As a photographer, you must keep in mind that every person you photograph is beautiful and unique. You must capture a mere moment of that beauty in a picture that will prove that you are more than just a person with a camera. Dignify yourself as an artist. You want to deliver to your customer an image that they will cherish, an image that will take their breath away. In photography the art rests in unveiling the essence of every precious soul. In order to do this you must know the parameters of each person you work with.
Distinguish yourself from the crowd through your personality. The comfort level of your customer can either make or break the portrait. You want every customer to feel welcome and loved as a client. In addition to making your clients feel as though you would make a great friend, liven the mood of everyone who comes to your door. By bringing smiles and laughter to the subjects of your art, you can study facial expressions and meditate how to bring perfection to each individual.
If possible, ask your customers out to lunch. Spend some time with them in order to study their personalities, gestures, and expressions. Talk about both your and your clients ideas as to what kind of emotion would be the best to have drawn from their portrait. Getting to know the individual will give you the upper hand by both gaining their trust and comfort and establishing an idea as to what direction to take the portrait.
Many clients may come to you with a phobia as to how they look and I doubt that they would confess this. The most you may hear of this may be I normally don’t like to have my picture taken.’ Such people would most likely be intimidated by your camera and the person holding it. Do not rush such clients; these people clearly do not know their own beauty and potential. When they are comfortable and in a happy, carefree mood, only then is it time to proceed.
Too many in and out places that claim to deliver professional portrait photography can’t compare to the best moment in one of the worst days of your client. If you are not given the opportunity to examine a client’s expressions and gestures then how can you bring out their best features. It is a good idea to have your client bring in a close relation that knows your client at their best. Insist that your client trust this person’s advice.
Only after you have captured the core beauty of an individual is it time to apply the brush of a photo retouching service to your art. Think of such applications not as a way to make a picture perfect; if you have followed these instructions, the portrait is already perfect. But such services are very important. Photo retouching takes your client out of artificial light and puts them under the life giving energy of the sun in the sky, which is where you want your art to be.
