This topic can be a little controversial. I feel very strongly about the fact that getting tagged by clients on social media doesn't really matter.

I hear many photographers whining when clients don't tag them on social media. I'm sure you guys have experienced this. Whether you've been upset yourself or heard other photographers talking about it, either way, it's easy to get caught up in it. I know what it's like.

If you are someone that whines about your clients not tagging you, I am not judging you. I used to think that way, too.

I used to be bummed at the beginning of my business if I didn't get tagged. I was desperate for bookings and I thought that people tagging me would lead to more bookings. So I totally understand this mindset. But I have adopted a new mindset and I want to encourage you to do that, too.

It's time to shift our attitude about this topic within our industry now. I mean, right away!

I have good intentions when talking about this topic and I want to create a more positive impact in our industry.

Changing the Attitude

I don't know if you guys have heard the phrase - you are who you surround yourself with.

It's easy to be unconscious of our attitude when we are surrounded by people who complain in the industry. So I try my best to steer clear of negativity. I keep making sure that my attitude and my intentions are positive and that I'm consciously aware of my thoughts.

It breaks my heart when I hear photographers being negative about their clients not tagging them. It’s easy to get caught up in thinking that social media is everything. Even though it can be a great tool for marketing your business, human experience is still number one.

It's Not About The Tag

Honestly, you guys, it's not about the tag. It's about the photos and the memories you capture for your clients, and the experience you create for them.

They have paid you a lot of money to document their day, their story. That's sacred to them. Because of that, they get to choose how they share their photos.

I feel so strongly that clients shouldn't feel pressured to tag the photographer in every single post all the time. I never want my clients to feel like it's the only way for them to share their photos.

I personally wouldn't want that pressure on me. If I was in their shoes, I would want to tag my photographer to make sure I helped them gain more business, for sure. But I would want to do it on my own terms.

We are photographers, right? So for us, a photo credit is on our minds all the time but we have to remember that our clients don't think that way. They can't have it on top of their minds like we do because they aren't the photographer. Our clients are simply excited to share that photo that they love so much. So let's give them a friggin' break if they forget to tag us.

The Tag Doesn't Guarantee More Bookings

Tags can potentially lead to some more interested humans following you and possibly booking you down the line but in the end, direct referrals are so much more impactful.

If you focus on creating the best experience possible for your clients, then THAT'S all you need to put your energy towards. That's all you have to worry about marketing-wise.

I know of so many photographers that choose not to be very active on social media, and they booked out every season through word of mouth. It's totally doable, even in this day and age.

The end goal for us as photographers is to create evangelists for our brands. Evangelists are those that believe in you so much that they talk about you all the time to their friends and their family, and the experience that they had with you.

That's the number one way you will get quality bookings. Stop focusing on the thing that others should be doing for you. Instead, think about how you can create the best possible experience every single step of the way for your client. And I promise you, the increase in bookings will follow.

So if I don't get tagged in a photo that my client shares, I no longer feel bummed or annoyed. Instead, I feel super happy and grateful, and positive that they love that photo so much and are excited to share it.

What it means is that if they're sharing it, maybe their friends will DM them asking, “Hey, who's the photographer? I love the emotion in that photo.”

If someone sees a photo or a product, or a service they like and really wants to find out the information about it, they will always reach out and find out.

How I Approach Tags With My Clients

When I send photos to my clients, I do write a little blurb at the end of the email that gently lets the couple know that I would appreciate a tag.

The keyword here is “gently”.

I want to make sure I'm gentle with the way I write this. So this is exactly what I write at the bottom of the email when they first get their photos for me:

Social media and word of mouth are huge in helping me come across more amazing couples like you and keep my business going. If you do decide to share any of these on social media and credit me, I would love you to the moon and back :)

That's all I say. No pressure. I want to show them that if they decide to tag me, I would love it and appreciate it. That's it, and I made it super simple.

Again, if they don't tag me, that's cool because I know in my soul that I delivered an exceptional experience and that I created evangelists for my business who are going to tell their friends and family how connected they felt to the photos and how comfortable I made them feel, etc. When people will ask for a referral for a wedding photographer, I know that they will recommend me in a heartbeat. And that is much more powerful than a simple tag in a photo.

Let Go Of The Negative Thoughts And The Stress

Look, can you see now how we can alleviate that stress from ourselves and from our clients?

As soon as our physiology changes into a negative state, that can easily domino- effect on the rest of our day. And time is our most valuable, precious asset that we have to experience in our lifetime.

Instead of being negative and bummed out thinking, “I'm going to miss out on bookings because they didn't tag me,” maybe instead switch it to, “Well, I know they had an amazing experience with me. So I know they're going to talk about me.”

If, however, you're feeling uneasy about the experience that they had with you or maybe you feel like you could do better then, guess what? Put systems in place!

Make sure to reverse engineer your experience that you create for your couples in order to feel as confident as you possibly can and feel like you do such an amazing job that they will become your evangelists.

If you focus your energy on that, first of all, you're going to feel so much better as a human. And the work you do will feel so much more meaningful. You won't be wasting your precious energy checking up on couples’ photos to see whether they tagged you or not.

What to Keep in Mind About Getting Tagged

Make sure to be very aware of how you're thinking. Start by being a little bit more conscious when you don't see a tag. Pay attention to how you're feeling. And again, I'm not judging you if you are feeling negative about it. It's okay. It's a part of the learning curve and figuring out this whole photography business thing, right?

I'm not judging you because I was there once, too. And, please, don't judge yourself. Think about it this way:

• Okay, this feeling popped up. That's very interesting. I didn't realize I was thinking that way. Okay, moving forward, I want to be more conscious. I want it to be a positive thing - seeing couples sharing the image in the first place and knowing that they love the photo.

I promise you, your business will become so much more simple. And you're going to be a happier photographer overall, and your clients will be happier because they won't feel that subconscious stress of being pressured to tag you.

As always, I hope this helped you. I think it's a very important topic in the industry. Anything that is negative in the industry, I always want to switch to a positive so you'll see me be very opinionated about our attitudes and our mindsets and things like that.

I leave you with something to remember - start being more conscious about this whole process and you'll see that you're going to be able to operate your business with less stress and more love. And that's way more fun in my opinion.

I hope this helped you. If it did, please do me let me know by sending me a DM on Instagram (@saramonikaphoto). If you know someone who would like this too, share this blog with them!

Love you guys and thank you so much for reading!

-Sara Monika

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