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Five Photography Business Questions!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012 Posted inBUSINESS,CHATTY TUESDAYS

Hey there!

Have you ever wondered how to handle an indecisive customer who takes forever to book their session? Do you ever question the way you choose the final photos to give your clients? And how about this – how to get gorgeous models to work with you? And how long the perfect photo shoot is? And my favorite yet – should you or should you not post your prices online for potential clients to see?

In today’s Chatty Tuesday video I give my answers to all of these questions and leave you with lots to think about! Watch it here:

Don’t forget I want to hear from you in the comment section!

Let everyone know your answers to the following questions:

1) “I give clients the dates I have available, & they’re not getting back to me, meanwhile I can’t offer those dates to anyone else in case the original client books it – do u think its a good idea to make a point to tell clients that they have a deadline?” – Anonymous

2) “How do you choose the final pictures for your clients? Do you choose the final ones, or you choose some and the clients pick their favorites?” - Emilia

3) “Hey! I was wondering how you got gorgeous models (who aren’t personal friends) to work with you at the beginning of your photographic career.”- Anonymous

4) “How long should a photo session last and why?” - Elias

5) ”I was wondering what you thought of posting your prices online vs having clients have to contact you for prices. I think posting helps deter any non-serious clients from contacting me and wasting my time, but I don’t know which would be more professional.” - Anonymous

Big love and hugs
xoxo

 

Posted inBUSINESS,CHATTY TUESDAYS

  • http://www.theconciergequeen.com.au Lisa O’Donoghue

    Dear Alex – this was a great video. I actually run a Personal Concierge and Lifestyle Management business but I really liked your answers to 1 and 5 and am going to apply them in my business, so thank you!

  • http://www.CarolineWhitePhotography.com Caroline White

    Love this!

    Girl – you cover a lot!! Rock it.

    Agree – I don’t put prices online – in fact I don’t even really like giving out my rates when people email me with just “Hi, what are your rates?” I’m like, um, do you even LIKE my work? (Yes it is inferred, but I’m a girl, ya know? Tell me I’m [my pictures are] pretty! I have basically started shying away from working with anyone who isn’t a total fan already b/c of the “fit” you talked about.

    I DO often refer people to my facebook albums & pinterest to see if we are on the same wavelength + I encourage people to pick out their favorite shots to get a dialogue and interaction going…

    Thank you thank you woman

    <3
    xo

  • http://dreamilymoments.blogspot.com Gina

    Here are my opinions on these five questions:

    1) I tell the people that I can keep the date for them for a certain amount of time (it depends on how busy I am, which time of the year it is etc) and if they don’t come back to me within this time, they might be unlucky and the date is taken when they finally decide to talk to me again. I think that this is fair because I can’t just wait forever.

    2) I choose the final photos. Because I am kind of a perfectionist and I wouldn’t want them to choose a photo where they might look good in but there is something distracting in the background or whatever. I want to deliver images that my clients look good in for sure but I also want to deliver images that are of a good quality when it comes to my photography skills. So I choose. But if they wish I would choose some photos that I like and send them to my clients as a screenshot/pdf and then they can choose which photos they like best and which I am going to edit.

    3) I don’t have a lot of experience with this. I asked around in some Facebook groups and I found some people to model for me there. But I guess that I’ll be trying this ‘scouting’ thing as well at some point. Because I see girls that would be perfect for my photos so often but I don’t want to talk to them because I’m too shy and I also don’t want them to think that I am creepy. But I also think that it’s worth trying. At the end we both get something great out of it.

    4) My sessions last up to 2 hours. The most people I photograph are in front of the camera for the very first time and they are uncomfortable at the beginning. So I usually shoot like 20 minutes just to get them in the mood and make them feel good in front of my lens. Then the real shooting starts. And as I often change outfits and locations it takes its time and yes, everyone is exhausted after two hours of shooting but it always is fun until the very last minute :)

    5) I rather read prices online. Or if not the exact price then at least some kind of a guideline. Then you know if you could afford the shoot at all and then you can contact the photographer to get the exact price for the kind of shoot you would like to have.
    But it’s just my personal taste.

  • https://www.facebook.com/KissYourselfPhotography Marinda

    1. I used to ask a 50% retainer back when I just started out and my prices were very low, it didn’t even cover all my expenses. I guess I was just very lucky I’ve never had dishonest clients, because hearing some of the stories in photography forums, things could have gone really sour. I like the idea of asking 25%, but what if my prices are more high end, do you think it’s a good idea to do a three month payment plan to make myself more affordable? Do I then charge interest, how much?

    2. I have always chosen the images myself, and haven’t had any complaints YET. Thanks for bringing this up, I will be making it clear from now on, before there is a misunderstanding!

    3. I have to be honest, I probably gave up too soon when nobody seemed to be interested. I’m going to schedule in some time to find some models!

    4. I used to do two hours, but it got too draining. I thought I needed a lot of time “to get the shot” but I found my best images were in the first hour anyway, because my clients get tired after around 50 minutes, and it showed up in the photos.

    5. I never thought about it like this before. It really does work to have them contact me for prices, because when I think back to when I was “sort of” interested in someone else’s services, but couldn’t decide, I checked the prices and didn’t bother to ask. It’s a good filter. And absolutely love the idea of getting a conversation going via email.

    These were all fantastic tips, thank you so much Alex, for doing this video :)

  • http://www.merellephotography.com.au Rhiannon

    1) I think if they’re not getting back to a deadline is very fair and will create an expectation and a sense of urgency to your clients.

    2) I would choose all, I feel that my initial consulation with clients gives me a clear idea about what they are looking for and that as the photographer they trust my creative judgement.

    3) Eeeeek I still haven’t had the guts to approach a stranger but I’ve worked with some great models through ModelMayhem

    4) I generally say an hour although my packages do allow extra time if they client feels they need it. I know what I want out of a session and and hour is usually more than enought time for me to get it.

    5) I have thought about this too, and I honestly don’t have the answer!

  • Ariel

    1) I’m new and just starting out so I haven’t had any experience with deadlines. However, my sister has asked me to take some family portraits for her and because I’m just starting out and she will be the 2nd photo shoot, I am doing this as a Christmas gift. Unfortunately it’s been a month and she hasn’t gotten back to me.

    2)In my first and only photo shoot, I let my best friend choose her favorites. She looked and made a list of the photos she HAD to have. I did this because I knew she was self conscience of her weight and I didn’t want to choose the photos that may have lessened her self esteem. She sees her self in a more judgmental way than others see her and I thought it was important that she look at the good photos that I picked out and pick her favorites because it would help me see what she was looking for and how she wants to be seen in photographs

    3)Like I said, I’m new. I started in July and photographed my best friend just to see how much I liked it. I fell in love! I then took a few photos of my niece as I was playing pretend with her, which resulted in my sister asking for me to take a family portrait for her. When I came back to College (I’m a Resident Assistant, I posted on Facebook that I wanted to photograph something beautiful. My RA friends responded with requests to have them photograph them! I have 3 girls and a couple that have asked me in a matter of a day!

    4)My first and only photo shoot took about an hour an a half. But of course this was my best friend and we don’t see each other often, so we took the time to catch up. But I think I’d like to keep the photo shoot to an hour like you said.

    5)I don’t have a price list (yet), but I have gotten annoyed with having to send someone an e-mail when I’m looking for someone. I’m a busy college student that just wants to take a quick look to see if I can afford your services. I don’t want to be wasting anyone’s time if I can’t. I personally wouldn’t mind giving someone my e-mail or phone number in exchange for a quick look at their prices in a PDF document, so I may do the same when the time comes

  • http://www.facebook.com/DixieMartinPhotography Dixie Martin

    1. Definitely a retainer. I go with 25%, non-refundable (going towards their final purchase). This books the time & date. Also, I often invest in props or scout new locations for particular shoots before hand. Why do all the work for a cancellation?
    2. I’ve been in the customer service business too long, perhaps. I want my clients to be as happy as possible. They have the option of proofing. If they trust my professional opinion, easier for me :)
    3. I just moved from the US, (where all of my gorgeous friends loved modeling for me) to France, where I know no one and hardly speak enough French to have conversations about finding models. I’ve tried searching via my facebook page, I’ve asked my new French family — people here seem to be incredibly busy. Still searching for ideas on this.
    4. This definitely depends on the type of shoot for me. For sure an hour would be ideal, however, sometimes it just takes longer.
    5. I’m on the fence. It’s so simple to just find prices — but at the same time, being able to make a connection/conversation with a potential client seems like a really great approach.

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/vewolff Ve

    Most of the time i chose the photos on my own, but now i’m doing more shoots and then i realized, if someone would take photos of me, i would want to be able to choose the photos. Not because i do not trust the person but there are always little things you do not like about yourself and other people do not know or see it. So i started to choose the best photos, the photos i find beautiful, and the photos which are the best one seen by a photographers eye. And then my clients can choose their favorites from these photos ;)

  • http://www.marissaelizabethimages.com Marissa

    About number 5 – what’s your take on sort of combining both? I agree with both sides so it was a tough call… I just added a line after explaining some services saying “packages start at $__” made sure to mention each package is unique to your needs so be sure to contact me to chat!
    Maybe this will help to give people and idea of where your prices would be at, still attracting the serious, and weaning out those who just aren’t the target market (financially)
    Thoughts?