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Segment 12 - Interview with Senior Photographer: Jared Rey

Jared is a photographer in Dallas, Texas, where you're where you are. He is awesome. He efforts met him through See neurology. Really, he is very talented photographer. He's come to a couple of it that we've had through Senior Allergy, and I'm just kind of gotten to know him through that. And when we started playing in this class, I thought again, thinking of neurology and what I know that platform it's all about. I'm not the only one that knows stuff. There's lots people out there can share. So I thought, Well, who else has used this or incorporated it into their business? And we started thinking about Jared because he's a male. So how does he do it? Because that is a different aspect, you know? How does the mail talk to a female about clothes, you know, Did he find Did he do a style closet and all that good stuff? So we're gonna find that out from him. But he does shoot seniors in Dallas, Texas. He's actually also part of the photo land three crew. I think Jared, if I'm saying that w...

rong, you correct me. But I do think he is part of Federal. A three piece crew, which is awesome. So which we talked about the beginning of today, so yeah. Yeah, Let's get him on the phone. Hey, how are you? I'm doing well. Are you are part of philanthropy crew, right? Yes. Again, I got that right. Way Talked about that in the beginning of the session. So I want to make sure did that right. So sound out to Katie. All right, We're just going to get into the questions. You ready? Okay. So when it comes to what to wear, how do you educate your clients? Well, it's a lot of the stuff that you've been going over and and talking about, Really? I try to provide as many resources as possible. So one of those is definitely the what to wear guide that that you offer on your website. And that in itself was just amazing resource to have, because it gave me just lingo to start learning and to communicate to those clients. But then I also have Pinterest boards like you mentioned. And then the questionnaire is also huge. That that you've talked about, I just picked their brain on a lot of different things. just to get to know them and their fashion style. So all of that just kinda helps paint a picture of who they are and helps me just prepare resource is for them toe to start, hoping picking out clothes. Awesome. Okay, so I know that you also use a style closet, right? So how did you incorporate that into your senior sessions? I wanted Teoh, like you said just up the game and provide a new experience. So I figured helping with that style and providing clothes and accessories will just help make it more personal and just make it more fun for them. Make it feel really like a model for a day. Uh, so I just started incorporating it into what I do. And then do they have different sessions that include the staff closet? Like like I do. I keep it simple. I just, uh I just kept it one session I raised my prices to accommodate and to purchase those pieces. But it's just one session that includes, you know, hair and makeup andan the access to the style closet, and we just make it just one big experience, right? And so your prices did change because you have to incorporate that style closet by the pieces, right? Yes. Good. Yeah. So you guys out there. Just remember, if you are purchasing these, that's going to eat up your profits and maybe make a new adjustment to your session pricing to accommodate that. OK, OK, so I know you worked with the stylist to actually build your closet. Can you tell me a little bit about that experience, what she did for you and how you use the stylist? Yeah, through some mutual friends, I make a lot of friends with photographers in Dallas of one of which used, uh, hair and makeup artist who was also a stylist. And so I reached out to her So I could, uh, start building my own because, I don't know, fashion all that well, and so I needed help. And she loves shopping just like you. So, uh, she was more than willing to help and excited to get on board. And so I just recruited her to start picking out those pieces, okay. And so whenever you told her to pick out the pieces, did you kind of give her some guidelines? About what styles and maybe you pick something, the Pinterest. Or maybe you picked some from the what the where, guys, That you did that. That's exactly what I did. I just provided the same resource is that I give to my senior. So I showed her the princess board. I showed her the what to wear guide. Um, I made pincher sports for her that had the same categories that you had preppy and and chic. And I am stuff like that. So and I we started also figuring out the type of clients that I have because some of them may not be urban, so I don't wanna start spending money on that right off the bat. So I have some spokesmodels this year that we used as kind of a template to start, uh, picking out the species because they were all a wide range of people somewhere cheerleaders, dancers, softball players. And so there's a good variety there to pick from. So that's what we kind of used as our groundwork. Okay. And then your clients don't actually work with stylist. They work with you when it comes time to actually picking things out. Correct. That's correct. Okay, So she basically picked out some clothing so that you'd have some pieces that you could then use for your clients. Right? And do you still work with her to continue to fill it up or get new items? Yes, we are. Now, at first we just wanted to start filling it out, picking out some pieces. But now we're starting to focus on specific seasons. So we want to start planning a hit for full, for example, and start getting some pieces that will accommodate those sessions. OK, so that's the route that we're taking now. Yeah, that's awesome. Okay, So when it comes to your seniors, how was both the what to wear guide and the style closet received? They do. They like it. You heard feedback. I know the style closet might be a little bit newer for you right now, but maybe the what to wear guide. You heard some feedback on. Is it really helped them? Yeah, absolutely. I was actually texting some of them today just to get some feedback from all the recent seniors that I had that I sent that because it goes in a welcome packet. So I wanted to here if they actually read it. And I told him to be honest with me, and then what they thought if they did, and all the ones that I Texas that that they definitely did. And they thought it was so helpful. They love, for example, the color wheels paid where you're just going over complementary colors and that helped them start picking out some pieces and then having the different categories also helped them. Because it just help. Like, like I said, have just a common lingo that we could use right to figure out what style they were in or if they're in between and stuff like that. Okay, now tell me. I know that you, uh, kind of took the template and made it your own. So how many pages is yours in the band? Who do you print yours? Three. Or do you send it digitally? I used a bad club as well, and I printed it. And instead of making it the fool as soon as you mentioned that I ran Teoh to go get it, it is basically half the size of a piece of paper. Okay, but yeah, I inserted my own pictures, but it it's just a nice compact size. It still has just as many pages, I think as you put in it, though, so there's still a good chunk in there. Yeah, Okay. Good. Okay. I mean, you do send it in the mail. Correct? Correct. OK, now tell me something about because you're a guy and you shoot a lot of girls. How do you work with them? What are some advice? Some advice that you could give other males when it comes to working with girls. About what? Toe? Where do you work? Strictly with the girl? Or do you work with parents and the girl? How does that work? It changes. Per Klein, it it depends on really who's kind of communicating more. Sometimes it's more than Mom. Sometimes it's it's the senior asst faras the advice that I would give its one. You're saying just be yourself if you you know you're not into style on all that stuff. Just be honest with that. I don't pretend that I'm a stylist by any means or that I know fashion or an expert on it. I tell them like it so far is the style cause is concerned. We have a stylist that's picking out these pieces, and she's a professional and she's awesome at it. Her name is, uh, make, by the way, So I make on and, uh, so I'm Ford about that. I don't hide that. And when I'm talking to them, uh, for the pre console to, it's either going to be like video chat like this, or it's going to be be a text. And so when I'm texting them, I'm making sure that I'm very specific. There's no reading in between the lines. I'm asking them to send me pictures of what they plan to, where I tell them. You know, you don't need toe trying on every outfit. It's in that to me, but you can just laid on the bed hanging on the door. Include your accessories shoes that you plan to wear just anything and everything, and I also before I even get to that point. I'm talking to the parents and email, preparing them like what's going to come like I'm sending out this questionnaire After I get the questionnaire, I'm going Teoh, begin asking your child Teoh, text me those those outfits as soon as possible because those outfits are also going to be a basis for where locations I'm going to suggest. So it's it all kind of comes together, and I'm making sure that I communicate as detailed as possible so that exactly Yeah, I like the point that you made about making sure you tell them. Hey, you don't have to try it on because you don't want anybody to think you're tryingto get a picture of some girl wearing an outfit you just wanted outfit, right? Yeah. You make sure you tell him that. So that's a good tip for other males out there. If you are trying to work with females about what to wear, have them send you the picture of just outfit, like Jared said hanging on the door. And then I imagine that you could also board that text onto your stylist if you had a question or needed some help with any sort of suggestion, right? Absolutely. I definitely known to do that. If if I'm If I'm unsure about something or if it's how how it's gonna look, I can definitely use there is a resource. Okay. Okay. Okay. Does anybody have any questions for Jared in the audience? are out on the Internet. You guys have any questions? And we have girls in here, so But maybe there's guys out there that want to ask you a question. Absolutely dared. This is Ken over here. Thank you so much for joining us. We have a question from our own cl. Jim, who was another host here, is a male photographer. How conscious are you? About your own style. So, Leslie obviously is very much into style and fashion, and that's part of her and her brand. So the way that she attracts the types of clients that she wants, How about you and your wardrobe? So you're attracting the type of clients that you want? Do you personally use a stylist or what do you dio I've seen jeered. I must step in for a second, and he actually does dress very well. So I've seen him at this. He's come to events. We've We've seen each other in Vegas at the trade show and stuff, and he is always dressed great. So he does portray that to me. Ever a girl like hey knows something about it because he looked good dressed Well, so you maybe you want to answer that to you, but I think you always dress well. Thank you. I try, I said, I'm not by any means a fashion expert. I'll use Resource is like a trunk club dot com, which you have your own personal stylist that will pick out outfits four years old. I have big events like WPP, I You know how it goes somewhere like that and and get an outfit when I'm with clients. If it's on a shoot, I'm usually wearing, you know, something neutral or comfortable, especially Texas and summer. I'm not concerned about that. But if it's a client meeting or something like that, I'll definitely dress the part and your life probably helped. Yes, yeah, yeah, we have more questions s Oh, this is a question, maybe for both of you. But April O Hare had asked, How do you keep the stock closet cost effective? Considering that fashion changes so rapidly, right, and it definitely does again, I'll go back to the fact that you don't want any of your seniors dressing too trendy any way you want to be stylish but not trendy. So don't buy pieces that are super trendy. They're gonna be out of style pretty quickly. Although fashion does go out of style pretty quickly, that's true. But you can also shop sales. You can shop forever. 21 there definitely some inexpensive stores out there. Target has great looks for less, but also sales. I mean, I don't have it with me that I have addressed at home in my style closet that came from fabric. The boutique that I that I partner with that was on sale was $9. I think it started out as $100 item, but I you know, I grabbed an old sale, Thought it would look good. Marshals, TJ Maxx, all of these places will have pieces that you can always add. And then again, like I say, shop sales and then spend your money on maybe statement pieces. Eso This necklace that I have own is mine personally, but this one is a J crew necklace as well, and I spent a little bit more money on this one. But this one also goes with everything. So when you spend your money may be spending on something that would go with everything I don't have dared do you have you wanna mention anything about where you might get some stuff? I know that those are all great points When Meg go shopping, she's not. She is thrifty in mind as well, so she'll be going to thrift stores. T. J. Maxx, Marshalls. Just like you mentioned shopping for sales. I now follow a lot of online boutiques, so I'll get emails on sales and stuff like that. So we keep track of all that and, uh, keep that in mind. And then you were mentioning earlier, if somebody's wearing the same thing over and over again, but I would start doing in that case is just either sell it, see if somebody wants to to purchase it and use that money to put it back into the style closet. Yep, good idea. Alright, and also, I will just mention a couple of places. Online shop, Oxford trunk dot com is a great place. This sequin jacket didn't want to guess how much it costs. If I gotta get was only 50 bucks, which I think is incredible for a sequin jacket, I think that's a great deal. Oxford Trunk is where I got it from, and they do have some inexpensive items. Shop riff raff dot com is a great one. Nasty gal, which No offence, nasty gal, but I don't love the name, but it has great stuff, you know, anywhere from Gap to J. Crew, those type places always put stuff on sale again forever. 21. I think the key is mixing different levels of things. Maybe you have a higher in peace that will stand the test of time that maybe you'll buy in an expensive piece of pear with it. Or maybe you like. Like Jared said, Maybe we'll go to a thrift store and buy some pieces that way. So those are a couple of great shot Bob Revolve clothing where the shop piperlime is great and then check your local boutiques or sales as well. Yeah, all right, Who in here is ready to go shopping? You lied about away. If anybody ever wants to go shopping and give me a call, I'm actually had photographer Cindy photos things they bought for their style closet and asked me if they were OK Cinema in the photo thing. Kenna. Yes, that people have been posted some senior photos item. That's a great idea So we have our student galleries here on the course paid for this course. So you could We're going to take a look that you're going to take a look at that when we're not during the live event, but we find to see and share what you guys are buying. Two awesome radio. Let's take another question for Jared since we have since we have him here and that is about boys. So we've been talking a lot about girls here. Do you photograph boys? And if so, how do you What do you do with regard to their style and talking about what to wear? And do you have a closet for them to know? Those are all great questions. I do shoot guys, and, uh, I don't shoot as many guys as girls. So it's that part of the business is still kind of learning and working through that. So I don't have all the same materials that I do that I have a present for my girl clients, but I'm going to help them just as much. I'm gonna send them a detailed questionnaires to get to know them. I I still ask them what they are going to plant aware, and I'll still have them send me those pictures. And we kind of built from there because, uh, guys are a little bit more simpler because they usually have one pair of jeans or something like that. So, unfortunately, God don't have many absences. Girls, right? Yeah. So you gotta talk them through and just make sure that they know and are planning for it. And moms on board and moms are always willing. Teoh, go out and purchase something for further boy. So yeah, well, and I will say, if you are somebody that shoots a lot of guys and you want to build a style closet for the guys, I think it would be an amazing idea again. I'm like Jared. I don't shoot as many eso. I haven't, you know, sort of built that part. But I do think a style closet for a guy. What to wear guide for a guy is something I've been thinking about doing it since I already have the girl version. I was gonna put out a guy version. It's just a matter of taking the photos because, like I say, I don't have the photos as much because I don't shoot many, so hopefully I can get that out there. You know, that'll help, but with guys, because they don't have as much variety in general, you might not need as many pieces because, you know, you could have pants that would make them bring their own because there's too many sizes. That's hard. But maybe this are good layering pieces for guys, jackets for guys, maybe a couple of T shirts that have some color. Simple things like that could go a long way with a guy. Hats, ties, bow ties are huge in South Carolina's. If I just have a couple of bow ties, I would be ableto really incorporate that. There's definitely the opportunity to do that. So, yeah, I definitely think it's something and maybe Gerald get that going so we can see how he did it. So maybe this final question for both of you as well. But Jared, because you just mentioned talking about the parents and approving what they were wearing, so that was a big question that had come up. W. Lindsay asked it, Are you making sure that the parents agreed to what the girls or boys are wearing. Are they part of that consultation? I make sure that, uh, that's on the girls side. I let them know just to be conscious of, like, shorts, not to make sure they're too short. I tell them it can limit posing and kind of the stuff that I could do with them. So I have something Were to come up. I haven't had that problem yet. I would make sure. You know, parents are on board with certain outfits if I was worried about it, but I haven't had that is You come up yet, but for the most part, the moms definitely know what their Children are wearing, and they're a part of that and approve it. And when the parents usually come to the session, the moms do, which I don't mind. And I love having them there. And so they they're seeing what got picked out and what we're gonna I usually tell them to bring, you know, six outfits and we may have time for three or four. So we just kind of pick out the best out of those six that they bring. Yeah, for me. Most of the moms come to the wardrobe consultation so they know what what they're wearing. Sometimes they don't, but for the most part, they do. But like Jared said, they usually are aware of what they're there. Girls are bringing. I don't have anything in my style closet that would, I don't think would be offensive to any mother. So I feel confident with that. So that's another thing you're buying pieces. Do not buy things that might, you know, be a little too mature or short or, you know, tight. So just you know, you're the professional. If you're gonna offer this this this option, make sure you if you think you would be uncomfortable as a mother than they don't want to wear it I mean, you know, so just keep that in mind. Well, fantastic. Well, I think that we're going to move on to our next section where we are excited to have Kendra and meet her and do an actual style consultation. But, Jared, can you let us know where everybody can find you online and thank you again. So much for joining us. Yeah. My senior related website is Jay Ray, seniors J R E y seniors dot com uh, Instagram and Twitter is J R E T R E Y. And Facebook is J R E D R E Y. Photo. Endeared also works with a couple others senior photographers in Dallas, and they dio meet ups and they just did a shoot out. So if you're in that area or anywhere near there and you want to participate, just make sure you follow Jared. Misty is also Mr Davis, who I mentioned earlier Pink photography. And it was it Lindsay Lindsay Horn photography. So all three of them usually get together and dio some shootouts or meet ups or things like that. So they're awesome resource to make sure you follow them. So if you are in that area, you can go and hang out with them and and do some fun. But thank you for coming on and get the male perspective and Teoh