Competitive Edge - Be Nice

We had meetings with two couples this weekend and both of them told us horror stories about other photographers.  One couple told us that the photographer didn't say hardly anything at their first meeting and just sat across the table watching them while they looked at the price list...how creepy!  And a common story we're hearing is that photographers are dictating terms when it comes to the wedding day!  The most common issue is that many photographers won't photograph a wedding if the bride and groom don't want to see each other until the ceremony.  Really?  We even heard a story about a photographer kicking the parents of the bride out of the first pew, proclaiming, "no you can't sit there, that's my pew."  That same photographer had an assistant who wore low-rise jeans to the (very formal) wedding and had butt crack issues.  She even asked a bride's maid to pull up her jeans for her...eww.

Michelle and I found these stories very troubling and have vowed never to make those mistakes with our clients.  First and foremost, photography is about customer service.  Believe it or not, providing good customer service isn't that hard.

Rule number one: You're hiring us, we're not hiring you.  In other words, the bride and groom (and family) get to decide what their wedding day will be like, not us.  We're happy to provide tips and advice for the best photography results, but we never issue demands.  Also, we're friendly, easy to talk to, and we take some time to get to know you while we're talking business.  We want to understand your personalities so that it shows through in your wedding pictures.  We also want you to be comfortable with us so that you're relaxed and having fun in your photographs.

Rule number two: Offer products that our clients want.  The most asked about product that we offer is a Master DVD with copyright release.  I know this is a controversial issue in the photography world and offering such a product may cut into a studio's bottom line.  However, if you're like me, my personal photo library has 16,000+ images from nearly every period of my life (I've converted a lot of old family negatives, thanks Mom).  To have a big gaping hole in my digital library on my wedding day just wouldn't have worked for me.  Nearly all of our packages come with a Master DVD with copyright release.  All of our packages are 100% flexible.  Need another hour of coverage?  Add it on!  Want a different size album?  No problem!  Did you see a product that another photographer offered?  Let us know, we can probably get it for you.

Rule number three: Be professional on the wedding day (and every other time we interact with clients).  We dress appropriately, we're flexible, and we realize that we are some of the very few people that will be with you for nearly every part of your wedding day.  That's a pretty important thing to remember since a bossy, demanding photographer can ruin the entire day.  We love weddings and have genuinely had a lot of fun at every wedding we've photographed.  We're photographers because we love the job, and it shows.

I'm sure there are some things I forgot, but these three rules are very important to us.

With each couple we meet with, I'm realizing more and more that our attitude and our demeanor with our clients is our single most valuable asset, and it gives us a big competitive edge.  So, if the characteristics I described above are what you're looking for in a photographer, come see us!