As a Photographer There is No Substitute for Trust

© cacaroot

"Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication.
It's the foundational principle that holds all relationships."
Stephen Covey

I'm not sure why the importance of the word trust is on my mind so much this morning. The more I think about it, the more critical the word becomes in every photographer's role, even beyond your skill set.

Think about what it means to be a professional photographer. There's nothing stronger in building your business and reputation than trust from your clients. There's also nothing that will destroy your business faster if that trust is violated. Trust goes well beyond just providing the client with excellent results. In fact, with the exception of the medical community, I can’t think of any other profession that involves such a profound level of trust with an outside “vendor.”

You're in people's homes. You're talking to them about the personalities of various family members. If this is an engagement shoot, you're building trust with a new client. If it's a senior shoot this may be the student's first time working with a professional photographer and most of them couldn't be more nervous.

When working with families, "Mom" has introduced to their children and you've attended family functions. You’ve met the grandparents and the out of town relatives. You're coordinating their wardrobe and often even makeup and hairstyle. There's nothing more valuable than the trust they're placing in you and understanding how they see the world.

Trust is one of the most fundamental building blocks of every artist's reputation. With the busy season of the year starting to ramp up, it's a great time to post a reminder. You've got to work to build trust with every client, even the ones you've worked with in the past.

And, if you blow the trust with a client remember this...

"It's hard to trust someone the second time around after they already gave you one reason not to trust them."
Author Unknown