Alright, Step one Meeting Your Client. Now at this point you've already gotten your website up, you're ready to go, Your business is good. You have everything you need to do to shoot something and now you're basically ready to book your jobs, meet your clients and get going. So the first thing you're gonna do is meet a new client. Now, if you're shooting a wedding or headshots, sometimes this requires a meeting in person. Usually over weddings you want to meet in person because you want to make sure that you can kind of jive with that person you want to be yourself, you wanna explain to them what you do, how long you've been doing it uh and show them that you can really be personable and make them feel comfortable. I mentioned this earlier before, but having your photo being taken is very vulnerable and knowing that your photographer is confident what they do and makes you feel comfortable is like a huge selling point for a person who's hiring a photographer often with portraits and he...

adshots, you're not necessarily meeting the person in person, but you may have a phone conversation and so the tips are to make them feel comfortable and be yourself because you don't wanna come off as rude or fake or overly abundant because they're going to expect that when you're actually shooting or that may be too much for them and they may want someone a little bit more mellow. So this also comes into effect when you're shooting an event or headshots when there's other people around that may want to hire you. This is also a place where you can get new clients. So you're shooting a wedding uh and people see you working really hard, you're running back and forth, you're running up the aisle, you're running around the dance floor and they see the bride and groom having a great time. Everyone's happy. People are gonna ask you who you are, where your business card comes from, all sorts of things to get you to work with them. And if you're not being yourself and being truthfully honest as you are as a photographer, people are gonna come up to you and talk to you. So again, being yourself, being pleasant to everyone around you, even if they're holding a cell phone up in front of you. Just politely asking me the way is a really good example of how you can maintain that sort of composure while you're shooting and get new clients. So that also happens when you're shooting with your clients. Again to use weddings as an example when you're shooting the couple often you have a bridal party, you have parents around. These are all potential clients or they're all people that could refer you to somebody else. So making sure that you're doing everything correctly, being as polite as possible to not only your subjects, but everyone around, you will also lead to more clients. This also works when you're doing head shots or portrait photography if they've brought a friend or if they are done with their photo session and they want to recommend you, they're going to remember how great you made them feel along with the wonderful photos that you've taken. So keep that in mind while you're shooting, not only while you're meeting people, also when you're collecting your final payment on the day after you've been done shooting all day or just before you want to make sure to be as polite as possible and make sure that that transaction is smoothly and works well. You have contracts to back you up. You have conversations and emails to back you up if there's ever a problem. So just be, you know, as mellow and as polite as possible. It'll make everyone's experience great and it could potentially get you your next job or keep you from it. A real quick tip for you when you're having a meeting for the first time with a potential client for a wedding or an event. It's nice to sometimes bring printed out priceless and stuff. So you can kind of go over it physically with your couple. Um That's really kind of like a nice touch. You can also, if you want bring photo samples or a book if you printed out. Um it's always really nice to have a centerpiece that you guys can kind of converse over, talk about your style, talk about what they're looking for um and more than anything, make them feel comfortable about spending all that money on you.

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Philip Ebiner

Professional video & course creator, photographer & teacher to 1mil+ students; 10+ years experience with 1000+ videos.

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Will Carnahan

11+ years experience as a cinematographer, camera operator, and photographer. Working with Disney, Nike, ESPN, PredPol and many others.

2,000+ classes ranging from fundamentals to advanced techniques.

Step 1 - Meeting Your Client

Step 1 - Meeting Your Client

Lesson Info

46. Step 1 - Meeting Your Client

Lessons

Welcome

Why Do You Want to Start a Photography Business

What Kind of Photography Business Do You Want to Start

Important Personal Note from Instructor Will

Case Study Starting a Photography Business

Quiz - Chapter 1

Introduction to Basics of Starting a Photography Business

Choose Your Business Name

Choose Your Business Structure

Register Your Business Name

Get Your Federal Tax ID

Get Your Business License

Get Your Business Bank Account

Register Your Online Accounts

Branding Your Business

Set Your Prices

The Photography Gear You Need to Start a Business

Case Study - Business Basics

Case Study - Equipment

Quiz - Chapter 2

Intro to Getting Your First Paying Clients

You Need to Prove Yourself

The Best Place to Find Your First Clients

What to Charge for Your First Clients

On Set - Partnering with Other Creatives

On Set - Getting Work in a Competitive Environment

Use Your First Shoot Wisely

Case Study - Getting Your First Clients

Quiz - Chapter 3

Introduction to Create Your Photography Business Website

Why You Need a Website and Platform Options

What Needs to Be On Your Website

Design the Perfect Portfolio

Case Study - Looking at Photography Websites

Quiz - Chapter 4

Introduction to Expanding Your Online Presence

Use Instagram to Grow Your Business

Use Facebook to Grow Your Business

Get Listed on Google

Get Listed on Yelp

Get Listed on Review Sites

Using Craigslist to Get Work

Case Study - Expanding Your Online Presence

Quiz - Chapter 5

Introduction to the Photography Business Workflow

Step 1 - Meeting Your Client

Step 2 - Booking Your Client

Step 3 - The Shoot

Step 4 - Editing Your Photos

Step 5 - Delivering Your Photos

Case Study - Business Workflow

On Set - the Shoot

On Set - Backdrop Placement

On Set - Paper Backdrop Rolls

On Set - The Back Light

On Set - Interacting with Clients

Quiz - Chapter 6

Intro to Business Infrastructure and Continued Growth

Productivity Tools to Make Your More Efficient

Get Business Insurance

Accounting Tools & Tips

Business Tax Tips

Scaling Your Prices Up

Use Conventions and Meet Ups to Grow Your Business

Case Study - Business Growth

Quiz - Chapter 7

Intro to the Selling Prints Section

Why Should You Sell Your Prints

Choose a Printer

How to Price Your Prints

Selling Your Prints Online

Selling Your Prints in Person

Wrapping up This Section

Quiz - Chapter 8