Over the last few years, I stopped enjoying taking photos for people. There are several different reasons for that, but it was mainly the stress of trying to produce images that the families would love. I also had a few clients that really turned me off from doing these types of shoots.
I really hate when clients try and direct me during the shoot and tell me what kind of photos they want me to make for them. The first few times, I went along with it and pretty much let them direct the whole shoot. In the end, I did not like the images that came out of those shoots, mainly because those images were not really my style.
The last few times when I knew I had a client that wanted to try and boss me around, I just reminded them that they hired me because of the look of my photos. I let them know that I shoot my sessions in a different way than they are used to and that they pretty much needed to just trust my process. Some clients didn't want to give up that control over the shoot, and in the end, I told them that they should find someone else for their photos because I did not want to compromise my style anymore.
I think standing up to your clients and setting some boundaries from the beginning is the only way that you can grow as an artist. It is tough as first, but it gets a lot easier when you trust yourself and begin to find your style. I am looking forward to doing more portrait sessions. My daughter and I have a session on Tuesday and I am really looking forward to it.
One of the coolest things about working with my daughter is that I am letting her direct the shoots and I am just there pretty much documenting her growth. I really think that she is going to do great things as an artist and it will be cool to look back over the years and have it all documented through my photography.
If you are just getting into photography, one of the most important things that you can do is to practice as much as possible. Go out and do shoots for people for free while you are learning and finding out your style. Just go out and shoot anything and everything.