How to successfully prepare for a session
Hey friends, I want to chat about how to prepare well for a session with one of your clients! I feel like there’s a lot of talk on different aspects of the editing process after the shoot, what to do during the shoot, but not a lot on how to prep well for one of your sessions. Now don’t get me wrong - I think those things are so important too, but hey let’s chat about the beforehand process as well! Below I will share 5 tips on the things I like to do to be prepared well for a client shoot.
1. Have your contracts ready!
Contracts are important to have for your session - these set the stage for a legitimate and professional business transaction. Not to mention they can also save your butt if something goes wrong! Having these contracts solidifies your image as a professional business owner and it helps strengthen trust between you and your client. It protects you and them if something happens. It shows your client you know what you are doing, and you care about doing it well, and doing it professionally.
2. Plan intake call
These are key to having a successful session! During your intake call you can go over many different things about the session so that you know exactly what your client wants, and go over all the deets. Chat about posing, what shots they want, any location ideas they have, why they want this shoot done, wardrobe ideas for their outfits, and you can also go over your contract with them during this time. These calls are also important so that you get to know your client before your session. You can get a feel for their personality, how they relate, what kind of things they are excited or nervous about the shoot etc. You also get an idea during this call on how well you and your client mesh together, and you can get a better idea from there on how you want to go about your session.
3. Research different poses
Posing! Who would want to show up to a shoot and have no idea how to pose their clients?? Sounds like a nightmare to me honestly. This is so critical in order to have a successful shoot and for your clients to enjoy their time with you. Most people that come to shoots have no idea really what to do or how to pose well for the photos they want to get - this is where you come in! Once you know how many people are in your session, and what they are looking for - research and plan out the different poses you want to have them do! Come to the session prepared, and with lots of different ideas so that if one doesn’t play out, you have another pose you can try. It can be difficult at the start to remember all the poses and that is okay, that's totally normal. The more you do shoots, and learn different poses the more you will be able to remember them and not have to panic before the shoot that you won’t remember the poses you planned for them. It takes time and practice - just like anything else in life does!
4. Make sure your camera is empty & you have backup SD cards
There was one time I showed up to a shoot and halfway through my card was full - let me tell you this was not a good feeling. I had to awkwardly try and delete photos in between poses and man, was it awkward! And I didn’t even have a spare SD card with me. Soooo let me help you not have this happen by telling you one simple tip - check your camera before every session. Even if you are pretty sure it’s empty or it has enough memory left, check to make sure. I promise you it will save you sometime, and you will be eternally grateful you did. The other part of this is having a spare SD card - that way if your other card happens to be full, or it corrupts or something else happens to it - you will be prepared. Always be prepared my friends, check and double check so that you can learn from my past mistakes. :)
5. If you have kids coming, have a prize box (or something similar)!
I do a lot of family shoots - and you can imagine I meet many different kiddos. Ya know, some kids just need something they can look forward to after the shoot in order to smile and cooperate well - hey this is where you come in! I like having a prize box with me when I go to shoots with kids older than about 2 years old. When I meet the family I let the kids know that if they smile big and cooperate, that I have a prize box for them after. And let me tell you - this works 98% of the time for me. Yes, you will encounter some kids that don’t care either way. But most of the time, they will care and they will do what it takes to get that prize. This has saved me many times in family sessions, and I ended up getting lovely family pictures because of it.
So there are 5 key tips to help you prepare successfully before a shoot with your clients. Putting these things into place will help you run your shoot much smoother, and make your clients feel like they can trust you and that you know what you are doing in order to make their shoot a fun and successful time.
