You’ve managed to find a client, and actually booked and completed a session. Most of the work is done now, right? Wrong. There’s still plenty of work to do even after you’ve put in the face-to-face work. Here are five things I do after every session to make the client as happy as possible, to take full business advantage of the session, and to lay down the foundation for booking a repeat session.
Weed through and edit your photos
The first step is going through the possible hundreds of photos (depending on your personal photo success ratio) from a session and pick out the best ones that you will then edit. The number of photos that make it through this process depends on how many pictures turn out well and the number of photos that you and your client previously agreed on. Afterward (except for the occasional miracle photo), your photographs from the session will need to be edited, from basic retoning (temperature, exposure, highlights/shadows) to more heavy-duty touching up (teeth whitening, composite slicing, background cloning). You’ll probably make copies of some of your photos and edit them in several different ways (different people have different tastes in art). This step may also include adding your logo as a watermark on the photographs.
Post a teaser photo on your social media
This is a great way to give your clients a sneak peak of their pictures and to get them excited. I always try to post a preview the night after their session or the next day. I first post it on my Facebook page and then if I’m actually friends with them on Facebook I will share the post from my page on their wall. This way, their friends and family are more likely to see my work and are able to track back to my photography page easily. (Just make sure you’ve included a model release statement in their contract.) I’ve gotten several new clients in this way. People are more likely to book you when they see someone they’re emotionally attached to have used your services. Also, this method allows your clients more privacy than just tagging them on the post on your Facebook page, which allows anyone and everyone to track them down through your page and see them and their family. I respect my clients’ privacy and thus do not post their names along with their photos unless it’s on their personal page where they’re able to control the privacy settings.
Send pictures to the client
After you’ve edited the photos to their full potential, it’s time to send them off to your clients in whichever form was previously agreed to. For me, I use a personal online gallery where they can view and download their pictures. I send them the link to their gallery in an email in which I also thank them for their business, tell them how much I enjoyed photographing their family, ask them to contact me if they have any questions or need anything tweaked, and finally, ask them for a five-star rating with provided links to both my Facebook business page and my Google listing. It’s important to make it as easy as possible for them to leave you a positive review. If my client doesn’t respond in a day or two that they’ve received their pictures, I message them through my Facebook business page if we’ve talked on the page before. If we have not communicated through the Facebook page, then I wait 3 days before emailing them again to make sure they’ve received their pictures.
Send a handwritten thank-you note
I have yet to meet a person who doesn’t enjoy getting a piece of mail that isn’t a bill or a piece of junk. Taking the time to write a thank-you note will set you apart from other people they have done business with. In my thank-you note I include one of my business cards and a 4×6 collage of some of the photos from their session. Since my clients usually only get a digital copy from me, having a tangible product from their session gives them some ideas of what they can do with their photos and can remind them to get their photos printed if they haven’t already. Also, whenever they see that collage they will think of me and our time together. Including my business card in the card as well makes it easy for them to pass my information along to their family and friends. In the thank-you card I thank them again for the business, recall something positive from their session (e.g., their son was so cute; their baby was the most well behaved baby; everyone’s outfits were way on point), and ask them to please think of me whenever they or someone they know are in need of a photographer. At about maybe a $1.20 per session, this is a very effective marketing tool.
Keep posting to social media!
After the photos and cards are sent off, I spread out posting other photos from the session on the various social media platforms. For every session I put together at least one Pinterest pin and pin it on my business Pinterest page. I also choose the best picture from each session and post it to my online gallery on my website to keep it fresh and up to date. Over the next couple months mixed in with photos from other sessions I will post various pictures on to both Facebook and Instagram. Remember, though, only to share your best work. It’s better to post 5 really good pictures than 25 photos that are only so-so. Also make sure you post only watermarked photos to deter people from stealing them.
After completing these five steps, it’s time to go on to the next session and start all over again! What’s something you always make sure you do as a photographer after a session? We’d love to hear about it! Comment below!