Questions to Ask Photography Clients
For working photographers who need to know what to ask a client on the inquiry call or the intake form, whether the job is a portrait, a family session, a wedding, a brand shoot or an event. The list follows the order the conversation usually takes: the occasion, the people, the look they want, place and time, the must-have shots, and then how the images will be used, delivered and paid for. Each question has a note on what a good or a worrying answer sounds like, or what to do with it.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
The occasion
What are these photos for?
Why ask it
A holiday card, a frame over the sofa, a website banner and a dating profile are four different shoots, so the purpose comes before everything else. A good answer names where the pictures will end up. If you hear 'just some nice photos', ask what they would do with one great image the week after.
Why now? Is there a milestone, a launch or a date behind it?
Why ask it
The occasion sets both the deadline and the mood, whether that is a first birthday, a graduation, a new website or a grandparent's visit. When there is no occasion at all, the date can move for light and weather. Say so, because that flexibility usually gets them better pictures.
How did you find me, and which of my photos made you get in touch?
Why ask it
Whichever picture they name is the one they expect a version of. If it was shot in a field at sunset and they are booking a noon session in an office, say now what will look different. A referral tells you whose gallery they have already seen, and someone who cannot name a picture at all probably chose by price or location, so show them a full session before they book.
Have you had professional photos taken before, and how did it go?
Why ask it
The story usually has a grievance in it: posing that felt stiff, a long wait for the gallery, far fewer images than they pictured. Whatever it is, answer it in your proposal without being asked. A client who has never hired a photographer needs the session described step by step, down to what happens in the first five minutes.
When you open the gallery, what would make you feel it was worth it?
Why ask it
The answer is their definition of success, and it tends to be a feeling more than a shot: a family that looks like it likes each other, a headshot they do not hate. Write it down in their words and use it to decide which frames lead the gallery. Be wary of an answer that hangs on things you cannot control, like a toddler's mood, and say kindly what a camera can and cannot do.
What is the one thing that would make you nervous on the morning of the shoot?
Why ask it
Naming the worry now lets you say exactly how you deal with it, which is often the moment a hesitant client decides to book. The usual ones are a child melting down, a partner who sulks, rain, and not knowing what to do with their hands. A client who cannot think of one still likes hearing the two you meet most and how each tends to go.
Are you the person being photographed, or are you booking for someone else?
Why ask it
Anyone booking for someone else answers your questions secondhand: an assistant arranging a headshot, a parent paying for an engagement session, a planner acting for a couple. Request ten minutes with whoever will stand in front of the lens. Their nerves and their preferences are the ones that show in the pictures.
What does the business sell, and who should these pictures speak to?
Why ask it
On a brand shoot the customer decides the styling more than the owner's taste does. Look at the website and the last few posts so you know what the new images will sit beside. An owner who cannot describe the customer needs a wider mix of setups, because nobody yet knows which pictures will be needed.
The people
Who will be in the photos, and how are they related?
Why ask it
Get names and relationships, and keep the list where you can see it so you can use first names on the day. The head count sets the session length and the lens you bring. A number that keeps growing during the call ('and maybe my sister's family') has to be settled before you quote.
What do you all like doing together on an ordinary weekend?
Why ask it
This is where the session's activity comes from. A family that names pancakes, bikes or a card game that always ends in an argument has handed you twenty minutes in which nobody needs posing. If the answer is 'not much, we are always busy', ask what a slow Sunday morning looks like in their house and photograph that.
How did the two of you meet, and what does a good day together look like?
Why ask it
Couples relax when they tell this story, so ask it early and let them interrupt each other. Listen for a place or a habit you can use: the coffee shop of the first date, the trail they walk on Sundays, the dog that came with one of them. Notice who does the talking, too. The quieter one will need more of your direction on the day.
Who in the group least enjoys being photographed?
Why ask it
There is nearly always one, often a teenager or a partner who was signed up without being consulted. Find out what they would rather be doing and plan the first ten minutes around it: walking, holding the dog, anything with a job in it. When the client says it is themselves, describe how you direct people who feel awkward.
Is there anything about how you look in photos that you tend to dislike?
Why ask it
You are collecting posing notes, so write them down without arguing or reassuring: a preferred side, a smile they think is crooked, glare on glasses. Say what angle and light can help with, and do not promise that editing will change a body.
If children are coming, how old are they and what time of day are they happiest?
Why ask it
Nap times and meal times outrank good light when the subject is two years old. Ask what reliably cheers each child up, what sets them off, and whether a favorite toy can come along. Parents who say the kids will be fine at any hour deserve one gentle second ask.
Are pets part of the picture?
Why ask it
A dog changes the location shortlist, since not every venue or park allows them, and it changes how the session opens. Request an extra adult whose only job is the leash, and plan the pet frames first so the animal can go home before it gets bored.
Does anyone need a seat, a ramp, a quiet corner or a shorter session?
Why ask it
The answer changes where you shoot and in what order. A grandparent who cannot stand for long needs the big group done first and a chair close by, and a child who is upset by flash and noise needs a calm start with the lights off. Let the family tell you what helps, in their words, and plan for it without making that person the subject of the day.
Is there anyone I should avoid placing side by side in a group photo?
Why ask it
You need the seating plan, not the history. Divorced parents, a new partner or relatives who are not speaking also tell you which groupings to shoot twice, once with a particular person and once without. Save this for a private moment if several family members are on the call.
Is there someone who cannot be there, or who has died, that you want remembered in the photos?
Why ask it
Families often want this and feel awkward bringing it up. It might be a framed picture on a chair, a piece of jewelry or a place left in the line-up, so ask how visible it should be and who will hold the object. If the loss is recent, expect that part of the session to slow down, and leave room for it.
Is there anyone whose face should not appear, or whose picture cannot be shared?
Why ask it
Have the client check before the day and tell you in writing, because the people concerned are rarely on the call: a foster child, a guest with a safety concern, staff who have not agreed, customers who wander into frame. What permission is required differs by country, state and employer, so ask how it works where you are shooting.
Who will be in front of the camera at the business: the owner, staff, models or real customers?
Why ask it
Staff who learn about a photo shoot that morning arrive in the wrong clothes and a bad mood. Check who has been told, who has agreed and who will be away that day. Faces in advertising are a separate matter: ask how the company handles its people's permission well before the shoot.
Who can round people up for me on the day?
Why ask it
You do not know which uncle is which, and the client will be busy being photographed. What you want is one loud, organized person who knows both sides of the family or the whole office, plus their phone number. No candidate at all is a reason to add time to the group photos.
The look
Have you saved photos you love, from me or anyone else, and what do you like in each?
Why ask it
A board of forty images says little until you learn what they are pointing at in each one: the light, the pose, the place or simply how happy the people look. Be plain about what you cannot repeat, such as fall color in June or a mountain you do not have. A board full of a style that is not yours calls for a conversation before any money changes hands, and sometimes a referral.
What kind of photo do you not want?
Why ask it
Most people can name the picture that makes them wince, whether it is stiff rows, forced laughing or everyone in matching white shirts. Write the list down and apply it to the edit as well as the shoot. An empty list usually means they have not looked closely yet, so show two contrasting galleries and watch which one they linger on.
Do you want people looking at the camera, caught in the moment, or a mix?
Why ask it
Plenty of clients request candid pictures and then frame the one where everybody is looking at the lens. Find out which kind is going on the wall or to the grandparents, and shoot that first. If they want no direction at all, explain that natural-looking photos still involve you telling people where to stand.
How do you want the color and editing to feel: bright, warm, dark, close to real life?
Why ask it
Words like 'moody' and 'airy' mean something different to every client. Send the same frame edited two ways and let them choose. Someone who wants an edit far from what your portfolio shows is asking you to be another photographer, and it is fairer to say that before they book.
How much retouching are you expecting?
Why ask it
One client means a blemish removed and another means a different jawline. Spell out what every delivered image gets, what costs extra and what you will not do. Vague answers here turn into revision requests after delivery, so put your standard in the proposal.
What is everyone planning to wear, and would a short guide help?
Why ask it
Large logos, neon and one person in formal clothes beside another in beachwear are easier to fix a week ahead than in the parking lot. Offer to look at a phone photo of the outfits laid out together. For headshots, the useful test is what they wear to meet the people these pictures are for.
Are you having your hair and makeup done, and what time will that finish?
Why ask it
Styling appointments have a habit of running over, and the session cannot start until they end. Put a buffer between the two and count the travel from wherever it is happening. Clients doing their own can try the full look once beforehand and send you a phone photo taken in daylight.
What should a stranger think of you from your headshot?
Why ask it
Three words are enough, written down as they say them. An attorney who wants to look approachable and a yoga teacher who wants to look established both need something other than the usual picture for their trade. When the gallery goes out, mark your recommended frames against those three words and say so.
Are there brand colors, a website layout or existing photos these need to match?
Why ask it
Get the link and the spot each image is meant to fill. A banner needs empty space on one side for a headline, a profile circle crops the shoulders, and a shop listing may need a plain background. Clients rarely know the shapes they need until someone raises it, and their web designer usually does.
How do you feel about props, signs or themed setups?
Why ask it
Some clients arrive with a full plan of balloons, a letter board and a cake to smash, and some want none of it. Settle who is bringing each item and what happens if it is forgotten or breaks. Have them send any picture the idea came from, because the prop is often not what made that photo work.
Place and time
Where do you picture this happening: at home, in a studio, outdoors or at a venue?
Why ask it
Find out whether the place means something to them or is only a backdrop, because that decides how much of it has to be in the frame. For a home session, get phone photos of the rooms at the hour you would shoot so you can see the windows and the clutter. 'Wherever you think' is a fine answer and a cue to offer two options with example galleries.
What date do you have in mind, and how firm is it?
Why ask it
A wedding or a conference is fixed. A family session is often fixed only in the client's head. A movable date needs a backup agreed now, so a rained-out afternoon does not turn into three weeks of messages.
Can the start time move to suit the light?
Why ask it
Explain the trade in one sentence: low sun in the last hour of the day is kinder to faces than overhead light at noon. Then listen for what cannot move, such as a bedtime, a shift or a ceremony time. If the hour is fixed and harsh, tell them you will work in open shade or indoors, so they are not surprised when you skip the sunny lawn.
Does the location need a permit, a fee or someone's permission, and who will arrange it?
Why ask it
Parks, beaches, hotels, campuses and private land each set their own rules, and those change from one town to the next. Agree which of you will contact the venue or the local office, and who pays if there is a charge. Having shot there once before is not an answer.
If the weather turns, would you rather reschedule or move somewhere covered?
Why ask it
Their answer has to fit your own rescheduling terms, so state those in the same breath. For an event that cannot move, see the indoor fallback before the day, since a dim room with a low ceiling changes what you pack. A few clients like rain and umbrellas, and it costs nothing to offer.
How much time have you set aside, counting travel, changes of clothes and getting everyone ready?
Why ask it
Clients tend to think of the booking as pure shooting time. Two outfit changes and a walk between spots can swallow a large part of a short session. Go through the plan in minutes with them, and if it does not fit, cut a location before you cut time with the people.
Can you send the running order for the day, and who is keeping everyone to it?
Why ask it
For a wedding or an event, read it for the gaps where photographs are supposed to happen. Fifteen minutes for a long list of family groupings, or portraits scheduled after dark, should be raised while the times can still move. Take the name and number of whoever holds the final version, because the copy sent to you months earlier may not be the one in force on the day.
Does the venue or the officiant have rules for photographers?
Why ask it
Someone other than your client decides whether flash is allowed, where you may stand, whether you can move during a ceremony and when the room must be cleared. Have them check and forward the reply, or get the coordinator's contact and do it yourself. Learning about a no-flash rule from an usher is too late.
Which other professionals should I be in touch with before the day: a planner, a videographer, a stylist, a venue manager?
Why ask it
A videographer shares your angles and a planner controls your schedule, so a short message to each beforehand saves negotiating in front of the client. On a brand shoot the person to find is whoever chose the props or styled the space. Being the only professional there means some of the directing falls to you.
Must-haves
If I could deliver only five photos, which five would they be?
Why ask it
It forces a ranking that 'everything' never gives you. Those five are what you shoot first, while faces are fresh and the light is good. If two people on the call give different lists, you have found the real brief, so keep both.
Which groupings do you want, written as a list of names?
Why ask it
'Family photos' can mean four frames or forty. Have each grouping put on its own line, then tell them honestly how long the whole list will take. Shoot the largest group first so older relatives and small children can be let go.
Do you want each person photographed alone as well as together?
Why ask it
Parents often forget to request a portrait of each child and miss it when the gallery arrives. On a team shoot the same goes for individual headshots. It adds time per person, so count heads before you say yes.
Are there objects, details or spots that have to be in the pictures?
Why ask it
Sentimental items get left on kitchen counters, so note who is bringing each one, be it an heirloom ring or a quilt a grandmother made. Fixed things such as the shop sign or the tree in the yard decide where you stand, so see them in a phone photo first. For products, request clean, unopened samples.
Is there an older photo you would like to recreate or echo?
Why ask it
A copy sent ahead of time lets you match the angle and where each person stood, whether it is the same porch steps a decade later, a parent's wedding portrait or last year's team picture with the new hires added. It often ends up a favorite in the gallery, so do not leave it for the last five minutes.
Is anything planned that some of the people there will not know about?
Why ask it
You get one chance at the reaction, so agree on a signal and on where you will be standing when it comes. Whether it is a proposal, a pregnancy announcement, a relative flying in or an award, learn who knows, who must not, and what your cover story is for being there with a camera.
Which pictures does the website or campaign need, by name?
Why ask it
Push past 'some lifestyle shots' to a list: owner at work, team, product in hand, the space empty, the space busy. Next to each, write the shape it has to be and where it will go. A client without a list needs a short planning call before the shoot, and it is reasonable to charge for building one.
At an event, which people and moments must be covered?
Why ask it
The room at its fullest lasts only a short while, so learn when that will be and be in position for it. For speakers, award winners and sponsors you will need someone who can point them out, since name badges cannot be read from across a hall. Check whether the host wants a few images the same night for social posts.
Is there anything you would rather I left out of the pictures?
Why ask it
Clients seldom raise these unprompted and are relieved when you do: a scar, a tattoo that a relative has not seen, a messy room, a moment of prayer, a guest who is unwell. Note whether it means do not shoot it or do not deliver it, since those are different instructions.
Use and budget
Do you want prints, an album or wall art, or only digital files?
Why ask it
A client who wants a large print above the fireplace needs a horizontal picture with room around the people, and you should know that before you shoot. A phone photo of the wall helps. For files only, say what size those will print at and where you would send them to have it done.
How many finished images are you expecting?
Why ask it
Some clients picture twenty and some picture every frame you took. Give your usual range for this kind of session and say how you choose. The unedited files tend to come up here, and the time to state your policy is now, kindly and once, so it is not an argument after delivery.
Is there a date you need the photos by?
Why ask it
Quote your normal turnaround first, then see whether it fits what sits behind their date: a holiday card order deadline, a website launch, a party, a print lab's lead time. If it does not, offer a few images early or name your rush fee, and do not promise a date that only works if the month stays quiet.
How would you like to receive the photos, and who else needs access?
Why ask it
An online gallery suits families who want relatives to order their own prints, and a shared folder suits a marketing team. Collect the email addresses now. Tell them how long the gallery stays online and that they should keep their own copy.
Will any of these be used to sell or promote something?
Why ask it
Photos for a family album and photos for an ad are normally priced and licensed differently, and a personal session sometimes turns into business use later. Find out where the images might appear in the next year and write that into the agreement. Licensing and copyright depend on your contract and on where you work, so go by your own terms and check with a qualified person if you are unsure.
Are you comfortable with me showing some of these on my website or social media?
Why ask it
Take each place separately, and raise pictures of children as their own question. Some people have safety or work reasons for saying no and should not have to explain them. Record the answer in the agreement, and check what consent your own area requires before you post anyone's face.
What budget have you set aside for this?
Why ask it
A number lets you recommend something, while 'what do you charge?' sends you into a price list. If their figure is below your smallest package, say what it would buy from you, such as a shorter session or fewer images, or point them to a photographer who fits it. Do not discount on the call just to end the silence.
Who is paying, and whose name goes on the agreement?
Why ask it
Whoever pays may expect a say in the result, and that goes for a parent funding a wedding, a company covering an employee's headshot and an agency booking for a brand. Before the gallery goes out, know who is entitled to the files and who approves them. For a business, ask what the invoice has to show and how long payment usually takes there.
Can I take you through how booking works: the retainer, rescheduling and cancellation?
Why ask it
Go through it aloud even if it is on your site, because few people read it. A question back is a good sign. Whether a payment can be kept after a cancellation depends on your contract and local rules, so describe what your agreement says and do not improvise an exception on the call.
How to run a client intake for a photo shoot
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Form or call
Put the facts on a form
Names, ages, the date, the address, the list of groupings and the delivery deadline are easier to type than to say, and you will want them in writing anyway. Send those as a short questionnaire after the first contact. Keep it to what the client can answer in ten minutes without phoning anyone.
Keep the call for taste and nerves
What they want the pictures to feel like, who dreads the camera and what went wrong last time come out in conversation, not in a text box. Use the call for The occasion and The look, plus the first few questions under The people, and let the form carry the rest.
Choose by the kind of shoot
Nobody needs all of these. A family session leans on The people and Place and time. A headshot is mostly The look and Use and budget. Weddings and events need Must-haves and the running order in full, and a brand shoot is decided by where each image will be placed. Questions that name a business, a headshot or an event are for those jobs only. Mark the fifteen or so that fit your work and save them as your own template.
Start where the client starts
Clients arrive wanting to talk about the occasion and the people, so open there. Someone who has just described the day to you talks about dates, permits and money more easily. Give your starting price early all the same, so nobody spends half an hour planning a shoot they cannot afford.
During the conversation
Trade adjectives for pictures
'Natural', 'timeless' and 'editorial' get applied to very different photographs. Whenever a style word comes up, have the client show you an image that fits it, from your portfolio or anywhere else. Two minutes looking at the same screen settles more than a paragraph of description.
Hear from the people who will be in the frame
The person who books is usually the keenest member of the group. Find out what the others think, and if you can, get a few words directly from a partner, a teenager or the staff member who will be photographed. Reluctance you know about can be planned for.
Read the must-haves back
Before the call ends, repeat the list of pictures they cannot do without and the people in each. Clients add to it when they hear it aloud, and an addition now is far cheaper than one that arrives by email after delivery.
Say what you will not do while it is still easy
A look you do not shoot, a location you will not work at, unedited files, a delivery date you cannot meet: each is a short sentence on an inquiry call and a dispute later. Offer the nearest thing you do, or the name of someone who does it.
Turning answers into a plan
Write a one-page session sheet
Put names, the point person's number, the address, parking, the five must-have pictures, the groupings and the sensitive notes on one page you can read on your phone. On the day there is no time to scroll through a form.
Time the shot list
Give every grouping and setup a number of minutes and add them up. If the total is longer than the session, send the client the sum and let them choose what goes. The choice is theirs, and it is better made a week ahead than by you on the spot.
Put the promises in the agreement
The number of images, the delivery date, what the client may do with the photos and whether you may show them should all be written where both of you signed. Contract terms, permits and consent rules vary by country, state and venue, so use an agreement written for where you work and take anything you are unsure of to a qualified person.
Check in a few days before
Plans drift. A short message confirming time, place, outfits, who is coming and the weather plan catches the extra cousin, the changed room and the forgotten permit while there is still time to adjust.
Mistakes to avoid
Sending every question to every client
A questionnaire that runs to several pages tells a family booking a one-hour session that you will be hard work. Cut the list to what changes your plan for this particular shoot.
Agreeing to copy another photographer
When the inspiration board is all one person's work in a style unlike yours, the client wants that photographer. Saying yes produces a gallery that disappoints you both. Show what your version would look like and let them decide.
Planning for the children on their best day
Parents describe their children on a good day. Find out what a bad one looks like, plan the session for that, and treat anything better as a bonus.
Rushing money and usage at the end
Photographers who enjoy the creative part of the call tend to hurry the last ten minutes of it. Budget, what is delivered and how the images may be shown need the same unhurried attention as the mood board, because that is where disappointment tends to start.