6 | TN Photography | CRM: Enquiries

Customer Relationship Management

Most customer enquiries are very similar. The most commonly asked question is, 'How much do you charge?' If this enquiry is written in an email, here is my method of response illustrated using an example email.

My methods are by no means 'the one and only correct method'. I'm sure the more I learn in business the more I will improve various aspects of my CRM. However at the moment, this is how I deal with clients and so far it seems to work well for my business. I try to be consistent with as much as I can however each client is different and I will always customise my methods and make decisions based on individual needs.

Client:

Hi Tina

I saw the photos you took for _______ and I love them! I am interested in getting a portrait shoot done for my family. When are you available and what is your sitting fee etc?

Thanks in advance

Client x

[From this email the client has already told you they heard of you via referral, and that you did a good shoot for _____ as they have already seen these results, so you already have an idea of what they expect/like. They probably also know how much you charged the previous client.]

Response:

Hi Client x,

Thank you for your email. If you would like to see my full portfolio please see my website: www.tnphotography.com.au. I will be available from December 1st for portrait sessions.

I have attached a quote for a general portrait session. If you would like to discuss specific requirements in regards to what you are after please do not hesitate to ask, I am happy to customise a shoot for your needs.

Looking forward to your response,

Kind Regards,

Tina Nikolovski

Tn Photography

www.tnphotography.com.au

[I always begin the email with the client's name. Thank them for their enquiry, direct them to your full portfolio (website) just in case they haven't already seen it. Answer their questions re. availability. Assure them that the pricing/package can be customised as this is my own USP - unique selling point or niche. Direct them to the quote, i.e. 'see attachments'. I send clients PDF's as opposed to writing it in an email for a number of reasons, see below.

Page 1 - COVER PAGE

Photos reinforce specific job. If it were a food enquiry, I would include images of food.

Page 2 - QUOTE

Itemised invoice shows client exactly what they are paying for and why the price is what it is. Most clients do not realise the work that is involved (i.e. hours of post production). This informs them without overloading them.

Page 3 - PRINTING & General Info

These are 'add-ons'. Price shouldn't be a surprise to the client, it is better that they know from the beginning so they know exactly what they are up for and what to expect. Providing this will answer a lot of further questions before they are even asked.

This section is also very important because it informs the client about a deposit, the copyright of images and that a contract needs to be signed, and that an assistant photographer is a possibility - once again, no surprises. This is just enough information to inform initially without scaring the client off.

Page 4 - FAQ

The 4th page answers generally asked questions. This not only helps the client but it shows them that you are experienced in your area and have already dealt with other clients who ask about the same things.]

5 | Working Process | Test Shoots

1| The Industry | Alan Benson | Primary Research

Alan Benson - Food Photographer

General Team

1. Photographer
2. Food stylist
3. Chef
4. (Sometimes the Graphic designer, client)
   

Equipment, Props

1. Camera
   
2. Tripod
3. Lenses
4. Pocketwizard
   
5. Flash
6. Towels
7. Reflectors
8. Black cards
9. Translucent material
10. White table cloths
11. Cuttlery
12. Flowers
13. Corflett - used as diffuser
14. Camera tethered to laptop, everyone looks at images until perfect
    

General Process of Food Shots

1. Test shot of bowl - lighting & composition
   
2. Chef plates the same bowl up properly
3. Real shot
4. Add olives, oil, attention to detail
5. Check that it is sharp after each shot - zoom into 100% LR
6. Everyone checks photograph on screen until they all agree that it is usable. All make suggestions

6-8 shots per day norm for food photography. Used to be 6. Now it is 8.

Overall

Alan Benson was lovely and a delight to work with/for. He happily answered our questions. Teri and I ended up shooting a bunch of product shots both to be deep etched and against various backgrounds. Our shots were mainly for web output. We ended up observing for 20-30 minutes and shooting for 3.5 hours. It was great observing Alan, and we were confident shooting what we were briefed on so we learnt a few things but also realised how much we already know and that we were trusted to get the shots anyway. The graphic designer (who was the one in charge of approving the shots) checked pretty much everything we shot before we moved on to the next product and she was pleased with our work, so, great experience! I love shooting food and I would consider specialising in this a some stage in the future!

1 | The Industry

Industry

The specific industry that I aim to work in is fashion photography. I am not particularly sure which subarea I want to work in (i.e. beauty, editorial, advertising etc). My immediate aims are to complete this degree and be industry ready when I leave CIT – meaning that I am as confident as I can be in direction, lighting, planning, etc.

Here are list of top fashion photographers that are categorised geographically;

Local

Nik Studio

National

Richard Bailey (Vogue)

Emily Abay (Syd)

James Broadhurst (Syd)

George Favios

Michelle Aboud
Henryk Hobaczewski (Culture)
Peter Rosetzky
Brooke Coffey

Montalbetti & Campbell (NY)
Stuart Miller

Steven Chee

Sebastian Kriete

George Favios (Syd, LA, NY)

International

Annie Leibovitz (US)
Russel James (NY)
Yossi Michaeli (NY)
Mike Ruiz (NY)

David LaChapelle (NY)
Dirk Franke (US)
Nigel Barker
Miles Andridge
Florian Schneider (Advertising)

Greg Kadel (NY)

Nigel Riches (UK)
Jez Smith (UK)
Andrea Klarin (Paris)
Karl Lagerfield

Greg Lotus

For a full list of top international fashion photographers, click here

Primary Research

Source: 2010, Top fashion photographers, viewed 24 March 2010, [http://www.top-fashion-photographers.info/fashion-photographers.html].

Advanced Research Development

The structure of my final report will be as follows. I have began naming my posts beginning with a number corresponding to which section of my report that post belongs to make it easier to finalise at the end. For example, '5| Working Process : Digital Workflow | Tn Photography'.

HEADINGS

[Cover Page]

[Executive Summary]

[Introduction]

1. The Industry

2. Inspiration

3. History

4. Arguments

5. Working Process - Shoots

6. TN Photography

7. Final Exhibition

8. Marketing

9. Goals

10. Self Evaluation

[Conclusion]

[Bibliography]

SUBTOPICS
Under each heading I have listed the main topics that will be addressed.

[Cover Page]

[Executive Summary]

[Introduction]

1. The Industry

(Industry; main photographers local, national, international; primary research)

2. Goals

(Concrete short and medium term goals and how I plan to achieve them)

2. Inspiration

(Photographers who inspire me technically and conceptually, critical analysis in depth particular photographers)

3. History

(How my own work is historically contextualised)

4. Arguments

(Cultural, ethical and aesthetic arguments around fashion photography)

5. Working Process

(Digital Work-flow, Lighting Diagrams + Planning, Techniques, Mistakes)

6. TN Photography

(Dealing with clients, suppliers, lessons learnt)

7. Final Exhibition

(Installation, frame/s, type of paper, size, arrangement, all decisions for final installation at High Court)

8. Marketing

(Logo, Website, blog, business cards, etc., summary of business plan including main marketing aims)

9. Journey

(where I began, what I learnt, where I’m going – summarise)

10. Self Evaluation

(Of my own work – what I’m about. Defining my style. Artist’s statement.)

[Conclusion]

[Bibliography]

9 | Goals | Initial Goals

My main aim this semester is to leave as a confident, technically able photographer. I am doing more test shoots this semester than ever, because I am tackling more advanced lighting techniques/ interesting techniques to add that extra element to my photography. I want to leave as a photographer, and not a student who studied photography at CIT.

I am in the process of developing my own book about Light. I always wanted to do this and when I saw it all together in Recher's book Light Architecure I realised I want to have my own lighting techniques as my reference. At the moment I have a lighting book where I record all the elements to my shots (models, props, fashion, location, etc), my planned lighting and my actual lighting. I also record what worked and what didn't in dot points after the shoot and if there is anything I would change, and a thumbnail image of the final photograph.

I have been saving photographs which I admire in terms of light and analysing how the effect was achieved. (I.e. what type of light was used, where the light is coming from, etc). I am also writing down all the different lighting effects I can think of now for my book, which I want to photograph. On the LHS I will have the setup, and on the RHS I will have the final shot (Raw, basic edits, final edits) along with notes on lighting. This will take me probably until next year to finalise. I quite liked the finish look of Nathan's food book so I will probably print with Snapfish. (That was the company wasn't it Nath?)

6| Tn Photography | Digital Workflow

The following is a simplified document of my basic workflow (minus PS). Of course workflow varies from job to job, but I aim to be consistent in my method which I have been developing since I began photography. At this point in time this method works for me, and I'm sure this will continue to evolve and develop in the future.

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