The Mini Blog Series: It's Booking Time; Budgets, Consults + MORE!! | Arizona, PNW & Beyond
Welcome back to The Mini Blog Series!! In this blog we’re going to chat about the booking process, common questions to bring to your consultation when booking your photographer, budget and more. So, grab your favorite refreshing beverage, a snack, sit back, relax and dive in with us!!
In previous blogs we talked about location, finding the best photographer for you and how to think about styling yourself for your shoot, but wait, are we getting a little ahead of ourselves? We haven’t yet booked our photographer OMG!! Okay, don’t panic, let’s trace our steps. How did we find this photographer? Through Instagram, Facebook or a friend? I suggest we go to their website and find any additional information about their work, services/packages they offer, and click that book now button to get on their calendar.
I think it’s safe to say that everyone is different when navigating their booking process but here are some helpful things to keep in mind when doing so:
1. THE BUDGET
I feel like there’s always a cloud over people when talking about money. Budget is an important one, and the best advice I could give is to think of a timeline and plan, plan, plan!! This will give you enough time to set aside a little bit with every paycheck in order to reach your goal.
Also, a photographer’s website often provides enough basic pricing information to get a good idea of what to expect, of course there may be additional costs depending on your requests if they may step out of the bubble of services within a package you may have selected, but these finer cost details are often discussed during your consultation, which brings me to our next helpful tip.
2. THE CONSULT + BOOKING
Okay, you found the right photographer for you, you have a location in mind with some cute outfits planned, you have looked at their website and found the right service package and now you’re ready to book.
When booking with your photographer oftentimes the first step is sitting down with your photographer and going over questions, concerns and any additional details of what to expect as a client moving forward. Photographers will not just clarify their services but also go over paperwork and policies they may have.
Most photographers will have contracts such as, but not limited to; model release forms, minor release forms, and overall consent and contract forms to sign prior to your photoshoot date. These documents are beneficial for both the photographer and client relationship to be smooth sailing from here!!
Once you finalize paperwork and land on a date, the next step is paying a deposit to secure your session. Most photographers require deposits to be on their calendar in order to secure a job, since this is how they make their living, and to pay their bills they need a guarantee that their sessions are secured.
Deposits are a set fee that is often nonrefundable but usually put towards the total cost of your package in order for them to take that date off the calendar so there’s no overlap when booking other clients. That day is for YOU!! Unless the photographer is hosting a day of mini sessions which will be advertised as a special event with lower prices and shorter shoot times, mini session days are often blocked out on calendars to break up the year with various types of sessions.
3. FAQs + More!!
During your consultation there’s various questions that come to mind, and some of the common questions we get asked is about the form of payment, how to go about scheduling a date, asking questions about paperwork and contract clarifications, and how photographers may or may not choose to use a client’s photograph depending on the contracts they sign.
Clients also often ask about posing and if the photographer will help them with posing direction, this is common to talk about in being prepared for posing in front of the camera especially if you’re someone who doesn’t step in front of a camera lens often. Photographers also act as directors, we have a vision and will always help guide you through it, but if you come to the consultation and photoshoot with posing ideas, we love the suggestion because any positive feedback gets the creative juices flowing!!
So, what are you waiting for?! I think after reading this blog with everything we’ve learned thus far, it’s about damn time (queue Lizzo’s song) to hit that book now button to make the magic happen!!
