Prioritizing Client Experience for Photography Success

A glittlerbomb of a photo (in-camera technique btw, not Photoshop) to match a glitterbomb of truth (that's a @missymwac saying) that I'm about to let loose. One of the biggest questions I get from photographers is about how to stand out in the oversaturated photography market. This question is very often sidelined by a string of complaints about about how there are too many photographers and consumers don't value photography and everyone is undercutting them. Yes, there are more photographers than ever before, but there are also more people than ever before, and photography is in more demand than ever before BUT your photography IS NOT what gets you to stand out. Why? Because your clients, while they DO value photography, do not have a trained photographic eye and typically cannot tell the difference between a good and great photograph. They don't know "correct" posing and they'll choose real emotions in their photos over our very best poses any day of the week. A comment from my previous post triggered all of this. Not just because I was mildly irate at anyone nitpicking my client's bodily features (WRONG), but also because of the display of unprofessionalism (VERY WRONG) in insulting a fellow photographer's work, unsolicited, and in a place where my clients could potentially see. That unprofessionalism is what separates you, in the wrong way, from your competition. That kind of attitude and behavior leaks into client relations and damages your business. I've had countless couples tell me stories about "bad" photographers from their friend's weddings, or multiple times fired their photographer to hire me. Not once were these comments about the "bad" photographer's work. They were always about their demeanor and professionalism. Because while most of our clients may not see the difference between good and great photography, they absolutely know the difference between a good and great experience. Our first priority should be to give our clients the very best of ourselves in a beautiful experience from start to finish, and throw in some great photos along with it too. When that becomes the priority, you'll have no problem standing out in the very best of ways.