down, but he still needs to photograph for himself: wildlife, landscapes, hikes. These images are also the ones that get the most engagement on his social media. They let him post something other than maternity sessions and weddings, and clients like the idea of a photographer who travels and exhibits.

8. How do you make the delivery a special moment?

Delivery is also by appointment. Martin doesn't just hand over a bag with a “thanks, goodbye”: he opens the album again with the client and turns the pages with them, unless they'd rather keep the surprise for the evening. In his old studio, he even had a “reveal wall”: the wall art hung behind a small curtain, which he opened in front of the clients.

Eloa, who works in Paris where it's often the dad who stops by alone after work, chose a different approach: a bag with a few small treats to open together in the evening. For a while, she even slipped in mini bottles of champagne.

“I don't just hand over a bag and say goodbye, thank you.”

Martin Morel

The best sign the method works? Clients who give a gift card to friends and tell him: “make sure you give them the full projection session.” For Eloa, that's also what the photographer gets out of it: when you deliver an online gallery, you're not there when people discover their photos. In a projection, you see the emotion, and you receive as much as you give.

Episode recorded in spring 2021, during lockdown, just before businesses reopened in France on May 19. The prices mentioned (90 euro session, 140 euros for multigenerational families), the average sale and the schedule refer to that period. His current offer is presented on his website.

Mistakes to avoid when selling your photos in a projection session

FAQ: in-person sales photography