If you don’t understand precisely what their expectations of the portrait are,
you’ll never be able to meet those expectations.
Judging by the e-mails I receive, this approach—my philosophy of putting
business decisions (like pleasing the client) above the personal artistic choices
that I might otherwise make—causes concern among some younger photogra-
phers and photography teachers. Many of these younger photographers remind
me of when my high-school-age son commented that he was going to own his
own business because he didn’t want a boss telling him what to do all the time.
I explained to him that, to be a successful businessperson and own a company,
you don’t just haveoneperson telling you what to do, you haveeveryperson
walking through your door telling you what to do. If you are going to keep
your business running, you had better listen and make it your highest priority
to give each client what they truly want.
It’s not about us, it’s about them. If you have a hard time with that concept,
I can guarantee that you will find it nearly impossible to be successful in this pro-
fession. The ideas I present here are taken from a successful working studio that
has been in business for over twenty-three years. That said, all any photographer
(myself included) really knows is what is working for his or her clients in the area
they work in. So I encourage you to test these ideas; use the ideas that work and
throw out those that don’t.
Meeting Your Clients’ Needs and Desires.
What does the client expect and why is he or she having the portrait done?
When someone hires you to take a portrait there is a need, and that need has
created a desire. Without a need and a desire, a person will not call your studio.
Once they do call, if you cannot meet that need and fulfill the client’s desires,
you will not be a successful professional photographer. While some photogra-
phers take the time to talk with a client and understand what they desire and
what need the portrait will be fulfilling, many simply meet the client in the
camera room and go through that photographer’s favorite ten poses. If that
doesn’t make the client happy, it must mean that they were a difficult client!
What has actually happened, however, is a failure of communication that leaves
neither party happy; the client doesn’t like their images and the photographer
doesn’t like their sales figures.
Let’s look into the day of a photographer who doesn’t concern himself with
the needs and desires of his clients. The doors of the studio open and the first
session is an attractive woman in her thirties. She says she is there for a head shot
and has a variety of clothing for the photographer to look at. He figures that a
woman this age who comes in for a head shot with a variety of blazers, proba-
bly needs a business portrait. The client doesn’t seem thrilled with the shoot,
but the photographer assumes she is just a reserved person. Thirty minutes later
he is done and the woman is on her way to the viewing room.
8 JEFF SMITH’S GUIDE TO HEAD AND SHOULDERS PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHYWhat has actually
happened is a failure of
communication that
leaves neither party
happy.