Lessons

Lesson Info

Capturing the Legacy

we didn't finish my first segment we're gonna finish that go into the next segment because this afternoon we have work to do we have selling in light room and products we have a lot to do so I want to finish off our morning with all this stuff my husband has talked with me real quick on break and he had a good point with the solicit ating on me in the street to the woman um there's sales and marketing and there's two types of sales there's the proactive sales when you're out there pitching your wares right you're you're the concert promoter you're out there passing out cards and things that's a different sales than the sales where they're coming to my studio to order photos and I'm selling to them I think they often get intertwined I'm I'm I'm marketing my business I'm not selling my business on the street see what I mean I want people to come to me so if you want to go out and you want to be a salesman and go for it you want to go out and peddle your studio you know do it I mean sound...

s been made gurry money you could even get hire a sales person to do that absolutely but let's not confuse that with marketing marketing where you want teo create material ah brand and awareness that makes people respond to the product and offering that you have okay so let's dive in a little bit deeper into the different types of marketing beacon who were under marketing audience because I think what we do is we get in our own little bubble right I keep a very small circle of friends we're very close family you see my kids here were close if it's just us five were good you know and so I feel like I know I get in my bubble on the weekend find pajamas on and I don't have to leave the house and the family's home I'm good and the downside of doing that sometimes is we can get so much caught up on our own little bubble we forget about this great big world that's out there and all of the different types of people that are out there and I remember a turning point I've had a million turning points in my career by the way and my mom was visiting from new york and we were designing my studio and I had five hundred square feet that's all had okay so my front entrance room was enough for a desk this size around table and chairs and yeah that's it my kinds called it my fedex drop off location so my mom goes ok you have like two hundred square feet teo design not even I think it's like a hundred square foot room here's how we're gonna do we're going to do pottery barn style where the whole wall you're going to fill with your photo's edge to edge we've seen him in the magazines and she said it's all going to be black and white photos because that's what you love and it's good we want them to catch their eyes all going to be black frames with white matting and it's gonna be like a gallery and it's all gonna be the same so when someone comes in they can just really look at your work okay galleries do this all the time we did that was wonderful looked amazing and then um someone my mom said everybody has white skin was like what it is not possible because yeah now it is find it fascinating because they were black away photos and she's a white mother and she says yeah everybody's white huh because even to change that because you don't live in a white society and I was like I don't I don't I don't so how vanilla is your marketing everyone know about the cheerios commercial mistake an african american man on a sofa with a white wife if the mixed child shame on us is a society that we made that a big deal I mean I didn't make it a big deal but I would love to have been sitting in that boardroom I mean come on I'm still shocked that that was even a discussion when I look at my kids and they're all brown mixture of god knows what I mean I'm puerto rican but what is down the line you know what I mean and aren't we all big blended mix anyway does it really matter the color of our skin not going to get in a personal beliefs and things like that but you need to understand who you are and where you are from and I will be the first one to tell you that I don't really know where I'm from you know and it's like I am and you should you should write this down I am who who am I and you shove a list I am adopted I am a woman of color I am a mother I am a sister I'm a daughter I am a photographer simon end I'm an artist right we all have multiple titles I want to teach my your children what and if you don't have children you still have a personal legacy of what you leave behind in the world of what you believe this is sallie mae she passed away last night but she believed in what you see that all the time some people gently passed away and no one knew what they believed it and it goes all into that whole leg sissy thing you see it's all time together I want to teach my children that skin color doesn't matter because it doesn't matter to me okay and I feel like we've done a very good job of that that doesn't mean you can't acknowledge she's brown she's black she's white she's read she's puerto rican german she's jewish you can acknowledge it but it should have nothing to do with him and that's what I want to teach my children you need to do these things because you its intention it's personal it's what you're putting out there the world is what you're going to get back and so when I think about that time what was I putting out in the world I really was in a very selfish state I really don't care about anybody else I wanted great photos and I wasn't looking at skin or texture or race I wasn't carrying I can honestly say that the core of my being that I had to have me without of it was like mom I'm trying to work I don't care I wasn't even looking at it she does but why are you putting why are you putting all that up because I don't I haven't I don't have anyone we've a lot of mixed friends don't you why're you mixed friends on the wall well because they were models remember that we talked about that why was I not putting some of that best work on the wall when I worked I had already photographed that mixed couple that was my friend why wasn't she on the wall that was some of my best work you know what I mean so you have to know these answers and when you show it in the your work the world's going to respond and I warn you it does cause enlightenment and personal discovery it will knowing who you are is essential to find out where you're going if anyone has heard me speak anywhere in the past seven years I have to say you have to know where you came from to know where you're going it's just that simple you're wandering around trying to figure out is this hobbies is the business of my doing this one of my shooting I do I do this do I do that do I do that you need to sit down and get it together you need to get it together the next marketing generation another one we shouldn't even be discussing same sex parents personal choice are religious exceptions it doesn't matter to me I personally could care less I really don't care what goes on behind closed doors six hundred thousand people are same sex couples and twenty five percent of them are raising children from the u s census my personal decision is a choice to respect people of all generations religions choices cultures and societies my job is to capture images and preserve legacy is not to judge do not judge anyone that walks through that door I don't judge how much money they have who they're sleeping with what god they were shut up I know what god I worship I know what person I'm sleeping with that's all that I need to be accountable for the end of the day right I'm not god I'm not anybody I'm me and I'm here tio you're walking in my space I have a job to do I will capture your legacy and I want to portray that to the world and so yeah I have same sex clients yeah I have mixed clients I have clients probably every single religion ethnicity you can have and I purposely made ah point of marketing to that by simply showing work that reflects it and being open it's not hard and just be open when we were doing a model call I literally had to put out a model call that said women of color because I wanted different generations and I received a facebook message by somebody who said they were giving opposing guy download free for enrolment of this course and I got a facebook message and if you're watching you know who you are um I love you I love the posing died thank you um how come everybody's white and I was like I did it again how do you do that I don't know and I wrote him a note and I said I'm so sorry my apologies that was not my intention I clearly wasn't thinking and sometimes when you're not thinking you make the biggest mistakes my husband knows I'm responsible for that all the time I I'm a quick reactor and I want to just get stuff out there and he's like did you stop and look at that did you stop and think about that who is that for who's your audience did you think about that didn't I didn't think about that it's just looking like you poses I'm sorry and so I told him I'm like I'll work on it hey I'll dio I'll do up a different generation of different colors app lets look at different skin tones it's a good challenge for me to dio I'm gonna do it all the time are all just gather my images put in opposing guy no problem I can stand to be corrected and this is all those years later it's same thing with this what is your job and if your personal whatever prohibits you from doing that own it recognize it and don't get upset when someone's not calling you because of this okay that was your choice time to say about that proactive marketing you're being proactive it doesn't mean you're just relying on your own amazing work and your incredible referrals and people are just gonna flock to you because I think I'm amazing no how your client chooses you is going to be more than price and imagery it's usually connecting force that ties and several factors such as your work your reasons your responses who you are even here oh she does great work but she's a fill in the blank I've heard that several times and if your work is amazing but if you curse on facebook have a bad social reputation are continually released negative energy into the world this might I'm not saying it will it might just have an effect on your marketing efforts in attracting clients your work maybe stellar but if your price is too low there's going to be a suspicion as to why your price is too low have all of your factories lying aligned with the positive for and a force energy and reason into the world also realize the marketing efforts to provide over do not whoa it says realize that marking effort to do provide overnight results it should say do not provide overnight results but they take months or years remember my hospital display how many years three right I'm gonna also say something that I think is happening in the world not just in photography in general what kind of a consumer are you are you the consumer consumer know where I'm going they're like oh sit up stand up and be counted do you see something and you go I can get that somewhere else cheaper you have to answer it how's that I'll let you off on this side well maybe we'll see let's see I'll keep going we'll see if we're gonna get you well if you're the person that says oh I love those boots but I'm getting him somewhere cheaper why are you getting him somewhere cheaper is it because you really love the boots but you can't afford it because it's a luxury item and so you've got a skimp you're at the grocery store you've got three hundred dollars to spend you might go with the no name you know mayonnaise keeping your budget right that's why the company's make those competing brands for that consumer right we've all been in that situation the boots the boots I wore yesterday were twenty five dollars thes air hundred fifty guess which are more comfortable he's once these ones have a wedge those ones didn't those were my walking around ones I don't care if they get messed up but I care about these ones so what happens when you're that person that always gets a better deal that will not pay for anything full price I love to find deals but let me tell you we're talking about this before when I first moved to california trying to find something to my hair was like painful as my husband how many times I came out of a salon crying twenty five dollars forty dollars fifty dollars no one could do my hair my hair is really not that hard and then I found a guy I'm not going to say in there how much he is because he has this really watching but let's just say he's worth every penny and he's top dollar but he does a good job on my hair and it's worth it to me right are photos worth it or can you just get him cheaper down the block so my gowns my gowns were not ten dollars and nor should they be we're buying the best fabrics in the market were making them ourselves there hand sewed yeah they're pricey you want to go buy a knockoff you want to go by someone that's copying my gowns by cheaper go for it it's fine not not gonna keep me up at night but what you're putting out into the world will come back to you and when your client says or potential says that's a great shot of a baby in a bucket but I'm quite certain I could use the girl next to me and she'll do it for free cause she's just starting out doesn't think she's good enough so she's not gonna charge so I'll just do that so that's what's going on right we see it every day so how do we change that how do we change that ideas well I know for me but things that I value for instance like if I'm gonna buy it cheaper it has to be something I don't think I need to take back or need toe have any customer service with it's got to be you know this is this is my chance if I buy it cheaper here it's kind of what I get but then I pay appropriately for things that I find a value and I make sure that I tell my clients and my friends the same thing you know you don't always want the cheapest thing and so do you feel that the clients you have um take your work with great value yes and there you go did you want to say something I think for me because where I'm that there are a lot of photographers that are a lot less expensive than I am and I had to be okay with that and I had to say okay I want the clients who can afford me and who who value mice what I'm giving them since I've had several clients have gone other places and they've gone with cheaper people and they've every one of them has messaged me I wish you were here I just don't get the same kind of work and it's because they're not putting forth the same kind of money I had a client I've had several clients lately where I know that the women have really convinced the men really hard to pay me and I know it's been it's been a big conversation and then they're in the session and within five minutes I've heard several times the men go you get what you pay for you get what you pay for this is why I had a client thank me I don't want to come my wife ask me for a week we had her tentatively booked we take a payment at time of booking so she had a page I should talk to her husband a week went by and her appointment was coming up and I knew that there was a struggle going on within five minutes he was like soul done thank you to his wife for convincing me to come here I'm sure there was a mama that convinced her and that whole marketing thing went in there right so I'm not saying we shouldn't obviously look for better deals you know we needed a jacket for my son coming to seattle has been eighty five degrees in california someone else when you know you just go find a mako we didn't discuss just go find a mako I trust my husband my husband like we got a great deal for this coat you know it was like a three hour hold it cold I got it for like one hundred and something you know for a thirteen year old and to some people that may seem lavish but my husband's like we can use this coat for this this this and when we go to new york in the spring and like like there was reason behind that purchase if we felt like it was just going to be a quickie it would've been a twenty five dollar coat do you know what I mean but you will attract that and you have to make your money worth it if you're going to charge accordingly there needs to be things included in that service and products and selling in person we do complimentary in home ordering appointments we'll be talking about that this afternoon but going the extra mile and if you're going to charge make it worth it and include the bells and whistles and include packaging and tags and referrals and so that then there is no competition it's it's when they look at it what I want to do is say when a client says okay well that's photographers fifty dollars and that photographers one hundred fifty dollars let's say they have the same image okay so they both got that but what is the difference why is this photographer one hundred fifty dollars is it her experience is she ten years and she's one year is has she won awards has she not has she written book as she picking on me and really look at it and obviously the client is going to be drawn tio what their lifestyle feels like they're accustomed to and it's nothing personal but if you know that you're doing the best that you could do and then my request is that you be the consumer to the world that you want to be and have respect for people that make things that are handmade and have respect for the trade for the the anything where um someone has taken time and energy to make something it's on a hopping going on in the pop world somebody took time to sketch that out and make that I don't care if it's a a sleigh don't be so quick to go I'm gonna copy it and sell it exactly the same and cheaper and market to all your people because that's not cool that's not cool be the person that you want to be be the change that you want to see in the world but I have three kids that I have to model for I want clients to be drawn to me for a reason not to just like get it somewhere else cheaper