Book More Clients Photography Podcast - How to Start a Photography Business, Marketing Strategy, How Photographers Make Money

Ep. 52 | Why You Are Needed in The Photography Industry

March 19, 2020 Brooke Jefferson Episode 52
Book More Clients Photography Podcast - How to Start a Photography Business, Marketing Strategy, How Photographers Make Money
Ep. 52 | Why You Are Needed in The Photography Industry
Show Notes Transcript

I just got back from the most amazing photography retreat that I have personally ever attended. It was not my first and certainly won’t be my last.

But I just wanted to talk about the takeaways that I have from this retreat. When you invest in yourself and you put time, money and effort into growing your business and yourself as a person, you will be able to mark that as a pivotal moment in your life. That’s what the Unveiled Heart Retreat did for me.

I know these takeaways I have for you will impact you, inspire you and motivate you, just like it did for me.

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spk_0:   0:00
have you wondered if having a mentor coach would help you further your business? Someone you can ask questions and get advice from? I know I needed someone when I first started, and I'm so excited to offer one on one mentoring to you to find out all the details and how we can work together to give you a profitable and sustainable photography business. You can check the show notes or head to my website. Brooke jefferson dot com. Welcome to the frame your way. Photography podcast. I'm your host, Brooke Jefferson. I'm a wife, Mama to two and full time photographer and business coach. I created this podcast with the aspiring photographer in mind to bring you inspiring stories. Strategies to help you go from zero to multiple figures and tips and tricks to help you get one step closer toe work. Life harmony. Are you ready to frame your way to your dream career? Let's die then. So I just got back from the most amazing photography retreat that I have personally ever attended. It wasn't my first retreat, and it certainly won't be the last, but I really want to talk about the takeaways that I had, because when you invest in yourself and you put time and money and effort and just all the things into growing your business and yourself as a person, you will literally be able to mark that as a pivotal moment in your life. And that's what the unveiled heart retreat did for me. And I believe that a lot of the takeaways I had are going to really impact you and make you feel inspired and want to move forward. And if you're in AA Lowell right now, I'm hoping that this will give you the pep in your step that you're needing, that you will be able to feel this on such a deep level and walk away knowing that there is room for you in this industry and that investing in yourself and stepping outside your comfort zone are key like ingredients for you to grow. So let's talk about

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what is thehe NW veiled heart retreat. This was a retreat that was hosted by three lead photographers, and they are Naomi Hopkins, Elissa Hollis and Kate Boggs. They're absolutely phenomenal people. I had never met them in person. I actually became connected with all three of them through Instagram. I think it's so amazing the world we live in, where we can make connections based on technology. I just It's the coolest thing. And when you meet people that you met online and then you meet them in person, getting to know them is one of the coolest feelings ever. Um,

spk_0:   3:04
it's just it's amazing walking away from this retreat. I'm really just sitting here trying to process my feelings. I have been home now for two days, and I have really just been processing all the things that happened and just really sitting in my feelings. And so number one, I feel the most confident I have ever felt in my entire career. I feel the most creative, like I am just ready to get out and create and, um, book clients. I've already talked to several people who are going to be models for me, so that number one I could do some sessions for myself, of my creativity, andan the other sessions. Our clients that have already booked sessions with me, but I am going to give them a like an elevated session to what I was going to do prior, Um, I'm just I'm so excited, you guys. The biggest take away that I had being in a room full of 15 other photographers was that we all bring so much talent, perspective, voice story, like we bring so much to the table, every single person in that room. I learned something from in the way that they either told their story or the way that they, you know, perceived a session

spk_1:   4:30
were the way that they

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were really good at one thing. And so I just what I realized was there is room for me in this industry, and I want to tell you there is room for you in this industry right here. There is room for you, regardless, that how many photographers air in your area regardless of how many people are shooting what you're doing, Or if you think that somebody you know did your unique idea there is so much room for you and I This is so important. And I just I just want to stand on my soapbox and just keep looking you in the eye and telling you you are worth it. You have a place here, and you bring a unique perspective to this industry because you do because you are unique to this world. You have a unique story. The way that you see people is different. The way that you tell a story is different. The gifts and talents and skill set that you have is different. And there is no other photographer that is exactly like you. It doesn't matter if you have the same neesh. It doesn't matter if you live in the same area. It doesn't matter if you're the same age, have the same camera, have the same lens, have the same preset. You're still different and

spk_1:   5:55
there is so much room for you. And I think we need to stop creating work for other people and start creating work for ourselves. Um, I just Oh, man, I'm just so passionate about this because I think the biggest thing that takes us out ask photographers in this industry is comparison. Hands down its comparison. You stand next to somebody that you think is better than you, and you automatically feel like you just want Thio. You know, just shrink and hide and just, like, not even continue on in your business. And I'm telling you this because that is me. I have felt this so many times. I have thought to myself, Wow, like I don't even know all the technical things about photography. And so there's no way that I'm ever gonna be is good as insert photographer's name here, and it's definitely like I have battled with myself. I have had anxiety over this. I have had so many days where I just want to give up. I've had months where I did so amazing, had so many sessions the month before and then, you know, come across a new month and then I feel like nobody has reached out. Nobody wants to book me, and those were my feelings. And those aren't the fax. And so I just think you need to hear it today like there's room for you here. You don't need to throw in the towel. You don't need to keep comparing yourself. And if there is that one or two photographers at every single time, you see their work and it's more negative feelings, and it's more jealousy than it is healthy. Then you've got to stop following that person. You've got to go put them on mute for a while and you've got Thio do something that's going to reignite your passion, your creativity, your fire. And, you know, just find your way back to why you started this in the first place. One of the activities that we did, um, the like, the very first afternoon we were there. I absolutely loved it. Kate Boggs did this with us, and she told us to write down one word that

spk_0:   8:13
describes our cell for our business. And that was really it. One word. There wasn't a whole lot of instruction. There wasn't anything to inspire us.

spk_1:   8:22
It was literally write down one word. And the word

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that I wrote down was passion passionate. I did both, You know, whichever way you want to take that. And the reason I did was because I want people to look at my

spk_1:   8:37
work, and I want them to know that I am passionate about what I'm doing.

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I'm passionate about telling the story. I'm passionate about the art I'm creating, and I want my work to show the passion that other people have. So whether I'm photographing a couple

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who are very passionate about each other or I'm photographing the mom who is looking at her kids

spk_0:   9:00
with so much passion in her eyes and is so loving. And her body language is just showing passion. That's the word I wrote down. And we were encouraged for the entire weekend to do anything that

spk_1:   9:13
we need to do to become that word. Thio, too, to inject that word into our work, our lives as this human beings, our hearts, our minds, our souls. And so that is the word that I'm going to continue to circle back on. That is my word for 2020 as far as my photography business goes is passion. So I I

spk_0:   9:36
want to ask you what is one word that you can carry with you that is going to be a reflection of your work and your heart and your business. I want you to think about that word. And then I want you to carry that word with you throughout, definitely this entire year. But even today, what is one thing that you could do that will ignite that word for you in your business by by doing something today? Another thing that absolutely transformed me as a person was Naomi, Elissa and K inspired us to start doing self portrait. It's I know it's insane. Why would we photograph ourselves? It's just so important that you, as much as you love to document things for other people that you document your life as well. On Lee, you know, when you take a picture, what your life is like a that time. And so they were showing his pictures of self portrait. They've taken through all the emotions after miscarriages, when they were going through tough times when they felt like they were on top of the world. When I got a positive pregnancy test, all these things and it was really, really need to see. So then we were challenged to get with a partner because obviously none of us packed all you know, tripods or anything like that. So instead of doing self portrait of ourselves, we got with a partner. We were given any motion to portray, and then once we were done with that emotion, we could move on to whatever emotion we wanted. And so I did not want to leave this retreat without giving it my all without stepping outside my comfort zone without doing something that scared me And so I started off. Our word was peace. So once we were done with thought we were in long flowy dresses. And then we went to casual outfits and we did very candid shots. And then there towards the end. One of the things personally that I have been battling myself with is how I see myself, how self confident I am, how for me, I wanted to be very vulnerable. That's just something that in my season right now, I just I need to be. And I wanted to be. And so I actually ended up doing some self portrait. It's topless. I know. I'm just a shocked as you are. And, um, I can tell you that the feeling I had after seeing those images and being able to edit them and know what was going on in my heart in my head when I took those so powerful, so powerful I felt so beautiful, so confident. Um, I was just awesome. It was It was an amazing, amazing experience. And even if you don't take it to that extreme, if that's what you want to call it, I really, really think it's so important that we start making time once a month to invest in ourselves in to take photos of ourselves and whatever that means. You could get us creative as you want. You could. I mean, you could always have someone else do them. But there's just so much beauty and power when you photograph yourself and you tell your story and you are able to express who you are and what you what you are about, Um so, yeah, so this retreat was just it was mind blowing. Of course. We photographed 10 sessions and we learned so much about photography and editing and the camera and all the things. But this experience itself being able to take myself and fly myself across the country to meet 15 people I've never met. My life was amazing and it was a once in a lifetime experience, and it is something that I will forever cherish. It is a pivotal moment, like I said in my personal life in my career, and I wouldn't change it for the world. It was absolutely incredible. So I want to inspire you and remind you you've got to get out of your comfort zone. You need to know that you belong. There's room for you here in this industry. And if you're thinking about doing a retreat, a workshop, a styled shoot or even doing a mentor ship session with someone, I think that you absolutely need to go for it and do it today because it will be a pivotal moment in your life and in your career. And I hope that this episode literally becomes a pivotal moment for your business and for your growth as a person. I hope that this episode I hope I get to hear from some of you guys and say, listening to the experience you had into the fact that you reminded me that there's room for me in this industry, I did fill in the blank. That's what I hoped to hear. I really, really want you guys to know what you do is important. Who you are is important, and we want to hear your story. I want to hear your story. I want to see your face on your social media in your feed. I want to follow you. I want to talk to you. So if we have not personally talked and I know I haven't talked to all of the Exor. Hundreds of you and I look at the listener account and I'm just like I can't believe it's reached, You know, over 400 years. It's just amazing to me. So if we have not had an individual conversation, definitely come find the frame your way. Photography Podcast Instagram Account What's chat. You can also go to my INSTAGRAM account at Brooke today. Photography or fill Free to send me a message Brooke at Brooke jefferson dot com. I really, really want to hear from you, and I want to leave you with this. There is room for you in this industry. If you haven't already and you're loving this podcast, would you take just a second and hit that subscribe button? This will automatically deliver new episodes to your phone every Thursday, and if you want to go above and beyond, I would love for you to leave an honest rating and review. This helps other photographers find the show and get the support they need. Thank you so much for listening, and I'll meet you back here next week