While the images the photographer produced were of a professional quality,
they didn’t fulfill her need or desire. Once again, no sale.
Business and Communication.
While this photographer may have learned all about photography, he never
learned about business, or people, or communication. So what does he do? He
goes to the next convention or seminar, sees me, and asks me why he is broke.
He and many other photographers are going broke in this digital age because
they don’t understand that there are soccer moms out there who can create a
beautiful portrait of a beautiful person. They don’t need four years of college,
just a wannabe model, a digital camera, and Photoshop—and they are almost
as good a many graduated student photographers.
The line between us and them is found in the ability to not only take pretty
pictures but to give a client exactly what they want on demand. This isn’t pho-
tography class where you can explore your own creative impulses, it’s business—
and you have to know how to determine what a client wants and produce those
results. You begin with the end in mind.
Creating What the Client Desires.
The first step in designing a portrait is finding out what the client wants. This
doesn’t mean you have to have a personal con-
sultation with each person you photograph,
though. You can have a staff member talk with
each client or have the client look through sam-
ple books to give you some direction for their ses-
sion. However you decide to do it, you have to
know what the client wants to be able to create it.
Once you find out what the client expects,
then you need to start selecting everything that
will be inside the frame of the image. These ele-
ments will all work together to achieve the final
portrait. Listen to the client’s use of adjectives as
she explains what she wants. The use of words
such as “soft,” “dreamy,” and “fun” leads me to-
ward the use white and pastels for the clothing,
background, and set selections. If a client men-
tions the words “alluring” or “sexy,” I look more
toward darker tones and stronger primary colors.
While this is only a starting place, it is the first step
in designing your client’s portraits.
As you talk to your client, you can begin to re-
fine your ideas about the image. Begin with the
12You have to know how
to determine what a
client wants and
produce those results.