Vote Yo.

i think my personality is 100% important. now i just hope i have a good one.

I am flabbergasted that *anyone* actually voted for 0%.

Wow!

(And Jillian, you've got the personality babe. )

I bet I could guess who.



::pot stirred::

I think my personality makes up 101% of my business, no doubt. Most of my clients as soon as they get back home can't wait to contact me back to let me know what great time they had working with me. So I guess yes, personality does make up quite a big chunk of my business.

shouldn't be too hard...

I guess that must mean that as you get more successful you get more personality.

According to another recent thread, that seems to be what one other photographer here thinks. He's getting ten times more per wedding now than when he started - and he attributes his current success to how likable he is - so he must be ten times more likable than when he started. (I guess he did all that advertising at the beginning to make up for the poor personality he began with.)

But I think a better question would be to ask that about egotism. That seems to be what a lot of people are confusing with personality (or are at least using in lieu of).

Anyway, I outsource my personality, so I voted Null.

I said 80% because if you vote 100% then that means there's no skill involved, right? You've gotta have SOME skill, dontcha?

i posted 0 cause i live in hawaii and usually dont even meet my clients until the wedding day itself...most of them are destination and its hard for them to travel here for scouting.

Personality is important but highly over rated. If you have above average work, at slightly below average prices...then you will never be hurting for business.

From a customers perspecitve, i just bought a $3000 television...didn't give a damn about the sales guys personality...didn't want to be his friend, didn't even want to talk to him...i just wanted the product that was a fit for my needs.

would you hire a crappy photog even if they were super nice? On the other hand, i suppose if your charging like 10k for a wedding photo package, then you better do some brownnosing;)

hahahaha.

Is there an 63% option?
-E

Yeah, personality is of COURSE super important in this biz.

If you were a product or landscape photographer, then your subjects would look fine whether you were a great big jerk or not.

But good portrait photography -even photojournalistic portraits- requires a certian level of warmth, humor, and wit.

On the other hand... you could be the coolest, most charming person in the camera world, and if you don't can't get the shot, your client is NOT gonna care about your clever repartee!

We gotta stop thinking the same stuff!

Ditto. And some stellar customer service.

I said 100% although I think I'd amend it to be 80% after reflection. I have received referrals from clients before they have seen their images - that speaks volumes to me in that the experience of the actual session is so positive that they are telling their friends to book me and have yet to see a single image. I would lower it to 80% because when my photography was just OK, I got referrals but not bookings. Now I get both.

One of the most repeated comments I get from clients is that I was so easy to work with. I think that this positive experience from the session, sets the client up to love the images - they are already in a positive mindframe.

Just to stir the pot further... are Personality and Personal Ethics linked?

I know folks with great personalties (as relates to sales) but wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw a pig.

I voted 80% also as if you can't take half decent piccies all the smooth tonguing in the world isn't gonna get you bookings

Great comments and votes...I have a follow up question coming as soon as a few more votes come in.

I'll be offering a DVD for those of you who voted less than 100%.

hmmm, i gues hwne i answered 100% i wasn't thinking of it as a zero sum game. i was thinking that 100% of my personality has to be appealing to my clients (and even affects what kind of pictures I can take, based on how my clients are interacting with me)

I put 80%, because you're right - skill is involved.

Then I got talking to Steph - what separates the $2000 photographers from the $10,000+ ones?

Is DJ so cool that he's $8,000 better?

There's 4 things that make good photographers:
Personality
Talent
Customer Service
Marketing

I think most people have #1 and #2 down, but fall short on the CS and marketing. DJ even said at WPPI last year he doesn't do advertising - he works his referrals. I'd love to pry open that head of yours and see how you work that DJ!

#1 & #2 make good photographers, but #3 and #4 make GREAT photographers!

Just my thoughts.....

Shan

Good thread. I believe that just like life, there should be a balance. Then again...I'm a newbie so what do I know? Next.

Like Shan mentioned price points can change the % numbers but here are some thoughts

I think your work gets their interest, your web personality (blog and about you section) gets the meeting and your "in person" personality closes the deal.

Personality is 100% in closing the deal in person or by phone.

Web personality 40%, work 60% in gettting the interest

+1

(So I pretty much cheated and agreed with 3 prior posts)
But I total agree- you just don't have to read it again

Some here have an unfair advantage because they have "so much" personality!!

I voted 90% because like other's have said, you have to have the skillz as well.

Personally I think personality is key in this business. Yes you have to entice people with great images, but it is the experience itself that people will talk about and give you great word of mouth. I mean I did a wedding the other day and had three or four people come up to me and ask about their weddings (and they hadn't seen a single picture of mine ever) just because they thought we were so fun and relaxed. So even if you aren't using your personality to book your clients initially you are still giving them an experience and people will pay for a good experience.

Anyway, just my .02 for the day

Swan & I have a running joke that we need Personality101 classes not Photo101 classes.... bet u can guess what my vote is....

I am OOZING with personality--most of ya'll just don't know it yet . I have about a $10,000 personality but my skill is so far stuck between 2-3k.

+1

I see where you are coming from, but I think it's completely different than buying a television. Especially with wedding photography, no bride is going to want a photographer that is going to be overly pushy/drill sergeant/ rude and stress her out more on her wedding day. That's where the personality of the photographer CAN make for better pictures.

While tempted to vote 80% I went for 60%. I consider personality, attitude, ethics etc. in the same realm and at 60% I'm rating it the most important single factor. As has been mentioned before both marketing** & photography skills/creativity are important, and if either were neglected I would expect a negative impact on business.

**Just incase 'marketing' is interpreted as 'traditional advertising' - I include networking, buzz creation, presentation, word of mouth, community etc in my definition of 'marketing'.

My success so far in this industry is directly related to my personality. The person I am, the goals, dreams, ethics and morals I have are directly related to my personality. I think your personality encompasses everything about you, so therefore it is incredibly important to the business you build and the way you serve your customers.

Very well said Andy, I take my ethics and morals for granted as I really don't know what it is like to not have them. Sincerety and honesty in everything you do counts for a lot and makes a difference as it comes through when talking with clients. Good addition to this thread.

Ditto. You've got to have the whole package to be successful. I think when we talk about having a great personality, we're talking about providing a great experience to our clients. I think that the product we provide is part of a great experience. If I buy a product from someone that I really liked and I'm really excited about that product, if that product breaks or doesn't perform like I expected it too, then my experience is negatively affected even if I receive amazing customer service. Does that make sense?

Awesome question D.J. - I've actually been thinking a LOT about this lately.

Over the past year I've had several people actually comment to me after the fact that they were super nervous or things were going bad on the day of, and they specifically noted that I had calmed them down, made them feel totally comfortable and that they would have been a mess if not for me. Now I never considered myself to be a calming influence - never really thought much of it, but then client after client has commented on it. A recent wedding in particular there was a minor catastrophe at the start of the day and everyone lost their minds - but it was all okay 30 minutes later during the photo shoot.

I started to wonder what exactly it was that was "calming" - I'm actually pretty blunt and direct - not what I'd consider "bedside manner" for sure so I didn't get it.


I think it's got everything to do with being confident in what you're doing and loving the job. I comment to say it's nothing forced or thought out - it just rolls naturally when you're enjoying yourself and you're confident that everything is just going to turn out fine. I've never thought "I need to comfort this person" - it's more like "hey, it's okay, now stop freaking out so we can go have some fun and take some pictures".

I guess the point is if you're trying to compensate personality in some way, you'll probably end up acting like a tool (I've got some experience with that.... ), but when you just let it happen - enjoy it, let the client lead by setting the mood.... it just sort of works. As soon as you connect with a client as you would with a friend, things work fine. That's so important - not the personality itself, but how it allows you to click or not click with the subject. Once you're both on the same vibe - magic happens.

Good thinking point.

I have to agree. People really like the fact I relax during the sessions. They always come back and say how much they enjoyed their time shooting.



Personality is a plus and if they like your work after the session that's event better.



I think been courteous to others is a must. Don't be a grumpy photographer enjoy what you do and show it.

I must say 80% since people are looking for both personality and skill. I you lack personality then must be the best photographer ever if they picked you. Most couples like both I think.

Almost ditto. I'd like to say 70%. But maybe I need to work on my personality skills a little. My clients say I'm "down to Earth" and "personable", but I wonder how I compare to other photographers in my area. Guess this poll is going to lead me to some research!

Thank you DJ!

I've had some clients say the same thing about being put at ease (pretty regularly) and I assume that must be one aspect of my "personality" which they respond favorably to.

Even for out-of-state weddings and clients I've never personally met, the rapport has to be established over the phone to the point where the client believes they can trust me. I figure they've already seen my work online and have decided whether or not its a good match for them.

So I voted 60% personality, although for certain clients the work seems to matter more, and others its more the personality impression....