Savanah Loftus - Managing client expectations. HUGELY important. You know that feeling, as a child, when your Mom asked you when you were going to take the trash out. Or clean your room. That's how I feel when a client asks me when they will get their photos (after a shoot) I have a very speedy timeline, I BACK UP always. Blog a preview of favorites within 3-5 days and deliver lifestyle/family sessions in 6 business days or less. And weddings are delivered in 14 business days or less. Usually they are always delivered in less time. To successfully manage my clients expectations they are made aware of what to expect before the shoot. And I have implemented something new and begun sending a thank you email same day or next morning following their shoot or wedding to tell them how amazing it was, and reminding them what to expect.
Eric - I noticed that you have an initial album design going out to clients 4 days after the wedding. Do you pick out YOUR favorites of the shoot and then design the album,, or do you allow your clients to pick which photo s they want to include in the album.
denise karis - hahahaha oh the comments! i completely agree with your perfect vs good image - we are perfectionists - proofs are proofs and our clients won't notice that the horizon is at 181 degrees like we will obsess over .... I usually give a 2 week timeframe for proofs online for a family shoot and they are often up in 2 days. I'm a big fan of giving myself a reasonable amount of time so I'm not getting "WHERE ARE THEY?!" emails in an hour but at the same time, I tend to take every second I can afford to make sure the images get up as soon as possible.
Renee - This is a WONDERFUL post Melissa! We do the same for our clients & they LOVE having their pics to look at when they get home from their honeymoon! You are awesome!
Michael - I can completely understand where you are coming from on this post. I do everything in my power to get photos back to my clients within 2-3 weeks. I figure the fast it's done, the less I have to worry about serious problems like you explained. I recently had a client/new friend asking me a bunch of questions about their wedding from over two years ago. Their photographer promised them things and never came through for them. They haven't even received one photo from "that" photographer. So, when the weather gets a little nicer I promised them I would take them out and give them a really nice session and try to help make up for their loss. It truly is sad when someone takes a beautiful wedding and ruins it all in the end. I just wish I knew them before hand :-) Keep up the good work and may all your photography be blessed in the future. Thanks for the post. It was a good read.
Desiree - I don't do weddings anymore, but when I did, I found that if I worked hard, I could have all the photos edited and ready to go in a week, and there's just one of me. I was scared to death of being one of 'those' photographers. Plus, I always felt better once I knew the client had their photos. It's just nice to get things off your plate so that you can move on to the next task at hand. I don't do well with a whole bunch of unfinished tasks, it makes me nervous, and I worry that I'll forget something.
Melissa Madden - As always, excellent advice. Your timeline and efficiency are admirable! It's a shame to think there are photographers out there that take their responsibility so lightly! YIKES, a client's special day can not be replicated, at any cost!!! I can't sleep until the files are backed up the night of the wedding. Oh and I might add, eventually there is the pictage copy (not the night of, but after the edit) and we always have an extra drive kept off premises. (I'm a little nuts!) My only caveat is that those of us that still shoot film are on different time lines - and as you explained in your well written post - it's all about managing expectations!
Calvin Hill - Ok, you are fast. I have something else I need to discuss during the welcome meeting. Melissa, thank you so much for your integrity. I look up to you and admire who you are as a photog. It is clear that I don't have it all together. My post workflow isn't the best and has a lot of room to improve. Just as mentioned on your fb page, I hear it too. But at the same time it wouldn't take much for me to be one of the stories. What a great post!! Thank you!
Jashim Jalal - Super-fast is an understatement for your turnarounds Melissa! lol I do agree with 1 month being good enough, and sooner would definitely help the business rather than later. However, in the end, I think it comes down to setting and exceeding the expectations with clients.
Nichole - Melissa, keep up the excellence! I know I was thrilled with the slideshow you had going at our reception- just moments after such a whirlwind of a day-- reminding me it was all real and not just a dream! Ignore the personal jabs, there are priorities in life and yours is doing your job with the upmost! Much love & thanks for making our day so special <3 And PS, I didn't feel tied to a computer on our honeymoon, we went to the lounge daily and were ecstatic when you'd send pics just days later!
Lisa Green - Melissa, what a poignant post not just for photographers, but for all vendors related to weddings: do everything in a timely fashion esp given that we live in an instant gratification lifestyle. And if you can't accomplish something within the given time period, be upfront about it. I am a wedding planner and our motto is to under promise and over deliver. But, I can say that my husband and I waited over a year for our wedding album, which in our contract was due within 3 months of our wedding date (I had seen the images within 2 months of our wedding), and despite multiple follow ups from us to the photographer, we wound up having to threaten lawsuits in order to get the album we had paid for. It was an ugly situation and left us with a horrible taste in our mouths about our wedding photographs, which is a bummer since they are only reminders of our great day. So, brides ASK all potential photographers about their turn around time and when doing reference checks, ask exactly when they received their images and albums.
Melissa Jean - I agree, Melissa. I think you kick a$$ at being fast and you are definitely above the standard. But I think one month is definitely the max. I'm married, work full time ASIDE from photography and I'm young and still "trying" to have a life. But I manage to edit all the photos in a week and then take the next week reviewing, perfecting, printing. When I shoot a wedding I put everything else (that I can) on hold in order to process them fast. I personally waited 3 months for my wedding photos, but my photographer was communicative through the whole process and very apologetic (and very sick with morning sickness during our wedding and the months after). I didn't mind waiting since she was proactive about letting me know, but I DO remember sitting at work wishing I could see my photos the day after my honeymoon ended.
Gail - OH MJ, WHAT a great post! Thanks for putting the details in the bottom about a month being reasonable. I think that is SO true. Ah...that poor bride. A classic example of a photographer taking on too much business without having systems in place to handle it. I will definitely reshare this!
Meredith - I agree completely, Melissa! I tell all my clients that they should expect to see a blog post by mid-week following their wedding and images within two weeks, but I usually have their online proofs to them within a week. I'm a full-time business owner and a full-time Mommy, so I know it can be done. It's matter of nailing exposure and sharpness in camera and fine-tuning your workflow until you have it down to a science. Thanks for sharing and continuing to be an inspiration to other photographers like myself!
Melissa Jill - Thanks for your input Cameron! I completely agree -- I have far fewer things to juggle in life. That's why I don't think every photographer should get the proofs online in one week. As far as when clients want to see their images, I have a different experience with my clients. Like the couple in my video, they are often checking their phones on their honeymoons to see if I posted the blog post yet. They know how fast I get the images up and they can't wait. From a business standpoint, it's also wise to get the photos up while the client is still feeling the high emotions from their day because then they attach those emotions to your photographs.
Cameron Clark - I admire your ability to have things done so quickly; however, you do not have a lot of other factors that pull you away from your life's focus: your business. Being single does have it's advantages in terms of business. I agree with you 100% that images should be delivered within 4 weeks. I manage that and I have had a CRAZY four years having a baby in 2008 and 2009 and a business partner's baby in 2010. I manage my client's expectations in advance and let them know what to expect. I, myself, waited a month to see my own images and it was the perfect distance from my event so that I was ready to relive the day again. I think one week, frankly is a little too fast considering most of my clients would be on their honeymoon. I wouldn't want them to feel like they had to be "connected" to the internet 2 days after their event. On the other hand, these days everyone has a computer in their pocket, so I could see where clients wouldn't find it intrusive.
Faye Bernoulli - Totally agree, and I think 30 days is more than enough to get proofs up on an online gallery. As a bride, I couldn't wait to see my images. As a photographer, I can't wait to share them with clients. I work a full-time job, get home & make/eat dinner, and then work on photo stuff at night. I'm no Superwoman, but I make it work. I agree with you MJ, if you don't have time to process your images in a timely fashion, consider outsourcing.
Melissa Jill - I love you Josh and appreciate you sharing your thoughts, I just don't think one month is an unfair blanket statement. If I was saying one week, that would be one thing, but I just think one month is plenty of time to get proofs online. If photographers are finding that difficult, it may be time to re-evaluate their workflow & priorities. I do agree with you that managing expectations is the crux of the issue though.
Josh - Everyone has different situations, different client expectations, different post processing, different products delivered, etc. Throwing a blanket statement out there is a little unfair ... some of us have family to take care, other jobs to deal with, etc. It all comes down to setting and meeting your client expectations.
Melissa Jill - Hi Lori -- I really appreciate you weighing in on this subject. While I would agree that some things are worth the wait, in this instance, I think you may be misconstruing what your clients want. Clients don't want a perfect image, they want a good image fast. When we cling to our perfectionism as photographers, we're just doing it for ourselves and in the end, it is selfish. Clients likely don't see the finite difference between a good image and a perfect image that we have spent hours Photoshopping. We would do better to let go of some of our perfectionism and realize that a fast turn around time is of more importance (both for our clients and for our businesses) than is making sure every proof is perfectly retouched. And remember -- they're just proofs. You can always go back and perfectly retouch the images they choose to include in their albums.
Lori - Thanks for this post. While I know many photographers champion a VERY fast turn-around time as one of their most significant attributes, for many photographers this is impossible and we get tired of hearing "but so-and-so" can deliver in 5 days! My turn-around time for my FAMILY sessions is 2 weeks and for weddings it's 4-6 weeks. I don't out-source my editing and I touch each image individually in Photoshop - that's just my process. While timeliness IS important - some things are worth a LITTLE wait (4 months is ridiculous of course) and I hate to see bride's expectations set stubbornly on something that to me seems minuscule. (In the long run across decades - what is the difference between 1 week and 4?) I think the difference between 1 week and 4 weeks should only be a determining factor IF ALL OTHER (and in my opinion more important) FACTORS - like image quality, professionalism, personality, etc. are equal.
Andrea Brewster - What a great article with great advice on both ends! Perfectly said!
Becky - I am so on board with you on this very subject. Of course I've been following you since I decided to dive into the industry and you engrained this into me from the beginning. While I do work a full time job in addition to my business, I fully understand the importance of getting the photos to the client fast. First, it drives me insane to have the pictures just sitting there and knowing my client is waiting on them. Secondly because if I were a bride, I would want to see them as soon as possible after the wedding. You are such an inspiration! I follow a lot of the well named photographers and I personally think you outshine all of them. Thanks for your transparency and setting the standard for the rest of us.
Melissa - I love this post Melissa. I actually have a client that I am doing a re-shoot for because a year and a half after their wedding they have nothing for wedding pictures except some out of focus discolored prints. We are going to recreate their bridal portraits. I was just sick for them also. I love your post.