Here are 7 common shooting mistakes. Are you making them in your boudoir photography business?
Mistake 1 – Looking at posing ideas on your phone while the client is present in the same room
Always memorise poses prior to the shoot. Ensure you have an arsenal of poses stored in your memory so that you can flow through your shoot effortlessly. Do not look at poses on your phone during a shoot while the client is present. If needed, quickly flick through posing ideas while the client is changing outfits in the other room.
Mistake 2 – Trying out and ‘practicing’ lots of new poses on paying clients
By all means, try out a new pose or two at a shoot, but when doing paid shoots with clients aim for the vast majority of poses to be tried-and-true poses. Leave those completely unique ideas for a portfolio building shoot you book with a muse throughout the year. Your fumbling, turning the client’s body this way and that, and being unsure is making them lose confidence in you.
Mistake 3 – Making it obvious to the client that a pose isn’t working
The more you persist trying a pose that isn’t working, the more the client will lose confidence in themselves and their ability to pull off poses, and also lose confidence in you as a photographer. If a pose isn’t working, move on quickly. And just don’t include the image in their gallery.
It is detrimental to tell the client that the pose isn’t working. Newsflash: They don’t need to know!
Also be very aware of your body language. Don’t look at a photo on the back of the camera and scrunch your nose up. Your clients are watching you.
Mistake 4 – Not attempting corrective posing to help clients look their best
In an ideal world, every woman would be brimming with self-acceptance and love every inch of their body just as it is. However this is the real world, where all clients have insecurities, just like you do. What matters is that you minimize their perceived flaws, so that you are not adding to their insecurities.
For example, I am aware that I have cellulite and a mummy tummy, however I don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on a boudoir photographer to then be shown these parts of myself! Your clients want to see the best possible version of themselves through the photographer’s lens. So take the time to learn corrective posing to flatter all body types. (If you’re interested, you can find my Curvy Posing Guide here to help with that).
Of course never mention any flaws to the client, or what posing is being done to minimize them, as this will just make the client self-conscious. The most important job you have is to preserve your client’s self-esteem. As a professional photographer we must pose our clients to show them at their best and ensure they leave our photo studio with more self-confidence than when they entered.
Mistake 5 – Not asking the client their preferences for being photographed
At the beginning of every photo shoot, I ask my client if they have a favourite ‘side’. I also ask if there are any facial expressions they do not like.
With the proileferation of camera phones and selfies, almost every client will know these answers. Some clients will merely have a preference, while others will be very particular about being photographed in a certain way.
For example, one client did not want her lips completely shut, or to be shot in profile, as she is self-conscious about her teeth. If she was photographed like this, she would not purchase those images. Over the years, I have realized all clients have their own insecurities.
I once filled out a questionnaire for a family photographer. It asked me questions about how I liked to be photographed. I filled it out and stated very clearly that I did not want to be shot in profile so imagine my annoyance when throughout the shoot I was constantly posed in profile. Do you think I ordered any of those images? Nope.
We think our clients will bring these to our attention of their own accord, but they rarely do. Therefore we need to ask questions or we may waste our time shooting a large number of images that the client will automatically disregard. Make sure to take note of their preferences, but also manage their expectations if they cannot always be met.
Mistake 6 – Not listening to what the client wants, or ignoring their posing suggestions
If the client suggests something, even if you don’t like the idea, shoot it! I can’t tell you how many times a client has suggested a pose, and I really did not like their idea. However it is always important to give it a try. First shoot it their way, and then make adjustments and shoot it in a more pleasing way. Always take the client’s ideas into consideration to show you care.
Mistake 7 – Finishing up without checking if the client wanted anything else
Always manage expectations. Don’t suddenly wrap up the shoot unexpectedly.
When nearing the end of the shoot, do a final check if there was anything the client wanted that had not yet been shot.
‘We’re on the last outfit now. Is there anything that you would like to do, that we haven’t done yet?’
Sometimes I may have simply forgotten something the client mentioned earlier, other times the client may hope to make a request but not feel comfortable until asked.
This final catch-all question ensures the client leaves their shoot knowing I captured everything they wanted and genuinely cared about their satisfaction.
So there are 7 common shooting mistakes. Keep them in mind during your next boudoir photography shoots.
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