Videos

“I noticed that the photographers we work with that we see getting rehired again and again are great problem solvers. They find creative solutions and freely offer their perspective and opinion in a way that instills confidence in the client. We often see when a big project of importance comes around, the agency art directors will want to speak with us from the very beginning, and it becomes clear that their level of comfort and confidence is with a trusted creative partner.”

Guest Post: Executive Producer, Michael Horta

Some photographers get the job over and over. The client keeps going back to them. Why is that? How do we do that? They want a problem solver, they want a partnership. If someone can bring up issues that the client might not even know of yet and become a resource to them to make their job even better to make them look better than they even are, they will hire you. Learn how to be their partner in this, not just for that one job, but the long term.

Treatment Final Edit Checklist:

1. SPELLING and GRAMMAR mistakes are more damaging than you may think. 
2. Use every opportunity to use SPECIFIC words/concepts relating to this client and project in particular. 
3. Consistency of the organized structure through similar placement, layouts, titles, fonts, etc., to make it easy for them to follow.

Treatments are so important. When you are bidding for a job, you should always do one. Even if you think it’s too small of a job or the client doesn’t need it. Always do a treatment. There are three things to watch out for. The first is spelling and grammar. We know it seems little, but it really stands out if you have mistakes on your treatment. You’re a director, your attention to detail is important. The second is to be specific. You’re probably working off of a template. Make sure that the general lines that describe who you are and how you shoot always include the specifics on that job. That client is wanting to hear how you will shoot their job and not just how you shoot in general. The last one is consistency. Your style and how you set up the content in your treatment should always be consistent. Don’t jump around, make sure the treatment reads smoothly. You’re giving them something that can help you get the job. Remember that. Put time into this.

The one job requirement for our creative careers is that we continuously stay inspired. 

To be a creative means you have to be creative. Mix it up, try new things, and even when they fail, who cares; you are following the buzz that will take you places.

How do we stay inspired? The main part of our business is as creatives we have to keep the creative juices flowing. We can’t just get stuck in the ways that we already know. This is a constant throughout your career. Try something new, shake it up, even schedule yourself for it. Try something new on this date, every month. It doesn’t have to be a success, but think about things you haven’t tried before. You don’t have to know how it’s going to end up, to begin.

Give everything you’ve got on these video ‘Creative Calls’ by being fully present. 

Let the client feel like they know who you are with a bit of warmth in your facial reactions. 

Be prepared with ideas or comments, mentioning their website to show you are their ultimate team player whom they can count on to understand their branding goals. 

Have questions ready to go that will suggest your production strategies and game-plan, all to help them get a sense of what you offer.

The best way to do better at our jobs is to know where we stand now. Look at what isn’t going your way and own it, use that info to get better instead of wasting your time blaming anyone/anything else. 

The best way to grow and stay successful is to know where we are right now. It’s a little hard in our bubbles to know where we are when others don’t really tell us. It’s a bit awkward to get that information from people in the industry. We have to look at the things that happen that might make us angry. Like blaming the trends of the day, or clients, or budgets. The more we blame the less we’re looking at what we need to be looking at in order to grow. When we’re competing against someone for a job, can we find out who gets the job if we lost? Can we look at their work and see they got it because they’re better at that. Do I want to get better at that thing? Do I need to work on that?

How do you not waste any precious time with your portfolio reviews?

1. Tell the reviewer your review purpose.
2. Prep your questions and topics. 
3. Be open to hearing, listen instead of talking. 
4. Review your website + IG instead of prepared PDF. 
5. Move through your site swiftly because we don’t have that much bandwidth review after review.

So simple sometimes. Wanna break the ice fast? Be really kind and nice and complimentary but mean it.

Have a genuine self sales chat (elevator pitch) ready to go for an awkward portfolio showing or a zoom meeting when you need something to share about yourself.

Be prepared with a few tidbits that won’t sound like “sales,”  but more like you sharing a story of an experience you had that shows how you like to work.

We know that you probably aren’t a salesperson if you’re listening to this and you’re more of a creative person, but you are a creative business. You need to have a sales pitch, or an elevator pitch. It needs to express who you are or how you dealt with something on a shoot that makes you more valuable to them. You need to know your client and who they work with and what kind of scenarios might come up for them. Have a few stories or scenarios to discuss because it shows that if something happens during a shoot, you would be able to handle it because of a past experience. Have these talking points ready to go so that when you’re in the moment you just have these keywords to remember if there’s an awkward moment of silence or you only have one minute to make an impression. How are you going to say what you need to say? What would you say to this person? What do you want from this person? Do you want to take them to lunch? Do you want to have a meeting? Do you want to talk to them about an idea you have? Have it ready to go.

Guest Post: Executive Producer, Robin Daily

“When we reach out to an artist to bid on a project, it’s the start of a relationship of sorts. We’ve been admiring their work and would like to initiate a conversation. 

The Creative Call is the “first date”.
The Treatment is the second one. 

The treatment tells us whether the artist heard us, but equally as important, how it resonates with them, now that they’ve heard our thoughts and vision for the project. It’s feedback to that “first date”. It should never be just a regurgitation of what we said. It should be how they would take our starting point and build on it.”

Treatments are important. It can get you the job. We just lost a job because we didn’t do a treatment. I asked the client why? The winning photographer was chosen because their treatment was so fabulous and it reconfirmed what they heard on the creative call. They need to know you’re as professional as you sound. Because you might sound professional on the phone but they need to know you are the person they heard on that call.

Have a genuine work-related story (elevator pitch) ready to go for an awkward portfolio showing or a zoom meeting when you need something to share about yourself. 

Be prepared with a few tidbits that won’t sound like “sales.” but more like you share a story of an experience you had that shows how you like to work.