You’ve received a question from a potential new customer and you’re looking forward to booking them. Here are five questions to ask during your discovery call to ensure that you understand what your client needs and that you can quote an accurate price for the job.
You may feel scared to answer the phone with new questions, especially if you are shy or uncomfortable talking on the phone. However, I believe it’s an important step to not only understanding a customer’s needs more fully from the start, but also a great way to build a more personal relationship from the start. Customers who spoke to you on the phone were more likely to sign up with you than customers who only spoke to you via email.
What is the purpose of the photo session?
Determining why they want the new image is important to help you get an idea of where this customer is in their business journey. Perhaps they are moving into a new visual direction and your work speaks to their new vision of a particular campaign they have in mind. Alternatively, they may have never hired a photographer before and they want to create professional images for the first time.
This question will not only give you an idea of the scope of the project and what will be required of you, but also what you can expect from this working relationship. If your business has never hired a professional photographer before, you can prepare yourself for a slightly higher level of expertise than if you’ve worked with many photographers before.
Where will the images be used?
Then where do they plan to use the images? For example, some clients prefer to book shoots purely for their social media channels, while others may just be looking to create images for their website. Determining how the images will be used will help you charge your licensing fees.
As a point adjacent to this one, be sure to check their specific aspect ratio requirements. They will vary depending on the intended use of the image. I often find my clients prefer a combination of portrait and landscape, but others may need everything to crop to 1:1, while others may have aspect ratio needs. Specific images for custom site banners.
How Much Scene or Product Need to Shoot?
Understanding the scope of work is essential to accurately quoting the job. Really ask them to go into the details here. If they have 10 products, do they need to shoot a single item or do they want to take multiple photos for each item, styled differently? Determine if they’re looking for group shots, specific pairings of best-selling products, multiple angles of each item, or even the product next to or in its packaging. Customers may not think about these smaller details until you start asking real questions.
A summary sounds simple at first but can become relatively complex once you’ve pulled out all the details. It’s better to get the client to really think through their needs in advance so you can get an accurate quote, rather than making spontaneous requests on the day of the shoot.
Furthermore, ask the client to tell you the specifics of how they like to photograph their products. Sometimes company policies can be so ingrained and obvious to them, that they may forget to inform you. For example, the box is always placed to the right of the product, or the products are always photographed when the lid is opened.
Do they have a specific aesthetic in mind?
Understanding whether the client has a clear vision of the photo session is essential to producing results they will be satisfied with. Some clients will have one person or team working in-house, such as a marketing director or art director, who will guide the photo aesthetic for the shoot. However, some brands will want to lean on your creative vision.
If that’s the case, using a mood board planner like Pinterest can be helpful to understand what customers are thinking when they say certain descriptions like “bold” or “organic.” . What you might consider a “bold” aesthetic, customers might think differently. Only when you can see all the references visually will you be able to understand if you are aligned or not.
Ask clients to tell you what they like about the inspiration they’ve gathered, from lighting and composition to style and color, so you can drill down to the finer details to their liking. . Don’t be afraid to point out any inconsistencies in their inspiration and really question what they like or don’t like. The key is to make sure their inspirations tie together so you have a clear aesthetic to work towards.
Positioning, Props and Styling
Where will the shoot take place? Do you have all the props needed to achieve the aesthetic in the brief? Who will take care of styling on the day? These are all questions for which you need to establish answers before quoting, so you can understand what is expected of you.
You don’t need a fully serviced photo studio or a small warehouse full of props – customers don’t expect this. But you need to understand whether the client will provide the location, stylist, assistant, and props, or if you’ll have to source the help you need. This will largely depend on the size of the client you are working with. Usually, smaller businesses won’t have those connections, and it’s up to you to hire with the help you need.
Inference
Taking the time to understand your new client’s needs is really important to being able to quote accurately and, ultimately, produce results they’ll be happy with. This often leads to repeat business and lasting relationships. Plus, satisfied customers are more likely to refer you to others, so you’ll get a referral every time you deliver a result they love.
