So the other day I was reading this article from Click Magazine that spoke about perfectionism as a photographer and how it can hold you back. I have known that I am a Type-A person for most of my life. My husband would tell you that I’m ALWAYS trying to improve him. I recently tested as an Enneagram Type 1. I know that perfectionism can sometimes be really harmful . . . but today I am here to tell you that in my business as a portrait photographer, DETAILS DO MATTER.
This topic has been simmering in my brain for quite awhile now, and it began with a client many years ago who arrived to a session with some badly-chipped NEON nail polish. A little secret . . . I LOVE retouching in Photoshop. The creativity and artistry it allows is AMAZING! What I don’t love is that oftentimes people simply assume that this tool is akin to a magic wand that, with the click of a mouse, can magically make flaws disappear. While that is the case in some circumstances (poof, pimple be gone!), most of the time it’s a fairly time-consuming process. Especially for a perfectionist like me. For what it’s worth, a fancy real-life manicure would have taken less time than it did for me to retouch those fingernails.
Because all the details DO matter, it’s important to be as prepared as possible for a a portrait session. It’s why I scout locations before a session if I can: the lighting changes throughout the year and throughout the day, tall fields of grass get mowed down, construction happens in the background, roads are closed.
It’s why I create a mood board and shot sheet for myself to stay on track with the session goals and timeline.
It’s why I bring a client comfort kit to on-location sessions, filled with all kinds of mundane-but-necessary things that might help the session go smoothly: safety pins, clothing clips, baby wipes, tissues, bottled water, moisturizer, tape, lint roller, bug spray, microfiber towels, hairspray, comb, bobby pins, etc.
It’s why I provide my clients with a questionnaire and a detailed pre-session consultation to help draw out specific goals for the session: What do you hope to capture? Why now? What do you intend to do with the photographs? Who needs to be included? Is there a location that is important to you? What should you wear?
The chipped nail polish was MY fault. I hadn’t prepared my client well enough. Back then I didn’t carry around my client comfort kit (which now includes nail polish remover!). It has taken years of mistakes and experience to get to the point where I now know just how much detail to give to clients before a session . . . because we are a team with a goal in mind. Most of the time, the goal is to create a beautiful memory without distracting elements (like chipped and dirty nails, poppy-seed teeth, scuffed shoes, forgotten belts, bad spray tans, or lobstery sunburns) that can take the focus away from what’s really important. The success truly is found in the details . . .
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