HOW ONE CLIENT CAN CATAPULT YOUR MINDSET TO THE NEXT LEVEL
As I've mentioned in a previous blog, photographers and creatives in general go through many ups and downs - moments of self-doubt and imposter syndrome.
We love all of our clients, but occasionally we find one that launches us to another level, not because of the work we come up with together, but by what they do for our creativity.
Some time ago, I was able to sit down for a face to face consultation with such a client. We had worked together on a couple of different projects and things have always gone really well. For this particular meeting we were focused on her son's Senior Portrait Session.
Now, to understand where I'm coming from you need to know this:
This client has been been involved in the entertainment business for years. She has modeled and acted in advertising, television shows, and movies. Out of respect for her privacy, I won't mention her name in this blogpost, but she is well versed in working on big sets and large budget projects. She has a creative eye and is fully capable of seeing The Big Picture. During our conversation, we discussed wardrobe, locations, style and we came up with a plan for the session.
Her vision: "I want it to look like something from a magazine."
From there our talk, turned to business. I spoke of how Magnolia Gruene Photography came to be and where we are now. I mentioned that though I'm a bit nervous about it, I was gearing up to attend Shutterfest, an amazing photography conference held in St Louis, MO.
My self-doubt crept out and I asked her, "Have you ever been somewhere and just wondered if you really belonged there?"
She looked directly at me and I could see her tears hanging on trying not to fall.
She held her hand up about eye level, as if demonstrating the level of my potential. She told me, "Johnny, you are right there.....RIGHT THERE!" With that I knew SHE believed in me and my work. I felt that was her way of saying that not only was SHE ready to invest in ME, but she was begging ME to believe in MYSELF!
A couple of weeks later, we were on location. We made our way through several locations with varying outfits. We stopped to speak with some total strangers and to shop at a couple of local boutiques. I introduced our clients to a friend and showed them an area of town they weren't familiar with. All in all, it was a great experience for all of us.
Then came the images.
I like to think that I'm pretty darn good at what I do, but when I dug down into the images, I swear I struck gold with every click. Still that little voice was in the back of my head, making me wonder if the clients would like them. I finished up their gallery and we later met in their home for an Image Reveal.
The reaction was nothing short of life changing. His mother cried....a lot. She looked at me me and said, "You did it. I trusted you and YOU DID IT!" That meant so much to me and it still does. Now more than ever, I pursue every photo session with that end result in mind.
In April of 2023, I attended my first Shutterfest. As I looked around, I found myself surrounded by a "Who's Who of Photography." There were photographers that I have followed on YouTube for years. I had to keep telling myself,
"Johnny, you are right there...RIGHT THERE!"
By the end of that week, I had a slew of new friends and a boosted sense of self worth. I'll be sure to write about it in another post.
So to my fellow photographers, I say keep on pushing your limits. Keep on clicking. And Don't Stop Believing.
A special thanks to all of those who have ever trusted me.
Johnny Guerrero is a Wedding, Portrait, and Boudoir Photographer. He is the owner of Magnolia Gruene Photography based in New Braunfels, Texas. He is also the host of The Business End of the Lens, a Facebook Group created to foster an environment of Community Over Competition among fellow photographers.
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