Dear Jasmine,
I love shooting weddings and feel like I pour my heart into my photos. When I send off the finished photos to the bride, I feel like I'm handing over a little piece of me. I get so excited to hear what the bride thinks... I wait, and wait... and wait.
Nothing.
Okay- so now to the actual question. Do you send a follow up survey? If so, other than "do you like the photos?", what kinds of questions would you ask?
Sincerely,
Feedback-less
Dear Feedback-less,
Firstly, I have to say you're not alone. As creatives, we look for affirmation from others, but--specifically--our clients because our work captured a moment in their lives. We're allowed to share in intimate moments and document a deeply personal time, so of course we desire feedback. But sometimes we don't get it.
I think it has less to do with your clients' not liking your photos and more to do with their assumption you know they like them. After all, they hired you. Clients are attributing a large portion of their wedding budget to invest in your services, so naturally they'd assume you know they like your work. If they're sharing their wedding photos on Facebook or using one of your photos as their new profile pictures, then rest assured...they like them.
If, however, you're looking for ways to have clients express their feelings, it's best to establish a relationship before the wedding. If your client interactions are largely transactional in nature (book a wedding, shoot an engagement session, shoot a wedding) without personal communication (send a hand-written note, surprise them with a gift, write on their Facebook wall, etc) then you can't really expect them to treat you any differently than other business interactions. To put it simply, when is the last time you sent a thank you note to the guy who cut your hair? In most clients' minds, you're doing what they hired you to do...regardless of how personal you feel it is.
To answer your question, no, I don't send a survey or any sort of post-wedding form for feedback. However, quite a few of my clients will send emails, notes, or gifts because along the course of our working relationship, we found ways to connect on a personal level. If you'd like feedback, I encourage you to find ways to care and connect with your clients throughout your working relationship. This will yield stronger communication and personal conversations that lead to written responses you desire.
Stay Fabulous,
j*
To read more Dear Jasmine posts, feel free to click HERE.
Friday Randomness : Star Trek
05.17.13
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t's a thing we do. As we watch movie previews before the feature presentation, JD and I will hold up our hands and give it a thumbs up or a thumbs down. It's all very Ebert of us. Most often our thumbs are the inverse of each other (he prefers car chases and buildings that explode) because I--clearly--have better taste (I love subtitles and movies that make me cry). While recently at the theater, just after the Star Trek preview ended, our thumbs opposed each other. You don't want to see THAT, he incredulously asked.
Bless his heart. I wasn't sure which category he fell into at that moment...
Though he'd deny it, JD is the type of guy who'd wear this sweatshirt...
My husband is also the guy that'd pay extra to get a cup of coffee that looked like this...
This probably stems from the fact that he dreamt of sleeping in a bed like this as a kid...
Regardless of how strange my husband is at times, I love his geek streak and hope he'd be the type of dad to do this one day...
Happy Friday!
How to Get Interaction on a Facebook Fanpage
05.16.13
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Dear Jasmine,
I'm hoping you can help me with something... My business became an actual business after friends would see personal photos that I posted on Facebook. However, I'm starting to grow tired of the Facebook drama (I don't really care to know what "Sally" ate for breakfast) and want to stay away from using my personal page for... well, everything. I have a business page set-up, but I'm not sure how to get people to contact me through that versus my personal page. Does that make any sense? In a perfect world, I'd be able to only have a business page, but I'm not sure how to go about this. I guess what I'm unsure of is: 1. if I only use my business page, how will this directly impact potential clients from seeing my work and 2. how do I get my "friends" to only visit/post/contact me through my business page?
Thank you,
Facebook Fanpage Fanatic
Dear FFF,
To be honest, I don't care what Sally ate for breakfast either. However, the key with social media is using it to connect...so while I might not care about breakfast, I might care about what happened at breakfast. It's the small moments (In a perfect world, my favorite cereal would be comprised entirely of Lucky Charms marshmallows) and the idiosyncrasies (Cocoa Puffs are my version of making chocolate milk) that connect us more than a narration of your day (I am eating cereal).
I try to make these connections on my Business Page and prefer to leave my Personal Page pretty quiet. I actually started the Business Page because Facebook limits how many friends a person can have. When I reached the limit, I opted for the Business Page and soon began to see the perks of people participating because they wanted to be there.
You said you wanted to have just a Business Page...that's entirely possible because you can transfer your FB friends and make them fans when you combine pages (here's how to make this happen).
So let's get directly to your questions...
1. "If I only use my business page, how will this directly impact potential clients from seeing my work?"
If you combine both your FB pages, your current friends will automatically become fans, so if they participate in status updates and comment on photos the same way they do on your personal page, there's still a good chance your work will pop up in their feeds and their friends' feeds (here's an article explaining the Facebook algorithm and how you get reach with your posts). However, in order to tag photos of your clients, you must be friends with them. This is the only reason I maintain separate pages...tagging clients is of the utmost importance to my business.
2. "How do I get my "friends" to only visit/post/contact me through my business page?"
There's only so much you can control, so be sure to focus on things you can change, not the behavior of your friends. In light of this, I don't post status updates on my personal page and instead opt to update the business page. If that's where I want people talking, then that's where I need to start conversations. It's important to really focus on cultivating reasons for people to like your page, so if you're teetering between both spaces (writing the same status updates on both pages, uploading the same photos on both pages, etc), there's no reason for a "friend" to become a "fan".
Also, I tag my clients from my business page because that's what I want their friends to see...if their friends opt to click on my profile, it'll take them to my business page. And this is precisely what I want because the business page is an open profile with interaction, updates, and photos. Essentially, the business page is what I want to use as a marketing mechanism, so I need to be sure to invest my time in that space effectively.
I hope this helps and I wish you all the best as you work your way through Sally's breakfast, Facebook, and finding the best fit for you.
Stay Fabulous,
j*
Featured : Resource Magazine
05.15.13
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've been a fan of Resource Magazine for a while, so you might imagine my surprise when Aurelie Jezequel, the Editor in Chief, emailed to set up an interview. I love the content, but I'm a huge fan of the design and layout of the magazine...so lovely. Aurelie explained her writers were profiling five industry experts regarding wedding photography innovations...and I was more than honored to chat.
Now, I should probably talk about the wonderful experience it was and the things I learned along the way (both true), but let's just focus on one thing right now: THE BAGS UNDER MY EYES.
I've known I need more sleep in my life, but could you just imagine my horror when the article's illustrator took the time to draw in my eye circles?!?! Wow. Excuse me while I go cuddle with my bed.
In all seriousness, it was an honor and I was happy to be a part of this group. Bags and all. You can read the entirety of the article in the magazine sold at large-scale bookstores.
Happy Wednesday!
How I Became a Wedding Photographer
05.14.13
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ne of the most popular questions I'm asked is how I got started in photography, how I built my business. I don't think there's an easy way to answer this question (I mean, I could talk your ears off about it, if you let me), but we made a video explaining how things first began for me.
This portion of my story begins at the beginning and outlines how I started second shooting for other photographers, built my portfolio, and secured my first wedding (which later led to booking 38 wedding my first year in business). Of course, this is the nutshell version (if you'd like to know the entire story, feel free to check out EXPOSED Magazine), but if we've never had the chance to chat face-to-face, I hope this comes a close second.
More than anything, I hope my story expresses the importance of meeting new people, making friends, and practicing your craft. I didn't have prior business or photo experience, but a little of patience, resilience, and lots of hard work can go a long way.
