Photography Talk: Shaping the Session Around your Client

It looked like an assembly line of pictures. Everyone had the same pose, the same backdrop, the same expression and the same lighting. As we passed out wallets, one thing became painfully obvious: we had all gone to the same photographer.

I knew when I started my own studio, I was going to be different. I was going to vary up the locations, backdrops, and not have every image look the same as the session before. At first, it was easy. I only had a few clients. But as I've grown, this became more of a challenge. Thankfully, I was developing as a photographer and learning important lessons.

Instead of shaping my clients to my style of photography, I shape my photography around THEM. What I mean is, I am not going to photograph two people the same. Each person has a unique style, personality and things they are passionate about. If I really get to know them, I am going to be able to capture the real them. This, in turn, allows me to have great variety in the results.

Case in point, in the last week, I photographed these two beautiful blonde Class of 2012 grads, and their results were stunningly varied because their styles and personalities are very different.