There are a few things that clients really look for in your portfolio when they are looking to hire you as their photographer. Sometimes it is specific things in your portfolio that get you hired, but most of the time it is the way that you make a potential client feel as they look at your images. When they feel something, they think, “I must hire this photographer!”
Read more: 5 Ways to Create Loyal Repeat Maternity and Newborn Clients
Your images should connect with your potential clients and make them realize that you can provide them with something that they don’t already have or can’t create themselves. Here are a few ways you can create photos that are sure to get you clients.
This post contains affiliate links. Thank you in advance for supporting Click It Up A Notch.
-
No.01Appeal To Moms
Let’s be real. It’s the moms who hire us. Not always, but 99% of the time I am hired by moms. Because I know this, I try to appeal to my mom market with every image I take. I like to create honest images of mothers with their children, showing my potential client moms that I will get sweet images of them with their children…something that most moms don’t usually have.
-
No.02Portray Honesty
Anyone can get a photo of a person looking at the camera, but it takes time and skill to get a truly honest portrait of someone. I love to fill my portfolio with images that contain truly candid moments, as they portray the most honesty. I want my potential clients to know that, yes I can get photos of their children looking at me, but I can also capture candids of them truly being themselves. It is those candid photos that get my clients to email me and schedule a session.
-
No.03Have Cohesive Images
Having a clear photography style is the biggest way you can get clients. When you have a clear photography style, it speaks for you as a photographer. It allows your images to do the talking and the selling.
Having a photography style means that your images are cohesive and they flow together effortlessly. It means that, no matter where you are and what your subjects are, your images contain the same style each and every time.
This is what gets you hired, each and every time. Clients like to see a professional who has a photography style, because it means that the photographer will deliver the images that they are hired to create.
Need help finding your photography style? Begin your journey with finding your own unique style with The Styled Photographer.
-
No.04Show Unity and Love
Creating images that tug at the heartstrings is always a tried and true way to get clients. Having images that show unity and love makes clients want to hire you so you can make their family look that way too. Create images in which the mom is the focal point, allowing her to shine and be proud of the family that surrounds her. Because doesn’t any mom want to have a beautiful photo of her family loving one another?
-
No.05Provide A Variety
Be sure that you provide a variety of images within your sessions to show off your talents and show clients that you will give them a lot of different things, all with the same style of course. Be sure your portfolio is full of images that are both far away to capture the scene, and close up to capture their children’s beautiful eyes. Photograph from up high and down low to offer different perspectives, showing your potential client that you create unique images.
I like to photograph my sessions with my Sigma 50mm f/1.4 lens for portraits and my Sigma Art 24mm f/1.4 lens to utilize it’s wide angle for storytelling.
-
No.06Tell A Story
As you are creating a variety of images from a variety of different angles, you are showing your clients that you can tell a story. Gone are the days when clients want pictures of them simply staring at the camera. Today clients want photos of them interacting with one another and showing emotion. By taking the time to have fun with your clients during your session, you will create stories through your images. And these are the images that clients will hire you for.
It really is how you make a client feel that convinces them that you are the right photographer for them. Knowing that you need to appeal to their emotions, work towards building a portfolio that shows your potential clients that you can offer something that others cannot. All this being said, stay true to yourself as a photographer and create images that make you happy first and foremost. It’s important that your images inspire you as it will motivate you to stay creative.
Find more posts to help you get clients:
– 9 Ways to Create a Thriving Photography Business
– 5 Ways to Create Loyal Repeat Maternity and Newborn Clients
Oh my goodness Beth, I loved this article so so SO much!!! You have articulated perfectly everything that I already felt about storytelling photography, plus tons of perspectives that I hadn’t necessarily thought of, but it all makes complete sense! I am at the beginning stage of building my photography skills, and plan to one day start my own photography business. I love the lifestyle/storytelling style, and am relieved to read that it is becoming more of what clients are resonating with. Can I ask your opinion on lenses? I’ve outgrown my kit lens, and I’ve read an article on your blog re: the only 2 lenses you use – but do you think that these lenses would still be ‘go-to’s’ on a crop sensor camera? I’ve got the Canon 550D. I’ve read a fair bit about the Sigma 24mm and 35mm Art Lenses, but not sure what would be best, especially for taking indoor shots when you may not be able to get back as far. And looking for minimal distortion. Something that can get me started in starting a business, without having to outlay for a full frame camera just yet! Thank you! Tania
Great article! You put into words exactly what I aim for. And, your point about getting great photos of mom is perfect! Moms are usually the ones behind the camera in day-to-day life.