Best Business Practices for Photographers [233]
If you seek to attract customers shopping you on price, they are not customers who will continue to contribute to you in the long run. These clients will continue to look (and will find) someone cheaper. You want customers who are willing to pay a premium for your services, but, more importantly, who will refer others who will do the same. Why grow your roster of clients with low-price shoppers that will consume all of your creative energy, leaving little time for well-paying customers—the ones you've always hoped to land?
Sometimes it's beneficial to let the client or art director feel that the idea you pitched is theirs (if you've secured the assignment—otherwise it's not kosher). In one instance, I came into a creative meeting with the job's art director, and her boss, the senior AD of this very reputable firm, joined us. He was extremely skeptical of me and what I brought to the shoot. I had been a "must have" from their client because I had a track record of delivering in previous work for them. During the meeting, I could feel the disdain directed toward me until I came up with a concept that was beautiful in its simplicity and met the client's messaging needs. The senior AD flipped like a switch and decided I was okay for the project and then left the room. It was clear to me that his role there was to garner ammunition to shoot me down to the client, but by keeping my composure, I was able to win him over.
Subsequently, I was in a conversation with the client, who had initially alerted me to the fact that the firm was questioning my appropriateness for the assignment. I recounted the situation and when the switch flipped. The client stopped me and said, "That's a great idea! It was yours?" I said, "Yes, why?" She then said that in a recent meeting the senior AD had pitched that idea as his. Although my client, with whom I work frequently and closely, was happy to learn the facts, she never revealed that she knew it to anyone else, nor did I. As Robert Solomon, author of The Art of Client Service (Kaplan, 2008), notes by devoting an entire chapter to the subject, "Credit Is for Creative Directors."
Another point on ensuring that clients return: Manage client expectations from the outset and as the assignment progresses. If you're called upon to shoot an image of a speaker at a podium, and the podium has no signage on the front or behind it that you can include in the frame, I always say "Gosh, do we have any logos or other visuals that we can include on the podium or background? When I make these photos, the speakers could have been anywhere." This ensures that when they get the photos, it doesn't just look like a bloke at a box with a microphone, when they were expecting something more dynamic. Usually, the client can do something about it, but when they can't, I've let them know I am thinking about these details, and they now have a better idea of what they'll get.
If during pre-production meetings or calls the client is always talking about the importance of beautiful morning light, and then during the scout the day before we learn that there are large buildings or trees precluding that warm light, or the forecast calls for a foggy or overcast morning, I'll make a point of saying, "Well, let's see what we can do to warm up the light on this image, because Mother Nature's not going to come through with that morning light we wanted." Then I try to make whatever adjustments I can to the image with gels, front-of-lens filters, camera Kelvin adjustments, or tweaking in Photoshop as a last resort. However, I have managed the client's expectations here as well.
When there is a problem or issue that arises, you can demonstrate a style of communication that will keep clients coming back. Although many times you will be remembered because you were successful at troubleshooting issues related to what was in the frame, often your repeat business will come from how you handle issues unrelated to image