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glort Offline [X]
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bluerose311 wrote:
these are all concerns you should address in your initial meeting, before they even book you.
Agree with this 1000%
I think this is why my booking rate is so High on weddings. I'm lucky if in a 60-90 minute interview, I talk about price more than 5 minutes in total. I spend 90% of the time discussing what sort of pictures they like, looking at their sample shots they often bring and discussing nearby locations and what opportunities they offer.
There is no way we'd be half way through the shoot and the bride tell me she didn't like greenery or whatever, I'd have made notes on that at the first interview and gone over it again at the confirmation meeting I have 2 weeks before hand.
I have had brides getting married in the Middle of the city bring me shots of couples in fields of long grass and said fine, and where the heck in the city do you know of we could do anything like that shot?? The penny dropped, they laughed and that was it. It's obvious then but if they came back and said " We didn't get the long grass shot" and you said there was no where to do it, firstly they will say that's a cop out and secondly they will say " Well why didn't you tell us that when we showed you?" And they would have a point in my book.
During your meeting you should say, "this is how I work, this is why I work this way. Does this sound like it will work for you as a couple ?" and also tell them "I do not work off of a shot list, I will not replicate pinterest photos" and you can say it in a nice way explaining that its not always best to copy other couples and that you have an opportunity to create something unique for them
I certainly let the couple know my basic style but from there I try to be flexible and get the shots they want. I have been telling them for years, " We can discuss shot ideas from now until the wedding but on the day, there is every chance you may see or think of something that never occurred till then. It's YOUR job and responsibility to tell me about anything you want if you see it on the day. If you come back and say " Geez, I would have liked a shot of XYZ" Then I'm going to tell you it's entirely your fault for not telling me about it at the time. If I can do it I will and if there is a reason I can't I'll explain why". I tell them that is the responsibility I'm giving them on the day.
Being direct in a serious but light-hearted way with people like this shows you are honest and that you can't think of everything but you will do your best to get the pics they want.
I don't refuse to emulate sample pics they give me but I look at more of the mood and the feeling than actually posing the exact pic. I'll explain what I think they are really liking about the pic and offer a suggestion for a shot that captures the essence of it to suit the variation/ clothing/ locations etc we will be at.
I also tell then that I don't guarantee to get any shots like they bring me. I explain that every wedding is different and it's the feel and mood that are important and it's not always possible to copy the elements in a certain shot because they just not be anywhere we can shoot them.
I clearly remember one wedding I did where the couple had very creative ideas but weren't over the top. They simply, unlike most couples, knew what they liked.
On the day the rain teamed down, the wind blew a gale and I had to make up everything as we went. instead of the harbour side park I took them to the shelter of a railway station, a shopping centres and had shots of them on the sidewalk in the middle of the city amongst the crowds of shoppers. Anywhere in the area I could get them under some sort of shelter so none of us got drowned.
I looked at my notes many times through the day and evening trying to create something we discussed and absoloutley nothing had been possible. It was playing on my mind but I also realised I had very valid reasons rather than excuses and there was nothing I could do.
At the end of the night just before the couple left, they came to thank me. They said what a fantastic job I had done and how I got everything they wanted. I was shocked and said, I haven't got a single thing we talked about! It just wasn't possible because we couldn't go to the locations and I had to make it all up as best I could as we went." The couple lit up and said " That is Exactly what we wanted! You captured the day as it happened, you did things we never thought of and turned what we thought was going to be a disaster into pics we are stoked with. We wanted our day as it really was and that's what you have done." He recalled some shots I had shown them on the back of the camera and said how excited they were with them.
They spent a fortune on the album and it didn't hurt when I entered one of the on the fly shots ( of which I took so many that day) in the annual professional photographer associations awards and got a silver medal for it.
If I meet with people and I know I am not what their looking for yet they still want to book me I will tell them the date got booked and refer them to another photographer who I know will be a better fit for them. You need to screen clients as much as they screen you, or you will be unhappy and end up hating wedding photography
One of the most valuable things I have learned in my career as a shooter and worked up the nerve to initially do was when to say NO.
I definitely believe in screening the clients and I drill mine!
If we are on a different page, I straight out tell them so. I don't make things up, I tell them flat out I don't think I'm the right photographer for you based on what you are looking for and the ideas you have. I always leave the door open however and suggest they go see more shooters and that if they don't find anyone more in tune with their ideas, to come back and see me and I'll be happy to see if I can't get a better understanding of what they want and more on their wave length.
I have had a couple of people come back and it turned out we were very much of the same thinking, we were just using different languages to explain it. I put that down to my fault for not listening properly or asking the right questions.
You are the professional and YOU are the one that has done dozens if not hundreds of weddings. The average bride and groom only get married 2-3 times in their lives, so you need to take charge and use your experience to help them and yourself by being able to see the rough ocean ahead rather than the smooth sailing and avoid a shipwreck from happening.
Taking on the wrong clients is always a mistake and a very unprofitable one. They won't be happy, you will spend more time, effort, stress, frustration and money that what it is ever worth just trying to make them pacified enough to go away. Just don't go down that road no matter how much you want the money from the job that won't eventuate anyhow.
I really think rather than not connecting with your clients, You are not actually QUALIFYING them well enough and getting to know their wants, needs and desires. Another thing I tell my clients is " The only pictures I am interested in taking are the ones that are going to make you as happy with your wedding album as you could possibly be."
If the bride doesn't like shooting round gardens ( neither do I!) then you bloody well should have found that out before you are half way through doing what they don't want. YOU have to ask the questions because the only thing a B&G know to ask, particularly if it's their first wedding, is " How much?"
YOU need to find out if you are right for them, if they are right for you, their likes, dislikes and everything else to know what you are going to be doing before the first interview is over.
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Apr 15, 2014 at 06:07 AM |
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