We have come to realize something very important with our clients. It’s not a crazy secret. Actually, it is pretty obvious! But it was something that once realized, allowed us to completely transform the way we start every photo session.
Ready for it?
None of our clients are used to standing in front of two cameras while being posed and hearing shutters clicking away.
Ok, maybe we shouldn’t use superlatives, because right after we say that we will probably book someone who has modeling history, but MOST aren’t used to it!
So why is that such an important thing to realize? Because one of the biggest drivers of fear, anxiousness, nervousness and insecurity occurs when you do something unfamiliar and new. Photos feel natural and easy for us because we do it everyday. But it’s important to remember that our clients do not work with photography everyday and in many cases it is a new and unfamiliar experience. Combine that with any special events of the day like weddings, maternity sessions, or family photos just because everyone is in town, and you can see some serious insecurities surface.
We don’t want our clients to feel any of those things. We want them to feel confident and relaxed and to be able to enjoy the session with us. So, we implemented some changes to the way we start our sessions to address the nerves, break them down, and start them off in a way that instantly builds confidence and trust for the rest of our time together!
Address the Elephant
The first thing we started doing at all of our sessions is addressing the elephant in the room (…or…the desert, the pines, the meadow, wherever!) We tell our clients that we understand they aren’t used to getting dressed up and standing in front of two professional photographers for two hours. We let them know that we realize having two cameras pointed at them doesn’t feel natural at all! And that it is OK!
Guys, simply naming the fear does wonders. It lets them know that we get it. It tells them that we aren’t expecting them to show up knowing exactly what to do, and we empathize with what they are feeling. It starts to build trust.
Disperse the Nerves
Once we acknowledge that this is unfamiliar territory for them, we do our best to help them kick the nerves to the curb! We have found that one of the biggest things people show up nervous about is how they will look in the photos! They show up feeling some weight of responsibility for it, wondering if they will have to figure out where to put their hands or how to hold their heads. They worry about the insecurities they have about their own bodies, because let’s face it, we all have something we are self conscious about. Again, none of those are things we want our clients thinking or worrying about during our session because it won’t allow them to truly feel comfortable and enjoy the experience.
We answer the questions in their head that we know they won’t ask. We let them know that they will never have to question what to do while they are with us. That we will coach them through every detail from where to stand, how to stand, how to hold their heads and where to put their hands. We let them know we might ask them to do things that feel unnatural, but to trust us with it!
Get to Walkin’
Now that our clients know that we understand this is new for them, and since we have started to build trust by letting them know they can let go of nerves about what to do because we will instruct them, we get the session started!!
And just how to we start the time together?
Walking.
Yes, walking.
It is something we spend a lot of time doing, so it feels natural. And as photographers, we love the movement it brings to the photos! So we’ve found it’s a great way to start because it puts a quick win under our client’s belts, especially when we follow it up with showing them one of the shots on the back of our cameras. It sets a tone for the rest of our time together and proves to them that we’ve got them covered! 🙂
After all, everything we do is all about them. If they left feeling insecure, unsure about the photos, and wondering if they ‘did it right’, we wouldn’t have done our jobs well. And since we are all about serving and loving our clients, we have found these simple steps help to breakdown those worries and let our clients walk away feeling confident, excited about the images they’ll receive, and knowing they nailed it!!
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