If you run your own photography business, your priority is to meet and exceed your client's expectations, achieving excellent sessions every time. You're constantly dealing with new clients and trying to figure out the most effective way to get into the specifics of the job and quickly weed out any clients who may not be a good fit for you. A photography client form can be used as a pre-session questionnaire to help you save time and gather all the information you need before your next job.
This is one of the most important photography digital/paper forms you will need, so you might want to create your own questionnaire and keep it as a template to use with all of your clients. To help you out, we will go over the most important elements to cover on your client form and give you some examples of insightful questions to put you on the right path.
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Questions to Include in Your Photography Form Template
Let's look at some of the crucial aspects to focus on and how you may obtain this important information before you even sign a photography contract. While our proposed questions are excellent for any client form or questionnaire on photography, you can always modify them to fit your particular niche and add additional questions as necessary. Consider including the following topics while you do this.
Client and Family Members
Before the photo shoot, getting to know your clients will help you establish a relationship and come up with better ideas for capturing their personality. Aside from their contact details, collect information to learn more about the attendees of the session, their interests, and what you can do to keep everyone engaged during the session. Consider including the following questions in your client form.
- Please list the participants' names and ages in this session.
- Tell me about your family, friends, and/or yourself. What are some of their interests and hobbies?
- Can you provide an interesting fact about each of your family members, friends, or partners who will be in attendance at the session?
- What types of family activities do you all enjoy?
- What single word, if any, best describes who you are?
- Describe your personal taste. Which style do you favor?
Expectations
Asking about the reasons for the photo shoot, how they want to use the photos, and why they enjoy your work will help you understand your client's expectations. Professional photographers must have a clear understanding of the final product that clients are expecting in order to deliver quality service. These questions will help you find out more about what your client is looking for.
- What are the key priorities for this photo session?
- Where do you plan to exhibit your photographs? Do you prefer prints, metals, canvases, etc. as finished goods?
- Which rooms or areas of your home would you decorate with these images?
- What kind of visuals do you find most appealing? (Posed photographs, animated graphics, etc.)
- What do you want to remember about this period of your life?
- Why did you pick me for this particular photo shoot? (Price, fashion, recommendation, etc.)
- Have you ever worked with a professional photographer? What aspects of the experience did you like and dislike?
Event Details
If you are doing event photography, ask your client to lead you through the day so you can better grasp what they are looking for. You need to learn the event schedule, the session date, the location constraints, and the key photos they want to have taken. Typically, these questions are relevant for large events such as birthday parties or weddings (you can use a wedding questionnaire template). Here are a few example questions to consider adding to your client form.
- Can you give us a general summary of what will happen during the event?
- How many guests will be present at the event?
- Are there any venue-specific rules I need to be aware of?
- With which vendors do you plan to work together? (Cake, flowers, makeup, event organizing, decorations, etc.)
- Do you have any unique plans or surprises for the occasion that I should be informed of in advance?
- Would you prefer a certain time to be reserved for group photos?
Photo Session Specifics
Include basic questions to review the session's essentials, such as who, what, where, etc., to ensure you comprehend and can meet your client's needs. You want to reduce the chance that you'll forget important details and stay clear of misunderstandings. Here are a few questions to consider adding.
- What type of session do you have in mind? (Cake smash, new born, maternity, family)
- Will you be bringing any special equipment or pets to your photography session?
- How many outfits have you selected for your session?
- Do you have any requests for specific group photos?
- Have you chosen a location for your photos yet?
- Are there any particular photos or compositions you'd like to have taken during your session?
Create Your Photography Client Forms With Bonsai
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Once you're ready, you can print it or send an online form directly to your clients via email or URL link. You can also have it embedded into your photography website so you can collect more leads and filter out your clients much faster. Bonsai is the best way to manage all your important documents, taxes, clients, payments, and much more. Start your 7-day free trial today and see why we are the go-to business management platform for independent professionals in all industries.