One-and-done portrait session? Not so fast...
Is the one big photo session not your thing?
I think I have a pretty cool Plan B for you!
Regardless of whatever business you run, it’s always important to meet the people that you serve where they are in order to provide them what they need.
That’s why I’m constantly asking for feedback from the speaker, author and coach community in order to recalibrate my services to cater to the specific needs they have with regard to their visual image content.
It’s not about what I think they need - it’s about serving my audience’s specific needs and preferences with my expertise.
And recently, I’ve been doing a lot of listening.
For some speakers, authors and coaches, the classic, one-big-photo-session model - multiple hours, outfit changes, locations, etc - is not the ideal way for them to capture image content.
With all of the logistics, pre-planning and financial resources required, this “all or nothing” type of photo session, to them, is an overwhelming option, and it’s why many of them avoid updating their image content portfolio for YEARS at a time.
And, I totally get it.
By the end of one of these sessions, I’m in need of a hug, a drink and a nap, :)
Other members in this community have also cited that big, one-off sessions inspire a tremendous amount of pressure for being “on” for hours at a time, which is an unappealing and less productive way to create image content that will greatly serve their objectives of gaining more visibility with those they serve.
I also get that, as well.
After receiving this feedback, I’ve been sketching out an offer for a year-long service that’s built around smaller, monthly sessions.
We’d begin our year-long journey with the Idea Nugget Incubator Program - a one-on-one program that helps develop your idea muscles in a way that helps you recognize all of the interesting insights, moments, experiences and conversations that happen throughout your life and translate those to compelling, informative and inspiring stories that build connection, rapport and trust with those you serve.
During that recorded video call, we’ll also put together a customized, monthly content schedule that will help shape all of the posts that you create throughout the year.
Once I get a better sense of who you are, who you serve and why you do what you do, we can use that information to define the types of portraits we need to capture throughout the year so that they visually punctuate all of the stories and sentiments you want to share with your audience.
Whereas the one-off sessions give you a ton of flexible imagery that can be applied to a variety of needs, the month-to-month sessions can be leveraged in much more strategic way.
Goals evolve. Offers change. Life happens.
With a monthly shooting schedule, we can hyper-target each session to meet those highly-specified plans, and not worry about cramming everything in one sitting.
For example, a monthly session can be dedicated to completing 1-3 of the following options:
Headshots to post all across your social channels, blogs and websites
Other promotional portraits for speaker submissions, podcast appearances and print
Studio portraits for a cleaner look
Portraits tailor-made to insert quotes directly onto the image
Lifestyle portraits taken in the city - taking a cab, waiting for train, walking down block
Candid portraits of you working w technology
Candid portraits of your brainstorming process
Consultation with a client - virtually or in-person
Photos created for a specific purpose - ads, banners, launch promotion, etc.
Illustrate your lifestyle - hobbies, activities, etc.
Photos of props - books and other objects that have emotional resonance that you can write stories about that will resonate with your audience and teach them a lesson or give them food for thought
Family photos - candid images of your life that you want to share with your audience
If you opt for the year-long model, you’ll be able to build an entire image content portfolio over the course of a year, not just one day.
Another benefit to the year-long model would be the opportunity to create image content in a wide variety of locations. Although the one-off sessions allow for them to be shot anywhere, time is not always on our side to travel to ideal locations that are far and wide from each other.
With the monthly model, we would be able to set up shop in all of these places, one at a time, and build an image content portfolio with a wide array of spaces and places over time.
Another interesting wrinkle to the year-long service is that these photo sessions are not limited to branded lifestyle portraits.
If you have a keynote, book launch party, in-person workshop, a media interview or any other promotional opportunity, you can leverage your time for that month having that experience captured to share with your audience.
If this event is longer than the monthly allotment of session time, no problem - you can combine up to 3-months of shooting time and work out the logistics that way. The year-long model is flexible and can cater to your needs.
Speaking of flexibility, one of the other unique aspects to this service is that if you want to gift a monthly session to a friend or colleague, you are more than welcomed to do that.
One of the main reasons why I was drawn to collaborate with speakers, authors and coaches is because they help others get past what’s holding them back….
...I was fortunate to run into some amazing coaches when I was in need of a lot of help when I started my business and was going through an emotional transformation.
If you feel that someone in your life could benefit from the specialized help I provide, I’d love to take part in supporting those people with some photos that can help out with their marketing.
It would be a magical gift for them, indeed, :)
Long story short, here’s how I see the year-long service plays out:
- Idea Nugget Workbook Review Call (recorded on Skype) - 2 hours
- Create/Discuss Monthly Content Calendar Format
- Monthly Strategy Calls - 30-minutes per month
- Coordinate logistics for monthly photo session & content creation brainstorm
Photo Session - up to 1-hour per month
- Use your monthly time for portraits OR event coverage in NYC area
- Whatever we shoot that’s useable, they’re all yours
Once this program goes live, I’m looking to book the first ten people an introductory rate of $700 up front and $300 per month.
If this service sounds like something that’s right up your alley, please fill out this form to secure your spot at this introductory rate once the offer is officially launched.
And once it fills up, the rate is going up, folks, so get in on the ground floor now!
John DeMato is a NYC branded lifestyle portrait photographer and content creation expert who serves speakers, authors, coaches and high-level entrepreneurs across the country. His 50+ e-book, S.H.A.R.E. M.A.G.I.C.A.L. I.D.E.A.S., lays out the how, what and why behind creating a memorable and referable online presence - sign up to get your FREE copy today.