Creating a standout brand and providing an exceptional client experience are key to growing a successful family photography business. In this episode of Photo Fuel, I chat with Christine Dammann about how she’s built a bold, playful brand that attracts her dream clients and keeps her sessions focussed on the fun.

From detailed prep guides to surprise gifts and heartfelt follow-ups, Christine’s client experience strategies go the extra mile. In this episode she gives us all the details for her process from start to finish. 

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How to Create a Bold & Playful Brand

Christine’s brand is a direct reflection of her personality—bold, fun, and approachable. She believes that when she embraced her unique style and invested in support to bring it to life in her online presence, she naturally began attracting more of the right clients. Some of her tips for building a strong brand include:

• Showcasing the type of work you want to attract
• Using consistent colors, fonts, and messaging across all platforms
• Leaning into your personality and the goals of your sessions to create a brand that connects.

A strong brand not only helps clients find you, but it also supports what they can expect from you throughout the rest of their experience.

Building a Family Photography Client Experience: Tips for Stress-Free & Memorable Sessions

Christine has mastered the art of guiding clients through a seamless, stress-free experience. Here’s how she ensures every session goes above and beyond:

1. Client Preparation

• Provides detailed prep guides with styling tips, location maps, and session expectations
• Over-communicates clearly before the session so clients feel confident and ready

2. During the session

• Think ahead about any pain points they might experience during the session that you can prepare them to avoid. For example – are they going to get wet during a session at the beach? Recommend bring a change of clothes for a more comfortable drive home.
• Use your personal experiences both from photography and other service experiences to provide solutions to their problems before they’re problems.
• Christine shares the ONE THING she always brings to a session that comes in handy for dozens of different use cases no matter what.

3. After the session

• Sends sneak peeks within 24 hours to build excitement
• Surprises clients with handwritten notes and small, personalized gifts
• Creates emotional client slideshows with music to enhance their experience
• Provides clear directions about how to view, download, and order from their photos

4. Follow-up

• Ask for google reviews about the experience
  • Check out Christine’s free resource called “Glowing google reviews” here: https://christinedammann.com/google-freebie

• Connect 1:1 with great clients to offer them priority booking

Business Growth Through Mentorship & Community

Christine attributes much of her success to learning from mentors and being part of a supportive photography community. We talk about how valuable it is to have outside eyes on your work and showing you opportunities that you may not have considered from inside your own bubble.

Staying Creatively Inspired as a Family Photographer after 16 years

To foster her own photo fuel, Christine shares about how one of her favorite things to do is take a leisurly walk around her town and the beach with a film camera, making pictures just for fun. keep her passion for photography alive, Christine incorporates creative projects into her routine.

Client experience should be personal, and it changes depending on who you are, the goals of your work, and they type of art you’re creating. But I hope these examples and learning how one family photographer does it can be helpful in brainstorming touchpoints that will take your client experience from basic to memorable.

// Links & Resources Mentioned //

Here are links mentioned in the episode for easy access:

// CONNECT WITH CHRISTINE // 

www.christinedammann.com

IG: @christinedammannphotography

Christine’s freebie for glowing google reviews: https://christinedammann.com/google-freebie

// OTHER LINKS MENTIONED //

Christine’s Brand design by Bella Maven: https://bellamavenstudio.com/

// CONNECT WITH LEAH // 

Website: https://www.leahoconnell.com/education

Learn for free: https://www.leahoconnell.com/learn

IG: https://www.instagram.com/leahoconnell.photo

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Should you incorporate a phone call in your client experience?

The 4 Stages of Client Experience

My History of Pricing as a Family Photographer