how to keep a professional relationship…this is murky water. you make so many professional relationships along the way, owning a business, but how do you keep them professional?when you own your own business it is sometimes usually hard for friends, family and new acquaintances to differentiate between the personal and the business side of things. as professionals, it is our job to keep it separate!

i have encountered a few problems where i’ve asked friends early on in my business to help me build my portfolio. in exchange for their time i gave them digital files of their portraits. now that i’ve established my business and i have more inquiries and weddings to devote my time to, i cannot make the time or take the time away from my family to continue giving free photo sessions.

on the rare occasion, i still do model calls if there is something i really want or need to photograph. that is completely different! since i am enlisting the help of a ‘model’ or someone that has answered a model call, i am building a professional relationship with them from the beginning.

one of the ways i keep everything professional and purely business is by requiring a model release and a contract for every session i have. whether it is a family member, a friend, a model call, whatever…they have to sign it or i don’t do the portraits.

another way to keep things professional is to remind the people who are helping you portfolio build that there will come a time when you won’t be doing it for free or as a gift.

the people who respect you, your time and your talent will continue on with you…regardless of the price you charge!