One way to hire a photographer when you’re a photographer is to hold a “session swap” where you each agree to photograph each other’s families. Many times, photographers swap memory cards to ensure the final edits are on-brand for your own business. This is a great idea most of the time. It will save you money, and as a small business owner, that’s always a good thing! Post the offer in a local Facebook group to see who might be down to swap sessions with you.

Every once in a while, though, I would highly recommend going through the entire process of booking a session with another photographer at full price as an actual, bonafide client, just like everyone else. You might be surprised by how the experience will affect how you run your business moving forward. It certainly has for me.

I’ll give a few examples of how this experience has affected my business practices…

Shoot 1

Much earlier in my career, I searched high and low for a photographer to capture an important milestone in my family’s lives. I carefully considered editing styles, attention to detail in location selections, and how the clients appeared in the photos in their portfolios. When I decided on the one I wanted to hire, I reached out just like anyone else would through their contact form.

Even though I knew this photographer, they still had me sign a contract, which, interestingly, changed how I related to them. From then on, I felt nervous about the shoot, like there was a separation between my family and them. Signing a contract shifted our relationship from friendly comrades to transactional client/ business. Since it was a transaction, I guess that makes sense, but it was off-putting how a bunch of legal jargon can shift the flavor of a relationship.

Though I do use contracts for portrait sessions now as my prices have increased and more is at stake every time I go out to shoot, at the time, I wasn’t having my portrait clients sign contracts, and the experience of this shoot made me glad I didn’t. I really and truly wanted (and still do want) my clients to feel like family.

After painstakingly choosing this photographer, I discovered they delivered only ten images for a portrait session. I had a hard time with that number, knowing that I delivered so many more photos for a comparable price, but I didn’t want to go back to the drawing board at that point. So, I signed up for my date and the ten photos and started preparing for the shoot with hair and makeup appointments and outfit selections.

The shoot went splendidly well. I gave up all control and did everything the photographer said. I was pleased with the location and lighting choices. The posing cues were complete and left us feeling well taken care of. I left the shoot so excited to see the final images that looked so good on the back of their screen.

After so many years, I don’t remember how long it took to see the photos. I don’t remember being overly wowed by how fast it was, and I also don’t remember thinking it took too long to get a peek.

What I will never forget is the delivery. I was delivered a viewing gallery of 150 perfectly edited and beautiful photos and told to choose my 10. It was hard, but I did. Though I was flabbergasted that they would edit ALL of the images to deliver only 10, I was prepared for it to be 10. And then I found out why…

The photographer told me that for an additional $XXX, I could have all 150 of them. The upsell is what knocked me off balance. There was nothing in the paperwork about this sales move that was awaiting me at the end of the road. It felt dirty to dangle the full gallery in front of me and offer it at an up-charge. I declined out of disgust. I’ll be honest. Even now, when I see one of the ten photos I purchased from that shoot, I feel yucky remembering that upsell.

From that shoot, I learned the effect of the contract on the client relationship and that if there is to be an upsell, the photographer should be upfront about it from the start and not try to “trick” the client into the sale at the end.

I also learned the importance of underpromise/over-deliver because this photographer did not do it. I was delivered exactly the amount promised, not an image more. While I realize it’s unnecessary to underpromise/ overdeliver, most do, so “not doing it” feels equivalent to your spouse not getting you flowers on Valentine’s Day. It may not be that powerful of a gesture in the first place because it’s expected for a spouse to buy flowers, but if they don’t. Well, that’s worse. Call me needy, but that’s how I felt about not getting some over-delivery in the process.

Shoot 2

As we do these days, I was scrolling my phone when I saw a post by a photographer friend of mine, Samantha. She was holding Mommy and Me sessions. I had an instant “I want to do it!” feeling and immediately checked the date on my calendar. As fortune would have it, my husband was out of town that weekend, and the kids were all mine.

The price was right, and I loved everything about Samantha’s work, so I signed up and paid for the session without texting her first. I chose my time slot on her website and then was prompted to check the box to agree to the terms of the shoot. It felt much more “part of the process” than an official contract, even though I know that’s what it was.

I received an automated confirmation email to let me know I had completed my booking, and I got to work figuring out our outfits. Excellent! Simple and easy. I loved the booking process! I know this sounds silly, but I loved that I didn’t have to wait for a response from Samantha herself. Even though I know her, I liked not having one more email in my inbox to respond to.

As luck would have it, my husband was back from his trip a bit early and was able to come along to the shoot on a Sunday evening. I asked Samantha if he could pop in a few photos even though it was a Mommy and Me shoot. I made sure to let her know it was okay to say no. She said it was fine, and I felt like I was getting something extra…a definite over-deliver moment! I don’t get many opportunities to have all six of us together for professional photos. My older boys are adults now, so it was a dream come true to get an updated, complete family photo for our wall.

When I was wondering where to go at the vast state park Samantha had designated the day before the shoot, I got an email with all the details, including an exact map pin for where to find her.

When we arrived at the location a few minutes early, as directed, Samantha was right on time. We briefly chatted as we walked to the first spot, and she got to work. We got tons of combinations in a concise amount of time. The posing direction was excellent, and I was super happy with the location and lighting choices. She knew the location well and was able to keep us comfortable on a SUPER windy and chilly day. The kids listened to her, and she kept it short and sweet while also considering our needs and wants. I would LOVE the result from what I saw on the back of her camera. I walked away with a BIG smile, feeling great.

We went out to dinner at South Country Brewing in York, PA, as a family in our nice clothes along our hour-long drive home, which added to the positive experience. It was an adventure! We got the little kids cleaned up and into bed as soon as we arrived home. As we were saying goodnight, I got a text from Samantha with eight sneak peeks on my phone! And I LOVED them!!!! I was NOT expecting that. I ran around showing everyone the photos. She shared an image that included something special for each of us, so I had something to share with everyone in my family. The whole family seemed pleased with the results, which made me even happier.

Even though I wanted to post them right away, I knew I wanted to save them for Mother’s Day and our Anniversary in June. So, I waited.

Then, two days later, as I was explaining how amazing the client experience was to my LPS Plus Members in our weekly Office Hours Q&A session, my watch buzzed with a text message. I glanced and saw it was a message from Samantha, and it read, “Fun email coming your way in about 5 minutes!”

When I checked my email 20 minutes after ending the online meeting, it was our full gallery! Even though I deliver galleries that quickly to my clients, I’ve never had another photographer complete them that quickly for me. I was ecstatic! And it wasn’t ten images, my friends. It was 86 color images and all the same images in black and white, too. And I loved all of them! I was over the moon!

Knowing there were so many, I thought I could save a few special ones for Mother’s Day and our anniversary, and I felt good about sharing a few others on social media. Unfortunately, with a lot on my plate that week, I didn’t get to post them even though I wanted to. Thankfully, Samantha posted a few, and I was able to share them. That was so helpful!

Around this time, I decided I wanted to blog the session for you all. So, I let myself off the hook about posting the pictures. I also knew I would share later for those special days I mentioned. This made me realize that just because clients don’t share immediately doesn’t mean they aren’t 100% in love with the photos.

Before the session, I was a little worried about whether I would be okay with Samantha’s slightly different editing style. While most lay people wouldn’t notice a difference, we edit our photos differently. I wondered if I would feel comfortable posting pictures in a different editing style to my @meganhofferphotography social media pages. I even worried I might not like the photos due to this difference.

Being financially invested at a total price allowed me to feel what my clients probably feel before a shoot. Will my kids like her? Will they listen to her directions? Will she take charge, or will I need to step in if they act out? How will she handle the older boys feeling silly posing with Mom? What if it’s cold, and you can see it in the photos? Will I like the location choices? Will I like how I look in the pictures? Will the emotion look fake? Will I like the editing style? Will I like how the photos look in my house? If the answer to these questions is no, I just flushed my hard-earned money down the toilet.

When I opened the gallery and started scrolling, my brain went like this: “Oh, the editing style is a little different…I would have done the greens differently in that one, and…OMG, LOOK HOW CUTE THAT ONE IS! OMG, I LOVE that one! Look how big Issac has grown!” I will describe my face as the heart-eye emoji with hearts bubbling out of my head. My heart almost exploded with the emotion I felt when I looked at my family and how Samantha captured how I felt about them.

I no longer saw “editing style.” I felt emotion instead. And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? While I still believe that an editing style that you very much dislike would affect how you feel about the photos, in the end, I think the edit matters a whole lot less than I previously gave it credit for. The posing instruction and the photographer’s ability to make people feel comfortable enough to show real emotion and then have the skill to capture those micro-moments between people when they actually look great is the real magic. Samantha delivered just that and more.

I also noticed how we all liked a different family photo for different reasons. The photo Samantha chose to post and use as the cover photo for the gallery was different from what I would choose to share and put on our wall. There is no way she could have known my reasoning for liking the other one more, and Marc liked the one she posted best, too.

Samantha took the family photo she and Marc best liked on a hill. The hill evened out everyone’s height differences, making it appear that Isaac was the tallest in the middle and Marc was as tall as the “big boys” on the upside of the hill. Everyone’s smiles were better in that photo as well. Marc liked that he looked tall, but I worried Andrew wouldn’t like it because he appeared so short. I think it’s fun to showcase how tall Andrew and Isaac are, so I picked the photo taken on even ground for that reason, and I also liked the lighting in that spot better. The greens were also closer to how I edit greens, so there’s that as well.

Samantha and Marc liked the photo on the left. I liked the photo on the right.

The takeaway here is that the photographer can’t always know which photo the client will like best. I’m constantly surprised by which photos my clients download and order from their galleries. So, ultimately, delivering more photos rather than less is always a great idea. The culling process is complex, but keep this story in mind and consider including a few from each location for the client rather than using your “professional eye” to select “the one” best photo. You won’t always know why the clients choose the photo they do as their favorite. You can’t say.

Lastly, I want to point out that men can be just as critical of how they appear in photos as women. Marc and I are constantly at odds about the best photo of us because of our insecurities. Understanding common insecurities and posing people in ways to minimize them is a fundamental skill. Sometimes, I wonder if photographers only worry about how the women look in the photos. I think this is a topic for another day, though. Samantha did an excellent job posing for both of us, and I appreciated her ability to pose us in ways that complimented each of our positive attributes.

The overall takeaway is that having an experience from the client’s perspective where you go through another photographer’s entire process and have skin in the game (you pay full price like everyone else) can be a compelling insight into how you choose to run your photography business. The key is to be mindful as you go through it and of how you feel during the different parts of the process while also considering your ideal client’s perspective, which may be a little different from your own. I’m already reconsidering my booking process and gallery delivery site! I highly suggest booking a session with another photographer as often as you can make it happen. Plus, it’s a business marketing and market research expense!

If you are a photographer struggling with the posing process, we have a Portrait and Wedding Photography Posing Class on Sunday, June 2, 2024, from 1-5 p.m. at TCF in Lancaster. It will be the last time we hold this class in person. As such, a video team from Shawn Fisher Productions is coming to record it for our LPS Enrolled Members to watch anytime in their Online Educational Hub. So, join us if you’re local, or look for our announcement that the class is available in The Hub very soon if you’re not.

Good luck in this busy season. Below are the color photos from my most recent photoshoot with Samantha Jean Photography. And, as always, stay consistent, my friends!

Xx - Megan Hoffer