Portfolio building is a tricky subject, it’s a catch 22—to get clients you need to show them your portfolio, but you can’t build your portfolio unless you have clients.
There is one easy way around this, and I’m guessing you already know what the answer is: FREE sessions. Everyone wants free, you will have no problem finding models! When portfolio building myself, I sent out an email to 10 or 15 families (most of them good friends) and heard back from all but one or two. If you don’t have personal contacts you can reach out to (ie: you are looking for newborn clients, but all your friends have older children), reach out to your friends on Facebook, Instagram, or consider running a Facebook ad.
I have a free email template you can download below and tweak to your needs, but before you get ahead of yourself, there is one SUPER IMPORTANT thing you must do first—make sure you are ready to go into business. Once you showcase your portfolio building sessions to the world, and start tagging your clients on social media, you must be ready for the inquiries to start coming in! Lay the groundwork first and I promise it will be worth it. I know building the house is the exciting part, but make sure the foundation is laid!
1.) Your website must be set up— especially your pricing
Your pricing page, must be complete. This is an INTRODUCTORY portfolio building session, available for a limited time, to a limited number of people. Again, when the inquires start coming in, you need to have a spot to direct them. You also want your portfolio building clients to realize that they are getting an amazing deal when they click over to check out your prices. And, they will! Even if you want to have potential clients contact you view a full price list, make sure there is a range on your pricing page (ie: Session fees are $200; Digital Packages are priced separate and begin at $350). This also helps eliminate inquires from price shoppers, who are way under your range. And have that pricing PDF ready to go! If someone is interested in your services and excited about your work, keep the momentum going—make sure you are responding within 24 hours to their inquiry.
Many of your friends won’t use you again after the initial portfolio building session and that’s OK. It was win-win for everyone (you got experience in both running a session & images for your portfolio. They got free professional images). Also just by tagging them on social media, you are extending your reach to their circles. Even if you aren’t the photog for them going down the road, some of their friends might be! Quite a few of my friends haven’t used me for various reasons since I offered portfolio sessions (I am out of their price range, our styles are different…), but 3 or 4 of my friends have been my biggest supporters! They have booked numerous sessions over the years, gloated about me on social media, and referred friends of their own. By tackling each session as a PROFESSIONAL from day one, and having clear policies outlined, I have created an awesome working partnership with some great friends. Even turning just one of your portfolio sessions into a lifelong cheerleader is an awesome win! Just another quick thought on this, consider writing a letter to your friends when officially launching, thanking them for their support, letting them know you are officially in business (no more free sessions!) and offering them a discount on all sessions going forward. I have offered friends a 20% discount since I launched, and it has worked out wonderful.
As for the rest of your site, write your About and Contact pages. Set up your Blog page and write a post about what kind of photography you are specializing in, or your journey to becoming a photographer. For your Portfolio page (below), put in professional filler images of your own kids, landscapes, macro flowers—anything you photographed that reflects your photography style. With each portfolio building session, start replacing the images. You will likely update these pages many, many times in your first year of business, and that is great! Yes, it’s tedious, but it means you are growing and finding out what works for you and your new venture. A Review page is an awesome thing to set up as well, as your portfolio building clients start to rave about you!
This is to protect you, but also the client! Make sure your policies are outlined when you contact your friends. Have a deadline for when portfolio building sessions must be complete by. A model release and contract must be filled out—they will be tagged on social media, showcased on your website, etc. This is non-negotiable. Let them know the turnaround for when they will receive their gallery after the session, how long the gallery will be live, how many photos they will receive, and in what format (USB, digital download…). Will they be able to purchase additional images or prints?
All my clients must fill out Pre-Session forms at the time of booking, this includes a questionnaire (I want to know as much about them as possible!), a contract, model release, and Session Fee payment (through PayPal). While the policies above are things we have likely discussed during our initial contact, my contract is even more in depth. It includes policies about rescheduling, the rights I as the photographer have to the images, non-refundable fees, what happens if there is an issue with my gear, etc. There are a lot of decisions to make! Make them now, before you get yourself in a situation in which you wish you had a policy in place!
3.) You are a professional
I know is hard to call yourself a “professional photographer” in those first few months, when you still feel like you have so much to learn. But by doing so, and more importantly, acting as such, you will set groundwork for awesome relationships going forward. Approach each client interaction (even if it is with your BFF) professionally and energetically.
This is your business, be confident in your abilities!
Ready to download the Free Email Template? This is the exact letter I used when contacting friends to build my portfolio. It incorporates all the bullets I outlined above, as well as showing enthusiasm for my new business venture. But first, do you pinky-swear you have completed the above steps? :)
