I am a wife and a mother of two young boys and I know how important it is to find a photographer that works well with my little family. I’ll tell you an experience that solidified what I DO NOT enjoy and you might relate. My hope is that this helps you or someone else out there.
“Watch Out, It’s A Photography Voucher!”
When my first-born was about 9 months old, my hubby and I found a photography voucher in our pile of stuff. It was given to us by our car salesman…I know, very weird connection! Let me also say, this was before I became a professional photographer. Anyway we felt like we had to use the voucher before it expired. So we contacted the photographer and booked ourselves in for an on-location session. Mind you we hadn’t done much research on this person. I think I only looked at his website portfolio and was happy with the few photos I saw. The voucher was valued in the 100s which we thought was A LOT. Big Mistake!
Photographer’s Personality Matters!
The session day came and we went to our neighbourhood park to meet the photographer. He was a middle-aged man and seemed like a nice enough person. He started the shoot and first thing I remember was that there was not a lot of guiding happening. Second thing was that he didn’t know how to grab the attention of our little boy. Now that I’m a family photographer, I know that having a few tricks up your sleeve is a must, especially for young kids. He finally asked us what game our son liked and we told him he chuckles when we say “I’m gonna get you!” in a cute voice. The photographer ended up sounding scary as he wasn’t using any kind of cute voice. He kept saying it over and over again and it just sounded super creepy. Meanwhile my husband and I were cracking up at how weird and casual it was that this guy was saying I’m going to get you to our little boy. Anyway, we somehow got through the session. He told us he’d get in touch after two weeks.
Check Full Price List Before Booking!
The day came to view our gallery. The photographer invited us to his office and he showed us the final edited photos on a nice big screen TV which was enjoyable. Some of the photos were beautiful! At this point we had no idea how much the prints would cost. He then proceeded to hand us a piece of paper with print pricing. Now this is when hubby and I looked at each other in disbelief. 1 print was in the 1000s! 1 PRINT! We were so naive to be tricked by that voucher! The photographer stepped out to give us some time to discuss before making our final decision. We were thinking this is ridiculously high for a print, but we couldn’t leave those pictures that we liked behind. To make a long story short, we got 5 prints for the price of 3 (a bit of my African haggling came into play). We learnt a big, expensive lesson that day! Saying that though, the pictures are still on our walls and we love them.
The Point.
So what’s the point of this post, you ask? As a business owner and photographer, I like being up front with people who want to book my services. Always, look at my social pages and my full prices before booking a session. Ask me questions!! I prefer not to surprise anybody during or after the session. To be honest, from a business point of view, it is nicer when we don’t have to discuss much about money after the booking is secured. Let’s make it a fun experience!
I’d like to know your experience, if any, with past photographers. Put it down in the comments below. Let’s laugh about it!
Now if you’re looking for a family photographer, Hi! My name’s Liyat…nice to meet you! I’m taking bookings for 2020, so check out my PRICES. Then let’s lock in a session date!