Best Business Practices for Photographers [235]
Take this path, and in the long run, you will have extremely loyal clients—especially the prodigal ones.
Rob Haggart, who writes the "A Photo Editor" blog, once wrote, "[J]ust because you are a phenomenal photographer, with a great style, doesn't mean clients will want to work with you. And, if you make it worse, you make it so that you can't take direction. This is a recipe for a lot of one-off clients, with little repeat business."
I also wrote, "If I said to you, after you botched a job or just were lackadaisical about your service/follow-up component of an assignment, that you would lose well over $10k, would you handle things differently?" in the blog article "Lost Income - Over the Long Term." And that is a cautionary tale about just how much losing a client will cost you over the life of your business.
We are in the business of making pictures—pictures people want, pictures people need. And those they want and need are the ones that actually fit into a story or a mocked-up layout for an ad. If you want to try something edgy, fill the client's request and then shoot your "something different" and offer it up. This way, the client has what they need, and if they like your second image, they might go to bat for it. Making a client have to take what you've given them—and only that—places them in an uncomfortable position, against deadline or additional costs for a reshoot. Instead, apply the rule of "one for thee, one for me."
We are also in the business of taking direction. Sometimes it's vague; sometimes it's (overly) specific. If people presume that you wouldn't deign to take direction—or, worse yet, you consider direction something to work opposite of—it ensures that you will get a reputation for being difficult to work with or for people to only work with you when their superiors press for it.
The overarching point is that you have to be easy to work with and deliver what the client wants.
A Couple Givens
The title of this section should actually be "A Couple Givens?" because while I assume things such as "your voicemail should sound professional" or "you should dress appropriately for the shoot," more often than not, I hear inappropriate voicemail messages, and I see photographers dressed completely inappropriately for the shoot.
Voicemail
Your voicemail is your clients' first experience with your business when you're not there. Having your kids record your message is a really bad idea. It's okay for your home line but not your business line. (You do have two, right?) Your voicemail message on your landline should be something like:
Thanks for calling John Harrington Photography. We apologize we're not able to take your call right now. You may also try contacting John on his cellular phone at 202-255-4500. To leave a message here, please begin speaking after the tone. Thank you.
On your mobile phone, the message should be something like:
Hi, you've reached the offices of John Harrington Photography. We apologize that John's not currently available to take your call. Please leave a detailed message, and John will return your call as soon as possible. Please begin speaking after the tone. Thank you.
The message should sound professional, with no background music. Write yours down and read it over and over for cadence. If you can't sound it out the way you want, ask a friend to do it for you. For a few hundred dollars, you can hire a professional voice talent to record it for you and e-mail you an MP3. Trust me—it's worth every dollar. I can honestly tell you that many clients and colleagues comment on mine, which was done by a professional radio personality I am friends with.
Appearance
Please, please, please dress the part. If you are going to photograph a CEO, wear a