Photo Business News archive, 2006–2026. New writing is at Substack.

Zen and the Art of Photography

by
A lot goes into that first call. Not the call you make, but the call you earn. Before your phone rang, lots of things had to happen – the client had to decide they needed a photographer, and where there’s an ad agency, PR firm, or design firm involved, they had to convince their client they needed photography. Then, they had to decide on candidates for the assignment.

And that’s where you come in.
(Continued after the Jump)

There are five stages that your clients go through during the entire process:
1. Anticipation
2. Trepidation
3. Inspection
4. Fulfillment
5. Evaluation
Lets look at those closer.


Anticipation:
A prospective client is anticipating that you can deliver, based upon your marketing materials – portfolio, website, business card, presentation in person, phone skills, and the appearance of your contract. Based upon this, they book you.

Trepidation:
Depending upon how you did in the Anticipation phase, the degree of trepidation can vary. Were you a yellow pages or search-engine find, a referral from a trusted source, or had they used you in the past? Even so, there is a period where the client is worried about the quality of the end result, even when you are a repeat vendor for them.

Inspection:
During the shot, and afterwards, they look through your results, contemplating the circumstances that went into the shoot, and thus, the results. Was it a rainy day when the shoot called for blue skies, but you had to shoot anyway? Was the model late? Were the VIP’s that were the cornerstone of the event absent, and so the client-handshaking with a VIP is missing from the event images? Or, did everything go smoothly, and the client has the highest of expectations after the fact relative to their expectations beforehand?

Fulfillment:
Did you deliver as promised? Are they satisfied with the results? Is their client satisfied with the results? Did what you do meet – or better yet – exceed expectations? You should always strive for a “that photographer sure exceeded my expecations” response. You need to win over even the most critical of clients, so they may become your staunchest advocates.

Evaluation:
Would they hire you again? Would they casually recommend you to a colleague? Would they enthusiastically recommend you to a colleague? Or, in the best of scenarios, without provocation, would they go onto their listserv and shout your name from the treetops “…boy, I just finished this shoot with John Harrington, and if you ever need a photographer, he should be on the top of your list of people to call…” ? Wouldn’t it be great to have an evangelist like that? They do exist. Have you experienced it yet?

Take a piece of paper, and print out those five words, and place them in a prominent place near your desk. By understanding the phases of a client experience, you can ensure that you are firing on all cylinders and meeting and exceeding expectations in each phase.
Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you’ve got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

Originally published on Photo Business News & Forum on September 18, 2008. Comments are closed; this post is part of the archive.

4 thoughts on “Zen and the Art of Photography”

  1. John,

    I’ve been following your blog for almost two years now (originally turned on to it by your friend David Hobby, AKA Mr. Strobist, http://www.strobist.com), and I wanted to let you know that I really appreciate the effort you put into posts like this one.

    These posts cause those of us who aspire to the profession (or maybe those who are already in the profession but who aspire to greater excellence in their business) to (re)consider simple business concepts in a way that is encouraging and seems to give a bit of hope.

    It is a travesty that these posts get nowhere near the comment traffic/attention (at least it seems this way from the outside) as some of the other posts you do which address more potentially volatile issues (although, in my mind, equally valid as points of discussion for those who wish to be professional photographers, rather than unprofessional photographers who happen to have businesses doing photography.

    I truly appreciate what you’re doing, and can attest to the fact that your blog has encouraged me to (re)consider the way I approach being a professional photographer (although, I assure you, I’ve not “arrived” yet).

    Thanks!
  2. You do everything right, you get the call based on your web site, you know your marketing efforts are paying off, then lose the job because some hack undercuts you out of the job. I lost two jobs this week. Client just don’t want to pay what the industy standards call for. Please write about pricing yourself correctly, so your not hurting photographers who truley are working for a living full time, I know this has been discussed many times, but for some reason it seems to be happening more and more.
  3. Great Post – thank you. It really focuses on some key aspects. Although, in my experience, some clients don’t go though that process all the time – the process of Anticipation, Trepidation, Inspection, Fulfillment & Evaluation. My best clients do go through this process and I really appreciate those business relationships.

    In addition to meeting client expectations, I think that those five words are important in finding new clients who will VALUE what you do and won’t be swayed by some hack shooter out there under-cutting your rate(s).

    HOW you do things is so important. The most under-rated aspect of the photo industry is HOW you work with people.
  4. Thankyou for this post – it’s excellent and to the point. I’m doing more and more commissions where it really helps to think things through from the perspective of the client. It’s tempting to get wrapped up in the task of just taking great pictures. But everything from the client’s first impression, to how available you are for communication, to how promptly and effectively you present your work determines their satisfaction and future business. It helps to break things down into stages like this – check all those boxes and you’re doing a good job.

Comments are closed.