Kent Wedding Photographer - Personal Skills

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I had another great question from George Bain this week (keep 'em coming George - you're a good source of inspiration for blog posts!):

David,

What are your tips for relaxing your subjects for a shoot? You are regularly praised for this ability - do you slip something in their drinks? :)

George

Hi George,

I'm incredibly charming, charismatic and witty (modest, also) which helps. ;-)

People skills are diffcult to teach but are absolutely essential to success as a wedding photographer. Reputations are readily tarnished.

Some thoughts connected to your question:

1. You really need to like being with people. If you're not naturally gregarious and prefer the solitude of landscape photography then shooting weddings may not be for you.

2. Although this sounds obvious, don't forget how important the day is to your clients. It's easy to become blase when you do a wedding every weekend.

3. Leave your ego and attitude behind. Don't be a prima donna.

4. You need to adapt your interactions to the client. Some are incredibly chummy, others more distant in their dealings with you. Establishing a good rapport and trust is crucial though.

5. People usually look terrific. Tell them! Also, show them how good they look in the photos. Let them see a few shots on your digital camera's LCD. People are generally surprised at how good they look when their picture is taken by a good photographer with top quality kit.

5. Make people laugh. A bit of witty banter generally helps but, again, you need to judge your clients carefully.

6. You should also be helpful and efficient in your pre- and post-wedding interactions.

Yours,

David

There's an old adage in business: if you do a good job your customers may tell 4 of their friends, if you do a bad job they'll tell 30 of their friends!

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