• Business and Management

7 Ways to turn photography client feedback into growth.

Feedback is crucial to anyone in business, but particularly to photographers who work closely with clients. It allows you to understand your client’s needs and become the best in your areas of specialty. 

Client feedback is a great way to validate your work and demonstrate that your work is appreciated and well-received. Whether it’s praise or critique, feedback encourages growth and development by shedding light on the areas you excel at and could improve in. 

Client feedback highlights potential issues in your business or workflow–being receptive to their criticisms can allow you to address the problems, make changes, and improve client relationships. Your response and implemented changes show your clients that their opinions are valued, fostering a deeper bond with them—not to mention significantly improving customer satisfaction and loyalty!

Sometimes, feedback can act as a catalyst for new ideas, inspiring you to incorporate different perspectives into your work and stimulating innovation and creativity. Client feedback sets a standard of quality for your work. Being open to–or even requesting–constructive critique can help identify what clients perceive as high-quality, not just in your images but also in your client experience.  

Harnessing client feedback in a productive way can pave the path to a successful photography business.

What is constructive criticism or feedback? 

Constructive criticism, or feedback, is an essential tool that offers opportunities for both growth and improvement. It’s not about finding faults or highlighting negatives; instead it involves providing fact-based, measured, and relevant suggestions on how individuals can improve their performance.

Thoughtful, valuable recommendations encourage positive change and offer solutions rather than dwell on problems or faults. When your clients give you feedback without personal bias, giving tips that center on actionable advice and constructive criticism fosters efficiency and promotes your professional development as a competent photographer.

Remember, the essence of feedback is to nurture growth, not something to beat yourself up over.

Understanding how feedback from photography clients can be relevant and useful.

As we’ve already said, feedback helps photographers improve their skills, make changes in their sessions or workflows, and ensure that they are meeting their clients’ needs. But more than that, feedback guides a photographer in understanding what works best, what doesn’t, and what changes need to be implemented for future shoots.

When clients provide feedback on their experiences with you as their photographer, it provides crucial insights into their preferences. This can include their favorite poses or types of images, sessions, photography techniques, or locations they favor. 

Providing a platform for such feedback allows the photographer to make better decisions about their work process, ultimately increasing their chances of success. Not only does it enable the photographer to align their services with client expectations, but it also allows them to discover new techniques, trends, or equipment that could potentially enhance their work down the road. 

Importance of open communication with photography clients.

Open communication with photography clients is pivotal for establishing rapport, understanding their needs, achieving client satisfaction, and maintaining long-term relations. Effective communication sets the foundation of expectations and helps to align your creative vision with the client’s requests. 

How you communicate directly impacts the quality of the end product, so it’s essential to be clear, punctual, and cordial in all your interactions.

The art of active listening.

A good listener not only hears what the speaker has to say, but processes the information and thinks through what’s being said before responding. 

Active listening helps you understand your clients’ needs, their preferences, and their vision, allowing you to align your creativity accordingly. It also shows that you respect them and their ideas, which fosters trust.

We’ve all experienced feeling defensive when someone is giving us feedback. Even if their words are critical, as long as it is constructive, listen openly WITHOUT thinking about what you are going to say or cut them off. 

Clear and constructive feedback.

Clients trust photographers who can take constructive criticism, even if we respectfully disagree. Always be tactful and clear when suggesting alternatives to their ideas and suggestions, and be honest when you need time to think about how to implement their suggestions–just be sure to follow up afterward! This transparent communication prevents misunderstandings and aids in striking a balance between the client’s vision and your professional expertise.

Methods for collecting useful feedback as a photographer:

Now that we know what makes feedback valuable to your work and business, let’s briefly explore a few different ways your clients can share their thoughts about your work. 

1. Client Surveys: Use online survey tools like Google Forms or SurveyMonkey to gather feedback from your clients regularly.
2. Social Media Polls: Conduct interactive polls on your social media platforms, like Instagram or Facebook.
3. Online Review Platforms: Encourage clients to write reviews on your business profiles on platforms like Google Business, Facebook, and Yelp.
4. Feedback Sessions: Schedule one-on-one feedback sessions with your clients annually or after completing a project.
5. Client Testimonials: Request testimonials from your clients. A testimonial section on your website will allow potential customers to gauge your expertise and reliability.
6. Email Follow-ups: Send a personalized email following up on your service. It shows professionalism and opens a door for clients to voice their experiences. 
7. Comment Feature in Galleries: When your galleries include a method for clients to leave comments with feedback or suggestions on individual photographs, it provides an opportunity for valuable insight into what they love most and where you can make improvements.
8. Portfolio Review Events: Attend photography portfolio review events, or share your work with trusted peers and professionals in your field who are willing to share feedback.

Pro tip: Ask for testimonials as a part of your workflow. Add a direct link to your review page to your gallery delivery email templates, and make it as easy as possible for clients to give feedback.

7 ways to turn client feedback into progress:

1. Acceptance: Why accepting the feedback is the first step toward progress.

Being open to feedback is indispensable in any field, including photography. Acceptance doesn’t always mean agreement, but it does mean acknowledging and understanding other people’s perspectives. 

Here are some tips to keep in mind next time you come across a client’s feedback:

• Try to consider their feedback from a client perspective–would you have similar feelings if you were the client and had paid another photographer for the work?
• Although it can be tricky, remain open-minded. Is the feedback constructive, and being delivered in a reasonable way? Do your best to view their words as a roadmap to improve your skills rather than a personal attack on your artistic touch.

Pro tip: Dealing with subjective criticism can be tricky due to its personal and sometimes biased nature. Even from subjective views there can be lessons to learn. Always be receptive, sift out the constructive points from biased ones, and use the valuable insights for your growth.

2. Analyzing: Feedback can show you patterns or potential areas of improvement.

As a photographer, you likely maintain a keen eye not only on the subjects you capture but also on the responses that your work generates. Analyzing feedback can provide insights into many parts of your photography business, from what types of images clients purchase most (the close-ups or the scenic pull-backs?) to gaps in your client communications that left them hanging. Through carefully studying critiques, comments, and praise, you can identify trends and preferences among your clients that inform your future decisions and steer your business toward greater success. 

A structured approach to analysis can be helpful to use feedback productively. This could involve classifying feedback into different categories, such as composition, post-processing techniques, communication, timeliness, and pricing. 

Each category can then be evaluated for prevalent trends and recurring comments. Feedback can also be quantified to measure overall engagement, such as the number of positive, neutral, and negative responses. Consider using these insights to shape artistic choices or serve as a guide for professional development. As in all other aspects of your photography business, the ultimate goal should be to balance your artistic vision and business practices with your client’s perceived experience–and make it the best you can.

It is important to note that not all feedback that you receive may be applicable or beneficial. It’s essential to evaluate the feedback and modify your plan accordingly. Don’t force yourself to make changes you don’t feel comfortable making or that don’t fit into your overall vision of your photography business. Sometimes the analysis will help you determine what parts of your business you love most, and what parts you need to let go rather than improving.

3. Planning: Why it’s important to create a plan for turning feedback into positive changes. 

Feedback plays a pivotal role in the journey to improve as a photographer. Be it a trusted mentor, a fellow photographer, or a client, this input can provide valuable insights and subtle nuances to refine your photographic skills and business. 

However, feedback alone isn’t useful if it’s not incorporated into your process. The solution? Make a plan to put what you’ve learned into action! By creating a proactive plan, you can effectively navigate the many comments given on your work and identify steps to improve your practice.

Change can be hard, and trying to incorporate too much feedback at once can be overwhelming. A step-by-step plan will break down the changes into manageable chunks, helping you maintain–and maybe even increase–your enthusiasm and joy in running your photography business.

4. Implementing: Avoid getting stuck in perpetual planning mode and make the changes.

Although planning is key, sometimes we get lost or overwhelmed during the process of making decisions about what and when to make changes–or maybe we’re just procrastinating. Either way, move forward by looking at your calendar and setting a few realistic deadlines. 

Not sure how long the changes will take? Review what a change requires; adding more emails to your client communication workflow will mean writing out new messages, trying them out, and fine-tuning as you go–this could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, depending on how busy you are. On the flip side, adding a highly requested product to your price list can be the work of minutes. Alternate implementing easier and more time-consuming changes as part of your plan, and feel the satisfaction of checking things off your list.  

5. Evaluating: How to know whether changes made from feedback have been successful.

After you’ve collected the feedback, analyzed what you could learn from it, and implemented your plan for improvement, it’s time to evaluate how your photography and business have improved since receiving the feedback. Follow these suggestions for a no-nonsense approach to gauging your growth as a photographer and business owner:

• Review your work: Set aside time to look through galleries you delivered after implementing the feedback. Has your work improved? Did the changes inspire more client orders, testimonials, or new positive feedback? Do the improvements align with changes planned from the initial feedback you received?
• Review your bookings: Look at the clients you booked since implementing changes. How many were referrals from happy clients compared to before the changes? Did you book more sessions or less? What kind of client feedback did you receive after the changes?
• Review your orders/sales: At least 6 months to 1 year after making the changes, look through your sales reports from both before and after implementing the feedback. Did your average sales per client increase or decrease in comparison? If they decreased, consider other factors that could have impacted your sales revenue, such as time of year and location. 
• Evaluate how well you’ve implemented the feedback: Ask yourself if you’ve changed all of the most important areas for improvement, and if there is still more you can do.

6. Consistent Follow-ups: Effective communication about improvements and requesting new feedback.

Effective communication is key in every field, and photography is no different. By maintaining regular contact with clients, a photographer can more easily understand their needs. Honest communication also helps prevent misunderstandings, managing clients’ expectations effectively while avoiding unnecessary conflicts. 

Incorporating consistent follow-ups into your photography workflow can dramatically enhance the client-photographer relationship and the quality of the client experience.

7. Adaptation: How a flexible approach and openness to feedback contributes to continued growth.

A flexible approach enables a photographer to navigate through unexpected elements and events. When you remain open to feedback, it facilitates learning and enhances growth. By adapting to changes, learning from your experiences and mistakes, and fine-tuning your strategies, you enhance your skills and mastery as a photographer and a business owner. Adaptation isn’t just a science term; it can also describe a receptive mindset that encourages improvement and change. 

Don’t be afraid to ask questions, make mistakes, and use feedback to catapult your photography business to greater success.

Related Posts

The secret to dealing with an unhappy photography client. Best ways to send photographs and photo galleries to clients.