Hello everyone! We all agree that one of the most valuable and awesome parts of being part of a close knit photographer community is getting to ask each other for advice. We're lucky enough to have a TON of awesome photographers here in San Diego that we constantly ask advice from, and we hope you guys do too! However, just in case you don't, we figured we'd take an entire episode just for answering listener questions! If you have a question about something, chances are a bunch of other people do too! We grabbed a few favorite questions from our email & social media for this episode... if you have a question you want answered on the air, drop us a line!! Listener Question Highlights

1. I'd like some tips on how to gain confidence to turn away clients that might not be the best fit. Sometimes I struggle with taking sessions that aren't right for me, and I don't enjoy the work.
   1. Don't worry if you aren't booked up for the year yet; it's only the beginning of fall! If you take a shoot you're not quite excited about, you're potentially filling up spots on your calendar that could be used for a shoot you ARE excited about!
   2. We know that we tend to not give 100% on shoots we don't want to do. So gain confidence to turn the client away by knowing you're not only doing what's best for YOU, you're also doing what's best for THEM by sending them to someone else who will suit their needs better.
2. How do you take the initiative to get clients to book early for the holiday season?
   1. We are already entering the holiday season!!! Ashley will message clients individually to remind them it's time to book. She starts with December and November clients & lets them know she has a limited number of shoots available for this time of year, and sends her availability their way. This is a great way to reach out to past clients to make sure they book (and that you don't fill up before they do!) and make them feel special too!
   2. Offer an incentive to book now. Whether this is a small discount, extra prints, etc, consider offering something to clients as a bonus for booking in September or October... before the REALLY busy season begins, so you can get a jump start on holiday sessions.
3. What do you carry in your camera bag that is not photo related?
   1. Ashley: Mints or gum, pepper spray (you never know!), chapstick, wet wipes
   2. Julie: Mints, command hook (to hang the wedding dress!), sewing kit, corkscrew & bottle opener, snacks, & a plethora of other items
   3. Kate: Gum, hair tie (for windy beach shoots), mirror, small bottle of hairspray, chapstick
4. How do you handle silent acceptance of photos? The client has shared photos on social media but never said thank you or anything else. How do you handle this?
   1. Ashley basically chases people down until they give her feedback (good or bad). She sends an email asking clients if they have downloaded & if everything looks good or if something needs work. This is a great way to get ahead of any potential problems (or bad reviews!), and keep the lines of communication open with clients.
   2. Kate & Julie tend to hope that if a client has an issue, they'll bring it to our attention. Kate figures if a client has shared photos on social media, they're probably happy with them, and Julie feels no news is good news. We have to remember that the client picked us because they love our work, so they probably assume we know our work is good, and maybe don't think we need the extra reassurance. As artists, we DO second guess ourselves so praise & reassurance is always helpful, but perhaps someone who isn't in our field doesn't really understand that, and might be less likely to say thank you for their product.

We hope you enjoyed the time we spent answering listener questions this episode! The questions above are just a small sample of the questions we answer this episode so be sure to tune in! And like we said earlier, please send us an email if you have any questions you'd like us to answer in future episodes! Relavent Links:

• Julie Ferneau Photography
• Ashley DuChene Photography
• Chasing Daylight Photography (Kate Mills)
• Audible.com (free audio book download with a 30 day trial!)
• ShootQ

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