If you are a professional photographer, you want to do everything you can to meet client demands and get the best pictures you can. Of course, this is difficult if you haven’t met your client before.
Fortunately, you can change this by preparing a client questionnaire that answers everything you need to know about these people and gives them an opportunity to share what they want from the session. If you are not sure where to start with preparing this document, consider the following five tips.
1. Ask About the People
Start your photography client questionnaire by asking directly about the people who will be at the session. Ask about any children that will be there, what their ages are, and what some of their favorite hobbies or toys are so that you can keep them involved.
Ask the names of everyone who will be at the session so that you can easily recognize the individuals when you arrive and make a personalized experience. Finally, ask about any interests that any adult or teenage family members have so that you have some posing ideas or prop incorporation ideas.
2. Gather Responses on Photo Inspiration
Let your clients have a voice during the photography session by asking them the types of photos they would like to have. Ask them even the type of editing techniques they enjoy and if they have any inspiration saved to sites like Pinterest.
Clients often will also share ideas that they may have in mind for locations so that you can get a feel of the types of images they want. Don’t be afraid either to ask them if they want black and white photos, or if they would rather you did not edit in that manner.
3. Learn About Session Priorities
Every photography client has one or two images that they want to make sure you capture before the end of the session. Make sure that you ask on your questionnaire exactly what images they cannot live without for their experience. To make the session more personalized too, you can ask the client the types of poses that they want to incorporate. Seek out information to determine if they would prefer their photos to look more formal and posed or more candid and lighthearted.
4. Know What the Plans are for the Photos
Towards the end of your client questionnaire, ask what the plans are for the edited images. Some individuals may simply keep the images digital while others may want to showcase the images in a frame or as a canvas print. If you know that someone wants to make a gallery wall from the photos, for instance. You also need to know if you need to get varying degrees of the group and solo shots. If they want a canvas print, make sure that you have clear background for the image or that you do not have too many close-ups.
5. Ask How They Heard of Your Business
At the very bottom of the photography questionnaire, ask your new client how they heard about your business. Of course, you don’t have to do this with clients you have worked with before. This helps you to know about how people are learning about your business so that you can continue reaching out in that way. It will help you to find more clients in the future when you continue using the marketing tools that actually work for your business’ growth.
Final Thoughts
As a photographer, you get to meet so many different and wonderful people when you gain new clients for sessions. To get to know these people better, devise a questionnaire you can send out before the session actually starts that will give you the personal information you want to know.
Your clients will also feel appreciated as these questionnaires make them feel valued and respected by you as the photographer. Start creating your personalized document for your specific clients today by incorporating the information from the five tips that are found in the information above.
