Do you really know how your client feels?
Do you know what your clients feel like when they bring their pets in a for a photo shoot? It’s so easy for us to say, “No big deal!”, when their pets are bouncing off the walls. We know it’s normal, but that doesn’t mean our clients do. I always constantly remind my pet parents that it is very normal for pets to be excited and very active when they come in for their session. We try to combat those things with a planning session and a pre-session exercise session like a walk or half day of daycare.
But, it doesn’t matter how often you remind them that their pet’s behavior is normal… Until you experience the other side of things you can’t really understand just how mortifying it can be for your owners. I recently was on the other side of things with my dogs, and I pretty much wanted to crawl in a hole and hide. It doesn’t matter how much the photographer assures you it’s fine, in your mind there has never been a less obedient pet.
Watch my latest video to see how I dealt with the experience and how you can use my experience to help become a better pet photographer and better prepare your clients for what’s in store!
Kim xo
P.S. – I would love to hear your stories if you’ve been on the opposite side as well! Please share your story in a comment 🙂
I had a friend do a portrait session of me and Bella last February so I could have some shots for my About Us page. She doesn’t do pet photography at all and she was immensely frustrated by Bella’s unwillingness to look at the camera. I tried to tell her that’s just how Bella is! When we’re at a park where there are lots of distractions, Bella – a livestock guardian dog – is more concerned with awareness of her surroundings and guarding me from potential threats. I had to talk my friend down off a ledge because she was so upset she didn’t get one shot of Bella looking straight at the camera. She eventually threw up her hands and said she was never going to try doing pet photography again. I just giggled.
It’s so funny when people who don’t work with pets get super frustrated! It take a lot of patience!! I would love to see a photo of Miss Bella, and thanks for sharing!
Hi Kim,
It is amazing how unfamiliar what you’ve described is to many photographers.
Much like yourself, It was a chance opportunity to be at the other side of the lens with my pets that suddenly brought the realisation of what it feels like.
Clients experience the same, very often, when it comes to their children when coming for a child portrait session.
The reason seems simple and obvious – it is a very big ask for a young child as well as a pet and sometimes for adults as well, to sit in front of a camera for long, often at an unfamiliar location. So its surprising that many photographers are unaware to what degree that affects their clients and fail to prepare the client’s expectations in advance.
This is also true for new photographers who themselves didn’t expect the process to be that testing.
Once your own expectations as a photographer are set correctly, really, you will benefit from the situation as you will be looked at as the cool, patient calm professional in the eyes of your clients.
Keep publishing those beautiful shots Kim!!
Regards
Tom
Thank you so much Tom! It really amazing how people’s patience can run thin so fast. It was very eye opening for me to truly experience what our clients do during a session, but I’m glad I did! Now I can really empathize with my clients when they think their pets are the worst!