It’s a Slow Burn - But It’s Worth It
“If you’re not giving clients an opportunity to complete booking without talking to you, you’re doing it wrong.” I was a little shaken by the insinuation - or actually, the full-on statement - that the way I’m running my business is too slow.
People don’t want to go through a whole “process” to book, she said. They just want to click on a date, pick a time, and have it be done. They don’t want to spend time on a call with a human, they don’t want to talk about it. They just want it done.
I get it - when I’m looking for an exterminator to come out to take care of a yellow jacket’s nest on the corner of my house (they’re coming tomorrow, btw), I don’t need to have a relationship with the person coming before they come. I don’t need to make sure we’re a good fit - either they show up and do the job correctly or they don’t. I call the company, talk to someone (not the technician) and schedule the first available appointment.
But I am not an exterminator, your family is not a hornet’s nest (despite the feeling of chaos), and the photos we make together are not a task to check off a list. At the very least they’re considered a project. But more than that, the photos we make together are art. Art is not a commodity, it’s not something that’s done “correctly or not.” It’s completely subjective and it requires clarity and understanding on everyone’s part.
Yes, I want the process to be as smooth and simple as possible, and yes, I want you to feel like it’s fun and easy. But in my experience, it is none of those things if we don’t do a call first. If we don’t talk through expectations and hopes, if you don’t tell me why you want to hire me in the first place.
If all you tell me you want are “captured memories” but you balk at giving me any details, it’s going to be really hard for me to know what you really want, and to deliver that at the end of our time together.
So while the process to book with me might be longer than other photographers, particularly in this age of gone-in-a-flash attention spans and the ability to book whomever whenever, I won’t be changing up how we book hour-long sessions anytime soon. We both need to know that we’re a good fit to work together, that we want the same things, and we’re in it for the same reasons. To document your family doing what you love, with the people you love. That’s a project that can’t be rushed. But when we’re done, it’s totally worth it. (See proof below.)
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