A blog writer turns photography client – Writing for Photographers

This is our first blog post from Fotoskribe writer Shelby Law. She’s been writing with us for a few months now, and recently had the opportunity to have an extended family session with one of our Fotoskribe photographers. We asked her to describe how she created a blog post about her experience in front of the camera, and how blogs really make photography clients feel.

 So, here’s the story. Waaay back in April 2014, I decided to start freelancing, and I found Fotoskribe. And I thought, There is never, ever going to be a better job for me out there. I got to spend my mornings and afternoons seeing the happiest and most touching parts of people’s lives—from babies to weddings to everything in between.

Then in July, my in-laws paid off their house and announced to the family that they were celebrating by taking us all to Hawaii for Christmas. So exciting!

Well, months passed, and when November hit, my husband got laid off. We searched desperately for a new job and found one . . . in Atlanta, GA. We lived, at the time, by his parents in Pleasant Grove, UT. So this vacation was going to be our goodbye as well as a celebration.

Of course my mother-in-law was torn up about it, but we all felt it was for the best (my family is down in the South and hadn’t seen me since I went to Utah for school except for a few weeks over holiday breaks, so everyone agreed it was their turn to have us around). Still, even though we’d just had family pictures taken in March-ish, we wanted one last round—before we all split.

And, lo and behold, in the recent months I’d been working for Fotoskribe, we’d also picked up a new client . . . in Hawaii. I’d been doing a lot of the write-ups for her blogs, and she always seemed so upbeat in her forms and in talking about her pictures that I thought I’d check her out. Her official website was gorgeous, so of course I knew I wanted her.

Rachel contacted Nichole from Haole Girl Photography for us, and from there, it was smooth sailing. We met her in Hawaii, and she was just as happy and fun to work with as I’d hoped she would be from the tone of her blogs. Seriously, she was so fun and patient with all NINE of us running around like crazy people.

And she was so good to capture individual pictures for us! We wanted some of my brother- and sister-in-law, because they’re expecting. She wasn’t even showing yet, but she had that glow, you know? Nichole made sure to capture those two, plus some shots of me and my husband being sickly sweet cute (“demented lovebirds,” my baby sister-in-law calls us) and of my in-laws on their special house-paying-off vacation. Plus the three younger siblings all got individual shots that totally fit their personalities!

I still don’t know how she managed to pull it off! She was absolutely amazing to all of us, remembering our names as often as she could (even though we were basically a small mob) and even making personal connections. She asked us about our move and about our quest for adoption (which we had only just started researching). She talked with our little brother Andrew about his first years at college, and she was just so sweet to 11-year-old Robyn!

Everything settled back down after the vacation, of course, and I went back to the regular schedule with Fotoskribe, waiting for the blog post to come my way.

I have to admit—I was nervous. How on earth do you write about yourself? Thankfully, Nichole had already filled her form with nice things, so I didn’t feel like the blog itself was me tooting my own horn about what “nice clients” we were ;) She had remembered plenty of personal details, and she was so kind about everything.

Actually, I thought it was interesting to read the blog post forms from the other side of the photographer-client mirror. Doing all these posts without having met any of the photographers or their clients, you can’t help but wonder if everybody really enjoyed their clients. I mean, everyone is always so upbeat! Surely there was one experience of awfulness? Surely there were empty words of praise?

Not so!

I could tell from being there—in person—that Nichole meant every nice word she said, because they were personalized. Sure, from the outside, they might have seemed like trite compliments, but I could tell. We’re a rowdy bunch, us Laws, and she called us fun. She called us amazing.

So now I’m back to writing pieces for these photographers, but I do it with a less cynical eye. Now, I’ve been on the client side of one of these amazing people, and let me tell you, they mean it with every fiber of their beings when they say they’ll have fun with you.

And all that positivity? Yeah, it’s totally real. Photographers really do love their clients that much.

Come see the blog and the full family session here.