Creating for Your Client vs. Creating for Your Audience

by Morgan Williams

Picture this: You shoot an incredible family session. It’s everything you’ve ever dreamed of creating. The experience itself is a joy, and your clients are brought to tears at the sight of their images. 

From an artistic perspective, this is it for you. This session and these images are the essence of everything you’ve ever dreamed of creating as a photographer. You feel like you’re creating the art that you were created to create. Pure. Bliss.

And then you go to Instagram, and with great anticipation, you share this session there. You’re just waiting for the likes and comments to roll in, because THIS IS IT!! This is the session that’s the truest expression of your inner artist. This is the happiest you’ve ever experienced a client being with what you made for them. OF COURSE this will result in high engagement, right?!

Wrong. Incorrect. No dice, my friend.

Could it happen? Yes! But if it doesn’t – dramatic pause because I need you to really hear me here – it doesn’t make your art any less wonderful, beautiful or meaningful. It doesn’t devalue your creations, and you shouldn’t start questioning everything about this session that you were madly in love with just hours earlier.

Instagram can be an effective tool for marketing. But if you’re anything like me, it can be a slippery slope. All too quickly, we go from sharing our work for marketing purposes to sharing our work in order to look for validation from our audience. I’ll be the first one to tell you I’m guilty of this. 

The fall out from this isn’t just disappointment in our engagement numbers either. It affects how we create and what we create.

Suddenly, we’re creating images primarily for the applause of our Instagram followers (who, let’s be real, are mostly other photographers) instead of creating for our clients.

And YOU GUYS. We have to stop this!

You have been given a unique gift as a photographer to photograph other people in a way that only you can, and you should be serving your clients with that gifting – not using your clients’ sessions as a means to create work that will receive high praise on Instagram. #ISWIS

Your greatest responsibility is not to impress other photographers. It’s to serve your clients.

Now, as I said, I’ve been very guilty of this in the past, so I’m in no way excluded here. But I have found a few ways to release myself from this habit, and if this resonates with you, perhaps these tips will help you as well.

1. Take an Instagram break. If you have no familiarity with me, hi! I’m Morgan, and I took 2.5 months off of Instagram this past summer. Kind of totally on a whim if I’m being honest, and it was the BEST thing I’ve ever done for my creativity.
   
   You may not realize it, but the constant consumption of everyone else’s work and the dopamine hits you’re used to getting from those who engage with your work are very much affecting what you create.
   
   When you remove this from your life, you’re left with this new sense of freedom. You’re free to create work from your unique voice with no concerns about what other photographers are going to think of it. You’re not looking for validation. You’re creating from a place of joy and purpose for the people who you’ve been given to serve, and it is such a gift.
   
   Maybe a 2.5 month break sounds unrealistic to you, and if so, start smaller. Take two weeks off and see how you feel and how it changes your art. You can learn more about my 2.5 months of Instagram here if you need more evidence that this actually is a good idea.
   
   
2. Stop sharing sneak peeks. “OMG did she really just say that?!” I did, sister. I did! And I stand by it.
   
   Yes, the industry standard is to share 57 photos from your most recent session 3 hours after you pack up your car to head home from it. But you should really consider kissing that standard goodbye.
   
   When you immediately share your work, you give yourself zero time to understand how you feel about it. You likely don’t even know how your client feels about it before you ask your Instagram audience what they think, right?
   
   And then when said Instagram audience engages or doesn’t engage how you want them to, this holds the most weight for you and informs how you feel about your work.
   
   If anything is going to impact how we feel about our work, it should be the client we’re working for. They hired us. So let them see the photos first.
   
   
3. Along these same lines, sit with your work and enjoy it. I used to share a session the minute I felt like I could. Whether that was back in my sneak peek days, or more recently, after an ordering appointment, I would be posting a session as early as possible.
   
   And if I’m being honest, it was because I loved what I was creating, and I wanted other people to praise me for it. I cringe at myself as I type the words, but I also know they’re true. And even more importantly, I think they could be true for you too.
   Since taking time off of Instagram and not sharing my work, I’ve discovered a newfound appreciation for sitting with my work and enjoying it before sharing it publicly.
   
   Even when I love a session, I hoard it these days…maybe even more so if I really love it to be honest. I hold onto it. I savor how I feel about it. I remember how my client felt when they saw the images.
   
   And then when I feel full confidence in how I feel and in knowing that I’ve served my client in the unique way that I’ve been gifted to, only then do I share the session.
   
   Because I want all of these things to hold far more weight than what anyone on Instagram does or doesn’t say.
   
   If I run to Instagram to share the minute I can, I’m giving myself no time to let it all sink in; to appreciate the beauty of what I created and to be grateful to be able to serve people in such a way that they resonate with so deeply.
   
   
4. Learn about the families you’re photographing. One of the best ways to make sure you’re creating for your clients and not for your audience is to actually get to know them.
   
   Who are they, really? What are their family dynamics like? What’s their story? What are their quirks? What makes them who they are? What’s a typical Saturday morning like for them?
   
   And then marry that together with your unique artistic vision to give them something that actually speaks to them.
   
   There’s something really magical that happens when people feel seen in a photograph; when they feel like you actually told their story. It’s so much more powerful than creating a really trendy, cool photo that performs well on Instagram.
   
   The high you get from that is fleeting. But meaningful photographs that get to the heart and soul of who people are? That’s a purpose with longevity.
   
   

Now, of course, feedback does matter and it can be helpful. So don’t feel like you need to banish any and all feedback you get from Instagram.

After all, it can inform us as to what people do or do not like; what they do or do not resonate with, and so on and so forth.

But take it all with a grain of salt.

Understanding your purpose as an artist and serving your clients in a way that allows you to step into that purpose is of the utmost importance. Everything else is secondary and should be treated as such.

I’m Morgan Williams, a newborn and family photographer based in Raleigh, NC! Creating images that showcase the soul and story of each family brings me a crazy amount of joy. I’m also a wife and mama to four boys including a set of twins! Our house is loud and spilling over with energy, and in many ways, this informs how I photograph others. I love finding the beautiful moments, details and intricacies amidst chaos, because in many ways, it’s how I experience life on a daily basis.

What is a hidden talent or surprising fact about you?

I once auditioned for American Idol! Yes, I sing, and no, I did not make it. It was a fun experience, though, and I’m glad I did it!

Do you get your best work done in the morning or at night?

MORNING!! 100%. Since being a mom, I’ve always made it a point to wake up before my kids (when they’re not waking up in the middle of the night or up for the day at 4AM that is). I pray, journal, spend time in the Word and then leave 30 minutes to an hour to work before all of the little ones are out of bed. My mind is most clear at this time of day, and many of my best and most creative ideas are born during this time!

What’s your favorite thing to photograph?

Families who are open, vulnerable and really and truly want the heart and soul of their family portrayed in their photos as much as I want it to be. For me, it’s not a setting or a wardrobe choice that makes an image most meaningful. It’s people willing to bare their souls, to be honest about who they are and value seeing that in an image.


Creating for Your Client vs. Creating for Your Audience | Why your work matters, by Morgan Williams

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Creating for Your Client vs. Creating for Your Audience | Why your work matters, by Morgan Williams