| Presell for success Posted on April 1, 2010 What do your customers say about you after you do a sitting? Do they say things like, "Well the guy had me bend this way and that way and put me in weird poses? I told them I didn't want to smile but he made me laugh and I know they are going to be terrible!" If they say that about you then you are doing something terribly wrong. I'll walk my subject into the camera room and have them sit on the posing stool and many times I'll pull up a stool and spend the next couple of minutes talking with them. It gives them the opportunity to get comfortable in a strange environment (my camera room), they will get to know me, I'll get to know them AND I will see their natural expressions. PLUS, I will give them an education. The conversation might go like this, "What are these portraits for? An article in a trade journal? Hey, that's great. What type of business are you in? Tell me a little about your work. First of all, do you know what side of the article the picture will be on? The reason I ask is that you should be facing in towards the article, not facing away. If you face away it looks like it's untrue and you are turning your back on it." I am a hands on photographer. I touch my subjects and I pose them. I'll place my hand in the middle of their back and tell them to sit up straight, lean forward and tip their body to the back shoulder. Then tip their head in the proper direction. For a man, slightly tipped to the rear shoulder: a woman usually to the highest shoulder. The conversation might go like this, "Let me have you sit up real straight. The worst thing you can do in a portrait is slouch. Now lean forward and tip your body this way. We do this because the worst line in a portrait is a horizontal shoulder line." As I gently tip the head, "Now I'm going to give you a strong masculine look." As we go along I will say things like, "That was perfect! You looked great that time. Very masculine. Very confident, you looked like you have the world in the palm or your hand." When the sitting is over I'll always say, "I KNOW we've got some really great shots and I can't wait to see these myself!" What is this person thinking about you and the sitting? You took the time to make him comfortable. You were genuinely interested in him and became a friend. You had him facing the right way for the article, something he never thought of. Even with all the sittings that you do, you are just as excited as he is to see them! Plus he learned a lot about photography. What a wonderful, talented photographer you are, and he is confident that they are going to be great! Remember, people will buy from people they trust.
|