An artist serving artists :)
Do you serve folks outside your typical client list?
Sometimes, passion projects can be magical :)
For the better part of 5 years, I’ve solely focused my work towards experts who speak, facilitate, consult and write books.
It’s been a while since I’ve lent my expertise outside of this niched circle.
But recently, I had a chance to do something a lil’ bit different.
I was approached by Eva and Micah.
They’re not speakers. They don’t have an online course. They don’t do opt-in gifts. They’ve never even heard of the National Speakers Association.
But, once I got on the phone to chat with them, I discovered that they’re artists, their creative dynamic is compelling and, as a result, I wanted in to help with this project.
Also…
Anytime there’s a dude with the sides of his head tattooed, separated by a Mohawk down the middle, I mean, some cool, interesting and off-the-wall shit is bound to happen during the session, right? :)
During the strategy call, I found out that they’re in the process of creating a book. She writes the stories and poems, and he creates the artwork that visually punctuates the sentiment of the stories.
And, right now, they have zero presence online that shows their collaboration. As a result, they wanted to start the process of building visibility for themselves online now as they work to finish the project.
While they don’t have keynote stages in their futures, they do need to build a relationship with an audience that will resonate with the magic they create together.
My approach to fleshing out the types of visual assets they need mirrored the way I work with experts.
I asked a ton of questions, and those answers informed me of the shot sheet we needed to execute on shoot day.
In addition to the standard promotional images - headshots and wider portraits of themselves separately and together - we also decided on a heavy dose of behind-the-scenes images.
Specifically, they needed to show their audience of potential readers how the sausage is made.
For them, this was especially critical since they create mixed media artwork, and those types of candid, behind-the-scenes photos will help their audience truly get a sense of how passionate they are about the artwork they want to put out into the world.
So, we decided to shoot a laundry list of images in Eva’s writing room and Micah’s house since this is where they create their magic.
Here’s what we ended up with:
Even though these two aren’t typical to the folks who step in front of my camera these days, these photos were created in the exact same way that I shoot experts.
After all, the way I shoot one thing is the way I shoot everything.
I have to say, I really had a blast working with these two.
The conversations we had in between photos and locations was definitely stuff I will not repeat here, but let’s just say that there wasn’t a dull moment in the 4 hours we spent together :)
This session also served as a reminder that, every now and then, it’s a good idea to take on a project that falls outside my usual scope to spice things up a bit…
…provided that you can get on the same page with the other collaborators.
And, in this case, we were on the same page from minute 1, and it was a win-win-win all around.
Artists serving other artists - #yeahabsolutely
Over to you…
When was the last time that you took on a project that fell outside of your typical client list? How did it turn out? Please share your story in the comment section below.