Finalize The Client Experience
Lesson 32 from: Get Started with Lifestyle Family PhotographyElena S Blair
Finalize The Client Experience
Lesson 32 from: Get Started with Lifestyle Family PhotographyElena S Blair
Lesson Info
32. Finalize The Client Experience
Lessons
Class Introduction
10:48 2What is Meaningful Lifestyle Family Photography?
15:37 3Settings for Shoots
10:50 4Light, Composition & Location
10:47 5Settings Q&A
08:54 6Why Connection is Important
15:11 7Connection Q&A
09:36 8Session Experience
10:43Marketing Strategy for Lifestyle Family Photography
09:34 10Family Preparation
14:11 11How to Get to Know Families Fast
12:22 12The Actual Shoot
08:10 13Considerations for a Photograph
11:43 14The Family Session Workflow
07:38 15Shoot: Start Standing
05:49 16Shoot: Money Shot & Siblings
05:08 17Shoot: Time to be Seated
06:41 18Shoot: Portrait of Each Child
02:09 19Shoot: Laying Down
04:25 20Shoot: Mom & Dad Alone with Child
06:50 21Shoot: Movement Poses & Everyone in The Frame
04:07 22Shoot: Parents Together & Mom Alone
04:40 23Additional Shoot Considerations
04:38 24Review Images from Shoot
07:17 25Shoot Q&A
08:23 26Pricing & Business Strategy
21:15 27My Editing Strategy
04:54 28How to Cull Images
03:44 29Outsourcing Post Production
12:53 30Image Gallery Delivery
08:42 31Pricing & Business Q&A
11:00 32Finalize The Client Experience
05:20Lesson Info
Finalize The Client Experience
So we're finalizing experience. We have talked about so much today, I feel a little dizzy when I think about it, right? So, they came to your website, they feel in love with your work, they booked. You've been educating them. You've really been carrying them through this whole thing. If you're doing it right, you're taking care of these people through the whole experience, right? So you want to end on a really great note. You want to finalize that experience with a bow. And a lot of that is speaking that why, again, okay? I'm such a broken record about that, but it's so important. So, with Ship Proof, you have the option to send them their gallery. Again, I have a template in there where it's just this standard email that they get. I do take a moment to write a little something at the top and it's usually like, if it's a repeat client, I look forward to seeing you guys every year, I can't believe how big Sally got. Her eyes are so amazing. Just whatever, I say something like that. You ...
guys are an incredible family. I can feel the love and connection when I look at these pictures, thank you so much. So I do that and then I start educating them again. I say, here's where you can leave a review for me if you loved your session experience. Reviews are golden, I tell them. They don't know you want a review if you don't ask for it. Some people might be really awesome and go, I'm just gonna get on Google or I'm gonna get on there and give a review. They don't really know that, you have to educate them. You have to tell them what you want them to do. I say, please if you have a moment and you loved your session, leave me a review. Don't forget to share this gallery with your family and friends and by the way, it's mobile optimized. So you can have that on your phone. And so I will have lots of people that will say that they booked me because so-and-so was like, "Look at these pictures," on their iPhone, showing them. So it's just magic marketing, right? Just like that, word of mouth. So I encourage them to share. I encourage them to leave me a review. I encourage them to, I say to make sure they're on my mailing list. And I say, hope I'm gonna see you again soon. So I really am wrappin' that up with education, speaking my why, making sure that we close this experience in a right way. I also tell them when they can expect to hear from me again. Which is they're gonna be asking about that album. And so I say, you can expect your album to be in the mail by, you know, I give myself much longer. I say within a month of this date, it's usually a couple of weeks. That's how you really wrap that experience up and again, it's ending with education. You're still in control. (laughs) You're still telling them what you want them to do. They don't know, they don't know what you want them to do. Okay, so I just talked through the slide that I was gonna talk about that. Alright. That family, they fun. Those are my people. So now I feel like, I hope that, you could take a family right now, go grab your aunt or whoever you can and go out and actually execute a session. I want you to try it from start to finish. See if you can use some of things that you have learned today to really get out there and make something amazing for these families. This is a privilege. This is an absolute privilege. There are a lot of photographers out there and if somebody chooses you to take their picture, treat them like gold and give them something that is meaningful. Something's that's gonna be a family heirloom. Something that is a lot more than that stiff, boring surface photograph that we've all kind of come to know and accept, right. So you now have the tools to do that. And hopefully, you have the inspiration to make this into something legit. If you feel like you wanna go into business, don't second guess it. There's that little voice that's like, why would you want to do this? You have another career. Why would you want to do this? Your husband works, I don't know, whatever the reason being. If you have that drive, there is just as much creativity in business as there is in photography. I'm gonna tell you, it is really, really satisfying to know that you built something all by yourself and that you're supporting your family on it. It is awesome, I love it. Business is really great so if you have that drive, go for it, do it. Because trust me guys, if I can do it, you can do it. I started as a mom with a camera with no business experience at all, with no photography experience. I built my business with a 50 D and a 50 millimeter, I think it was like a, it was the one that was 300 bucks, 1.4 or whatever it wasn't even a fancy lens. And I built my business with that camera until I had enough money to buy a better one. And here I am today on CreativeLive. So you never freakin' know. Okay, I'm gonna end with one of my very favorite quotes because this speaks so much to me because I feel like it's very true. From the amazing Annie Leibovitz and it's, "A thing that you will see in my photographs is "that I wasn't afraid to fall in love with these people." And it's so true. I will tell you that after every session, it's very rare that I don't feel like I just made new friends. So don't be afraid to put yourself into your work and make this your artistic expression. It'll pay off.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
Armstrong Su
is super knowledgable, yet down-to-earth and relatable. I love how he explains the exact gear he uses but also describes ways to accomplish the same look using DIY and less expensive alternatives. The segment where he demos a live shoot in multiple, difficult lighting situations is worth the cost of the class alone! Bonus: He's super funny. He could probably double as a comedian on the side, but I digress. This class was informative, funny, and very practical for any photographer that wants to increase their profit and expand their business into the professional world. He gives all his prices and workflows so you can get up and running in 2 days! :) Awesome class overall, and it's a great sequel to his professional headshot class (which I also bought and loved.)
Sandra Kay Hayes
I am totally in tears watching this, and think that every person going into Photography should watch these. She is a great teacher, and helps us to understand our "why" so much better. I also LOVE that she helps one feel confident with the non-perfect, (or so called) shots, Thank you so much for giving me more confidence to shot what I love and not worry about "rules!!". Best class I've taken I will recommend her to every group I am in!!!
Julia Khris
Elena is a great presenter. Delivers information in a very fun and engaging way. This course would be good for a beginner photographer. She shares the basics, but unfortunately doesn't quite provide advice on the more tricky questions. She shares a lot about her current state of business (10 years in and making enough profit to afford hiring staff). This is great to know what to aim for, however, it would be more beneficial to hear more about HOW to get to this stage. The main idea that I took from this course is: outsource as many processes as you can. Elena doesn't have a very distinctive style (no offence, but there is a huge competition in the style and editing that she works with), I would love to hear her advice on how to win in such high competition, how to convince clients to choose you and pay higher price tag for an equal quality of work. This is a fairly inexpensive class, so I would recommend it to the beginners, but not to the more experienced photographers.