Not my experience, but my client's—


I have a theory: "experience matters”— but not my own photography prowess with a camera, but my clients’ experience in front of it. I bet I could deliver mediocre images paired with a phenomenal experience and my clients would rave. Of course, I have no intention of delivering mediocrity, but I’ve learned over the years that I can give my clients so much more than just pretty pictures.


When Kate first reached out to me, I wasn’t sure I was going to take her on as a client. Her demographics were a perfect fit: entrepreneurial, smart, successful, and a self-starter. The part that made me hesitate was she’d just had a branding session done by a prominent Richmond photographer and she hated the images. Bugger. If a prominent photographer couldn’t give her what she was looking for, I probably couldn’t either.


But discovery calls do just that: discover. And what I learned about Kate’s first branding session was disappointing. I was sure we could do better—so we picked a date for her session and started planning.


Kate shared with me the images from her first session and the images weren’t that bad, but immediately I could see the problem. She wasn’t comfortable. She told me the images “didn’t look like her— I could definitely see the stiffness in her facial features and full body poses.


Let me interject one thing here: these branding images were for Kate as a crisis coach—the person you call when your life swirls down the toilet and you have no idea what to do. She supports high-net-worth leaders through existential, legal, marital, financial and even health crises. Her profession is not the kind where you want to present yourself to your clients as fun-loving and effervescent. Kate takes her client’s pain seriously, and she wants them to know it.


There were three things that needed to be fixed: time, attention, and detail. For starters, Kate’s first session was done at a studio venue—which is not a bad thing. They’re usually gorgeous, spacious, and set for whatever you need. This studio was trendy, and even on-brand for Kate’s new endeavor, but it was cold and spacious. She didn’t feel comfortable and it showed in her images. And literally, it was cold… as in “brrr” —which might feel good in August, but not in late October.


Kate also didn’t realize that her session was only an hour. And during that hour, the photographer would be shooting another session while Kate changed outfits. Kate was also expected to know what to “do next.” As a branding photographer, it’s MY JOB to develop a shot list, plan my client’s poses and props, and structure his or her session. This photographer did none of that for Kate.


And the final straw: there was a second photographer there to capture marketing images of the first photographer while she worked. Kate was aware of this going into the session, but it sounded like a very chaotic environment. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been comfortable either.


Instead of using a rented studio, we decided to use Kate’s home. She sent me pictures and with a few minor tweaks, it was on-brand. We could move some furniture out, bring in a couple props, and it would work surprising well.

This also brought up her level of comfort: it was her own home, she could set the thermostat on whatever she wanted, we had several hours to shoot, and all she needed would be at her fingertips. The only downside was I’d have to bring in some lights, but nothing too overwhelming. Her walls and ceilings were mostly white—a photographer’s dream scenario.


The final results were dramatic. Kate was comfortable. We had the time and space we needed to work on getting her the images she envisioned. And we had fun! She loved her images and even said they “felt like her” —which is a huge success in my book.


And once again, I’m convinced: experience matters.


Want to learn more about Kate and her new endeavor as The Crisis Coach? Check out her website or connect with her on LinkedIn.