Connect with clients beyond the work
Having a connection is key...
...because connection leads to trust.
When I collaborate to create content portfolios with my clients, the last thing I ever want to feel is that the relationship merely lives in a transactional space.
I aim for a deeper connection that ultimately leads us to friendship beyond the work with the lights and camera.
Sometimes, that connection is forged during the pre-session strategy call, where clients share their why and various processes that drive their business and thought leadership.
On many occasions, it’s developed during the hours spent conducting the branded lifestyle portrait session itself.
And then, there are those times where the spark is ignited from the very first conversation we have together.
The latter is exactly what happened when I picked up the phone to chat with a recent client, Sandy.
When she initially reached out, I was on a list of 3 photographers, and I happened to be call #2.
About 2 minutes into our conversation, Sandy mentioned that she was a resiliency life coach, and talked about the tragic events in her life that led her down this path.
Once I shared with her my experience of learning about resiliency during my applied positive psychology training, she sounded so excited, her energy shot through the roof and I started to chat more about what else I learned during that course.
We forged a connection independant from the photography.
Needless to say, call #3 never happened, :)
Bonding over something non-related to the actual session itself was very important because, as Sandy mentioned on several occasions, she was anxious about the whole process.
As a result of this bonding moment, there was a level of trust that she felt towards me and my approach, which meant that I would be able to hand hold and tough love her throughout the portrait session in order to produce the types of image content that she needs to get the visibility she wants for her coaching practice.
And, that’s exactly what happened.
At certain times throughout the session, Sandy expressed some hesitation and anxiety, and I worked to distract her mind with a lot of direction and positioning and employed a little misdirection, too, by making her laugh and that, fortunately, was the magic formula for her.
At the end of the day, you wouldn’t even know that she was anxious or nervous by her expressions in the ones we chose:
It’s such a joy to work with people who I forge a connection with on a level that goes well beyond the portraits.
I mean, one of the predominant reasons I chose to serve thought leaders and change agents was because I was inspired by those who heard the call to serve others, and I wanted to surround myself with these folks in order to learn how to show up in the world the way I want.
Working with Sandy was a very enlightening and extremely fulfilling experience - and, oh yeah, we got a ton of branded lifestyle portraits where she presented herself powerfully, purposefully and authentically, :)
Speaking of that, are you interested in presenting yourself powerfully, purposefully and authentically in your next round of branded lifestyle portraits?
Well, I know just the guy to take care of that for you, :)
Schedule a call with me and let’s see if we’re a fit to work together.
PS - For those of you who aren’t in the know, I mail out these blogs 3x a week, and lemme tell you, they’re a real party, so, if you’d like to get in on this, sign up for it here and I’ll throw in a free gift for you...because I care, :)