#Basic Photography, Amateur Photography
Why You Need to Manage Expectations – Both Yours and Your Client’s
By: Simon Ringsmuth
As you prepare for a photo session with clients you probably run
through a checklist to make sure you don’t forget anything. Cameras?
Check. Lenses? Check. Lighting modifiers? Good to go. Props, step stools, spare batteries? Got ’em.
But one thing that often gets left behind, so to speak, is a set of
expectations that you and your client might have for the photo session.
You might have something in mind for the session based on your
experience, your work with previous clients, or the particular set of
gear you are bringing along. But if your clients have a different set of
expectations it can spell big trouble and will require a lot more than a
few batteries and extra memory cards to fix.
These
clients hired me for a maternity session and it went smoothly thanks to
a very clear set of
expectations that we discussed beforehand.
Expectations are important
Think of the many ways in which your expectations influence your
perception of the services and products you buy. When you go out to eat
you will expect a certain level of service based on previous visits. If
you go on vacation you will probably look for reviews online and base
your satisfaction of the accommodations on how well those expectations
were met.
If you hire a contractor to remodel your kitchen you will make sure
to have lengthy discussions with them to make sure the work they perform
is precisely what you want. It’s fair to say that as a consumer you
probably base many of your buying decisions on expectations that have
been set for you.
And yet, as a photographer, how often have you worked to set
expectations for potential clients? Your website might proudly proclaim
that you do weddings and formal events, but there are probably two dozen
other photographers in your area who offer similar services. The same
goes for most types of photography: families, youth sports, products,
high school seniors, or even aerial drone images.
You’re good at what you do but what makes you stand out from the
rest, and what can your clients expect when you show up to take
pictures?
What can clients expect from you?
One of the first things I learned when I started doing portraits for
clients was that the things which I thought were the most important were
not at the top of my clients’ priority lists. I spent so much time
thinking about pricing and choosing a template for my website that I
neglected to properly craft a message letting clients know what they
could really expect out of me.
A few dozen sample images of portraits in parks along with a
testimonial or two are a great way to market yourself. But these don’t
really tell clients much about your approach to a photo session or what
you will do to get the shots they are looking for.
Set expectations early
Think about the many ways in which you can set expectations in
advance to let clients know how things will go. This goes well beyond
simply telling your clients how much you charge, how many prints or
images you will deliver, and whether you take checks or credit cards.
For a session to go smoothly think about the more esoteric
expectations and do your best to manage them before a single click of
your camera shutter. Some items to ponder would be…
- Your shooting style: Are you easygoing, flexible, and open to improvisation or do you have a more strict and pre-planned approach to photo sessions?
- Accepting input: Do you incorporate input from clients in terms of poses, locations, or picture ideas?
- Who can attend the session: Will you let clients
bring friends, family, or even pets to a photo session? (Not to get
their pictures taken, but just for help, encouragement, or comfort.)
- Where you draw the line: Are you willing to engage
in illegal or semi-legal activity to get photos? Some clients might want
to shoot in areas that prohibit trespassing or are otherwise off-limits
which might be beyond the scope of your services. “But my friend got photos taken at this abandoned warehouse last year.” they might say, in which case you might advise your client to solicit the help of another photographer.
- What types of pictures are off limits? Your clients
might want to do pictures on train tracks or recreate some risqué
images they saw on Instagram. If that’s not your cup of tea, your
clients need to know about it. And in the case of train tracks, the answer should always be NO!
This
picture was not my idea; my clients suggested it on the day of the
shoot, and we made it
happen. I told them that I was open to their ideas
so they offered some, and the results were great.
More expectation examples
- Posing: Are you the type of photographer who likes
to use specific formal poses or do you take a more casual hands-off
approach? This is especially important if you are doing wedding and
other types of events that are not easy to replicate.
- What’s your approach to social media? Will you
share pictures of the session online, talk about the session before or
afterward, or snap behind-the-scenes photos to ingratiate yourself to
other potential clients? Some people might be fine with this but other
clients may prefer more privacy. If so you would need to adjust your
approach for those clients, or let them know so they can make an
informed decision about whether or not to use your services.
- Photography locations: Do your clients want to
shoot in locations that just won’t work (or the wrong time of day), or
you simply can’t get to with your gear? Discuss what your clients expect
beforehand so you won’t be caught off guard during the session if they
ask you to shoot in a dimly-lit alley, behind a waterfall, or in the
middle of a crowded mall.
- Photography assistant: Do you use a second shooter and if so, what will his or her role be during the session?
- Turn-around times: How long will your clients have to wait to get prints or digital files after the session?
I was asked by some friends to take pictures at a funeral
for their loved one. The key to the
whole experience was a
crystal-clear understanding of what the clients wanted and what my role
was as the photographer.
his is just a starting point. You are going to have other things that
are unique to yourself and
your photography. And even though some of
these might be clearly spelled out in your contract,
it’s a good idea to
set and manage expectations clearly and without room for
misinterpretation.
A contract may cover you in legal terms, but don’t assume your clients have meticulously read
and understand every single word.
Open communication is key
In my experience, one of the best ways to set these expectations is
to have some kind of real-time
back-and-forth dialog with your clients.
Exchanging information over email and social media is fine,
but when it
comes to hashing out the details of a photo session nothing beats a
phone call or in-person
meeting.
If the latter isn’t all that practical, then, by all means, talk with
your clients on the phone or via video
chat. This can help you set a
positive tone for the session, ease their minds about any concerns they
might have, and give you a chance to explain what they can expect.
Reassure them that you have their
best interests in mind.
What do you expect from your clients?
There’s a flip side to setting expectations and it’s one that
sometimes gets overlooked when planning
or executing a photo session.
You might have bent over backward to let your clients know what to
expect from you, but what have you done to let your clients know what
you expect from them?
Just as every photographer is different, each client is also unique.
They have an attitude and approach
that separates them from everyone
else. In order to make sure things run smoothly, think about ways
to
communicate your expectations of them with your clients. Otherwise you,
and they could end up
knee-deep in frustration with no easy way out.
- Punctuality: Do you value punctuality and expect
your clients to be on time for a photo shoot?
- This might seem obvious
but not all clients take the same disciplined approach as you might
- when
it comes to arriving when they are supposed to.
- Cell phone usage during a session: Will you ask
your clients to put their phones away during
- the session? For some
photographers, this isn’t an issue, but others get irked if clients are
- constantly
- snapping, tweeting, and texting during a photo session. If
you expect them to be focused and
- attentive,
- let them know in advance.
When
this family arrived I spent a few minutes explaining how I was going to
conduct the session
and listened to their ideas as well. It set a
positive tone that resulted in some images that they really
liked.
More examples of your potential expectations:
- Transportation on-site: Do you expect your clients
to be able to walk around or transport
- themselves to different
locations? If you are doing high school senior photos do you plan on
- taking them to different locations in your vehicle? If so, do the
seniors and their parents know
- that this might be a possibility? Iron
out these details beforehand or you could find yourself in
- an
uncomfortable situation the day of the shoot.
- Other photographers at the session: If you are
doing a wedding, will you be the only
- photographer or will the groom’s
uncle (who just got a new DSLR for his birthday) be hanging
- out taking
photos also? Some photographers don’t mind this sort of thing, but most
would rather
- the clients tell Uncle Bob to leave his camera at home and
let you do your job. Communicate
- your expectations well in advance to
avoid hurt feelings the day of the ceremony.
When
working with kids, especially infants, things are never going to go how
you expect! +
But discussing things with the parents beforehand is a good
way to help deal with issues as they
crop up.
As before, these are only some of the things to consider when setting
client expectations and the
best way to go about doing that is with a
phone call or other type of back-and-forth conversation.
This
information might be on your website, but it’s incumbent on you as the
photographer to do
everything you can to make sure your clients know
what you expect of them. Don’t simply just
assume they have read through
every page of your site.
This family was a joy to work with, largely because of clear expectations from both parties
(the family and myself).
Finally, one tip that might be useful to you is to make a checklist
of these items so you have it
handy during conversations with the
client. This way you can update it over time as new issues
come to
light, and you can make sure to properly address all the most pressing
expectation issues
that could come into play before, during, and after a
session.
The goal here is to make every session a positive experience for your
clients as well as yourself,
and the more work you do to manage
expectations for all parties involved, the happier everyone
will be.
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