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Lesson Info
37. Prospecting: Finding Brands That Fit You
Lessons
Intro
1Workshop Intro
03:18Foundations
2Gear
12:14 3Gear - My Camera Bags
08:00 4Mastering Camera Settings
07:41 5Blue Hour, A How-To
10:45 6Photos That Move Us
07:19Visual Storytelling 101
07:51 8Endurance In A World Of Sprinting
06:27 9Keeping Your Ideas Fresh
08:31 10Building Your Story Arc
06:44 11Shooting More: Action Plan
02:01 12Conveying Emotions
07:52In the Field
13The Assignment: Himalaya Pre-Pro
12:08 14In the Field: The Himalaya Defender Shoot
20:29 15The Assignment: Canon Pre-Pro
10:25 16In the Field: Canon USA Shoot
15:06Editing
17Keywords & Organizing Images
06:42 18Commercial Grading
04:47 19Masking & Radial Filters
12:33 20Perspective Correction
05:39 21HDR (Hand-Held)
03:37 22Black & White Edits
07:00 23Before & Afters
01:33 24Moody Grading
13:15 25IG Export Settings
04:00 26Web Export Settings
02:44 27Clone Stamping & Patch Tools
05:51 28Grading in Lightroom
06:45 29Hand-Held Panoramas
03:41 30Radial Filters Pt 2
02:38 31Delivering Files to Clients
12:33 32Archiving & Organizing Images
10:15 33My Favorite Software
03:44Business
34Let's Talk Business
01:03 35Building A Desirable Portfolio
11:17 36How to Contact Clients
12:00 37Prospecting: Finding Brands That Fit You
04:16 38Getting Clients To See Our Value
10:16 39Paid to Travel the World
14:48 40The Art of Making Moodboards & Treatments
08:09 41Keys To A Fulfilling Career
07:40 42Three Things You Need To Know Before Pitching
06:19 43Finding Your Value Proposition
08:02 44Media Kit: A Walk Through
08:06 45How I Built My Audience
07:46 46Social Media Landscape
07:32 47Module Recap
03:08Bonus - Everything To Know About Filters
48Do You Need Lens Filters?
09:36 49Filters in The Field
12:40Bonus - Find Your Path
50Find Your Path
07:44Bonus - How To Print Your Work
51Why Print or Sell Photos
23:21 52Preparing Photos for Print
06:44 53Reviewing Major U.S Printers
06:57Lesson Info
Prospecting: Finding Brands That Fit You
So I built this episode towards the why and the how you should pick brands that fit you to work with, and then how to get their attention. See, the problem I'm seeing is that photographers want to work with brands that don't match them, and they waste time doing so. And then additionally, there's the problem of not knowing how to reach out to the right people at these brands. (camera shutter clicks) Just imagine only working with your very, very brands. The ones that you've been using for years. That should be the long term goal for any adventure photographer out there. And that's because the more excited we are about the images we do, the better that work will be. So why not just aim for our favorite brands? Of course, there'll be some days where you have to do shoots you're not excited about. But that's just life. Let's just aim to make those the exceptions, not the norm. (camera shutter click) The best way to start this is by taking close look at the gear you use every day. Your car...
, your clothing, your hiking gear, your camera, your gear, what tech you use. These are the people we're gonna reach out because you're already a customer. So most likely you understand what they represent as a brand. And that puts you in a better position to be hired to shoot for them cuz you're already a client and you understand them. (shutter clicks) This is also when we have to be honest with ourselves. If we only have shot for a few local clients in our state or in our city, and wanna start reaching out to a Land Rover for example, because we love, you know, our old discovery. I think it'll be a hard sell for Land Rover. Like who is this guy? What's his experience? Oh, he shot for a coffee shop and he wants to shoot for Land Rover now.? So just remember that the people working at these brands, just like anyone, they like their life situation and they don't wanna risk their jobs by taking a gamble on someone who just send them a deck by email. And odds are they might see you as a risky move. So the fact that you have a client list with a few household names will be equally as important, if not more, as your portfolio. That's the reality. These household names, they don't have to be in the same industry. The point is that when clients see big names in your portfolio, they see you've handled larger clients in the past. And that's what they wanna see because they don't want... they know you won't mess up that shoot because you've done big shoots before. (shutter clicks) It will take time to be in a position where you can get ready to go pitch your idea to the dream brand, right? In fact, all the prep and hustle you do for that in preparation for that moment, it might make them reach out to you in the first place. If you're spending a year or two years preparing for that grandiose idea, this grandiose pitch to this brand new dream of and you're out there hustling different shoots to get you there, that might put you in a place where they actually reach out to you, right? The whole point is that we need to be super patient and step by step build our client list with just larger brands exponentially. Depending on how determine you are, this can take six months or six years. Here's a cool story. One of my workshop students was able to use a family connection to shoot for a nationwide logistics company. It wasn't his dream clients, but with that large project in his portfolio, he was able to successfully reach out to his dream client and get a project awarded to him. That is lateral thinking. He found a creative way to solve that problem at hand. It was win-win for him. And actually had no downside for anyone. What he did was genius. He just used, you know, his connections to shoot for a large company that was completely unrelated to his dream client, but it was a big company. And that just added weight to his portfolio, which made his dream brand trust him more. What I wanted to leave you with is the following. Start by looking at the products you use and then be curious. Be interested by what other brands are doing too. Go try the products in store or just read reviews. Literally, when I walk into a store about a new brand so many ideas just come to mind just by walking around and seeing their stuff or seeing the photos they put out. So just be curious. Because by doing so, you're gonna find gem clients that are not in the spotlight. And these clients that are not in the spotlight, they need people like us to put them there. Next up, we're gonna get into the outreach part. How to contact these dream brands.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
Jon
Not What I Was Expecting Let me just start by saying that the workshop was very good. There were lots of things that I learned and many insights I took away. Perhaps the greatest bit of wisdom imparted to me was not anything Alex said but how he approached every subject he talked about. I felt that he was talking to me as a friend, very personal and open book. This was both a blessing and a curse as the course tends to meander around and is not as structured as others I've taken. Alex's passion for the highest quality, and craftsmanship in every aspect of his business, is very evident. From the premiums he charges, to the attention to detail in client deliveries. This is where my review is going to give some hopefully constructive criticisms. For someone so focused on a premium experience I was a surprised to find the course a bit sloppily assembled, and the videography and editing lackluster. This is coming from a videographer and someone with a lot of experience in online training. A few short examples to illustrate my point include: repeating segments of the edit (in some instances the exact same segment), poor framing. Colors changing between cuts, and my biggest pet peeve, not leaving photo examples on for long enough to see them. These are all small things, but they add up, and along with the topics meandering, left me a bit disappointed. I'm curious who you would say this class is aimed towards. Amateurs, mid-level, or experts? The assumption of who you are addressing changes throughout the course. I feel like with a bit of work from an instructional designer, and some editing cleanup, you could help hone this course to be one of the best out there. I feel like I need to do a more in depth review than will fit here, to actually explain this well. Let me know if that would be helpful to you. One other note: When I signed up for a workshop on Adventure Photography, I honestly thought it would be more field focused. The field examples were all shoots for products, and not shoots documenting an adventure. I guess I had just hoped to learn that side of the storytelling process more. Getting into the nitty gritty of being wet, cold, and dirty, and still shooting bangers. The section on filters (going out and building the snow cave) was more what I thought this course was going to be. Anyhow, with all that said, I still found it valuable and worthwhile. To summarize, the course feels a bit unpolished and in some ways unfinished though there is still great value. I've taken Jimmy Chin's Masterclass on adventure photography and it felt very structured and highly polished. I purchased "Adventure Pro" on the "finish in a month" discount. I would have felt ripped off if I had paid full price with the course in its current state. Thanks for reading and I hope my criticisms come as helpful. As I've already mentioned I'd be happy to further elaborate.
Topher Hammond
One of the best photography investments I'm only 1/4 of the way through Alex's course and I feel like I already have a loose plan on how I can move forward in my own career as a photographer. I felt like my work was lacking a specific feeling. The way that Alex articulated ideas on how to convey emotion in your imagery and building that overarching story arc for your own life narrative were super helpful to focus on how to make my work better. Super looking forward to the rest of this course. Thanks Alex and team!
Sergi Mas de xaxars Rosell
Great Workshop I learned quite a lot with this workshop. Because I'm in the industry for 5 years now, there were a few things I already knew. On the other hand, Alex showed me different and more effective ways to improve my business. I like the way he gives the lessons, always in a personal and close way. This is the knowledge I wish I had when I started. Totally worth it!
Student Work
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