Mindset & Money Mastery for Photographers with Karinda K.
Mindset & Money Mastery for Photographers with Karinda K.
Top 5 Countdown: Are You Actually Serving Your Clients?
Join us as we count down some of our top episodes- as we get ready to start a new season.
What if being a professional photographer involved more than just clicking a button? Join us as we uncover the true essence of serving clients with excellence and artistry. We promise you'll gain a deeper understanding of how to elevate your role from a mere photographer to a trusted advisor who guides clients through the entire photographic experience. From outfit selections to envisioning how portraits will harmonize with home decor, this episode offers insights on how to transform your service delivery and client perceptions.
Imagine being not just a photographer, but also an interior designer and stylist for your clients. We explore the importance of understanding home aesthetics and how it impacts the display of your work. Learn how to guide your clients in choosing attire that enhances the final portraits, ensuring that every element aligns with their vision. This multifaceted approach helps clients look their best, feel confident, and ultimately trust you as an expert who adds value to their lives beyond the camera lens.
Creating a lasting legacy through photography is not merely about capturing images but solving clients' problems and providing exceptional care. Reflect on the power of printed portraits and their enduring significance. We discuss how engaging in meaningful conversations within our Photography Business Tune-Up group can help you move beyond taking photos to making a profound impact. Don't miss out on the chance to join our free Facebook group for more valuable discussions and support from fellow photographers. Be sure to share the podcast, leave ratings and reviews, and explore additional resources through our show notes and Instagram page.
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Welcome to Mindset and Money Mastery for Photographers, the podcast. We help overwhelmed photographers make more money while simplifying their business by mastering their you guessed it mindset and money. Tune in each week for practical and actionable tips to take your photography business up a notch. Let's dive right in. I am so excited about today's episode. I probably say that every week, but this one is really, really important to me and it is something that I wish I would have realized so much sooner in my business, and it is the whole idea of are you really serving your clients or are you just taking their photos? And I wish somebody would have smacked me upside the head and explain this to me like day one in my business, because I don't think I really truly realized this for a while. Do your clients right now see you as somebody that shows up and pushes a button, or do they see you as more than that? What do you think Right now? What do your clients see you? As they could describe what you do, how would they describe it to somebody? They say Karinda showed up at our session, she took our photos, she said bye, she sent them to us in an online gallery.
Speaker 1:Would they say, karinda helped us figure out what to wear. She talked to us about the way our outfits fit into our space in our home where we're going to display those portraits. She showed up, she made us feel at ease. She posed us, she guided us, she directed us to meet the session and then afterwards she even helped us figure out what we were going to do with those photos. She like plugged those photos onto the wall for us and she showed us exactly what size were going to do with those photos. She like plugged those photos onto the wall for us and she showed us exactly what size was going to look good. She had them printed. She like retouched them before she printed them. So we looked amazing. We had no blemishes. She got rid of my pimples. It was amazing. And literally on our doorstep this giant box arrived that had this beautiful piece of art in it.
Speaker 1:Which one of those would your clients say that you are right now? Your clients should see you as an expert photographer first and foremost, but they should also see you as an interior designer, a stylist and even an artist. A stylist and even an artist you see, very little of what we do as photographers is actually photography. Hopefully you're starting to realize that A very small part of our job is photography. There are so many other pieces to the photographic experience that contribute to the work we create, to the art we create. Ultimately, we are artists, we are not just photographers. Now, right now, you might just be a photographer. You might not have decided to take on the role of an artist who creates pieces of art for your client's homes. I am an artist. I create art for my client's homes. It just so happens that I use my camera to do that, but my camera has very little to do with that.
Speaker 1:It's funny that I say this now, because when I was in high school, I had to take art class my senior year. I moved high schools on the end of my junior year of high school. I was only there for like a month and a half. Before summer Start my senior year, go to pick up my schedule and guess what's on my schedule?
Speaker 1:Art I in my high school, self studious, corinda that I was curious, corinda that I was. I was so upset that I had to take art in high school. I cried. I was so upset and I was not the kind of person that would walk up to a teacher and say anything bad in high school, but I remember my first day of art class, walking in and looking at the teacher and saying I am not artistic. I don't know why I have to take this class. This is terrible. I'm just letting you know, I can't even draw a stick figure and I would sit down in my chair and thinking back on this and talking about this like whoa. It's crazy to think about because what happened through that year and what happened in that class was truly super, super cool.
Speaker 1:I actually learned that I was slightly artistic and I learned that in art class when the teacher said everyone's going to make paper mache masks for, like I don't know, mardi Gras or something I don't know, like that, everyone had to make these masks and paint them. And I did not just make a mask. And I think this is when I realized that maybe I actually was artistic, but I just denied it my whole life. I made an entire zebra head, and when I say I made an entire zebra head, I mean a real zebra head. It was like the size of a zebra head. Actually, it's probably bigger than a zebra head. I made an entire zebra head out of paper mache. When everyone else made a mask and I went after school to finish the zebra head and I was obsessed with this thing and it sits actually under my TV. We have a console table and that zebra head sits in my console table, console table. And that zebra head sits in my console table and it is a constant reminder of the fact that I make a living as an artist. Yet I cried when I had to take art in high school because I wasn't artistic.
Speaker 1:So when I sit here on the podcast and I say things like I don't think I'm the world's greatest photographer, it comes from this place. Right, this is a. This is the mindset thing you see coming out in me that I just believe that I'm not artistic. I believe that my whole life I remember being an art in junior high and feeling the same way like we have to draw something. What I have, this dream that one day I will be a real artist and one day I will learn how to paint these beautiful portraits and I will be a painter one day, right, but I kind of wanted to give you a backstory there because I felt like it was a fun prelude to all of this. So when I tell you that I believe I'm an artist more than anything else. It's kind of ironic, but let's start at the beginning here. Let's start at the beginning of what our experience looks like and how we are stepping outside of just being a photographer that shows up and pushes a button. First and foremost, let's talk about the beginning.
Speaker 1:We are an interior designer first and foremost, and you're like whoa Corinda, like that's crazy. I don't know anything about interior design, neither did I. I learned, I figured it out as I went. We have to know these photos. We have to know where they're going to fit in our clients' homes and in the spaces. We have to understand the type of emotion or feeling that our clients want to evoke when somebody walks into their space and sees our portraits on their walls evoke when somebody walks into their space and sees our portraits on their walls.
Speaker 1:We have to step into the role of an interior designer because, honestly, our clients are not interior designers. They don't know that a 16 by 20 is tiny on their wall. They'll tell you it's big enough, but it's not. And you, as the interior designer, as the expert, have to step in and say, hey, you know what? That 60 by 20 is not going to fit the space or the ceiling height or the furniture or anything in the room. It's going to look silly. Let me step in and help guide you and tell you what's going to look good in your space. But it doesn't just stop there. It actually starts somewhere else. It starts with what they're wearing. We have to consider what they wear and how that's going to look in their space. We have to consider the location of their session and if that's going to fit into their home. We have to consider the material that we're going to be printing their portraits on and how that's going to be impacted by the space and their home and their decor and the feeling of their space. We have to take all of these things into consideration when we're planning our session from square one.
Speaker 1:Looking to create more magic in your business, make sure you join us over in your Magic Year. Your Magic Year is our new year-long program designed to help give you direction and guidance as you move throughout the next year in your business. Together, we're going to work through quests each and every month. We're going to have a magical training every month to give you guidance and direction, but, most importantly, you're going to be surrounded in a community of people that are also working towards the same goals as yourself, so you don't have to feel alone. Check out the link in the show notes.
Speaker 1:What if our clients show up in a black leather dress with red high heels on and then we realize that their home is a farmhouse style home that looks like Chip and Joanna Gaines designed? It? Is the picture of them in a black leather dress and red high heels going to fit on their walls on the walls of their Chip and Joanna Gaines farmhouse style home? No, it's going to look ridiculous and when somebody walks into that space they're going to go. Why the heck do you have that picture on your wall? Is an acrylic print going to fit the space of a client with a farmhouse style decor? No, not at all. It's going to look weird and out of place. Now, if that same client lives in the city in a high-rise building with very modern decor and furniture, then of course that's going to look amazing. So we really need to take into consideration our client's space in their interior of their home when we consider what they're going to wear, the location of their session and also how we're going to be displaying these portraits, what type of material we're going to be printing these on.
Speaker 1:We also have to be able to look at our clients' homes and identify spaces that need art to complete them, and also be able to see a space and go. This space needs this type of arrangement. Maybe we have to get really good at looking for those nooks and crannies that need to be filled for those clients that say to you, I don't have any room in my home for art, yes, you do, I will find a space, just show me your house, we'll get to it. We have to know what size art fits the space in relation to the furniture and the other decor in the room. We have to know if their room needs a canvas with a frame or something more modern like an acrylic or a metal. And if we're getting into frames, we need to know what type of frame is going to look best in their room and complement their decor and not clash. I like to tell my clients if you have a bright red wall in your dining room that you want your portrait displayed on. I need to know Because we're going to make sure we don't put you in a Barney purple dress on that bright red wall, because it's going to look ridiculous and they go oh, I get it, and that's a little bit of an extreme example, but it helps people understand. Bit of an extreme example, but it helps people understand.
Speaker 1:We are first and foremost an interior designer and our interior design skills are going to dictate a lot of things in our client sessions and our experience that our clients have. Secondly, we have to be a stylist. We have to be a stylist because most people have no idea how what they wear translates on camera. They don't realize that choosing an outfit that hides their body is actually going to make them look twice as big as they really are in photos. They don't know what type of neckline, what type of sleeves, what type of material looks the most flattering in camera. They don't know that they should not wear a cotton dress that is a dark color if they have a white horse, because that cotton dress is not only going to cling to their body in all the wrong places when the wind blows, but their horse's white hair is going to be all over that cotton dress. They need to be told these things. They need to be guided in the right direction so that they look amazing in their portraits. Because they don't know these things because they haven't sat behind a camera and seen the way that the clothes translate on camera.
Speaker 1:And, honestly, choosing outfits is one of our clients' biggest pain points and areas they struggle with. It's one of the excuses that people will use to not book the session. So if you can convince your clients, hey, it's good. You don't have to worry about it, I'm going to help you, I'm going to be there to support you, I'm going to guide you, I'm going to direct you. Maybe you have a client wardrobe. You take away their excuse not to book the session, not to do the portraits. They worry that they're not going to look good in their photos and they also worry that they're never going to be able to pick out the perfect outfit. So we need to be able to give them tips for those things.
Speaker 1:But it doesn't stop there. We also need to be able to give tips for things like hair and makeup. So our clients are headed in the right direction and we need to make sure that they look and feel great in their photos, or we need to be able to connect them with the appropriate people who can take care of that for them, like a hair and makeup artist. Honestly, during our sessions. We might even take on the role of a therapist. I know that sounds crazy, but literally we have to be able to recognize when our clients are being anxious and overwhelmed and they're being tense and they're not breathing because they're nervous about having their portraits taken. We have to be able to identify when our clients are feeling insecure so we can encourage them and support them in the way that we need to. Heck, we might even get to play the role of a dog trainer or a horse trainer or a baby whisperer or, even worse, a grumpy husband wrangler during the session. We have to be a comedian, because if we're not funny and silly and ridiculous, the husband's going to check out in a matter of 30 seconds and we're gonna be dealing with a pissed off mom. We have to play a lot of roles here and I know it sounds crazy, but like the difference in you being paid well and your clients having an amazing experience is the difference in you being ready to wear all of those hats and do all the things you need to do and not thinking twice about it.
Speaker 1:When I photographed weddings, I was definitely the family therapist a lot of times. Right, I had to know like does this bride hate her future mother-in-law? And if she does, I need to know that. When the mother-in-law walks in the room, I need to pay attention to the bride's energy. I need to know that she's feeling tense or uptight because the mother-in-law walked in the room. I need to pay attention to the bride's energy. I need to know that she's feeling tense or uptight because the mother-in-law walked in the room and popped off about something that I know is a bitter topic in her world. I had code words with my brides, like, hey, if something is bothering you, like, say the code word, I got it. Do I need to kick someone out of your wedding? Just say the code word. I'll do it Because ultimately, especially as a wedding photographer, right, if your client is not excited and happy about their big day, you're going to be able to tell in those photos who gets blamed if the pictures are bad Me, not the mother-in-law who pissed off the bride Me.
Speaker 1:So what am I going to do? I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure, whether it's a wedding day, a newborn session, a dog portrait session, whatever it may be, I'm going to do everything in my power to dissipate and to make sure that bad situations do not happen, to make sure that the energy is on point, to make sure everybody's happy, to make sure everyone's cared for, to make sure that everybody feels good in the situation, because if they don't, it's going to show in their portraits. We have to be able to read people's emotions and feelings and encourage them in a way that they need to be encouraged, especially if they're feeling insecure or tense when they're being photographed. We also have to be able to cheer people on and be their cheerleader, and part of this is just experience, like it's something that comes with time. I'll never forget.
Speaker 1:I was at a newborn photography workshop. The I think it was the dad was holding the baby for a pair of photos. The instructor is Julia. She pointed out she's like the dad's really tense right now. He's not breathing. Like he's not just breathing, he's like, oh my gosh, I don't want to drop my baby. And I'll never forget her just saying like sometimes you just have to put your hands on your client's shoulders and tell them it's okay and that they can breathe. And that was a big one for me. Guys, like that was huge. I use that all the time, especially when dealing with animals horses, dogs.
Speaker 1:Sometimes you can feel the hurt from animals dogs Sometimes you can feel the hut from animals, especially. Sometimes. It's a little bit harder with people because they can hide it. Well, man, if I'm photographing a horse and I know that horse is tense and wound up and I can just feel its energy, I'm just going to go put my hands on the horse and just take a deep breath. This is where we go beyond just being a photographer. This is where we go beyond just pushing a button. We have to be in control of these situations. We have to be able to read the room and make things pleasant and enjoyable for everyone involved.
Speaker 1:If you're photographing animals, you best know how to handle them. You better know how to manage them. You also better know how to help your clients prepare their animals, whether it's a dog, a cat, a lizard, a goat, whatever it may be, how are you going to help your clients prepare for the idea of having this animal in their portrait session? And if you're not preparing your client for that, you're doing them a disservice. If you photograph horses and you know your client has a white horse, you better be giving your clients tips to make sure that horse is white for their portrait. So they're not sitting there stressed out about making their white pony white. That is your responsibility to make sure that every possible thing that your clients might run into, every possible situation, is handled before they even have a chance to deal with it. That's your responsibility. And yes, we do show up at the session.
Speaker 1:We take the photos, but really we're an artist. We have to be an artist that fine tunes these photos that we take. We have to use light, we have to use the proper exposure, the proper composition, the proper guidance and direction when we're posing our clients, the proper guidance as we coach our clients through the expression or the feeling we want to create in our portraits. That's when we really become an artist. We're doing all this prep work. We're looking at their home, their decor, their space, we're styling them, we're guiding them, we're preparing them, we're serving as their therapist if we have to. But really all of this breaks down to the artist piece of creating the art, creating the feeling, the impact we want with these portraits for their ultimate place that they're going to be displayed in our clients' homes.
Speaker 1:We have to retouch and we have to edit those portraits and we have to make our clients look flawless. Now. Ultimately, we can do a lot of this in camera. We don't have to sit in Photoshop for hours. I am a big fan. I do not want to sit in Photoshop and do anything extra unless it is absolutely necessary, but it is our responsibility to make them look flawless and to make them look amazing through our posing, our guidance, our direction and also, sometimes, our editing. We have to ensure that they're going to look stunning on their walls in printed form, and that they're going to be so stinking proud of how amazing they look or their animals look that they want to show that off for the rest of their lives on their wall.
Speaker 1:As an artist, though, we also have to be in control of the final product. We have to source the printers and the artisans that create our art for us in a physical, printed form. That physical representation of our work is what we leave behind. That is our legacy, and I don't know about you, but, oh my gosh, my grandparents' house. I remember going to their house forever and ever and ever, like every time I went over to their house, even as a child, I remember walking into their house and just being in awe of all of the photos on their wall. I remember looking at the pictures of my mom as a teenager twirling her baton and thinking, like that is a stunning portrait of my mother. I wonder what that photographer who created that was thinking. I wonder if he knew that one day her daughter would be sitting there staring at this picture of her mom on the wall thinking, wow, this is so beautiful.
Speaker 1:50 years later, I think about that. Do you think about that as an artist? Do you think about the fact that one day your client's kids and grandkids are going to walk into their house and see that picture that you took of them on their wall, that you created, that you styled, that you had control of the entire situation and you crafted this perfect physical representation of this feeling and this emotion that your client had in that very moment, and that your client's kids and grandkids are going to walk into their house and just feel that If you're not giving that to your clients, what are you leaving behind in this world? If your pictures are going to live on your client's computers, you're not only doing your own work a disservice, but you're doing your client a disservice. Their grandkids and their kids, 50 years from now, are not going to be able to find those pictures on the computer, that portrait hanging on the wall. They're going to be able to find those pictures on the computer, that portrait hanging on the wall. They're going to walk up to that and they're going to be in awe of that picture.
Speaker 1:In my grandparents' house there's actually pictures of two babies. I might have the story mixed up in my head, but I believe that they were my grandfather's siblings and they're actually in these beautiful oval frames. Mind you, my grandfather passed away this last year and he was 100. So this tells you how old these photos were. These photos were 100 years old and they are these two pictures of these babies. And it was back when they used to do these those weird creepy baby pictures where they had the babies in the dresses and they held them up and they were in these gorgeous oval frames that were ornate and just stunning. And I was always like, oh my gosh, those pictures are just they're out of this, like it's just something you don't even realize, like this is real, this is somebody's family member, this is, this is my family member forever ago, right? That's crazy to think about that. Those pictures were still in my grandparents' house till the day they died and that I remember looking at those over and over and over again. Every time I went to my grandparents' house I would just walk around the walls and stare at these pictures on the wall in awe.
Speaker 1:I want to know that people are doing the same with my pictures. I want to know that my pictures that I am taking are art on my clients' walls. I want to know that when my clients are old ladies, they're dragging those pictures to the nursing home with them that I took of their horse. And I tell my clients that when I'm sitting on an image reveal with a mom and her teenage daughter, that when I'm sitting on an image reveal with a mom and her teenage daughter and they're trying to figure out if they want to buy the canvas or metal or print or what they're going to buy, and they're thinking about that canvas that's thousands of dollars, trying to decide if it's worth it. And I say to them your daughter is going to tote this canvas around until she's an old lady in the nursing home. And every time somebody walks in her room at the nursing home she's going to say you see that picture up there on the wall. That was my pony when I was a teenager. His name was Rocky, and they're going to remember how they felt as a teenager. They're going to remember how they felt with that pony, how they felt with that pony, and that is valuable.
Speaker 1:And if you, as a photographer, don't get all worked up inside and ooey gooey and want to like tear up when you think about this and the power and the impact that you have, you might be in the wrong profession, because this is powerful Y'all. I don't even know where I was at. I just totally went off on a tangent and I apologize. Oh, I don't even know where I was at. I just totally went off on a tangent and I apologize, but this is so important. If you aren't showing up as a photographer who's ready and willing to jump in and take care of all of your clients' problems and solve all of their problems, and before they even have a chance to worry about them, chances are you are not truly serving your client.
Speaker 1:And if you do not feel so passionate deep down inside about the value of the printed work that you have the ability to create for your clients, I would say take a step back and really consider what this is that you're leaving behind? Are you okay leaving behind a bunch of digital files that are going to be gone from a computer in 10 years? Or do you want to know that a hundred years from now, somebody is going to be staring at your portrait saying, I'm so glad we have this to remember them? Where is it that you lie on this scale? How do you feel about it?
Speaker 1:Because for me, I think about my clients from the early days that didn't get wall portraits or that maybe got small prints, or those clients that may not have gotten the best quality wall art, and it makes me feel physically sick knowing that those clients are not going to have those portraits around forever. This is a huge reason why I've shifted to offering really high quality products. They cost a lot of money and I have to sell them for a lot of money and it's scary, but I know that those canvases that I'm selling from Guild are going to last till my client is an old lady in the nursing home and if she wants to tote that canvas around when she's an old lady in the nursing home, she can do that and that brings me joy. That makes me happy, thinking about the days when I offered some really crappy quality canvases that are probably falling off my clients' balls in pieces. It's hard to think about.
Speaker 1:So I'm going to ask you today what are you? Are you just a photographer? Are you just clicking a button? Or are you a problem solver for your clients? And, furthermore, are you creating art for your clients that is going to be left behind long after you're gone?
Speaker 1:Can you sit here today and say that your work is going to live on far beyond you, that one day there's going to be a 20-year-old photographer who's standing there staring at the pictures of her mom on the wall, thinking, wow, that's a gorgeous portrait of my mom. I wonder what that photographer took. It was thinking, I wonder what their name was. I wonder who they were. I wonder if they knew that one day I'd be staring at this picture.
Speaker 1:That's what this is about. It is about serving our clients and it is about taking care of their problems, but ultimately it's about what we leave behind. So what are you leaving behind for your clients? What are you leaving behind for your legacy? I know that the impact that I'm able to make in my client's life is going to live far beyond me, and that brings me so much joy.
Speaker 1:Let me know how you're feeling about this topic, what your thoughts are, if this is starting to change your perspective on the way you handle your business and the way you show up, because I sure as heck know that just recording this podcast episode has lit a fire inside of me and reminded me of this, and I don't talk about it enough and I don't share the story enough about my grandparents' house and the power and going over there and seeing those photos.
Speaker 1:But it's important and I hope that you can start to see that you have the ability to leave behind something really important for people. So share your thoughts about this. Head on over to our group Photography Business, tune Up and let us know how you're feeling about this topic and let us know are you leaving behind a legacy, are you solving your clients' problems and taking care of them, or are you just a photographer? Thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to support the podcast, please make sure you share it on social media or leave a rating and review. As always, you can check out the links and resources in the show notes over at masteryourmindmoneycom To catch all the latest from me. You can follow me on Instagram at masteryourmindmoney and don't forget to join our free Facebook group Photography Business Tune-Up with Karinda Kay. Thanks again, and I.