If you don’t have (or can’t afford) an
assistant and know you will otherwise
be alone with your client, ask a friend
or family member to come with you—
even if he or she does nothing but
watch your equipment, it protects
you.Beauty Products.
In or near the dressing room or rest-
room you should have basic products
for your clients. This includes things
like hairspray, hairpins, safety pins, and
tampons. (I am not kidding, guys.
Unless you have a wife or daughter,
you will never know how many times
the average woman starts her period at unexpected times in embarrassing places
and has no hygiene products.) You should anticipate your client’s potential
needs and invest a few dollars in products that will add an increased level of
professionalism to your business.Food and Beverages.
I also recommend that you have candy or treats at your front counter and snacks
and water available for your clients as they are viewing their images. Now, I can
hear some people thinking, “What on earth do tampons and water have to do
with photography equipment?” To them, I would respond, “Those things mean
a whole lot more to your ultimate success than what brand of camera or light-
ing equipment you use.”More to Come.
This is just a partial list of all the equipment I use in any given session. I will dis-
cuss equipment in more detail in the upcoming chapters, especially as it applies
to lighting and backgrounds. Again, I want to remind you that if you don’t
have something I do, it’s probably just because you are at a different point in
your career than I am. I was once so poor that I had a single medium-format
camera body with one back and only a normal lens and a 2Xteleconverter. I did
my outdoor exposures by guess and my studio exposures by trial and error (and
a string!). That’spoor—and it’s scary, considering I photographed many wed-
dings this way (and in the days of film, we didn’t have instant previews)!TOOLS OF THE TRADE 23Some of the best assistants in the world
are the moms (or dads, or whatever per-
son the client chose to bring with them to
the session). The client feels comfortable
with Mom around, and holding a reflector
keeps her busy so she’s not driving her
child crazy.