One morning in December, it seems like this weekend is the perfect time to relax and clean the camera equipment I've been using. Several jobs have been completed, and I've already delivered them to the client. Shortly after, a message came to my phone.
Friend: Hello, are you busy today?
Me: No, what's up?
Friend: Can you help me with a graduation photo session? I happen to have two clients scheduled at the same time, and I can't handle both simultaneously.
Me: Oh, it's quite sudden. What time are we talking about?
Friend: Yes, my clients just informed me that the time has been moved up, so the schedules overlap. Can you make it by 1 PM?
Me: Okay, sure. Where is it going to be?
Friend: It's at the Aquarius Hotel. Let's meet there. Thank you.
Me: Alright, you're welcome.
It looks like my plan to relax over the weekend while taking care of my camera equipment has failed because I have to shoot a graduation ceremony. But it's okay; the important thing is there's income, enough for a cup of coffee. The fee for graduation photos is relatively low, so photographers often take on 2 to 4 clients to maximize earnings.
And here are the graduation photos I covered over the weekend:
The weather that day was quite overcast, and I was concerned that it might start raining during the photo session. Fortunately, the rain came down before the photo session began, so the photo-taking process went smoothly. In reality, graduation photo sessions are quite easy and quick, unlike weddings that often take a considerable amount of time. Graduation photo sessions usually last around 1 hour per client. This is because graduation photos don't offer as much variation in angles and tend to follow a template. It was my first time getting a graduation photo job since I don't actively advertise my photography services. I let my photography business grow organically because I'm the type of person who selectively chooses clients.
A little story about why I tend to be selective with clients: I once presented a well-thought-out pre-wedding concept to someone, covering everything from outfits, locations, makeup artists, to hairdos. However, the client ultimately chose a photographer with a lower price and a good reputation in my town, and they used my concept. Since that incident, whenever a client contacts me, I ask about the concept they have in mind first. Only then do I share about 40% of my own concepts randomly. It's only after reaching a deal that I fully commit to developing the concept.
I hope this doesn't happen to any of you here because the most valuable thing is the ideas and concepts we provide to clients. Thank you to those who have read my post. Warm regards from me.