Do your photos match the editing brand style of Flytographer? This is what customers are looking for and expecting. Make sure your images align with ours, even if this is not your usual editing style. We get feedback quite regularly that photos are either too dark (watch out for heavy, unflattering shadows and overall dullness) or too bright (make sure areas of the image aren’t blown out or overly saturated). Ensure your white balance is calibrated too!

Run an eagle eye over every photo you send. Eyes closed, visible sweat stains and/or undergarments, and background distractions are the most common grievances. Although we don’t normally photoshop images when it’s something customer-driven (ie. smoothing wrinkles or similar), if it’s something you missed while shooting, please do take the time to fix it before sending it to customers. This may mean face or eye-swapping if someone in a group has closed eyes or a goofy face on an otherwise great shot, or erasing unsightly objects on the customer or in the background that detracts from the photo (ie. a pole looking like it’s coming out someone’s head or bright orange traffic cones beside the customer). 

See some more tips in this video!

Customers book Flytographer because our style is natural, fun and flattering. If they receive a gallery of stiff, awkward poses in which they are all just standing and smiling at the camera, they are likely going to be upset. While it’s always a good idea to have one or two “traditional” stand-and-smile poses in a gallery for their holiday cards, make sure you have given a variety of poses, and that the customers look like they are comfortable and having a good time. In addition, watch your camera angles — try to avoid shooting from below or with too wide of an angle lens. Have some flattering pose ideas for all types of customers in your repertoire and be ready to get creative.

Who doesn’t love extra photos, right? Well … while customers do appreciate getting a few extra as a bonus, and we do encourage you to drop in an extra handful, the problems occur when too many extras are given. 

• Start by pulling out all the images that are out of focus or unflattering — these should never be in a gallery.
• Make sure you have some all the groupings and poses and choose the best of each of these.
• Trying to decide between two or more almost-same images (same pose, same background)? Don’t put them all in thinking your customer can decide which they like best — make a tough decision yourself and only put in one.  
• We understand you may be leaving lots of great images on your hard drive, and if you truly have extras that are different enough from the others or will mean something special to the customer, then yes, put them in … but do not put in extras just because you can’t decide or because you think more is automatically better.

Choose only the best-of-the-best from the shoot. Having a tight gallery of 35 knockout images for a 60-min shoot is far better than having those same 35 with an extra 40 more not as great or near-duplicate photos added in — those extra 40 will dilute the original excellence of your gallery and customers will feel overwhelmed looking at all of them. They will be unable to discern between the great ones and not-so-great, and will simply decide that they don’t like the gallery as a whole if they see even a few that aren’t as awesome.

Quality over quantity every time.

See more tips in this culling video in our Video Library.

Ok, this one a bit trickier as “experience” can boil down to a lot more factors that have nothing to do with you: maybe they slept in late, or got lost on the way to the shoot, or had an argument with their spouse right before, or are feeling a bit queasy because they ate something weird … there are a multitude of reasons why customers might not be as shoot-ready as you’d like. That said, as photographers, it is our job to listen to their requests and concerns, and make them feel confident in front of the camera. 

You have been doing this profession for a long time, so you know it’s to your benefit to accept the challenge if customers show up less than their best selves. Turn the situation around into something positive for them, and not only will they feel better, but they will look better, which in turn means your photos will turn out better. And the best part? Customers will remember the emotions of feeling good with you and translate that onto the gallery, giving you great feedback of how much fun they had and how much they love their photos, which ultimately turns into more shoots as new customers read your reviews and decide to book with you. Everybody wins!

Scenario 1: Photographer is a technical superstar, but is brusque and disinterested in the customer as a person, only concerned with “getting the shot.” The gallery that is delivered is technically flawless to the objective eye but the customers didn’t enjoy themselves or have any real connection to the photographer.

Scenario 2: Photographer is still learning the profession, but they are warm and welcoming and pay attention to what the customers say and do. The gallery that is delivered has a few technical flaws, but the customers had a good time and their joy radiates out of the photos.

Who do you think gets the better review?

Although technical skill and end product are important, making the customer feel amazing is the emotional hook that often trumps perfection. Flytographer is all about the experience on top of the photos — meeting a local while on vacation, learning some insider tips, having a great time and coming away feeling like you have a new friend … great photos are almost like a bonus! 

Remember, the power and responsibility to deliver an amazing gallery experience is in your hands … and although we can’t win ‘em all, we should aim to try, every single time. Great reviews = more work, it’s as simple as that!

p.s. Wondering why customers don’t send in reviews? Don’t be afraid to ask them to do it! At the end of your shoot, mention that when they get the email with their gallery, there will be a link to click to send in their review. As well, when you write the personal message to the customer when you do send in the gallery, ask them again. Here is a template you can use. (Scroll down to “After the Shoot”)

Check out the videos in our Video Library that help you get better feedback and deliver an awesome experience!