+44 (0) 207 252 3900 info@shootfactory.co.uk
Monday - Friday 10:00 - 17:30
As a professional photographer, repeat customers are essential for your success. You want nothing more than to see your customers happy, not only with your photos, but with the entire process and the way they were treated as well.
The combination of producing great images and having a terrific personality results in excellent recommendations. When you make your living as a photographer, creating a positive and professional image is an essential aspect of the process.
As a photographer, you must be happy with what you are doing and content with your work. Having impatience during your shoot will ultimately lead to a lack of repeat business. Basically, you must have fun and truly enjoy what you are doing. If not, it will show and reflect negatively upon you as a photographer. You must be energetic and effectively communicate with your clients to show that you care and are passionate about your work. Thus, it is important to get to know your client as much as possible and appear genuinely interested in getting to know their interests and who they are as individuals. A warm and inviting welcome loosens clients up and prepares them for a fantastic photography session time and time again.
Above all else, be punctual. Your client should never have to wait on you. If your photo shoot is scheduled for 10 am, be ready to shoot by 9:45 am. Clients want to show up and begin shooting, not watch you set up and prepare for the shoot. Clients expect to show up and be greeted with a warm smile, not a mad dash to get everything set up and ready to shoot. Having the right frame of mind will result in the right shots.
Not only must you show up and be ready to shoot on time, but photographs should be delivered to your clients in a timely manner as well. Processing photos does take time, so you should give your clients a reasonable delivery date. If you feel it will take a certain number of days to deliver the photos, communicate this to them. If you do so, you will either have a little more time to work with or look like a knight in shining armour for delivering them ahead of schedule.
Photography is just as much psychological as it is technical. The attitude you display during the photo shoot is the attitude clients will tell others about. When you have a positive attitude, it’s also much easier to get the right expressions from your clients faces. A professional photographer must take their attitude into account to create a successful session.
Don’t just give clients what they ask for, give them a couple of extra shots as well, such as a snap shot to share with friends or an image for their Facebook or other social media pages. Regardless of the prices you charge, clients feel they are getting more than they paid for and are always happy when they receive an extra photo or two. In addition to surprising them with an additional shot, if a client has time, offer to take an extra photo with a special lens, or anything that makes them feel they are getting more for their money.
Your client must believe in your work. If you lack confidence, your client will as well. Therefore, you must have confidence in your environment, your gear, and your ability to pose your subjects in the best manner possible. If clients feel that you know what you are doing, they will follow your direction without hesitation.
It’s a simple fact that not everything will go as planned. How you deal with roadblocks or problems can either result in lost business or repeat clientele. Wires may break and gear may be accidentally dropped, but you must remain calm when things do not go as planned. At the end of the day, the client will remember how you handled the situation and appreciate the fact that you overcame adversity to deliver them the excellent shots they came to you for.