083 - 5 Tips to Make Your Client Experience Better
Tip #1 - Check your Gear
One of the easiest things you can do in advance of a shoot is just to check your gear. Take 30 minutes the night before to look over your camera, check your lenses, clean everything and do a few test shots. Then, make sure to pack everything into your bag - lenses, bodies, memory cards, batteries, tripods, I mean everything. This will do a few things for you. Firstly, it will make your photos better because your gear will be clean and free of possible contaminations. Secondly, it saves you the embarrassment of showing up to a shoot and missing a lens or your batteries or something not working right. Thirdly, if you do find something that isn't working, this should give you time to swing by a camera store or a rental place to pick up whatever you don't have before the shoot. So, take the time to check over your gear; your client expects you to offer the best of the best experience, including everything working while you are on site.
Tip #2 - Have a Plan
As soon as you start pitching a client or a client hires you, start creating your shoot plan. This should include a timeline of the shoot day, image delivery, and pre-shoot connection with the client. This is particularly important when taking part in branded or more high-end shoots where clients expect a higher level of personal care and connections. This timeline becomes very important for keeping you and your deliverables on track. But, make sure you don't oversell your delivery timeline. If it takes 6 weeks to get shots back, it takes 6 weeks. Don't tell them two weeks and then be 4 weeks late on delivery. That client will be irritated and may not want to work with you again. It is far better to underpromise and over-deliver than the other way around. So give yourself the time you need.
Secondly, in your day-of timeline, make sure to include your travel time to and from the shoot destination and travel time between locations. And be generous. Like I just said, it's way better to be a few minutes early than a few minutes late. And one last piece on the timeline. And this comes from years of personal experience. If you think you will only be shooting in one location for 60 minutes, tell the client 90 or 120. Unless you have fully dialled in your timings. But I find most photographers haven't done that. That buffer time gives you room to re-take some shots, try a few new poses, change lighting, wait for clouds, whatever. Buffer space is essential in the creative process. So give yourself time if the client's timeline allows. And if it doesn't. Talk with them about it. Be their guide and be the expert. That's why they are hiring you. Client shoots are about so much more than just pushing a button on a camera. You are their expert.
Within this plan, include your expected shot list and information about the shots your client is looking for. Again, very important on branded shoots. Some clients will be looking for specific images depending on their brand guidelines or content needs. Think of things like photos with clean space above subjects for text or pictures shot with lots of warm colours. Start putting your plan together to catch these images so that you aren't missing out on something when the shoot day comes.
Tip #3 - Be Over-prepared
On photoshoots, I always make sure to have everything I need to take photos and everything I need to make that client look their best. That includes a small makeup kit, tide-to-go pens, sewing kit, wet wipes, med kit, and extra water. I've brought full blankets to shoots, extra jackets, toques, mitts, and other things to keep clients warm and even a changing tent on a shoot this summer when we knew models would be changing at the top of a hike. These extra pieces set you apart from other photographers who just show up with their gear. They show a different level of client care and attention to detail that will really help you stand out from everyone else. You don't just want to be the person pushing buttons. You want to be the person that day. The person who was ready for every eventuality. Who took great care of their clients. And still made beautiful art for them. Be that type of creative, and your client will come back to you time and time and time again.
Tip #4 - Be Attentive and Communicate with Your Client
I feel silly even including this one on here, but it surprises me how often I see this not happening. Be attentive to your client and their needs. Regardless of if it is a $100 client or a million-dollar client. That person you are working for matters. How they are feeling matters. Communicate with them, watch how they are acting, watch how they respond to what you are doing. Ask if they feel comfortable, ask if they need anything, a break for five minutes, or some water. Just communicate with them. This is the backbone of creating great images together.
I start out every photoshoot I do by talking to my clients and letting them know that this photoshoot is a collaborative process. That this isn't me dictating how the shoot will go but that we are creating art together. If they don't feel comfortable in a pose, they need to tell me. If they see something or want to try something, they should tell me. I believe creating art is about collaboration. Of course, you are the expert at this shoot, so act like it. But don't dismiss your clients and their ideas.
Also, get off your phone. I don't know how often I've caught a photographer answering texts or scrolling Instagram in the middle of a shoot. Even if you are taking a break from shooting, you should be interacting with that client. Or inventorying what you've already done together. Use this time to gather your creative thoughts or continue to build a bridge with your client. That bridge is critical to great images. Don't spend that time refreshing your Insta feed or answering other emails. When you are with a client, stay with that client.
Tip #5 - Surprise and Delight
This is one of the underappreciated things in a client's experience of working with a photographer. But it is so critical in how they remember their interactions with you. Surprise and delights are little things you do as a photographer that will bring joy to your client's day. Some wedding photographers produce a small slideshow of the day during the reception. Some brand photographers deliver their favourite photo from the shoot as a print for the client. Others have a small bowl of a client's favourite snack ready for them when they show up to discuss the shoot. I've seen photographers send gifts to clients on the first anniversary of their wedding and others give gift cards to a nearby coffee shop for clients to discuss a proposal without the photographer around. There are just so many options for ways that you can cause delight in your client's day, and causing joy is something that they will talk about long after the shoot has ended. You are giving this person an experience, not just beautiful images.
Tip #6 - Bring Snacks
Bonus tip! Bring snacks. Lots of snacks and different types of snacks. You'd be amazed how often someone just needs a little piece of chocolate, some candy, or a little bag of carrots to get back in the mood for a shoot. Especially on long days in the field, you're going to find that people don't bring enough food or snacks with them, and you having this will just make their day. I really love to find out what snack a client loves in advance of a shoot so I can have it with me, and I try my best to find out any dietary restrictions. Everyone loves the right kind of snack, so make it happen!
And that's it, those are my 6 tips for you to help make your next photoshoot go off smoothly. Obviously, no shooting tips in there. But that's because I feel like all these tips are just as important as shooting. If you are ready to take on full client gigs, you know how to take great images. And now you need to work on your client experience. And these six simple tips will really help set yourself apart as a photographer.
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