Being a family and headshot photographer, I am in a unique position of hearing a lot of horror stories of past photography experiences. Knowing what went wrong and what went right the last time one of my clients was photographed allows me to begin their session experience with a customized approach. If their last photographer didn’t show up on time, I make sure to arrive early and communicate when I leave so that they aren’t stressed about timeliness. Or if they felt really uncomfortable in front of the camera last time and received almost no direction, I make sure to reassure and provide instruction every step of the way.

In this post, we’ll go over some of the most common complaints I hear about previous photography experiences and how I structure my sessions to avoid these types of mistakes with each individual client. Now, we’re certainly not going to name names and I do want to stress that even the best photographers have off days (I know I have), so we will be approaching this whole topic with compassion and understanding towards all the hard-working photographers out there.

1. The Photographer was late

While this is less of an issue with Studio photography when a client is coming in for their session, I do sometimes go on-location, especially for Personal Branding sessions that often take place outdoors or in the client’s interior space. While it’s never possible to fully predict an unexpected traffic jam, I always make sure to allow for extra time for travel in those types of situations.

If you think about it, most people you know are probably habitually late to things. For some reason in America, people are generally late by about 5-10 minutes. This usually happens because we are simply bad at estimating how long it takes to get to places. With our GPS, we are pretty confident that we only need 20 minutes to get somewhere because that’s what our phone tells us. But in reality, most people fail to account for the time it takes to get to the car, load everything in, and head out.. not to mention the time you might spend looking for parking once you get there or if you take the wrong turn.

Being late usually isn’t the end of the world.. unless you’re photographing a family with small children. Children who literally have 1 hour in-between naps when they’re not grumpy.. and if you miss that window, you’re pretty much guaranteed to have a bad experience.

So being on time is very important. And it doesn’t automatically happen. It actually takes work and forethought to plan travel time properly and account for any unforeseeable events that might make you late.. which is why I take such great care to always make sure I arrive when I’m supposed to.

2. I wish the Photographer Told me I looked bad in that outfit

While it’s probably not the photographer’s responsibility to let you know if something isn’t flattering, wardrobe and clothing options are one of the most frequently mentioned things that clients are unhappy with. This is exactly why I stared doing wardrobe styling consultations for every portrait session. Whether in person or over Zoom, we sit down together and decide on outfits ahead of time - or if you’re doing a Signature Headshot Session, we do it right before the photoshoot.

This way, we avoid wardrobe regrets after the fact, when it’s definitely too late to change what anyone wore for the photos. This meeting allows us to plan, adjust, and change outfits as needed, so we know that everyone will look great on the big day.

This is one of the main reasons why all the families I photograph look so well put together. In my opinion, it’s not about having a perfectly curated Studio wardrobe, but about putting together perfectly coordinated outfits that truly reflect the family’s style and unique look.

3. The photos looked like they were taken with an iPhone

This complaint is also quite common. A lot of this has to do with the fact that most photographers aren’t 100% professional small business owners, but are hobbyists who take advantage of busy seasons for family photos and offer low rates for images (and let’s be clear, there is nothing wrong with this as every person is allowed to make their own choices in life). Parents see these promotions being advertised right when they need images for their family and get excited about the pretty good images they see paired with the low price. The problem becomes apparent when the photographer in question doesn’t have the experience necessary to deal with all types of lighting situations, cranky children, posing, and everything else that comes up during a photo session.

And the reason why the resulting images might look like iPhone shots is because a professional camera doesn’t automatically make the photos look professional - only the person who is taking the photograph can do that. This is so hard to wrap our heads around because we are so used to assuming that a big camera will make pictures look amazing. But nowadays, iPhones take pretty great pictures too.. which makes HOW you take that picture much more important than the technology you are using. So instead of having enough megapixels, it’s now so much more important to know where to put someone when you’re photographing them and how to use Manual settings to precisely control the final look of the image. And because being a photographer has such a low barrier to entry, it’s sometimes hard to tell if the person you’re hiring can do all those things.

4. The photographer didn’t know how to work with my family

With family photos, knowing how to work with children is one of the most important factors in getting good portraits. Without patience, the knowledge of how to engage little ones in something they probably have no interest in participating in, and how to address wiggly bodies that don’t want to sit still, a person can become frustrated very quickly when trying to get that perfect family photo. So it’s no wonder that some photographers loose their cool in certain situations when it comes to working with kids.

Which is why it’s always my recommendation to hire a specialist. Don’t hire your friend who has a camera and has taken some great shots of landscapes. Don’t hire the photographer who shows beautiful models in their portfolio and not families with children. Headshots and family portraits aren’t the same thing and each genre of photography requires a very specific skillset. This isn’t to say that one photographer can’t know how to do more than one genre well - it simply means that you have to make sure the photographer has enough experience and knowledge to do exactly what you need, and that includes specific situations like family portraits, newborns, or professional headshots.

5. I didn’t like how I looked in the pictures

Not liking how you look in a portrait is actually fairly common. Personally, I don’t usually like photos of myself (somehow I always manage to be making a face or simply look terrified), which is why I can 100% relate to being slightly disappointed in the results of a photography session.

There are several reasons why someone might end up unhappy with their portraits, and we won’t go into the psychology of how we see ourselves and how society shapes our perceptions of what we should look like.. but the main reason why we might end up unhappy is because the photographer didn't know how to make us look our best.

This has to do with selecting (or creating) the best light, posing the body in the most flattering way, and bringing out a natural and relaxed expression. Those are the three biggest reasons why portraits turn out badly, and they’re all easily mitigated by understanding and learning about each of those areas.

This is why all really good photographers are constantly investing in education. We know that getting better with lighting or posing will greatly benefit us and our clients which is why most of the really amazing artists never stop learning. They don’t just assume that they’re great already and leave it at that.. they strive to be better every day and use learning and practice as a way to do that.

And in many ways, knowing how to use a camera is just the start of a photographer’s journey. With portraits, you are often relying on human psychology just as much as technical knowledge.. which is what makes this field both really exciting and somewhat difficult to excel in.

While no portrait session or photographer will ever be perfect, I feel that we can all do our part in keeping some of the worst mistakes out of the process. Each one of us has the power to curate the experience our clients enjoy, which is why I feel so strongly about evaluating every part of the process each year. I truly love every one of my clients and the families I get to work with and I want nothing more than to make an often stressful event as smooth and pain-free as possible.